Question about ethnicity in the US

[gaggedLouise]

Odelay =)

-meaning "Listen up, Doc?"  ;)

[Ascia]

-meaning "Listen up, Doc?"  ;)

Yep!

[Dhi]

Jessica Alba is a hard one to label, part Mexican, part French, part Danish and if I read it correctly possibly part Thai

Do you remember where it was you read this?

[Serephino]

What do you say you are when you are a mix of things?  I'm German, English, Irish, and French.  All in all, I'm mixed Caucasian.  But, I have a friend who is Mexican, Cuban, Native American, and British.  He says he's an American mutt.  People assume he's Latino because of his appearance.   

[Rogue]

Personally, Latino is the culture. I'm mostly Mexican. I sure as hell put Hispanic on any thing asking me for Race because minorities get more things, and my last name screams it. On the other hand, the only thing Latina about me is my mad hunger for Mexican foods and love of the music.

I'm not Family centric like most Latinas are and I'm not a party girl, and the languages that come out of my mouth when I'm angry at work are a bastardized mix between Japanese, Korean, and Mexican (I only say Mexican because the slang from different countries is different. It's all spanish, but call a Puerto Rico a Bendeho (?) and they'll think your cursing at them while to Mexican's the connotation is less extreme. (Goes from Dumbass to Stupid).)

That's my take on it at least.

[Ascia]

On the other hand, the only thing Latina about me is my mad hunger for Mexican foods and love of the music.

YES!

My own mother used to call me 'her little coconut.'

(Brown on the outside, white on the inside, for those who don't know.)

[Oniya]

One of my friends was adopted from Germany by a Native American family, and was virtually raised by his adoptive mother's mother, who was very traditional.  In a bit of a cross-cultural joke, we (including him) came up with the term 'jelly doughnut' - not only the idea of 'pale on the outside, red on the inside', but also from the fact that in German, 'Berliner' can refer to both a native of Berlin and the aforementioned pastry.  (Gotta watch that when you're ordering hamburgers and frankfurters, too.)

[gaggedLouise]

One of my friends was adopted from Germany by a Native American family, and was virtually raised by his adoptive mother's mother, who was very traditional.  In a bit of a cross-cultural joke, we (including him) came up with the term 'jelly doughnut' - not only the idea of 'pale on the outside, red on the inside', but also from the fact that in German, 'Berliner' can refer to both a native of Berlin and the aforementioned pastry.  (Gotta watch that when you're ordering hamburgers and frankfurters, too.)

"Race: Indian-German. Hell of a combination."

(from Rambo II, officer going over John Rambo's file)

All the folks in this one are either Mexican, Caribbean or Black American. All I know is: what a superb groove and what a brilliant percussion/rhythm section:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0lQzTf1YPQ

[Deamonbane]

It's an interesting question to poise... would people from Argentina be considered Latino, even though they 80% white or Native American? Would people from Colombia and Ecuador be considered Latino, even though the population is mainly of African descent? Would a Brazilian such as myself be considered a Latino even though... well, dammit, we come from just about anywhere, from Germany, to Norway, to Russia, to Japan?

Latino comes from Latin, obviously, which means that the original Latinos would be Italians, then moving on to the Spanish, then the Portuguese, and from there... well, damn, there's a whole lot of places that the Spanish went after that.

[meikle]

It's an interesting question to poise... would people from Argentina be considered Latino, even though they 80% white or Native American?

I think most people in Latin America are of white or Native American descent, don't you think?  Latino/a just describes people with Latin American heritage, as I understand it, which is less racial and more cultural?

[Deamonbane]

Latino, by the name, should indicate the origin on their language being from Latin, shouldn't it? I mean... Brazilian Culture differs from that of Chile, and of Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico... all these 'Latin' countries all have very different cultures...

[Rogue]

YES!

My own mother used to call me 'her little coconut.'

(Brown on the outside, white on the inside, for those who don't know.)

My Abuelo calls me whetita (little white girl misspelled *laughs*)

It's an interesting question to poise... would people from Argentina be considered Latino, even though they 80% white or Native American? Would people from Colombia and Ecuador be considered Latino, even though the population is mainly of African descent? Would a Brazilian such as myself be considered a Latino even though... well, dammit, we come from just about anywhere, from Germany, to Norway, to Russia, to Japan?

Latino comes from Latin, obviously, which means that the original Latinos would be Italians, then moving on to the Spanish, then the Portuguese, and from there... well, damn, there's a whole lot of places that the Spanish went after that.

Brasil is an interesting case.... Since they're Portuguese and not Spanish... I'm not sure on Argentina, but I think one of my co-worker's families is from there and she's definitely latina, even though she looks more black than anything.