[Marc22355]

I often see and hear the terms Latino, Chicano and Hispanic used interchangeably. Other times I see or hear the terms used exclusively, such as 'Latinos and Chicanos.' Is there a difference, and if so, what? Is it ethnic, cultural or someting else?

User Detail :  

Name : Marc22355, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 24, City : Morgantown, State : WV Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Lucy-H22666]

There isn't a lot of difference between the terms, but there tends to be a lot of controversy as to which term is more appropriate, politically correct, etc. As I understand the definitions, here is is:
Latino/a: Anyone from or decended from people from any part of Latin America. For now, considered more politcally correct than Hispanic by some people.
Hispanic: Basically the same thing, but can include people from Spain, depending on who you talk to.
Chicano/a: Americans of Mexican or Central American ancestry. This term became popular during the Brown Pride and Civil Rights movements. Chicanos wanted a name other than Mexican to describe ourselves because we aren't Mexicans, we are Americans, but at the same time we don't want to lose our heritage.

User Detail :  

Name : Lucy-H22666, Gender : F, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Age : 25, City : San Jose, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Dan27288]

Chicano means 'Mexican American'. Historically, it has been a politically charged term. It's usually correlated with activism and political organizations and whatnot. The term 'Chicano' would not apply to someone from El Salvador or Puerto Rico. The term Latino denotes someone of Latin American heritage, whether they be of Mexican, Argentinan, or Brazilian origin. Here in L.A., the phrase 'Chicano/Latino' pairs people of Mexican origin (who are the majority here) with people of Central American origin as well as South American origin.

User Detail :  

Name : Dan27288, Gender : M, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Pentecostal Christian, Age : 21, City : L.A. area, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Jahny]

The way I heard it...In the early 20th Century when Native Americans from Oaxaca state in Mexico were immigrating to the United States, they could not speak Spanish nor English. When trying to pronounce the Spanish Mexicano (may-hi-CAH-no), it came out as (may-shi-CAH-no). Hispanic Mexicans couldn't pronounce the shi so they made it chi. Then Mechicano (may-chi-CAH-no) was shortened to Chicano (chi-CAH-no).

User Detail :  

Name : Jahny, City : Chestnut Ridge, State : NY Country : United States, 

[Author]

Posts