It’s Hispanic Heritage Month: Am I Hispanic or Latino?

First of all, there’s no “Latinx Heritage Month,” thanks to the term Latine, we’re all but *done using the term Latinx. However, we are right around the corner from Hispanic Heritage Month 2022, which is also starting to be more widely known as “Latino Heritage Month” by many who want to emphasize or differentiate between being Hispanic and being Latino. But, for many of us, it’s kind of a mystery what the difference is, because it goes beyond just the language and the technical definitions of “Hispanic” and “Latino” and we are having to take into account the cultural implications of both of these terms and their connotations in context outside of just their literal dictionary meaning. That’s why it’s important to go beyond the actual definitions and look into the community meanings of these terms. Now, let’s get into it, how do you know what you are? 

Am I Hispanic or Latino? 

Let’s start with the official definitions of the terms to see if this helps us figure out what we are in terms of picking between the two. Remember, there are other things to take into account, the most important of which is how you choose to identify this aspect of yourself. This is where the little asterisk to being “done” with Latinx comes into play because there are still countless people who choose to identify themselves as Latinx people, and given the rules of being respectful to eachother, let’s go ahead and not correct anyone on how they choose to identify themselves. Also, keep in mind for millions the answer to “Am I Hispanic or Latino?” could also present a false premise because there are millions who are both Hispanic and Latino! 

So, let’s get to the definitions. 

Definition of Hispanic: 

So, here’s the thing. It’s murky water here because there are several different ways the term Hispanic is defined, and they all have different connotations. The most prominent have in common that Hispanic has to do with those who speak Spanish and or have cultural origins relating to Spain. This is how they have it on the Wikipedia page for “Hispanic” 

The term Hispanic (Spanish: hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.

The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties formerly part of the Spanish Empire following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, parts of the Asia-Pacific region and Africa.

In this definition of “Hispanic” the emphasis on a “historical link to Spain” is where things such as the Spanish language come into play. This is what motivates people to identify themselves as Hispanic if they come from countries in Latin America, or have ancestry from Latin American countries where Spanish is the dominant language. This understanding of “Hispanic” is what many use to refer to when they try to exclude Brazilians from identifying themselves as Hispanic because in Brazil, Portuguese is the dominant language. 

For those living in the United States, hollar, the term Hispanic has been defined more by how it’s been used in context. For example traditionally in media, when we talk about “Hispanic Media” it’s well understood to mean that language used in that media is Spanish, whereas others like LATV (here’s our chance to shout ourselves out), since we are not primarily in Spanish, we choose to use the term Latino. This understanding also has some history to it. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, when they are trying to differentiate between groups of people they ascribe the following description to what they mean when they use the term “Hispanic Americans”

‘Hispanic Americans,’ which includes persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, Central or South American, or other Spanish or Portuguese culture or origin, regardless of race;” 

You can see how using this as the motivation for identifying yourself as Hispanic would be inclusive of those who are from Brazil or share some other aspect of Portuguese culture of origin. In fact Wikipedia emphasizes the following in helping to 

“The Spanish language is the main cultural element shared by Hispanic peoples” – Wikipedia

If you are choosing to describe yourself as Hispanic, you’d have great reasoning for it if you have ancestry from a Spanish-speaking country or some link back to Spain or Portugal. Again, if someone corrects you, they’re probably being rude and telling you who to be, so don’t mind that one bit. 

Definition of Latino 

This one is a little more straightforward at least from the clinical definition. Wikipedia cites Dicttionary.com and the American heritage Dictionary of the English Language in summarizing their definitions to be 

The masculine term Latino along with its feminine form Latina, is a noun and adjective, often used in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, that most commonly refers to United States inhabitants who have cultural ties to Latin America.

As you can see, the biggest practical differentiator here is that most people use the term “Hispanic” when referring to people who come from a place or region that Speaks Spanish, while “Latino” emphasizes aspects of culture that go back to Latin America. 

Many people will choose the term Latino over Hispanic as a way to identify themselves because the spreading of the Spanish language to Latin America is a result of violent colonialism while describing an aspect of your identity as having a cultural tie to Latin America in the way that using the term Latino does, is a way to avoid defining yourself in terms of colonization. 

Choosing between Hispanic and Latino 

There are endless debates about how to choose which one suits you best, but taking into account the most general understandings and uses of the terms, you could conclude that most Latinos can be considered Hispanic, but those Hispanics who come from Spain or Portugal and have no link to Latin America, would have a hard dime convincing others that they are Latino. Overall, it’s which vibe feels best for you because after all it’s up to you. For me, I feel best describing myself as either Latino or Latine.