Author: HB (---)
Date: 09-04-08 20:14 PDT
Regarding the term latino to identify someone: First off latino means that all romance languages derive from latin (spanish, italian, portugues, french and romanian ...yes, romanian) so all peoples speaking these languages share a common heritage and are unified by word and by blood. We are used to hear in America that only people of spanish descent are considered latinos, but we have to look back at the ancient history of Italy -where latin was first spoken- to find out the truth about what it means to be latino.
Secondly anybody born in Latin America whether their parents came from Russia or Mars identify themselves as latinos, because just as Junior said in the post above, it is a culture.
I myself am a dark skinned child of italian parents and consider myself 100% latin for two reasons: I was born in South America and speak a romance language. I've been many times confused with ether indian or hindu, however when I am with my blond blue-eyed brother, I am white. But anybody who reads italian history will find out that Italy was invaded and occupied for more than 600 years by arabs, berbers, cretans and persians . Nonetheless, everybody likes to thind that all italians (or europeans) are lily white and all latinos are dark skinned when in reality we are all mixed, no matter if we are europeans, latin-americans, americans, etc and that's the reason why no one is able to call him/herself pure because we are all mixed.
In closing, ITA with Junior we are latins because we were nursed with a lulllaby in a romance language, we speak it, we breath it, it doesn't matter if we are black, white, light or dark-skinned; blue, green, black, brown or grey-eyed, tall or short WE are a beautiful mestizo people.
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