What is your identity? Are you defined by where you are born or what race you are? These questions seem to be ever present in the everyday lives of Latinxs. What we eat, how we speak, who are family is. This may used to define who we are as individuals, but can you place a label on someone who derives from a place with such diverse and complicated history? Latin America is a geographical term used to describe a place that was colonized by the Spanish, Portugese, and to a lesser extent, the French. So does that mean we identify as people who were once colonized? The answer is sometimes confusing and never simple. I will attempt to tackle these questions and more through the various opinions and experiences I have read and heard so far.
First, there is the ever present question of, Hispanic or Latino? In his comic, “You Say Latino”, Terry Blas explains that he considers himself both a Hispanic and Latino man. He explains that his mother once told him he should not identify as Mexican because he was not born in Mexico yet he identified more with Mexico than with the U.S. He went on to explain the meaning of Latino vs. Hispanic and how they are not interchangeable. This means that you may be both or just one, but if you are just Latino…show more content… As Hondagneu-Sotelo and Thompson-Hernandez address in their article “Latino Identity in South Los Angeles – Across the Generations,” many people who immigrate from Latin America may bring with them an Anti-Black point of view that creates a divide between the two communities. They also stated that the newer generation is crossing this divide because African-American and Latinxs are co-habitating thanks to school and their ability to communicate through English. I think that this communication is especially beneficial Afro-Latinx youth who may not have embraced their Black side and can learn from their African-American friends or
