Mes de la Herencia Hispana

Hispanic, Latino or Chicano?

Hispanic

The term Hispanic, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, refers to Spanish-speaking people in the United States of any race. On the 2000 Census form, people of Spanish/Hispanic/Latino origin could identify themselves as Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, or "other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino." More than 35 million people identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino on the 2000 Census. (http://www.factmonster.com/spot/hhm1.html)

Latino

This term is used to refer to people originating from, or having a heritage related to, Latin America, in recognition of the fact that this set of people is actually a superset of many nationalities. Since the term "Latin" comes into use as the least common denominator for all peoples of Latin America in recognition of the fact that some romance language (Spanish, Portuguese, French) is the native tongue of the majority of Latin Americans, this term is widely accepted by most. However, the term is not appropriate for the millions of native Americans who inhabit the region (http://www.azteca.net/aztec/chicano.html).

Also refers to someone from the geographical area of Latin America, Central America, North America, South America, West Indies where Spanish, Portuguese and French are spoken; excluding the United States , Canada and the British possessions. (http://www.layouth.com/11_4_27.htm )

Chicano

A relatively recent term that has been appropriated by many Mexican descendants as unique and therefore reflective of their unique culture, though its first usage seems to have been discriminatory. (http://www.azteca.net/aztec/chicano.html).

Also, thought to be the result of a phonetic misspelling. The person could be a U. S. citizen or a person of Mexican descent who is now living in the United States.