People Magazine Jennifer Lopez
Why is it o.k. to call yourself latin just because the main language where you come from is spanish??
Everyone who speaks spanish is NOT latino!!!!I was looking at a magazine and they had Gloria Estevan and Jennifer Lopez on their list of hispanics…but they are puerto rican!………….Puerto ricans are partially African too………..so should they be on the list of influental black people too?…Why do the spaniards get to claim them?
Not being Latin or Spanish, all I can give is my personal opinion. Maybe its like how all citizens of the United States call themselves Americans? I mean, technically the true Americans, at least Native North Americans, are the American Indian. But, people from all corners of the earth come from their countries and migrate to the US and get their citizenship and become Americans. It makes them no less Italian, French, Chinese, Mongolian, Puerto Rican, etc.
Technically, Latin America (Portuguese/Spanish: América Latina) is the region of the Americas where Romance languages — those derived from Latin, namely Spanish, Portuguese and French — are officially or primarily spoken. Latin America is distinct from Anglo-America, a region of the Americas where English is spoken. The countries include:
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Guatemala
Haiti
Honduras
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Uruguay
Venezuela
French Guiana
Guadeloupe
Martinique
Aruba
Bonaire
Curaçao
U.S. Virgin Islands
Puerto Rico
And its not limited to the Spanish language…
Spanish is the predominant language in the majority of the countries. Portuguese is spoken primarily in Brazil, where it is both the official and the national language. French is also spoken in smaller countries, in the Caribbean, and in French Guiana. Dutch is the official language on various Caribbean islands and in Suriname on the continent; however, as Dutch is a Germanic language, these territories are generally not considered part of Latin America.
Several nations, especially in the Caribbean, have their own Creole languages, derived from European languages and various African tongues. Native American languages are spoken in many Latin American nations, mainly Peru, Guatemala, Bolivia, Paraguay, and to a lesser degree in Mexico, Ecuador and Chile.
So really, anyone who lives “South of the border” of the United States technically lives in Latin America, regardless of the language they speak, and can be called Latinos. People hailing from Spain would then be called Spaniards.
J.LO’s babies on the cover of this week’s PEOPLE magazine