Latino Population in America
Latino population has grown and its presence is felt in America. Pan-ethnic identities are formed whenever people find themselves living in-between and hence the people might be misunderstood by others who are on either side of the divide. Ruben Martinez article ‘At the Crossroads, Latinos in the New Millennium’ explains that the hyphenated identity in America stems from racism and ethnicity during colonial period. The British were ‘Chicanos’ since they were colonial projects and were also aware of the imperial pedigree implying that they were colonizers and at the same time being colonized. The new immigrants stick together due to ethnic solidarity hence the hyphenated identity (Maciel, David, and Isidro).
Formation of Pan-Ethnic Identities
Most Latinos are Mexican since United States borders Mexico. Latino subgroups get their new identities when they move to new areas.
Diverse Latino Population in America
According to Clara Rodriguez article ‘What it means to be Latino,’ being a Latino implies that a certain group of individuals have unique traditions compared to the rest. Latino population is diverse due to their national origin. Mexicans are the largest group of Latinos in America due to immigration. Puerto Ricans, Dominicans and Cubans were the Latinos in the past thirty years. The demographic, economic as well as the political factors are involved in the formation of new pan-ethnic identities. The labeling of individuals to be of different identities stem from the discrimination of Latinos when they reach their new destination.
Influence of Residential Patterns
The Latino subgroups develop their new identity that is different from their national identities due to the differences in the places of residence. For instance, Puerto Ricans and Dominicans live in the Northeast. The Cubans reside in the South Florida whereas Mexicans are located in the West as well as Southwest (Maciel, David, and Isidro). Besides, the difference in the residential pattern leads to the difference in the social experience of the Latino subgroups.
Debating Latino Identity
Otto Santa Ana through his article ‘Is There Such a Thing as Latino Identity?’ answers the question in two ways. Some of the individuals will claim Latino identity. On the other hand, a sociolinguist will disagree. There is no such thing as Latino identity since from birth people have a particular identity (Santa and Otto). The professor argues that there is no single community which has a zip code number of Latinos.
Works Cited
Maciel, David, and Isidro D. Ortiz, eds. Chicanas/Chicanos at the crossroads: Social, economic, and political change. University of Arizona Press, 1996.
Rodríguez, Clara E. "What it means to be Latino." (2006).
Santa Ana, Otto. "Is There Such a Thing as Latino Identity?" PBS. Retrieved from: http://www. pbs. Org/American family/latin02. html (2004).
