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Most Mexicans are not even of Spanish heritage, but rather Indian (as in Incan or Peruvian). So, among other things, it's inaccurate and dishonest even on a genealogical level. I can see where they might want to distance themselves from all the controversy currently associated with Mexicans, but it is what it is.
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AquaDulce, in your OP you stated your co-worker is Germanic, referring to a branch of her family that is Mexican as "Spanish". She stated they liked to be called that.
My guess is, she likes to call them that. In my observation, bigoted white people sometimes refer to Mexicans as Spanish because they view the term "Mexican" as a racial slur, or a negative title.
I only know this because in college I roomed with a Mexican girl for 4 years, and witnessed her being called Spanish by bigots who thought they were being . . . inclusive/flattering/not willing to call her a slur. Kind of funny really.
The Mexican population is huge here of course. Many Mexican Americans have been here for generations . Although there was a big increase in population in more relative recent history .
I noticed in Florida though a lot of the more old school Mexican restaurants will say they serve Mexican and Spanish food .. kind of weird since the foods aren’t similar .
My friend, whose parents are from Mexico, also says he is Spanish. He is of Spanish Ancestry, is what he means. Not Spanish Nationality. Like if I say I am Irish, I don't mean I am a citizen of Ireland.
Yes, this is what it’s about. They are trying to make clear that they are not indigenous, though they likely have some indigenous blood.
This is also a big thing in Central America where there is a racial pecking order that Americans are not comfortable acknowledging— the whiter you are, the higher up the social spectrum.
Most Mexicans are not even of Spanish heritage, but rather Indian (as in Incan or Peruvian). So, among other things, it's inaccurate and dishonest even on a genealogical level. I can see where they might want to distance themselves from all the controversy currently associated with Mexicans, but it is what it is.
The Inca live in South America, the Mayans in Central America and southern Mexico, and the Aztecs in Mexico.
Are they from Florida? To my understanding it's common for people there to refer to Latinos as "Spanish" but less so than New York.
I have no idea, but they were Whites. Cuba has always had a two tier society based upon race. Just look at their leaders including the Castro brothers.
Most Mexicans are not even of Spanish heritage, but rather Indian (as in Incan or Peruvian). So, among other things, it's inaccurate and dishonest even on a genealogical level. I can see where they might want to distance themselves from all the controversy currently associated with Mexicans, but it is what it is.
Genetic research in the Mexican population is numerous and has yielded a myriad of different results, it is not rare that different genetic studies done in the same location vary greatly, clear examples of said variation are the city of Monterrey in the state of Nuevo León, which, depending of the study presents an average European ancestry ranging from 38%[34] to 78%,[35] and Mexico City, whose European admixture ranges from as little as 21%[36] to 70%,[37] reasons behind such variation may include the socioeconomic background of the analyzed samples[37] as well as the criteria to recruit volunteers: some studies only analyze Mexicans who self-identify as Mestizos,[38] others may classify the entire Mexican population as "mestizo",[39] other studies may do both, such as the 2009 genetic study published by the INMEGEN (Mexico's National Institute of Genomic Medicine), which states that 93% of the Mexican population is Mestizo with the remaining population being Amerindian, however, for the aforementioned study the institute only recruited people who explicitly self-identified as mestizos.[40] Finally there are studies which avoid using any racial classification whatsoever, including in them any person who self-identifies as Mexican; these studies are the ones that usually report the highest European admixture for a given location.[41]
Regardless of the criteria used, all the autosomal DNA studies made coincide on there being a significant genetic variation depending of the region analyzed, with southern Mexico having prevalent Amerindian and small but higher than average African genetic contributions, the central region of Mexico shows a balance between Amerindian and European components,[42] with the later gradually increasing as one travels northwards and westwards, where European ancestry becomes the majority of the genetic contribution[43] up until cities located in the Mexico-United States border, where studies suggest there is a significant resurgence of Amerindian and African admixture.[44]
To date, no genetic research focusing on Mexicans of complete or predominant European ancestry has been made.
A 2014 publication summarizing population genetics research in Mexico, including three nationwide surveys and several region-specific surveys, found that in the studies done to date, counting only studies that looked at the ancestry of both parents (autosomal ancestry): "Amerindian ancestry is most prevalent (51% to 56%) in the three general estimates, followed by European ancestry (40% to 45%); the African share represents only 2% to 5%. In Mexico City, the European contribution was estimated as 21% to 32% in six of the seven reports, with the anomalous value of 57% obtained in a single sample of 19 subjects. European ancestry is most prevalent in the north (Chihuahua, 50%; Sonora, 62%; Nuevo León, 55%), but in a recent sample from Nuevo León and elsewhere in the country, Amerindian ancestry is dominant."[45]
A 2006 nationwide autosomal study, the first ever conducted by Mexico's National Institute of Genomic Medicine (INMEGEN), which included the states of Guerrero, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Yucatan, Zacatecas and Sonora reported that self-identified Mestizo Mexicans are 58.96% European, 35.05% "Asian" (primarily Amerindian), and 5.03% Other.[38]
An autosomal ancestry study performed on Mexico city reported that the European ancestry of Mexicans was 52% with the rest being Amerindian and a small African contribution, additionally maternal ancestry was analyzed, with 47% being of European origin. The only criteria for sample selection was that the volunteers self-identified as Mexicans.[41]
Last edited by BlackberryMerlot; 02-28-2018 at 11:15 AM..
I have met some people who will refer to themselves as Spanish, rather than Mexican, because they want to be know as having European heritage, & not Native Mexican. Under the current racist climate I can understand it. I don't care what they call themselves.
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