Jorge Espinoza, 22, says he identifies himself as American. Born and raised in the U.S., the Berkeley resident represents one side of the generational divide with identity among people who can be categorized as Hispanic or Latino. Originally from Mexico, Espinoza’s parents are part of the group that generally identify with their home country, even when they have spent most of their life in the U.S.
“I think part of the discomfort with the label ‘Latino’ comes from the fact that it forces together a diverse group of peoples into a universal subgroup,” says Espinoza. “There is a practical need to categorize people who broadly fit into a group and I think the term Latino serves that purpose well.”
A new nationwide survey of Hispanic adults finds that these terms still haven’t been fully embraced by Hispanics. The Pew Hispanic survey finds that a majority (51%) say they most often identify themselves by their family’s country of origin. A large majority (69%) of survey respondents say that the more than 50 million Hispanics in the U.S. have many different cultures rather than a common culture. Respondents do, however, express a strong, shared connection to the Spanish language.
Only one-in-five (21%) say they use the term ‘American’ most often to describe their identity, which leads some people to question the effect on a national American identity.
“It's one thing to feel fine with checking Latino on demographic surveys and another thing to describe oneself as such,” says Espinoza. “The label Latino is a practical fabrication, but it's hard to imagine that people will identify as such when they can more accurately describe their heritage. Eventually, I think that people will identify as Americans over anything else.”
Francisco Zermeño, city council member for the City of Hayward, was born in Jalisco Mexico and brought to United States by his parents when he was twelve.
“I consider myself as Mexican and Mexican-American as well,” he says. “I was speaking English after a month I moved with my family - my sister and I assimilated to the American culture very fast.”
“Back then I really did not learn a lot about Mexican culture but after my first trip to Spain, I saw the richness of the Hispanic culture, the poets, the art, the food, the wine, everything. That experience awoke in me a culture that I did not know, so I started to learn about the Mexican culture, my culture and then I felt like Mexican,” he adds.
“It varies on the generation,” says Jose Dueñas, president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Alameda County.
“If you are an immigrant, you hold on to those values you had when you got here - if you are second or third generation, you tend to lose a bit of that identity and become part of mainstream America.”
Dueñas says that when his family first came to the U.S., speaking Spanish was not as accepted as it is today, though he shares that his mother always told him that he should never be ashamed of being a Spanish speaker or immigrant.
Dueñas adds that the term Latino has more of a political aspect, whereas, “…the term Hispanic was created to lump together all of these groups for census data and other purposes.”
The usage of the terms Hispanic, Latino, and American seems to depend on the person’s generation, country of birth, or on the situation or purpose. It also likely depends on the question itself -- being asked ‘what are you’ versus being asked ‘are you an American?’
“Whereas some people would object to being classified as Latino, few would deny that they are Americans”, concludes Espinoza.