What is the Difference Between "Hispanic," "Mexican," "Latino," and "Chicano"?
Spanishdict lesson.
What is the Difference Between "Hispanic," "Mexican," "Latino," and "Chicano"?
Quick answer.
Hispanic = a citizen of Latin America/Spain or a U.S. citizen of Latin American/Spanish descent
Mexican = a Mexican citizen
Latino = a citizen of Latin America or a U.S. citizen of Latin American descent
Chicano = a U.S. citizen of Mexican descent
These terms sometimes overlap, so read on for more on the differences and similarities between them!
Hispanic = a citizen of Latin America/Spain or a U.S. citizen of Latin American/Spanish descent
Mexican = a Mexican citizen
Latino = a citizen of Latin America or a U.S. citizen of Latin American descent
Chicano = a U.S. citizen of Mexican descent
These terms sometimes overlap, so read on for more on the differences and similarities between them!
Hispanic.
Hispanic or Hispanico can be used to refer to someone from Spain, Portugal, Brazil, or the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America,
In the U.S., the term Hispanic is most commonly used to refer to someone from Latin America (Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Central and South America).
There are many Hispanic stores in my neighborhood.
Hay muchas tiendas hispanas en mi barrio.
- I'm taking a class on Hispanic literature.
Estoy tomando una clase sobre la literatura hispana.
The terms Hispanic and Latino are considered interchangeable by some people, so don't be surprised if you see them used as synonyms
Mexican
The term Mexican( Mexicano ) can be used to refer to someone born in Mexico, someone with Mexican citizenship, or someone of Mexican descent.
The term Mexican( Mexicano ) can be used to refer to someone born in Mexico, someone with Mexican citizenship, or someone of Mexican descent.
My husband is* Mexican*. He was born in Mexico City.
Mi esposo es mexicano. Nació en la Ciudad de México.
Valeria was born in Argentina, but now she has Mexican citizenship. That's why she's Mexican, not Argentinean.
Valeria nació en Argentina, pero ahora tiene nacionalidad mexicana. Por eso es mexicana, no argentina.
Rosa considers herself Mexican. She was born in the U.S., but her parents are from Guadalajara
. *Rosa se considera mexicana. Ella nació en los Estados Unidos, pero sus papás son de Guadalajara
Latino
The term Latino ( latino
The term( Latino) is used to refer to someone from Latin America (Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Central and South America), as well as to people of Latino descent (people with parents, grandparents, etc. who are Latino).
My mom is* Latina*. She was born in Guayaquil, a city in Ecuador.
Mi mamá es latina. Nació en Guayaquil, una ciudad en Ecuador.
My dad is Latino, but he's not Mexican. He's Cuban
. Mi papá es latino, pero no es mexicano. Es cubano
Chicano
The term Chicano is normally used to refer to someone born in the United States to Mexican parents or grandparents and is considered a synonym of Mexican-American.
- A person who was born in Mexico and came to the United States as an adult would refer to him/herself as Mexican, not Chicano.
The term Chicano is normally used to refer to someone born in the United States to Mexican parents or grandparents and is considered a synonym of Mexican-American.
Rogelio is Chicano. His parents were born in Mexico, but he was born in Los Angeles.
Rogelio es chicano. Sus papás nacieron en México, pero él nació en Los Angeles.
Daniela is Mexican, not Chicana. She was born in Puebla and has only been here in the States for two years.
*Daniela es mexicana, no chicana. Nació en Puebla y solo lleva dos años aquí en los United.
9 Answers
Hispanic, Latino, whatever, are terms we use here in the US to simplify things. Most US citizens aren't even aware of Spanish speakers who aren't Mexican, Puerto Rican, Dominican or Cuban. And some people don't even know that much.
As for who would be offended by what term? Good luck, that all depends on the feelings and perspective of who you're talking to. I would guess that most Spanish speakers aren't going to take offense at the term Hispano though.
And I think Spanish speakers prefer to referred to by their real nationality, Español, Mexicano, etc. Or maybe just their name is good enough. 
I only use the hispano in a generic sense, like if I want to confirm someone is a Spanish speaker. ¿Eres hispano? If the answer is yes I start speaking in Spanish. Beyond that, I simply ask where said person(s) is from.
I have found this to be really useful though, when it comes to the generic classifications.
I am curious how native Hispanics and Latinos prefer to be described. I've seen comments in other places that using one or the other can be insulting to some, so I'd really like to learn the best way to interact with someone.
Of course, if I know someone's nationality, I would use that - Cubano, Hondurano, etc. If I don't know their origin, I would tend to say Hispanic, or if I know they are from Latin America, I would use "Latino."
For example, would a Chicano be insulted if he or she were referred to as Hispanic or Latino? Would a Latino be offended if he or she were referred to as Hispanic? (Of course I know that these questions call for massive over-generalizations.)
One thing I REALLY, REALLY can't stand is when someone refers to a Hispanic person as "Mexican" as if they mean the same thing. Unfortunately, I know a few people who do just that.
Thanks for any insight!
Pruebe unas frases usando uno o dos de estos nombres.
Try a few sentences using one or two of these names .
¡ Hola Cisco Hola Pancho !
Ambos son Mexicanos.
Both are Mexicans.
A little more info about the word pocho, because it's lot more complicated that just saying it refers to Mexicans born in the US that don't speak Spanish or who speak it poorly. It goes beyond that. It's also referring to the loss of the connection to the Mexican culture.
But as for the word itself, if you aren't Mexican, you'd best assume that this word will be taken as an insult. But in reality, it's not cut and dry. Some people will be insulted, some won't. And of course context, intent and your relationship with the person you're addressing plays a huge part of whether or not this an insult.
E.g., if I'm talking with a Mexican friend (in Mexico) I could probably get away with saying:
Mi amigo fulano es mexicano, pero es bien pocho. Conozco yo más de la cultura mexicana y hablo español mejor que él.
Whereas if I say something like, Odio los pochos, well, clearly this is an insult.
Or if I say directly to someone "No manches, eres pocho wey". Well, that could be taken as an insult. Or they could laugh. Depends on the person.
But again, my personal thought is that you'd better be safe than sorry, so consider this an insult and be very careful who you use it around, if you choose to use it.
Here's an excerpt of a very good article that might help you get a better understanding of not only the word itself, but also a cultural perspective.
Pocho is an insult, a culture, a way of life, a manner of speaking, a language, a style, gesticulation, the way you dress, types of foods, your understanding of the world, an accent, where you go during summer vacation, who’s at home when you get there, the way you relate to your family, etcetera, and much more. A basic definition of pocho is that you’re the child of Mexican immigrants, and so you become neither black or white, but gray — ni de allá, ni de acá (from neither here nor there).
You can read the entire article here: What's a pocho?
And this is a follow up to the article above.
¡Orale, Pancho, ¿Qué húbole?
¡Ese, Cisco! ¡Qué padre verte! ¿Qué onda?
(Mientras tanto había dos argentinos que escuchaban. Uno de ellos pregunta: "¿Sabés vos qué dicen? El otro contesta "No sé, Che", le dice el otro. "Son mexicanos.")
Soy de España por lo cual me llamo hispana. Pero soy ciudanana americana (EEUU) por eso soy norteamericana. Y adamás de esto hay un tipo de Austraila que me llama una "Feisty Yank Sheila. ¡Caray!
I'm from Spain, so I call myself Hispanic. But I'm an American Citizen, therefore I'm an American, and besides this, there's a guy from Australia that calls me a "Feisty Yank Sheila" Geez!
¡Debe ser interesante!
It should be interesting!
Thank you so much "rodneyp" for your very informative post which covered the
usage of "pocho" quite well , I think that is is safe to say as he did that we had
*better not use the word unless we are aware of the context and the audience
in which we are using it .I for one shall decease from ever using it.
"Pocho"is it a term that is acceptable or derogation. ?
