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<h1><span>What's In A Name? Hispanic? Latino(a)? Chicano(a)? Mexican-American?</span></h1>
<p class="msonormal"><span>A great deal, actually! And our focus requires a review of the conflicting responses to this question.</span></p>
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<p class="msonormal"><span>There is little disagreement over the term "Latin American," which is consistently used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries of the Western Hemisphere, excluding the United States. What to call the Spanish-speaking residents of this country, however, is a totally different matter.</span></p>
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<p class="msonormal"><span>The importance of "getting it right" can be far more serious than just how someone with current or ancestral ties to a Spanish-speaking country of the Americas (the traditional definition of Hipanic, the most commonly used term) chooses to identify him or herself. Fernando Soriano, Director of the National Latino Research Center, which concentrates on health and drug abuse issues, points this out in Armando Acuna´s "Think Tanks, Researchers No Longer Ignore Latinos" cited in last week´s column. He cautions that care must be taken to assure that findings are attributed to the <u>correct Hispanic sub-group</u>, of which there are many. Such studies can serve as a basis for policy initiatives that may only be applicable to one group, such as Dominican-Americans, for example.</span></p>
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<p class="msonormal"><span>There is an on-going debate over what word best describes the Spanish-speaking inhabitants of the U.S., and a lively e-mail exchange on this subject -"Definition of <u>Hispanic</u> Discussion" -- can be found under the Library Section of the <i>Hispanic</i> <i>Empoyment Program</i> website (<a target="new" href="http://www.hepm.org/">www.hepm.org</a> ). One of the participants points out that "Hispanic" was coined by the federal government, and that many prefer "Latino" since it is the name "we gave ourselves." Many others want to be called by their country of origin, such as "Cuban-American."</span></p>
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<p class="msonormal"><span>Moving from the chat room to a scholarly approach, Felipe de Ortega y Gasca, provides a complete overview of the subject in "Hispanics: What´s in a Name," appearing in the July 12, 1990 issue of Phoenix´s <i>Cambio</i> Magazine. He points out that the term "Hispanic" is a convenient name for a very divergent group of U.S. citizens and residents, such as (1) Mexican Americans or Chicanos, (2) Puerto Ricans or Boricuas, (3) Hispanos ( those who identify themselves as being "Spanish"), (4) Cuban-Americans, and (5) Latinos (those from Spanish-speaking countries other than the one previously mentioned). The subtleties involved with this terminology are not without meaning, and influence both politics and employment policy. "Chicano" and "Boricua," for example, are ideological terms. Many Mexican-Americans coming of age during and after the 1960´s use the former to identify themselves, and the latter is preferred by some mainland Puerto Ricans to differentiate themselves from the residents of the island. Some Chicano and Boricua activists reject the term "Hispanic", since it implies that all Spanish-speaking Americans have experienced the same historical process. They resent legal remedies for past injustices, such as affirmative action, being applied to all Spanish speakers, since in their view Mexican-Americans and Puerto Ricans have suffered the most.</span></p>
<p class="msonormal"><span>Daniel Roy applies the methodology of social science to the question of identity, with the results of his 1997 study presented in the unpublished "Findings of the Latino Ethnic Attitude Survey" (<i>Hispanic Employment Program</i>, Library Section, <a target="new" href="http://www.hemp.org/">www.hemp.org</a>). The 1,042 middle class participants (defined as having a household income of $25,000-$34,999) did not prefer any single label, but selected "Latino" when forced to make a choice. They expressed a near universal dislike for the term "Hispanic." Moreover, 85% of the respondents preferred being identified by their national origin, such as Cuban-American.</span></p>
<p class="msonormal"><span>Conversely, a study conducted by Hispanic Trends, Inc, and reported in Christine Granado´s "Hispanic vs. Latino" (<i>Hispanic</i>, December, 2000), reports a preference for "Hispanic" among the 1,200 registered voters polled in California, New York, and Texas. The article covers much the same ground as others mentioned here, concluding that "What the Hispanic Trends poll did definitively prove was that the debate over the terms Hispanic and Latino will continue to rage".</span></p>
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