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I think people now days talk more about their heritage than in the past. Before if someone had a german or italian last name, they would just say some people in their family came from those countries. Now it seems people spend more time researching their ancestry and they try to identify with those cultures.
The other day I was at Costco and this Argentinian woman was telling her children that they were not hispanics, they were Argentinians and Europeans. Apparently Argentina is now in Europe. Unfortunatelly for her Europeans don't share her sense of geography. Any American hispanic is a South American even if he comes from Mexico or Cuba or if he can trace all of their 4 grandfathers back to Spain.
Maybe human beings are going backwards with all this ancestry research. Before you were just you, now you are your ancentry. Instead of being German because you know and identify yourself with that culture, you are german because your grandmother's great granmother (someone you never saw) lived in Germany.
I think Argies have an identity crisis when they come to the states, but it is also because Americans have a very generic Latino/Hispanic box that they want to put everyone in. I think this is is why they reject these terms. I have some great stories related to this.
I worked with an Argentinean professor in grad school who upon arrival to the U.S. studied at a university in Illinois. At the orientation he was placed at the 'Latino' table with other U.S. born/foreign born Latin Americans. Growing up in Argentina, he didn't grow up relating to being a Latino or Latin American so it really confused him. He said he had to get used to being put in that category and identifying with it.
Also in grad school, I dated an Argentine of Italian heritage. We were at a party and they started playing salsa music. An American girl told him- "oh for sure you know how to dance to this better than White people since you are Latino!" He had only been here for a few months so he was really confused, since he considered himself White and had never really danced to salsa music.
Because of these and other incidents, I can understand why some Latin Americans would not relate to the term.
Last edited by rosa surf; 07-20-2014 at 07:44 PM..
What I got out of that was, the lady said they were European meaning by racial ancestry, not that she necessarily thought that Argentina was part of Europe. Also Mexico is in North America so how are they South Americans?
Also Mexico is in North America so how are they South Americans?
It's an inside joke. Many ignorant Spaniards call all Latin Americans "South Americans" or even worse, a pejorative word derive from "South American"
For the more educated Spaniards we are all Latin Americans. They don't really care about your heritage or percentage of white genes. You are NOT one of them.
These guys are from Chile but this pretty much sums it up:
I noticed it only bothers people when white Americans do it.
If a 'Korean' does it, even if their families have been here for many generations, no one in the family speaks Korean, never been there...It's no big deal. People will even ask Asian-Americans "What are you?".
They'll ask a brown skin person from Iowa.."What are you, like Mexican, Cuban, what?"
But if a person is from an Irish family..."Durrr Do you think if you went to Ireland, they'd see you as Irish? No, You're just American."
Technically, I'm of Irish and German descent, however because I'm like 4th generation, I just say "I'm white" unless specifically asked what my ethnic background is. . I don't actually speak German or hold any Irish cultural ties whatsoever. . So, I dont go around identifying myself as Irish or German, however my last name is an Irish one.
I am also not trying to knock on anyone from the United States for doing this. I realize that it is kind of part of the culture to talk like that. I also realize that I'm kind of the oddball out to kind of wonder about it. My grandparents immigrated here from Brasil right before my mom was born but I don't call myself Brasilian-American.
Again, I am not trying to knock on people for saying these things, just wondering other people's thoughts.
If you don't consider yourself Brasilian-American, than you must not identify in any way with your Brazilian side.
It's basically 'Identity' and 'Self-Identify'.
Each and every American chooses how they wish to define and identify themselves. Sometimes even siblings will completely define and identify each respective self differently, despite being in the same family.
I don't find it unusual or strange at all. 'Self-Identity' is just that.
Where I grew up, you could walk into a house while the family was out and have a pretty good guess at the country where the parents or grandparents of the children who lived there came from. Especially if you looked in the refrigerator.
Italian-American homes were decorated differently from Irish-American homes from African-American homes, from Anglo-American homes, etc.
In my own home you would see my mom's knitting and the distinctive Norwegian sweater patterns, rosemale bowls, Norwegian language magazines (and my Dad's German newspapers) and a fridge full of cod, kjottkaker, and Jarlsberg. Yeah, there were hot dogs and fishsticks in there too :-)
If you don't consider yourself Brasilian-American, than you must not identify in any way with your Brazilian side.
It's basically 'Identity' and 'Self-Identify'.
Each and every American chooses how they wish to define and identify themselves. Sometimes even siblings will completely define and identify each respective self differently, despite being in the same family.
I don't find it unusual or strange at all. 'Self-Identity' is just that.
Agree 100% with this.
We each have very unique experiences and we decide how to define ourselves based on those experiences.
It's an inside joke. Many ignorant Spaniards call all Latin Americans "South Americans" or even worse, a pejorative word derive from "South American"
For the more educated Spaniards we are all Latin Americans. They don't really care about your heritage or percentage of white genes. You are NOT one of them.
These guys are from Chile but this pretty much sums it up:
Yes, which makes it silly when Latin Americans go running around bragging about their Spanish/European heritage/relatives. It is actually quite pathetic IMO.
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