Chicano, Hispanic or Latino? BY THERESE HOLM

Transcription

1 Chicano, Hispanic or Latino? BY THERESE HOLM

2 Pre-reading individual or pair activities: 1 What is the difference between a Chicano, a Latino and a Hispanic? Write down your own definitions and compare your answer to that of your partner. 2 Discuss: What is Latino pop? Do you know the names of any Latino artists and/or writers? Write down some key words about them. 3 What is Spanglish? Write down your answer and compare it to that of your partner. Activity while reading: 4 Underline any word in the text that you do not understand. Afterwards, check with your partner to see if s/he knows the words. They are called Chicanos, Hispanics or Latinos. This group of Spanish-speakers is the largest minority group in the USA, consisting of over 50 million people. But how much do you really know about them? In the summer of 2017, Despacito was everywhere. The Spanish song by American artists Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, featuring Canadian-born Justin Bieber singing in English, became the earworm of the summer. On the radio, in cafés, on the beach - everywhere people were humming and bopping along to the reggaeton-based rhythm, stumbling a bit over the lyrics until it reached the chorus and everyone could happily belt out Deee-spaaa-cito, without really knowing what they were singing. The song even topped the Norwegian charts and stayed in them week after week. 1

3 If people are asked to define a musical genre for songs like Despacito, they are likely to call it Latino pop, meaning music influenced by that of Latin America. Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, two musicians with Latino backgrounds, are not the only people to export Spanish-language Latino pop to the world; in recent years artists like Ricky Martin, Shakira, Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony have all had hits that acknowledge their Latino roots. If you go further back in musical history, you will find bands and artists like Los Lobos and Carlos Santana who had great success world-wide while singing in Spanish, yet these artists are more likely to be called Chicano artists, a label which lead singer of Rage Against The Machine, Zack De La Rocha also identifies with. All of these artists could also be called Hispanic, another term describing Spanish-speaking Americans. So what in fact is the difference between Chicanos, Hispanics and Latinos? Chicano, Hispanic or Latino? The term Chicano is the easiest to explain as it probably comes from the word Mexican and refers to someone who is Mexican-American or whose ancestry is Mexican, like Carlos Santana. When the word first originated it was considered derogatory, but later generations of Mexican-Americans, as well as those influenced by the Chicano movement of the 1960s, have judged the word acceptable. Congress first adopted the term Hispanics in 1976 because of the need for a word that would describe US residents with their origins in a Spanish-speaking country. The word refers to people from Spain and the Spanish-speaking nations of the Americas, in other words, those whose ancestors spoke Spanish. A US citizen originally from any of the countries once colonized by Spain can be considered Hispanic. 2

4 In 1997 the US Government decided the term Latino was also to be used to describe US residents or communities of Latin American origin. The words Hispanic and Latino are often used interchangeably, but there are some situations where only one of them fits. A Spanish person living in the USA, for instance, could be called Hispanic, since she is Spanish speaking, but not Latino. The term Latino can also include people from non-spanish-speaking areas of Latin America, such as Brazil, or Native Americans from Latin American countries. Neither Hispanic nor Latino is to be considered an official race, though. It is often said that Hispanics can be of any race : therefore there are black, white and even Asian Hispanics, as the label simply means someone with origins or family background in Spanish-speaking countries. The United States Census Bureau 1 describes someone of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity as a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race. 2 What do Hispanics or Latinos prefer to call themselves, then? According to a 2012 study by the Pew Research Center 3, 51 percent of the Hispanic people asked said that they would prefer to be identified as coming from their family s country of origin, instead of describing themselves as Hispanic or Latino. In other words, they see themselves as hyphenated Americans, a term used when people place the name of their family s country of origin in front of the word American and connect the two with a hyphen, as in Cuban-American. Some people have pointed out that the terms Latino and Hispanic are misleading, since no Latino or Hispanic nationality exists, because no Latino state exists, so that including various Latin American nationalities under the umbrella term Latino is an overgeneralization and a slight to the various national identities. Even though being described as a Latino is not considered derogatory, it can be perceived as a generic term for all Hispanic cultures, like when people refer to Korean- or Japanese-Americans as Asian. To make matters simple, from now on this article will use the word Latino instead of the word Hispanic to mean a US resident who speaks Spanish and has Latin American roots. Immigration to the US Latinos in the USA thus represent a multitude of national identities, but how come they ended up as the largest group of immigrants in the United States? The answer is complex, but part of it simply lies in the geography of the American continent. In 1821, when Spain was forced to give Mexico its 1 This is the equivalent of Statistisk Sentralbyrå in Norway

5 independence following the Mexican War of Independence, Mexico s territory stretched as far north as California, New Mexico and Texas. When the subsequent Mexican-American war ended in 1848, Mexico had to give up these northern territories, and acknowledge the Rio Grande river as its northern border with the USA. Mexico lost one third of the territory it had had in 1821, and the approximately 80,000 people who had lived in the northern parts of Mexico suddenly found themselves living in the USA. In many ways this can be seen as the start of migration from Latin America to the USA. Beginning in the 1890s, Mexican migrant workers started moving to the USA to work in the mining and agriculture industries, and the Mexican Revolution ( ) increased the flow of migrants. During the first half of the twentieth century, migrants from Latin America to the USA came almost exclusively from Mexico, Puerto Rico and Cuba, but during the second half of the century, immigrants from Central and South America also started arriving in larger numbers 4. Political unrest and the hope of a better future were the two main push-and-pull factors for migrants during this period. Most of these people obtained lawful permanent residence (in other words, they received a green card) through family ties, but as time went by stricter immigration laws and the construction of a physical fence along the Mexican-American border also led to an influx of illegal immigration to the USA. Following the Great 4 4

6 Recession, a period of general economic decline in the late 2000s and early 2010s, Latino population growth has slowed. 5 This is partly due to a decline in immigration from Latin America and partly due to many Mexican immigrants returning to Mexico because of a lack of job opportunities in the USA. USA- Mexico Border Fence Big in numbers but little influence Even so, today people of Latino descent are the largest minority in the United States. A recent census reckons that there are more than 54 million Latino people in the United States, comprising over 17% of the population. An estimated 15 million of these live in California, which is the state with the largest Latino population, followed by Texas and Florida 6. These three states account for more than half of the Latino population. In five US states Arizona, California, Florida, New Mexico and Texas more than 30% of the population is Latino. Even though Latinos make up more than 50 million people out of a population of 320 million, they are not well represented in positions of power in the USA. When Sonia Sotomayor became an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in 2009, she became the first Justice of Latino descent. In the current Senate (November 2017) only

7 four out of a hundred senators are Latinos: Bob Mendez, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio (all of Cuban heritage) and Catherine Cortez Masto (of Mexican origin). Both Cruz and Rubio were campaigning to be nominated the Republican presidential candidate in 2016 against the current President Donald Trump, but were forced to drop out when it became clear that they would not get enough votes to secure the nomination. In the House of Representatives, currently 45 out of 435 members are Latinos, representing 14 different states. This is a high number compared to previous years and perhaps a sign that Latinos are becoming visible in positions of power. Hablas español? As a consequence of the high number of Latinos living in the USA, Spanish is the second most used language in the country, spoken by around 40 million Latino people and an additional 2.6 million non-latinos. The language may in fact be the largest common denominator that Latino people in the USA share. The 2011 National Survey of Latinos (NSL) 7 showed that while nearly nine in ten Latinos say that adult Latino immigrants need to learn English to succeed in the US, 95% of them also believe it is very important (75%) or somewhat important (20%) for future generations of Latinos in the US to be able to speak Spanish. When asked whether Latinos in the US have a common culture, two thirds 7 6

8 of the people asked said that the more than 50 million Latinos in the US have a number of different cultures rather than one common one. The influence of the Spanish language is visible in everyday American life. Place names like California, Florida, Montana, Nevada, Los Angeles and San Francisco all originate from Spanish, as does food vocabulary such as nachos and fajitas. Many Spanish catchphrases have blended into the English language, often through popular culture, such as Hasta la vista and No way, José. There are Spanish-language TV channels to cater for the Spanish-speaking population, as well as a multitude of newspapers and magazines published in Spanish. As for Latino authors, the Norton Anthology of Latino Literature published in 2010 is over 2700 pages long and contains works by 201 Latino writers. The editor of the anthology, Ilan Stevens, says that Latino Literature has come to stay. He also says that while Latino literature often used to focus on the theme of Latinidad what it means to be Latino in the United States today more than ever it is widening its horizons 8 with internationally famous writers such as Sandra Cisneros, Isabel Allende and Junot Diaz leading the way

9 Spanglish The fact that there are so many Spanish speakers in the USA has also led to the development of a new variety of English known as Spanglish. Essentially, Spanglish is a hybrid language that combines words and idioms from both Spanish and English, but often what people tend to do is to code-switch back and forth between the two languages. Sometimes the code-switching can take place within the same sentence, as in Vamos al cine, are you coming with us? or Can you help me find the keys, por favor. In 1998 Puerto Rican author Giannina Braschi even published a novel written entirely in Spanglish, called Yo Yo Boing. What is interesting about Spanglish is that it can be considered a variety of English with prominent use of Spanish or a variety of Spanish with prominent use of English, depending on the speaker. Spanglish tends to borrow lots of words from English and replace the original Spanish words with the new items. Some examples are: English word Spanglish word Standard Spanish application (written request) aplicación solicitud carpet carpeta alfombra, moqueta to check (verify) chequear comprobar, verificar cornflakes konfleis cereal heavy hevi pesado library librería biblioteca to park parquear estacionar, aparcar parking lot el parking estacionamiento party el party fiesta to rent rentar alquilar to type taipear usar los teclados watch out wachale cuidado Similarly, certain elements from Spanish have recently transferred into English as a result of the spread of Spanglish like fashionista, which adds a Spanish suffix to an English word. Another example is the use of el and -o to change a word into a humorous slang word such as el cheapo to mean a cheap product of some kind. Spanglish has also spread to the music scene, and several artists have released songs that contain either a catchphrase or entire parts of the song in Spanish. Perhaps you remember Rhianna s Te Amo, Pitbull and Fifth Harmony s Por favour, Enrique Iglesias Bailamos, Ricky Martin s La Vida 8

10 Loca or Madonna s La Isla Bonita? Or perhaps the chorus from Despacito is still stuck in your mind? Either way, even though Spanglish is not anyone s first language, it is still a strong marker of identity for many Latino Americans. Since Spanglish requires the speaker to have a certain level of competence in both English and Spanish, using it is something that differentiates the speaker from the monolingual English speaker as well as the recently arrived Spanish-speaking immigrant 9. It is when I am at my most comfortable, when I m not having to think about what I am saying, that I mix the two languages, writes lawyer and student Vanessa Lopez 10 when explaining what Spanglish means to her. The rebellious nature of Spanglish and its importance as an identity marker is also what Gloria Anzaldúa discusses in her book Borderlands, when she says Ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity I am my language. Until I can take pride in my language, I cannot take pride in myself 11. While not feeling that they have one common culture, the 54 million Latinos living in the USA at least have strong feelings towards the one thing they do have in common: their language

11 TASKS 1 Check your vocabulary After having read the text, explain the following words / expressions to a partner: Chicano, Latino, Hispanic, hyphenated American, common denominator, Latinidad, code-switching 2 Reflect Finish these four sentences: - This article taught me that - I was surprised to learn that - I think it is interesting that - I would like to know more about 3 True or false? Go back to the paragraphs Chicano, Hispanic or Latino?, Immigration to the US and Big in numbers but little influence. Look at the statements below and decide whether they are true or false. Then find evidence for your answer in the text and write down the evidence on the dotted line. A) A person from Brazil can be called a Latino. True False Evidence:... B) Hispanics or Latinos prefer to be called Latinos. True False Evidence:... C) To call someone Latino or Hispanic may oversimplify his or her heritage. True False Evidence:... True False D) During the 1900s the USA received migrants from only three Latin American countries. 10

12 Evidence:... E) Florida is the state with the largest Hispanic population. True False Evidence:... F) Less than five per cent of the senators in Congress are Latinos. True False Evidence:... G) More than 20 percent of the representatives in Congress are Latinos. True False Evidence:... 4 Thinking further Choose one or more of the questions below and write a short text in which you express your opinion. Alternatively, discuss the questions with a partner and write down some key words to summarize your discussion afterwards. a) The text mentions place names such as California, Florida, Montana, Nevada, Los Angeles and San Francisco as examples of Spanish language influence. What can place names like these tell us about the history of the USA? b) The text mentions that Spanglish speakers often code-switch within a sentence, which means that they switch between Spanish and English. Norwegians, especially young people, tend to do the same kind of code-switching between English and Norwegian. -- Can you give three examples of sentences in which code-switching would be natural for you? -- Why do we use English words in conversation when Norwegian synonyms exist? -- Is your language an identity marker for you? How? -- Do you borrow words from other languages than English when speaking Norwegian? Which ones, and why? c) Why do many Latinos / Hispanics prefer to be identified according to their family s country of origin, instead of describing themselves as Hispanic or Latino? Some Norwegians also identify themselves as hyphenated Norwegians, such as Pakistani- 11

13 Norwegians, while others prefer to simply identify as Norwegians. How do you identify yourself and why? d) There are several popular metaphors for the diverse, pluralistic American society: a melting pot, a salad bowl or a patchwork. After reading the article and considering the status and influence of the Latinos in the USA, which metaphor do you think best fits American society, and why? e) People often say that in order to assimilate into a society, one must learn to speak its language well. How does that idea apply to the situation of the Hispanics in the USA? 5 Find out more Use the sources in this article to find out more about Hispanics, Latinos, Chicanos or Spanglish. List of sources: Anzaldúa, Gloria. Borderlands / La Frontera. (1987) ( ) CNN. Hispanics In the US Fast Facts. (2017) ( ) Lopez, Vanessa. Huffington Post: A Marriage of Two Languages. (2015) ( ) Phillips, Rebecca K. Spanglish as a marker of identification among Hispanics in the United States: A case study of two Tejano radio stations. Rice Digital Scholarship Archive (2002) ( ) Schama, Chloe. Smithsonian Mag: What Defines Latino Literature. (2010) ( ) Stepler, Renee and Lopez, Mark Hugo. Pew Research Center: Latino Population Growth And Dispersion Has Slowed Since The Onset Of The Great Recession. (2016) ( ) Taylor, Paul et al. Pew Research Center: When Labels Don t Fit Hispanics And Their Views Of Identity ( ) United States Census Bureau: Hispanic Origin ( ) 12

14 Zong, Jie and Batalova, Jeanne. Migration Policy: South American Immigrants in the United States. (2016) ( ) Photos: Daniel Ernst/iStock/Getty images front page, microgen/istock/getty images 1, ajr_images/istock/getty images 2, Cartarium/iStock/Getty images 4, JeffGoulden/iStock/Getty images 5, andresr/istock/getty images 6, herreid14/istock/getty images 7, nito100/istock/getty images 9 13