Is it possible to not be Hispanic or Latino and live in East L.A.? (Hispanics, ethnicity)

[Mr. Opinionated]

Originally Posted by bigdumbgod

Hell, we have a presidential candidate that says he wishes he were more Mexican:
"Had [my father] been born of Mexican parents, I'd have a better shot at winning this."

Mitt Romney: If I was Latino, I'd Have Better Chance of Winning | Fox News Latino

Dude would need one outrageous makeover to pass for a Mexican. Wonder if, in his mind, it is doable since his dad was born in Mexico?

That's a generalization. Growing up in L.A. and working in East L.A./San Gabriel Valley, I dont recall Latino or Mexican people all looking alike any more than black or white people. Some have quasi-euro features similar to Romney's. And some do not, depending on their ethnic lineage.

[BarcelonaFan]

Originally Posted by Mr. Opinionated

That's a generalization. Growing up in L.A. and working in East L.A./San Gabriel Valley, I dont recall Latino or Mexican people all looking alike any more than black or white people. Some have quasi-euro features similar to Romney's. And some do not, depending on their ethnic lineage.

Older Hispanics understand the distinctions and correctly attribute themselves or others as eitehr white, black or mixed.

If you notice a lot of the older Hispanics never refer to white people as "white", they usually say "Anglo". I think this is because they identify with white people too but just a different culture kind of like Jews and Italians back in the day.

And it's true that a lot and I mean a great number of Hispanics are white and have Euro-ish features but because the Latino label is so huge that they just all get lumped in as one people.

I knew of a Mexican girl who was white, with black hair, fair skin and blue eyes. She was 5'8 and still referred to herself as "non-white" just because she was born in a Mexican neighborhood.

The "white" label actually refers more to a certain class more than anything else. For instance, I remember back in 9th grade telling my friend that he was white but he retorted almost angrily, "I'm not white, I am Russian".

I was floored that this guy who was clearly blonde haired and blue eyed was thought of himself as non-white because he was foreign and hung out with non-whites.

What I also do not understand is that there is this confusion about certain white hispanics being white; like Antonio Banderas or even white has hell Andy Garcia, but somehow there is hardly even a question about Italians (Sicilians even)?

[calipoppy]

Originally Posted by BarcelonaFan

Of course politics is wrong. Hispanics are extremely diverse.

Afro Latinos do not look the same as White Latinos. Sammy Sosa looks different from Andy Garcia.

One is black, one is white. They're both Hispanic.

This concept has been the hardest for White Anglo Americans to grasp since they're so used to the label Hispanic.

Yes, mestizo (mixed race Indian/Spanish) are the majority in Latin America, but there is still a very large and significant European population as well as a large Afro Latino one too.

It also stems from the fact that Anglo Americans cannot differentiate between a brown person of mixed race mesitzo origin and a Hispanic with olive skin, yet most if not all Hispanics, can.

Older Hispanics know the difference, younger Hispanics do not as they have weirdly fallen into the media's description. I remember this was clearly seen when a young mestizo boy on MTV's Made wanted to have plastic surgery done to look like Ricky Martin! His rationale behind it was that they were both Hispanic so it could be done.

But this was madness because the boy was a 5'6 Mexican American of mestizo origin who wanted to be like a 6'0+ white Puerto Rican of Spanish European descent. Yet in his mind it was doable because they both shared this mythical "Hispanic" racial background.

And yet Andy Garcia, George Lopez and Sammy Sosa all may have African, European and/or indegenous ancestry. You can not always tell someone's racial makeup by looking at them.

By the way, George Lopez actually does have subSaharan African ancestry (he did a DNA admixture test on his talk show) Also, Michelle Rodriguez and Eva Longoria also have subSaharan African ancestry according to their DNA admixture tests while Jessica Alba has more European ancestry than Larry David (all according to DNA)

You can not tell what people are mixed with based on eyeballing them.

[BarcelonaFan]

Originally Posted by calipoppy

And yet Andy Garcia, George Lopez and Sammy Sosa all may have African, European and/or indegenous ancestry. You can not always tell someone's racial makeup by looking at them.

By the way, George Lopez actually does have subSaharan African ancestry (he did a DNA admixture test on his talk show) Also, Michelle Rodriguez and Eva Longoria also have subSaharan African ancestry according to their DNA admixture tests while Jessica Alba has more European ancestry than Larry David (all according to DNA)

You can not tell what people are mixed with based on eyeballing them.

And several white Americans have Cherokee and African American ancestry. What is your point?

Just by eyeballing I can tell George Lopez is mestizo, Sammy Sosa is black and Andy Garcia is white.

Not even in Latin America is this difficult to understand. In Latin America there is no such thing as Hispanic or Latino as a race. It's simply white, black, Amerindian, mulatto or mestizo (mixed). Technically the US government doesn't label Hispanics as a race because it knows it cannot.

Because of this ridiculous over simplification of the Latino culture and growing market, real Latino diversity will never be understood. Also, we as a nation will always consider Native Americans as "rare" when in reality Amerindian people have been living here and are living here all the time, they're just called "Hispanics" now.

This isn't about generalizing or judging a book by it's cover, it's about identity.

[moonsparkle]

I always have to explain the difference. It's not very well understood in the midwest.

[Count David]

Originally Posted by BarcelonaFan

Sammy Sosa is black

http://i.huffpost.com/gen/117074/thu...SKIN-large.jpg

[BarcelonaFan]

Originally Posted by David Aguilar

http://i.huffpost.com/gen/117074/thu...SKIN-large.jpg

What did he do to himself???

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by BarcelonaFan

What did he do to himself???

Either an incredibly bright flashbulb, or he consulted Michael Jackson's dermatologist.

[BarcelonaFan]

Originally Posted by bigdumbgod

Either an incredibly bright flashbulb, or he consulted Michael Jackson's dermatologist.

I know skin whitening creams are popular in India and Africa but my goodness this is bad.

[Mr. Opinionated]

Originally Posted by BarcelonaFan:

I knew of a Mexican girl who was white, with black hair, fair skin and blue eyes. She was 5'8 and still referred to herself as "non-white" just because she was born in a Mexican neighborhood.

The "white" label actually refers more to a certain class more than anything else. For instance, I remember back in 9th grade telling my friend that he was white but he retorted almost angrily, "I'm not white, I am Russian".

Same goes for being black, which personally, I don't think is quite as definitive as the old 'negro' label, derived from the Latin term for dark or black. Yes, nowadays black seems to be more of a cultural state of mind than a appropriate definition for what has become more ethnicity than race. And there are certainly rappers who identify more closely with the rap [black] culture than what their own community would expect. And some people with prominent anglo features and complexion now opt for referring to themselves as either white or of mixed race. I have often wondered with all the negative stigma attached to being merely Afro American in this country, if many especially younger people, are emerging as ashamed of being regarded as just another black person. And speaking of Russian, I also have a very good friend who prefers his Russian background over being American white.