| We are the Mexica"
Since 1519 when the first Europeans
invaded our Anahuac lands (Mexico, Central America, and the U.S.
Southwest), we have seen the destruction of our cities, the executions of
our leaders, the genocide of 23 million of our people (95%), the theft of
our lands, the theft of our wealth, the theft of our labor, and, most
importantly, the theft of our true Indigenous identity, history, and
heritage.
"Not Hispanic"
Hispanics are the Spaniards, the
people of Spain. We are not Spaniards! We are the Mexica of Anahuac! We
are Chicano! Calling ourselves "Hispanic" denies us our true
Indigenous Mexica identity, history and heritage. It enslaves us to the
interests of the "Spanish" White world. Calling ourselves
Hispanic is like African-Americans calling themselves British because they
speak English, have British surnames, and have some White blood in them.
"Not Latino"
Latino just means Latin in the
Spanish language. Latinos are the Latins: Southern Europeans; the
Spaniards, French, and Portuguese. Calling ourselves "Latino"
makes us cultural slaves of Europeans, of Spaniards and their descendants.
Latino is cultural suicide when we use it. Latino is cultural ethnocide
when promoted by the Spaniards and their descendants. It betrays our true
Indigenous ancestors. Latino is ANTI-INDIGENOUS and ANTI-ANAHUAC. Latino
is part of the continuing Spaniard colonization of our people. Latino
unites us as cultural and economic slaves of the White Spanish speakers of
"Latin" "America".
"Not Mestizo"
Mestizo is not an identity. It is
not a nationality. It simply means "mixed" in the Spanish
language. Calling ourselves "Mestizo" is a way of rejecting our
Indigenous identity. The Mestizo concept as an identity stresses the false
"beauty" of our supposed Spanish side at the expense of our true
Indigenous beauty and history.
"Not Raza"
Raza is not an identity. It is
basically the same thing as Mestizo. It takes pride in Spanish blood and
puts shame in our Indigenous blood and culture. Calling ourselves "Raza"
is a way of saying: "I'm not an 'Indio,' I have some, mostly, Spanish
blood." Why say Raza when you can say Mexican, Chicano, Mexicano,
Salvadore-o, Guatemalteco, or Mexica. Raza is the insult that the
Spaniards gave us along with "hijos de la chingada." In Mexico
"Dia de la Raza" is celebrated on October 12th, Columbus Day.
Imagine that, we are celebrating the rape of our mothers, the rape of our
nation. Raza is not a term to take pride in. It is like the "N"
word in the African-American community, some African-Americans use it all
the time for themselves; but it is still a racist insult.
Mexica is the collective identity,
history, and heritage that we are rebuilding. Collective is the Indigenous
Anahuac approach, our approach. Individualism is the anti-Indigenous
Eurocentric approach. The Maya, Zapotec, Mixtec, Purepecha, Otomi, Huaxtec,
and Mexica-Aztec were the only large civilizations that we could have
realistically drawn our collective identity from.
Mexica is the only one with the
combined factors of a written classical literature, defined theology, and
a record of its society that we can use as a base from which we can
recreate ourselves. Even though none of us are Mexica direct blood
descendants, we are cultural descendants of those who were our last great
cultural ancestors. The Italians, Chinese, and Jews have made good culture
from what is in essence drawing from the zenith of their ancient history.
If it's good enough for them, it is more than good enough for us.
Olin Tezcatlipoca
Director of CMMEC
You can find entire text at www.mexica-movement.org. |
Hispanic,
Latino, Person of Color
What's the Right
Label?
By Keith D. Ellison
nextstepmag.com
Recently, an Hispanic woman
gave a presentation to 300 people, all of whom were corporate managers.
The audience was well diverse with an equal mix of men and women and
almost every ethnic group. The presenter was from Catalyst, a non-profit
group that studies the progress of women in corporate America. She was
summarizing a recent study she conducted for Catalyst regarding female
executives; specifically women of color (i.e. African Americans, Asian
Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans). Most of her findings were of
no surprise; they were the usual equal-pay, advancement, and
business-network discrepancies when compared to their male counterparts.
What stood out most and what the presenter herself was surprised to find,
was that many Hispanic woman surveyed resented being identified as a
person of color.
Who
Are the Hispanics?
With over 30 million people
and 8.4 million households, Hispanics in the U.S. represent the fifth
largest Spanish-speaking population in the world, behind Mexico, Spain,
Colombia and Argentina. Demographers predict this group will become the
second largest by 2010.
Mexican Americans, the
oldest and largest group, account for almost two-thirds the entire
Hispanic population. Some are not immigrants but Hispano, mostly mestizo
with a greater nomad Indian admixture than other Mexican Americans. Some
historians argue that politically, the Hispano are Americans and have been
since the mid-1800s and that, culturally, Mexican Americans are unlike the
Hispano, who preserve native and Spanish attributes.
"Being
Latino is not an issue of race, it's an issue of culture."
Puerto Ricans, the second
largest group, are not immigrants rather citizens of the U.S. (since
1917). Cubans are third. Salvadorans compose the largest group from
Central America, followed by Dominicans of the Caribbean, Guatemalans and
Nicaraguans. Colombians, Ecuadorians, and Peruvians are the largest three
from South America.
The
"Of Color" Image
"Person of color"
is quickly emerging as a replacement for "minority," or for
anyone non-White. The new label has less baggage. It's softer. It doesn't
have the inferior overtones its soon-to-be predecessor has. It's colorful.
But its use may have a negative association itself, particularly with a
dark period in society, when segregation was a way of life between Whites
and Blacks. Although "person of color" has no official
derivation, it has a natural connection with "Colored," a term
that co-existed with "Negro" for decades before the Civil Rights
Movement. In the south, for example, "Coloreds" was displayed
above run-down, public bathrooms and water fountains, whereas
"Whites" appeared on signs for cleaner, more modern facilities.
The Hispanic community may
never accept the new label "person of color," or at least no
time soon. According to Alex Lopez Negrete, President of Lopez Negrete, a
Houston-based Hispanic-marketing firm, "If you ask Latinos if they
consider themselves people-of-color, most of them would say 'no.' The term
strips us of our identity, which has taken us nearly 60 years to
get," he says emphatically. "I take exception to demographers
who talk about the 'browning' of America during their presentations. Being
Latino is not an issue of race, it's an issue of culture." However,
if given the choice between "person of color" and
"minority," Negrete says he would take "person of
color" any day.
Hispanic
vs. Latino
Until the mid-1990's,
"Hispanic" was the dominant term for referring to
Spanish-speaking people in the U.S., or descendents of Spanish-speaking
countries. The term came about in the 1970's as a result of the U.S.
Census' attempt to quantify Spanish-speaking people. Today,
"Latino" and "Hispanic" are used interchangeably, yet
in realty they do not have exact meanings. "Latino" refers to
people whose ancestral lineage connects to the central and southern parts
of the Western Hemisphere. Mexico and the lands annexed by the U.S. in the
19th century, Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and all the
Spanish-speaking countries of Central and South America are homes to
first, second and third-generation (and higher) people who are considered
Latino. "Hispanic," on the other hand, includes all Latinos plus
people with a cultural heritage related to Spain. The sub-categories for
"Hispanic" listed by the Census are Spanish, Spaniard,
Mexican-American, Chicano, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Other (representing
people from other parts of Latin America).
What
Labels Do Hispanics Prefer?
According to the Hispanic
Market Handbook, the business community prefers "Hispanic"
when identifying this segment of the market. "Latino," the newer
term, carries soft, political overtones. Nagrette says that
"Latino" may someday replace "Hispanic."
However, research shows
that Hispanics prefer labels that are more descriptive of their cultural
heritage.
Latino Voices, a
recent survey conducted among Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans found
foreign-born respondents identified themselves with the name of their
country of origin. The pattern of identification was similar among
U.S.-born Hispanics, particularly Mexicans and to a lesser degree among
Cubans and Puerto Ricans who seem to have a stronger preference for
pan-ethnic labels (e.g. Hispanic, Latino and Spanish-American).
The
Latino community may never accept the new label
"person of color."
Strangers in a Native
Land: A Labyrinthine Map of Latino Identity, from a Latino Ethnic
Attitude Survey (LEAS), conducted by Daniel L. Roy of the University of
Kansas, reveals how Hispanics identify themselves. According to LEAS, 93%
of Hispanics feel ethnicity is important when defining identity.
"Chicano," "Hispanic," "Mexican American" or
"American of Mexican Descent" are a few labels Hispanics prefer
depending on their gender, age, national origin, geographic region and
time in the U.S.
LEAS found there is more
ambiguity about the degree of importance placed on ethnic identity among
women than among men. Also in general, the more educated Hispanics become,
the less important ethnicity is to identity. Furthermore, LEAS found that
self-identity labels change depending on the sociopolitical context. For
instance, Hispanics may use "Mexicano," "Chicano," or
"Pocho" at home, but change to "Mexican American,"
"Latino," or "Latin American" at work. For an umbrella
term or specific national origin, there is no single, preferred label.
Eighty-five percent of LEAS respondents preferred a national-origin label
to an umbrella term. When an umbrella term is used, however,
"Latino" is the most acceptable. Interestingly,
"Hispanic" is uniformly disliked, which suggests it may someday
become obsolete.
Regionally, according to
LEAS there are differences in self-identification. Hispanics in
California, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado prefer "Chicano."
On the other hand, Hispanics in Texas prefer "Mexican American"
and "Mexicano." In Pennsylvania, Hispanics prefer "Puerto
Rique no" and "Chicano," while those in Florida prefer
"Latin American" followed by "American" and
"American of Mexican descent." New York Hispanics prefer
"American," "Chicano," "Central American,"
or "Puerto Rique no," while those from Massachusetts equally
prefer "Puerto Rique no" and "Latino." Hispanics in
Illinois prefer both "Mexican" in the first and second
generations and "Mexican American," in the later, more
assimilated generations.
Mexican
American, Hispano, Chicano
Most U.S.
citizens who are descendants of Mexico accept the term "Mexican
American." As Americans they identify with a Mexican heritage.
However, there are some descendents who reluctantly accept this term,
specifically those who are not "Americans by choice." In the
1800's, about half of what was Mexico was appropriated by the U.S. as
spoils of war and in a series of "coerced" land sales. As a
result, a large number of Mexican citizens became U.S. citizens over
night. The treaty between Mexico and the U.S. recognized the rights of
such people to their private properties (as deeded by Mexican or Spanish
colonial authorities), their own religion (Roman Catholicism) and to speak
and receive education in their own tongue (Spanish). Descendents of this
population continue to press for these rights today.
"Person
of Color" is quickly emerging as a replacement for
"minority."
A sub-population of Mexican
Americans located primarily in the U.S. southwest prefers the term
"Hispano," because they do not identify with a Mexican heritage.
Instead they identify with the Spanish settlers of the area, specifically
the Creole Spanish-Native American race. A significant number of the
Hispano lives in New Mexico along the Rio Grande Valley and in the
northern Sangre de Cristo mountain range. Traditionally, this group has
been very closed and conservative. With recent evidence, some historians
suggests the reason why is because they are descendants of persecuted Jews
who fled Spain during the 16th and 17th centuries
and sought refuge in what were then the farthest reaches of the known
world. They survived by minimizing contact with outsiders and hiding their
cultural identities. Some researches call them "cryptic Jews."
The term
"Chicano" has been appropriated by many Mexican descendants as
unique and reflective of their culture, though originally its usage was
discriminatory. It is not certain where and when the term originated. Some
historians claim that the word is traced to the 1930 and 40's period,
when poor, rural Mexicans (often native Americans) were imported to the
U.S. for cheap field labor, under an agreement of both the Mexican and
U.S. governments. And that the term came about in California from the
inability of native Nahuatl speakers from Morelos to refer to themselves
as "Mexicanos," and instead spoke of themselves as "Mesheecanos"
(in accordance with pronunciation rules of their language). Another factor
is often in Spanish vernacular it is common for Mexicans to use the
"CH" conjunction in place of certain consonants to create a term
of endearment. So "Mesheecano" became "Mecheecano,"
which led to "Chicano." Whatever its origin, the term
"Chicano" was first insulting. But Mexican-America activists who
took part in the Brown Power Movement of the 1960's and 70's
appropriated the term. It has since come into widespread usage,
particularly by political activist and by those who seek to create a new
and fresh identity for their culture rather that to subsume it blandly
under the guise of a mainstream culture. Among more assimilated
Mexican-Americans, however, the term still has unsavory connotations.
What's
the Right Label?
As with Asian Americans and
African Americans, the Hispanic community is far from homogenous. Country
of origin, education and socioeconomic status are a few factors that
differentiate members of this group along dimensions of tastes, habits and
identity. Therefore, the right label or identifier to use depends on the
individual. Certainly, this presents a challenge to those who want to
interact with this community.
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