Saturday 12 September 2009

The (stereo)Typical "Latino/Latina" Look

What does America Fererra, Ana Ortiz, Eva Longoria-Parker, Adrianna Lima, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Tony Plana, Ricardo Antonio Chavira (Carlos from "Desperate Housewives"), Kaka (Brazilian Footballer or if Yanks are reading this Soccer player) and Fat Joe have in common.
They are all Latinos, right. Sure they are but what about Christina Milian, Zoe Saldana, Dania Ramirez, Rosario Dawson, Mariah Carey, Cameron Diaz, Merlin Santana (R.I.P.), Pele (greatest footballer ever or if any yanks are reading this, soccer player), Wyclef Jean (yes he's latino as well and I shall explain later.) They are also latino as well but why don't they ever get recognised as such or get given "latino" roles (there are exceptions i.e. Dania Ramirez.)
Before I get to explaining the title I have to answer this important question.

What is a Latino?
Latino = Latin American.
A Latin American is a person that comes from or is descended from a person that's from an American country (north or south) where the main language is derived from latin.
i.e. Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian and Romanian.
The term "Latin American" was coined by Emperor Napoleon III of France.
I'm sure that you have noticed that in my explanation I never used the term "hispanic" or "race."
For you see a Latino can be of any race. Hispanic simply means a person that is from a country where the main language spoken is Spanish.
Hispanic and Latino are not the same.
Examples: Antonio Banderas, Penelope Cruz and Paz Vega are technically Hispanic (they are from Spain), but they are not latino.
Some other examples are Wyclef Jean, Pele, Adrianna Lima etc are latino but they are not hispanic because they don't come from a country that speaks spanish.
While many people (including hispanic latinos) will acknowledge that Brazilians are latino. They will not acknowledge Haitians, French Guineans, Guadeloupeans and Martiniquans (I've propably spelt that wrong) as being latino.

Back to the topic. the first lot of latinos that I've mentioned all have a "stereotypical" latino look.
This look is mainly portayed in the U.S.A. and in other spanish speaking latin american countries (mainly to get tourism and for other racist intentions.)
This look consists of:
  • A tanned looking guy or girl, or a (very) light skinned black guy or girl. One thing is, they cannot be dark skinned unless they have native american ancestry in them e.g. George Lopez.
  • Dark straight hair or curly hair but it can't be too nappy. There are exceptions.
  • Dark eyes. There are exceptions.
  • Usually must have caucasian features. Again there are exceptions.
  • Usually for women. Must be curvacious.
  • For the men. Tall, dark and handsome.
  • Usually must speak with an accent, even if they are born in the U.S.A. again there are exceptions.

The second lot I've mentioned would not be cast or sometimes not even to be considered latino. They would get mainly the "black" guy or girl roles ( or in the case of the super hot Cameron Diaz "white" girl roles.)

In fact Antonio Banderas, Penelope Cruz and Paz Vega have played the "latino" role even though they aren't latino themselves. They just have the stereotypical look of a "latino."

We must do what we can to educate others and get rid of this foolish notion that latino is a race and hispanic latinos must except that french speaking latin americans are indeed latino and except them into the latino community.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are always so sexually forward in regards to women on Abagonds blog. Always saying who you would bang or that you're hard.

What is your classification of women in regards to cute, pretty, beautiful or hot?

Anonymous said...

Latinos came from Italy and established their presence in the Iberian peninsula. If you look at a old Roman maps they called Spain Roman Hispania If you take Italian and move around the letters you get Latin the language spoke by many of Romans territories. Romantico is derived from Roman and in English is Romance.

When the Spanish invaded the new world they were Spanish and eventually Criollo people meaning the people of Spanish decent but born in the new world. Now if you were born in the new world & not born in Spain you could be discriminated & not given high positions. The Hispanic/Latino was the new name of these people born in the new world that were born in the Americas of Spanish decent. It was just a way to trace your roots to where you were from originally. If you were noble origin many could trace their roots back to Rome in Roman Hispania and they called themselves the Latinos. Eventually it became one Hispanic/Latino but then the new Name became Espana when the Roman Empire fell and people just called themselves Spanish or espanoles.

Example if y0u say you are Hispanic and you are from the Americas you are saying your ancestors came from Spain & if you said Latino you are saying that your roots go all the way back to Italy. Really Spanish & Italian are super similar languages and if you speak one well then many of the words can be easily identified.

Now if you are saying that you can call Sammy Sosa & Felix Trinadad Latinos or even Hispanic you are saying that they can trace their roots to Spain or Italy & their family roots are European. Now if you say that of Selena Gomez, Ricky Martin, or Christopher Columbus it would actually make sense. Just an example Christopher Columbus offspring would need a way to connect with the homeland of their ancestors so Latino would make this connection. A lot of Roman soldiers married women from Hispania and this is another reason people make the connection to Italy & the Spanish which is how Hispanic/Latino was derived.

Anonymous said...

Now if you say Afro Latino it makes the connection to African origin & you are from Latin America. Words are not just there they mean something. It is a way to identify where you are from. Now Just because you eat Bannas and they are called Platinos or it chicken & rice or Arroz con pollo on the same Island doesn't mean you have the same roots. A good example of this is the Dominican Republic Sammy Sosa & Alfonso Soriano both have Spanish names but if you comapire them to Evan Longoria & Jorge Posada you see a difference. MLB will call all of them Latin Player however it is not really correct. Example many of the MLB Players from Cuba actually avoid Latino and call themselves Afro Cuban so their is no confusion. Why because of the racism that existed in the island & never being accepted as a true Latino. Afro roots African & 2nd part from Cuba.

Now the difference in the Dominican Republic was they need to convince the Africans to fight for on the side of the Hispanic/Latinos by convincing them they were not African but Latinos. Haiti was the first black independent nation and want to end slavery throughout the island. In order to form resistance you need man power & the rest is basically easy to figure out. This is why their is so much racism between Dominicans & Haitians. This is why Dominicans call themselves Latinos/Latinas & not Afro Dominicans. Their is a saying that if you tell a lie enough times people will actually believe it. Example Rush Limbaugh/Glenn Beck/Shawn Hannity saying Barak Obama is a Muslim. This is incorrect he is a Christian however they continue to say it & ignorant & easily manipulated people believe it. Same with the birthers saying he was born in Kenya. Their are morons in the world that believe lies that are intended to manipulate them.

You see Tori Hunter was right Sammy Sosa is an Impostor but he has it the wrong way. If you bleach your skin to be lighter and put in green eye contacts you are then crossing the line & saying you are of a different origin. However if Tori Hunter is to stupid to understand history that is just ignorance & should maybe read a few more books about the African diaspora. Tori's Ancestors just got sent to North America while Sammy Sosa stayed in the D.R or Hispaniola. tori doesn't have the exclusive rights to Blackness or is he the Spokesmen for Africans since he has not real knowledge of the history of Slavery. What he may want to do is do some research and get the facts before speaking about who is black and who is not

Anonymous said...

The reason Tori Hunter says Sammy Sosa is not black is because you will see Sammy Sosa attend the Latin Grammys and other Latin events however have u ever seen him attend the BET awards or other events that are for black people. Probably because he doesn't consider himself a black person. However he is not the only one. Rosario Dawson, started a movement to vote Latino but what has she ever done to help Africans represent themselves not just in the U.S but Latin America where they are under represented and not even counted. Where racism is high and many people are not considered of Latin Orgin? The answer is nothing.

If you were to ask people what races Rosario Dawson & Zoe Saldana look you would get African & if you asked Selena Gomez & Demi Lovato you would get Hispanic/Latina Why? Well because their is a look closely or typically associated with both that goes back centuries

What race does Rosario Dawson look mostly?

Compaired to Selena Gomez & Demi Lovato who mostly got Hispanic/Latino or even Mexican. With Mexican their can be
a percent of Native American included depending on the person.
Example Hernan Cortes conquered the Aztec was the first to have a union with a Native princess who was his translator and guide. Also some Native Americans helped and Joined in rebelling against the ruling Native American class who sacrificed many indigenous people. When they had the chance the changed side to help Europeans change their society. Of course their were abuses and even unjustified acts that were uncalled for by the Spanish Conquistadors
What race are Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato?


In fact the Caribbean & Brazil had the highest amount of Slaves imported. Each has 4 to 5 million range where America only had around half a million. Slavery was already practiced in Africa when the Europeans or Portuguese came to Africa. The first slaves were captured in war and made to work but once they were sold or exchange to Europeans they could be kidnapped or stolen against their will.

If you were to DNA test Torri Hunter & Sammy Sosa you probably find their are more related to each other than. Sammy Sosa & Oscar De La Hoya or Sofia Vergara I just wonder how many Julius Caesers or I mean Julio Cesars were named after the after the Roman Emperor in Spain when he reigned over the Roman Empire?

Anonymous said...

Now what is the typical Latino look or who really falls under Hispanic/Latino
People

Remember rulers in Italy were white so they can be fair skinned & light eyes. August Caesar for example

Now also remember the King & Queen of Spain Fair Skin. Ferdinand II of Aragon & Isabella I of Castile & Leon. Ferdinand was king of Aragon, Sicily, Naples & Valencia Do they sound familiar they are Italy.

type in Ferdinand II of Aragon in Wikipedia for more information.

Anonymous said...

Typical Latina Look Spain & Italy These are the homelands of the Latino look. Lets start with Italian girls to see if we can see similarities Why did I include Spanish & Italian girls? because this is the foundation of the Latino look. It is a fair to light complected look. It can also come from Portugal, Romania, & even France.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqPW6FvTJzQ

Anonymous said...

Spain

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z49cAJ2JySQ&feature=related

Anonymous said...

Nuestra Belleza Latina Winners
The Latina look google names.

2007 Mexico Alejandra Espinoza
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1jSUK70Ffg

2008 Puerto Rico Melissa Marty
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZE-L7N0oQQ

2009 Cuban Greydis Gil
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvjn6PpeJBg

2010 Mexico Ana Patricia Gonzalez
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P8Iy6p5r6Q

2011 Semifinalist
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBMiUrEqJa8&feature=relmfu

Anonymous said...

Top 10 Latin Actress

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIv-oFaZxJM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_f5c_aB85k

Anonymous said...

Venezuelan Latina Look

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9R70IyhfKU

Argentinian Latina Look
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsPMLPnr6Go&feature=related

Mexican Latina Look
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7bTd_3NihI&feature=related

Catalan said...

@Anonymous
Wow! I've never seen so much racist spam, Anonymous. Just because Sammy Sosa doesn't look like Sofia Vergara or Jessica Alba doesn't mean he is not Latino/Hispanic. Don't forget that the people of North Africa invaded and ruled Spain for a time and that, even in ancient times there was a lot of mixing between the Africans and the people in the Mediterranean, including the ROMANS!

Your comments reflect the typical racist mentality of Spaniards who are obsessed with "pure-bloodedness".What a shame.

Don't forget that Christopher Columbus first landed in the Dominican Republic and that many Europeans settled there as well as Puerto Rico and Cuba. So don't forget that Dominicans (like Sammy Sossa and Dania Ramirez) CAN trace their "roots" to SPAIN/Italy as well as Africa together.

And by your definition,Anon, if you don't think Dania Ramirez has the typical "Latina look" then you are trully ignorant.

Anonymous said...

Spain descent or people speaking Spanish are Hispanic. But people speaking romance languages other than Spanish are Latino. Example Portuguese speaking Brazilians are Latino not Hispanic. Similarly French and Italian descents are Latino.