HWH: If you’re confused over who is called Hispanic and who is called Latino you have lots of company. Even those who are Hispanic and/or Latino can’t agree. The comments to this article will leave you even more confused.
Difference between Latin America and Central America
…South America is a geographical entity: the subcontinent or continent south of Central America.
Latin America is a cultural entity: countries in the Americas where a Latin language is spoken (Spanish, Portuguese, French). The geographical notion is very clear: South America ranges from the Panama Isthmus to Cape Horn.
Hispanic vs. Latino: what’s the difference?
AUGUST 7, 2013 by SANDRA FERNANDEZ
176 Comments
Many people use Hispanic and Latino as interchangeable words. They’re not. While there is a huge overlap between the two, they don’t mean the same thing and cannot be used as if they do. This is an easy mistake to make, and I do it myself every once in a while (often from laziness), but it’s important to note the differences.Hispanic refers to language.
Latino refers to geography.Basically, you are Hispanic if you and/or your ancestry come from a country where they speak Spanish. You are Latino if you and/or your ancestry come from a Latin American country.
But wait… isn’t that the same thing?
No, dear friend, it’s not.
Hispanic excludes the nearly 200 million Brazilians who, while accurately labelled Latinos, speak Portuguese. They are Latinos, they are not Hispanic.
Hispanic includes the nearly 50 million Spaniards (population of Spain) who could never be called Latinos.
When picking which one to use you have to know what you’re trying to say. For HispanicHouston.com we used language as the guide, and we ended up with Hispanic instead of Latino. A weird decision if you consider that we also decided not to have the site in Spanish. (But that’s another soapbox for another day.)
So, as a Mexican American, I am Hispanic and Latina. Brazilian Americans are Latinos but not Hispanic. And, Spanish Americans are Hispanic but not Latinos.
Is that clear as mud now?
Finish Reading: Hispanic vs. Latino: what’s the difference? – Hispanic Houston
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