In Europe, Latins are generally accepted to be individuals coming from a country where a Latin language is spoken. Individuals coming from France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Albania, and Romania are called Latins. The European view of Latin America is simply as a geographical location. Someone from Venezuela, for instance will be seen as Latin American but not necessarily as Latin. The European view of the term Hispanic is fairly precise. It refers to Spain and its culture, including the Spanish-speaking people of Latin America and their culture. The American view of the terms Hispanic and Latino(a) are very different from the European and worldwide view. The United States government, needing to categorized people from Spanish-speaking countries into one neat category such as "White," "Black," "Native American" or "Asian", decided to include the term "Hispanic" on all government forms and applications requiring such information. It's use on the U.S. Census popularized the term and it eventually made its way into the private sector as well.

Using the term "Hispanic" alongside "White," "Black," "Native American" and "Asian" has led to some confusion because the terms "White," "Black," "Native American" and "Asian" refer to race while the term "Hispanic" refers to ethnicity. Spanish speakers cannot be categorized as members of a single race. There is absolutely no one Hispanic appearance. Although there are some general tendencies such as brown skin and black hair, you will find Hispanics of light skin and even blond hair.

This is because Hispanics are a diverse group of peoples and thus have many physical and characteristic combinations. You can't describe a Hispanic just by looking at his/her features just as you cannot describe someone as an American. There are Hispanics of many races including White, Black, Native Indian and even Asian. For example, the president of Peru, Fujimori, is Japanese; the former president of Chile has the Welsh name of Aylwin; the president of Argentina, President Menem, has Arab blood. Mexico's strong Native Indian heritage is very apparent in the Mexican people. In contrast, Argentineans' Italian and German heritage makes Argentinean American look more like non- Hispanic whites and a U. S. Costa Rican Black may look like an ordinary Black in the United States.

As a result, in the United States the terms Hispanic and Latino(a) are often misapplied and confused, especially misapplied to describe a "race" of people. The terms mean different things to different people. For example, in some areas of the United States. Puerto Ricans and Cubans are considered Latinos but Mexicans and Colombians are not. In other areas, Latin and Latino mean different things.


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