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But who cares if they are mestizos? Spanish are mestizos, Americans are even more mestizos because they don't even know what they are. Spanish America was colonized as the Roman Empire, not giving much important to race and recognizing different mixtures.
They are not "mestizos", they are just a very old ethnicity 500 years old, just like the inhabitants of many nations with different races combinations.
They are not like a drunk Dutch married with some Andalusian, that produces a half-breed with no identity.
Yes and in this context mestizo is offensive I believe. People just refer to themselves as Mexico or refer to their complexions/colors. Latin Americans do not call themselves mestizos! This crap comes from foreigners reading outdated encyclopedias.
Mexicans view themselves as a nationality/ethnicity into itself, for example. Symbolically La Malinche and Cortes are the symbolic mother and father of the nation, of a new group/race/ethnicity of people.
Peculiar interest? Why are you in such denial that Latin America doesn't have a European cultural past and present? That is too weird and I don't know how old you are or well traveled you are but I highly doubt you could actually be this in the dark about LatAM today. Most of the Latinos that move to the US are largely migrant workers from poorer areas of Central America and they tend to be largely mestizo, which is why Anglo-Americans assume all Latinos are mestizo and they forget there are millions of Afro-Latinos and White-European Latinos. That's why I knew you had to be from or living in the US to have such a weird view of LatAm.
Trebaruna, are you sure you're Swiss, you really, really read like a young Latino American who has insecurities about being a minority in the US. For you to deny the European influence derived culture of LatAm screams of Chicano, Mecha/Greater Atzlan stuff.
Do you know that people these days do not call themselves mestizos? Even when they talk about having mixed heritage per say, it's not like someone is going to say, "Mestizo, venga a la tiendo conmigo!"
Spain today has a lot of Latino immigrants of ALL races, and Latinos go to Spanish universities to study, and for that matter to other European studies.
The Spanish government prefers latinos mostly because they already have a Hispanic cultural base, so the differences with Spain are not huge and makes it easier for asimilation.
All those migration currents from various Latin American countries to Spain was actually initiated by the Spanish government itself, often via their embassies in various countries spreading rumors claiming Spain was giving easy visas for anyone that applied, and for a while that was true.
This also applies to Guineans from Equatorial Guinea (the only Spanish-speaking country in Africa). While Africans from other parts of the continent are actively turned away by Spanish authorities, those from Equatorial Guinea basically have the red Spanish carpet leading the way to front door that says welcome (or should that be bienvenidos).
The Spanish government did the samething in countries such as Ecuador, Colombia, Dominican Republic; which is why communities from those countries grew so much in such a short period of time.
All these people are given a much easier time getting visas and moving to Spain while, at the same time, Spain does a lot of work to discourage and even to expel certain people such as the Gypsy people. They prefer an Argentinian before a Russian, an Ecuadorian before a Chinese, a Dominican before a Senegalese, a Venezuelan before a Saudi.
Also, a the level of the common people, southern Spaniards tend to be more welcoming to latinos in general than northern Spaniards. In the north of Spain the racial attitudes more common to Northern Europe tend to have a greater presence. This is a generalization, but it's based on an underlying truth. As a curiosity, the bulk of the Spaniards that moved to Latin America, especially in colonial times, were mostly from southern Spain and the Canary Islands. This means that the Spanish blood in the typical Latin American mestizo/mulatto is often from those southern regions of Spain.
The Spanish government prefers latinos mostly because they already have a Hispanic cultural base, so the differences with Spain are not huge and makes it easier for asimilation.
I bet most posters have no idea what that is though some are so very knowledgeable about European culture to say without a doubt it is very similar to Latin America's.
So Erasmus is a program allowing and facilitating student exchanges between European universities.
The Spanish government doesn't prefer Latinos, it prefers Europeans if anything. EU citizens can just move, work and study there without having to through any bureaucratic procedure. The same doesn't apply to Latin Americans unless they are EU passport holders, but that's a whole different story.
Also, Spanish government doesn't unroll the red carpet for Latinos, nor anyone else except for millionaires. For what I know, Ecuadorians are not exactly the flavor of the month in Spain. At the same time why would they be? I've seen cases of Italo-Argentines moving to Italy and Brazilians moving to Portugal consciously or not expecting a special treatment because of their ancestry. Needless to say that they were in for a shock.
Spain today has a lot of Latino immigrants of ALL races, and Latinos go to Spanish universities to study, and for that matter to other European studies.
Yes I figured as much. There are exchanges all the time between Latinos and Spain, Italy and Germany. I don't get why it's so hard for people to imagine that Latinos could mesh well with European cultures, probably because their cultures are partly Euro derived.
I bet most posters have no idea what that is though some are so very knowledgeable about European culture to say without a doubt it is very similar to Latin America's.
So Erasmus is a program allowing and facilitating student exchanges between European universities.
The Spanish government doesn't prefer Latinos, it prefers Europeans if anything. EU citizens can just move, work and study there without having to through any bureaucratic procedure. The same doesn't apply to Latin Americans unless they are EU passport holders, but that's a whole different story.
Also, Spanish government doesn't unroll the red carpet for Latinos, nor anyone else except for millionaires. For what I know, Ecuadorians are not exactly the flavor of the month in Spain. At the same time why would they be? I've seen cases of Italo-Argentines moving to Italy and Brazilians moving to Portugal consciously or not expecting a special treatment because of their ancestry. Needless to say that they were in for a shock.
Such baloney. Seriously, the only people so adamant to erase the European roots of LatAM are Chicano/Mecha/Aztlan protestors or Neo-Nazis. This is getting to be ridiculous how your reading comprehension isn't up to par with the rest of the posters.
I am sure the poster meant that the Spanish government prefers Latinos to other non-European immigrants. If not, it's not as though Spaniards hate Latinos, some might, some might not, it all depends on their outlook but the point is that you cannot deny the part European roots of LatAM.
All your examples or arguments to the contrary are grasping at straws.
With your last comment I am starting to lean towards the idea that you might be a supremacist, because why would you expect Italo-Argentines to think they need special treatment? Is it because you're sure that Italians won't view them and shouldn't view them as properly Italian?
I bet most posters have no idea what that is though some are so very knowledgeable about European culture to say without a doubt it is very similar to Latin America's.
So Erasmus is a program allowing and facilitating student exchanges between European universities.
The Spanish government doesn't prefer Latinos, it prefers Europeans if anything. EU citizens can just move, work and study there without having to through any bureaucratic procedure. The same doesn't apply to Latin Americans unless they are EU passport holders, but that's a whole different story.
Also, Spanish government doesn't unroll the red carpet for Latinos, nor anyone else except for millionaires. For what I know, Ecuadorians are not exactly the flavor of the month in Spain. At the same time why would they be? I've seen cases of Italo-Argentines moving to Italy and Brazilians moving to Portugal consciously or not expecting a special treatment because of their ancestry. Needless to say that they were in for a shock.
Spain is part of the European Union and a part of that membership is free movement of EU citizens. Spain has no control over that (and neither does any other EU member country), but it does controls who enters Spain from other countries (direct entry, because non-EU foreigners that enter through other countries once inside the EU can move around those countries with virtually no controls). Spain prefers Latin Americans over anyone else.
Also, relationship between Spain and Spanish American countries is very strong. The Spanish king even makes it a case of pride to attend every presidential inauguration in every single Spanish American country. That's something no other European leader does with all of their former colonies. Spain also has very strong investments in Latin America, to the point Spain often figures among the top 5 foreign investors for almost every single Spanish American country. When Spaniards opt to leave Spain in search of professional/business opportunities/experience, outside the EU its Spanish American countries that top the list. Countries such as Peru, Mexico, Chile among others have recently seen a notable upsurge in Spanish immigration. Uruguay is popular among Spanish retirees. In the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic is a popular destination for Spaniards wanting to start businesses, but once Cuba becomes more capitalistic Havanna will surpass Santo Domingo in terms of having the greatest concentration of Spaniards in the Caribbean. Mexico has always been a popular option too, especially Mexico City. Panama also is within the radar of the Spaniards looking abroad to expand their horizons, and I think once the old image of violence that Colombia has is replaced with a more realistic image, that country will also become a favorite among Spaniards. Even Brazil is a hot spot for Spanish immigration, especially in Sao Paulo.
Another tell tale sign of Spain's sympathies with Spanish America is that Spain almost always gives political support to most Spanish American countries whenever they find themselves in some sort of international scandal (the exception is Venezuela, but that country is falling apart due to the incompetence of their leadership). The Spanish ambassadors are almost always the first diplomats to publicly say that Spain fully support the country in whatever international scandal it finds itself in.
The usage of formal Spanish as a language is still controlled by the Real Academia de la Lengua Española, which is based in Madrid. They have chapters in every single Spanish American country that often take into account the different dialects in the region, but the final decisions on what is proper Spanish is made in Madrid. The fact that Spain sees the importance of maintaining its language alive in Spanish America I think says a lot about the importance and preference Spain has for the region.
The most important universities in Spain have strong ties and collaboration with the most important universities of every single Spanish American country. Sometimes this collaboration is so intense, that students in various Latin American universities can actually graduate with a diploma not just from their university, but at the same time they get a diploma from a Spanish university too. That gives even greater credence to the quality of the education received, often making the newly graduated student highly demanded in international markets, often with very juicy wages/salaries by international standards. It also allows the Latin American professionals with these double degrees to move to Spain and immediately begin exercising their profession without extra testing or requirements.
I'm going to stop because I don't have time to keep bringing to light what the Spain-Latin America relation truly entails.
Spain is part of the European Union and a part of that membership is free movement of EU citizens. Spain has no control over that (and neither does any other EU member country), but it does controls who enters Spain from other countries (direct entry, because non-EU foreigners that enter through other countries once inside the EU can move around those countries with virtually no controls). Spain prefers Latin Americans over anyone else.
Also, relationship between Spain and Spanish American countries is very strong. The Spanish king even makes it a case of pride to attend every presidential inauguration in every single Spanish American country. That's something no other European leader does with all of their former colonies. Spain also has very strong investments in Latin America, to the point Spain often figures among the top 5 foreign investors for almost every single Spanish American country. When Spaniards opt to leave Spain in search of professional/business opportunities/experience, outside the EU its Spanish American countries that top the list. Countries such as Peru, Mexico, Chile among others have recently seen a notable upsurge in Spanish immigration. Uruguay is popular among Spanish retirees. In the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic is a popular destination for Spaniards wanting to start businesses, but once Cuba becomes more capitalistic Havanna will surpass Santo Domingo in terms of having the greatest concentration of Spaniards in the Caribbean. Mexico has always been a popular option too, especially Mexico City. Panama also is within the radar of the Spaniards looking abroad to expand their horizons, and I think once the old image of violence that Colombia has is replaced with a more realistic image, that country will also become a favorite among Spaniards. Even Brazil is a hot spot for Spanish immigration, especially in Sao Paulo.
Another tell tale sign of Spain's sympathies with Spanish America is that Spain almost always gives political support to most Spanish American countries whenever they find themselves in some sort of international scandal (the exception is Venezuela, but that country is falling apart due to the incompetence of their leadership). The Spanish ambassadors are almost always the first diplomats to publicly say that Spain fully support the country in whatever international scandal it finds itself in.
The usage of formal Spanish as a language is still controlled by the Real Academia de la Lengua Española, which is based in Madrid. They have chapters in every single Spanish American country that often take into account the different dialects in the region, but the final decisions on what is proper Spanish is made in Madrid. The fact that Spain sees the importance of maintaining its language alive in Spanish America I think says a lot about the importance and preference Spain has for the region.
The most important universities in Spain have strong ties and collaboration with the most important universities of every single Spanish American country. Sometimes this collaboration is so intense, that students in various Latin American universities can actually graduate with a diploma not just from their university, but at the same time they get a diploma from a Spanish university too. That gives even greater credence to the quality of the education received, often making the newly graduated student highly demanded in international markets, often with very juicy wages/salaries by international standards. It also allows the Latin American professionals with these double degrees to move to Spain and immediately begin exercising their profession without extra testing or requirements.
I'm going to stop because I don't have time to keep bringing to light what the Spain-Latin America relation truly entails.
Spain also has a lot of African, Middle Eastern, and Asian immigrants so I am not sure they prefer Latin Americans. With that said about the cultural and academic ties, yes they are indeed there.
Yes and in this context mestizo is offensive I believe. People just refer to themselves as Mexico or refer to their complexions/colors. Latin Americans do not call themselves mestizos! This crap comes from foreigners reading outdated encyclopedias.
Mexicans view themselves as a nationality/ethnicity into itself, for example. Symbolically La Malinche and Cortes are the symbolic mother and father of the nation, of a new group/race/ethnicity of people.
In a study that was done in Spain to detect the attitudes of the Spaniards towards the foreigners, when the average Spaniard was asked what type of foreigners they trust the most, the Spaniards overwhelmingly trust Larin Americans and Sub-Saharan Africans more than any other groups.
An important percentage of African immigrants in Spain are from Equatorial Guinea, the only Spanish-speaking country in Africa.
Keep in mind that the question pertains the MOST LEVEL OF TRUST they feel towards the different immigrant groups. I'm sure at more moderate levels of trust Latin Americans lead the ranking too.
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