Here is a "taxonomy" that may be a useful reference for this topic:
"Spanish people"
This term is used frequently in the United
States to refer indiscriminately to any person
that speaks Spanish. As such, it is imprecise
and often inappropriate in that it includes
people from more than two dozen countries,
spanning all of the American continent, the
Caribbean and Spain. The term does apply
specifically, however, as the proper name for
the native people of Spain, and for this reason
it is as incorrect to use it to refer to any and
all Spanish-speakers as the term "English"
would be to refer to citizens of New Zealand,
Australia or the United States.
Hispanics
This term is often used to refer collectively to
all Spanish-speakers. However, it specifically
connotes a lineage or cultural heritage related
to Spain. As many millions of people who speak
Spanish are not of true Spanish descent (e.g.,
native Americans), and millions more live in
Latin America (cf., "Latino" below) yet do not
speak Spanish or claim Spanish heritage (e.g.,
Brazilians) this term is incorrect as a collective
name for all Spanish-speakers, and may actually
be cause for offense.
Latino
This term is used to refer to people
originating from, or having a heritage related
to, Latin America, in recognition of the fact
that this set of people is actually a superset
of many nationalities. Since the term "Latin"
comes into use as the least common denominator
for all peoples of Latin America in
recognition of the fact that some romance
language (Spanish, Portuguese, French) is the
native tongue of the majority of Latin
Americans, this term is widely accepted by most.
However, the term is not appropriate for the
millions of native Americans who inhabit the
region.
Mexican
Specifically, the nationality of the
inhabitants of Mexico. Therefore, the term
is used appropriately for Mexican citizens
who visit or work in the United States, but
it is insufficient to designate those people
who are citizens of the United States (they
were born in the US or are naturalized
citizens of the US) who are of Mexican
ancestry. The various terms used to properly
designate such people are described below,
however, it is important to explain why these
people feel it is important to make such a
distinction. US citizens who are troubled
by this often point out that most immigrants
do not distinguish themselves by point of
origin first, (i.e., German-American), but
simply as "Americans" (another troublesome term,
but we won't get detoured by that here).
Here are some reasons why many US citizens
of Mexican extraction feel that it is important
to make the distinction:
*Not "Americans" by choice
A scant 150 years ago, approximately 50% of what was then Mexico was
appropriated by the US as spoils of war, and in a series of land
"sales" that were coerced capitalizing on the US victory in that
war and Mexico's weak political and economic status. A sizable
number of Mexican citizens became citizens of the United States from
one day to the next as a result, and the treaty declaring the peace
between the two countries recognized the rights of such people to
their private properties (as deeded by Mexican or Spanish colonial
authorities), their own religion (Roman Catholicism) and the right
to speak and receive education in their own tongue (for the
majority, Spanish) [refer to the text of the
treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo]. Therefore,
the descendants of this population continue to press for such
rights, and many hold that theirs is a colonized land and people in
view of the fact that their territory and population was taken over
by military force.
*Mexicans first, "Americans" second?
Another and more numerous class of US citizens of Mexican
extraction are either descendants of, or are themselves, people who
conceive of themselves as temporarily displaced from Mexico by
economic circumstances. As opposed to the waves of European
migrants who willingly left their countries due to class and
religious discrimination, and sought to make their lives anew in the
"new world" and never to return to the "old land," these displaced
Mexicans typically maintain strong family ties in Mexico (by
visiting periodically, and by investing their incomes in homes or kin
in Mexico), and usually intend to return to Mexico provided they can
become economically secure. Therefore these people maintain and
nurture their children in their language, religion and customs.
However, There is great tension within this population between those of Mexican birth who conceive of themselves as temporary guests in the US, and their descendants who are born in the US, are acculturated with the norms of broader US society in public schools, and are not motivated by the same ties that bind a migrant generation of Mexicans. This creates a classic "niche" of descendants of immigrants who are full-fledged US citizens, but who typically do not have access to all the rights and privileges of citizenship because of the strong cultural identity imbued in them by their upbringing and the discriminatory reaction of the majority population against a non-assimilated and easily identified subclass. This group of people feels a great need to distinguish itself from both its US milieu and its Mexican "Mother Culture," which does not typically welcome or accept "prodigals." This is truly a unique set of people, therefore, in that it endures both strong ties and strong discrimination from both US and Mexican mainstream parent cultures. The result has been the creation of a remarkable new culture that needs its own name and identity.
Mexican-American
This term is commonly used to recognize US
citizens who are descendants of Mexicans,
following the pattern sometimes used to
identify the extraction of other ethnic
Americans (e.g., "African-American). This
term is acceptable to many Mexican
descendants, but for those who do not identify
with a Mexican heritage, but rather with a
Spanish heritage, it is unacceptable (cf.,
"Hispano," below). Also, for those
who do not view themselves as "Americans" by
choice, this term is problematic, and for others
the implication that the identity of the bearer is
unresolved, or in limbo, between two antipodal
influences, belies their self-concept as a
blend that supersedes its origins and is
stronger, richer and more dynamic than either
of its cultural roots.
Hispano
This term is preferred by that subpopulation,
located primarily in the US southwest, who
identify with the Spanish settlers of the area,
and not with the Mexican settlers
(specifically, the Creole Spanish-Native
American race). There is in fact an important
number of these people located along the Rio
Grande Valley of New Mexico and in the northern
Sangre de Cristo mountain range of the same
state. This group has been traditionally a very
closed and conservative one, and recent
evidence provides important explanations for
this: they seem to be 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 their contact with
outsiders and by hiding or disguising their
religious and cultural identities as much as
possible. Historical researchers call them
"cryptic Jews."
Chicano
A relatively recent term that has been
appropriated by many Mexican descendants as
unique and therefore reflective of their unique
culture, though its first usage seems to have
been discriminatory. The most likely source of
the word is traced to the 1930 and 40s period,
when poor, rural Mexicans, often native
Americans, were imported to the US to provide
cheap field labor, under an agreement of the
governments of both countries. The term seems
to have come into first use in the fields of
California in derision of the inability of
native Nahuatl speakers from Morelos state to
refer to themselves as "Mexicanos," and instead
spoke of themselves as "Mesheecanos," in
accordance with the pronunciation rules of
their language (for additional details, refer
to the file MEXICO on this same subdirectory).
An equivocal factor is that in vulgar Spanish
it is common for Mexicans to use the "CH"
conjunction in place of certain consonants in
order to create a term of endearment. Whatever
its origin, it was at first insulting to be
identified by this name. The term was
appropriated by Mexican-American activists who
took part in the Brown Power movement of the
60s and 70s in the US southwest, and has now
come into widespread usage. Among more
"assimilated" Mexican-Americans, the term still
retains an unsavory connotation, particularly
because it is preferred by political activists
and by those who seek to create a new and fresh
identity for their culture rather than to
subsume it blandly under the guise of any
mainstream culture.
For additional information and resources on Chicano Studies, a good starting point is the Chicano-Latino Network (CLNET) accessible through the University of California - Los Angeles Gopher Server:
gopher.ucla.edu 70
under the heading:
->Chicano/LatinoNet