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Yea I might have middle eastern and jewish, I mean if you go to Spain many of them have that look especially in the South. And funny you say my sister looks more Mestizo, most of my friends always tell me she looks more white. I guess it is really hard to tell just by looks. Different people will have different opinions.
Well, the kid asked and people gave their opinion. It's an interesting topic to many of us.
Not only that, the OP asked with an appropriate tone and a respectful approach to the matter. There's no harm in wondering about your ancestors; it is part of one's identity after all. Some people are so sensitive about the issue of race that they just freak out as soon as it's broached.
What part of Spain are your ancestors from? What most folks don't realize (even in Mexico or Spain, but especially here in the US) is that Spain itself is an incredibly diverse place historically. People from many parts of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East have lived in the Iberian Peninsula for thousands of years. Celts, Romans, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Berbers, Visigoths, etc. Many Spaniards that came to the Americas were from Andalucía, where Muslims, Jews and Christian Spaniards coexisted for over 800 years.
When you add to that the great diversity of Indigenous peoples in what is now considered Mexico, as well as significant Black and Chinese populations (which very few people are aware of), and you have one heck of a melting pot. For example, Chinese people have inhabited Mexico since the 1580s! They came over on the Manila Galleon and were merchants in Acapulco. New Spain (as Mexico was called then) was a gateway to the Atlantic and Pacific, as the Spanish Empire expanded throughout the 16th Century. Another wave of Chinese came to build the railroads of Mexico in later centuries.
I agree with other posters, you have a good looking family. If I were you, I'd take pride in having a very diverse genetic makeup, with an intriguing ancestry.
Very good point about Spain's diversity. My moms side of the family came from Galicia and that I did more research that explain why her side of the family has many people with green/blue eyes and dirty blond hair. My dads side came from Andalucia from what I have been told.
Not only that, the OP asked with an appropriate tone and a respectful approach to the matter. There's no harm in wondering about your ancestors; it is part of one's identity after all. Some people are so sensitive about the issue of race that they just freak out as soon as it's broached.
Thank you! I by no means wanted to offend anyone. As unimportant as it may be in today's society, it's still something that I think most people are curious about.
Thanks everyone. Yea the label is completely irrelevant and of no importance but I was just curious and thought it would be fun to try to find out. Especially since people always don't believe my family is Mexican. I know my ancestors came to Mexico in the 1700's from Spain according to my grandparents. I asked if they knew of any Native American ancestor and they all told me they knew of none that our families had intermarried with other families from Spain. I don't know how much I buy that, which is why I asked on here.
Seriously anybody who think you guys don't look like Mexicans must not know that many Mexicans besides the landscape guy that cuts their lawn. It's not like you guys would stand out in Mexico as foreigns. You probably shouldn't put a lot of value on the opinion of ignorant people.
You could visit any place from Tijuana all the way to La Patagonia and your family would blend with the locals. If you are really interested about your heritage then do the homework because what you will get here is a bunch of uninformed opinions from people who might not know more than 2 or 3 Mexicans.
Seriously anybody who think you guys don't look like Mexicans must not know that many Mexicans besides the landscape guy that cuts their lawn. It's not like you guys would stand out in Mexico as foreigns. You probably shouldn't put a lot of value on the opinion of ignorant people.
You could visit any place from Tijuana all the way to La Patagonia and your family would blend with the locals. If you are really interested about your heritage then do the homework because what you will get here is a bunch of uninformed opinions from people who might not know more than 2 or 3 Mexicans.
I agree.
Today a new cuban coworker was ranting about how much he and his family hate Mexicans. I sat there and listened and when he finished I said "IM MEXICAN!!" (well american but of mexican ancestry)
He was shocked I wasn't middle eastern and didn't really believe I was Mexican.
Obviously this guy knows nothing about Mexico or Mexicans.
& this is not the first time I've had something like this happen to me.
Some Israeli guy made a nasty facial expression to me once after he found out I wasn't Israeli but Mexican..lol
As others have stated Mexico/Mexicans are a lot more diverse than the general public believes, even a lot of Mexicans themselves don't know it.
Thank you! I by no means wanted to offend anyone. As unimportant as it may be in today's society, it's still something that I think most people are curious about.
Its very interesting!
I began investigating about myself and my past the minute some girl asked me if I was Italian at age 8.
There's a lot of research to be done and if anything it'll leave you with even more questions than answers.
I unfortunately cannot trace which region from Spain my ancestors came from as all the records in my town were destroyed, it broke my heart.
Seriously anybody who think you guys don't look like Mexicans must not know that many Mexicans besides the landscape guy that cuts their lawn. It's not like you guys would stand out in Mexico as foreigns. You probably shouldn't put a lot of value on the opinion of ignorant people.
You could visit any place from Tijuana all the way to La Patagonia and your family would blend with the locals. If you are really interested about your heritage then do the homework because what you will get here is a bunch of uninformed opinions from people who might not know more than 2 or 3 Mexicans.
Most of the posters here that said his family looked white are obviously not Latin American or Spanish lol. I am, and I knew right away he was mixed. I don't look only at skin color unlike Americans, I look at the face, too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Avex
Its very interesting!
I began investigating about myself and my past the minute some girl asked me if I was Italian at age 8.
There's a lot of research to be done and if anything it'll leave you with even more questions than answers.
I unfortunately cannot trace which region from Spain my ancestors came from as all the records in my town were destroyed, it broke my heart.
Im having a hard time tracing which region mine came from as well. Rumor from my grandparents is that most of my ancestry came from Galicia from my dad's side, and my mother's side from Andalucía
Euro-mestizo= predominantly european with some native contribution
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It's an interesting topic to many of us.
