White Hispanic and Latino Americans

White Hispanic and Latino Americans, also called Euro-Hispanics, Euro-Latinos, White Hispanics, or White Latinos, are Americans who identify as white people of European descent with roots in Spain or Latin America.

The way people in the United States think about race and ethnicity has changed over time. From 1850 to 1920, Mexicans in the United States were generally seen as white. In 1930, "Mexican" was briefly added as a special racial category on the United States census, but it was removed soon after because many people, including groups like the League of United Latin American Citizens, felt it was unfair. Starting in 1970, the census began asking people about their "origin or descent," and by 1980, everyone was asked about "Spanish/Hispanic origin or descent." In 2000, people were allowed to choose more than one race when they filled out the census.

By 2020, about 62 million people, or 18.7% of the population of the United States, identified as Hispanic or Latino. Of these people, around 12.5 million, or 20.3%, said they were white alone. This shows how many Americans have mixed backgrounds and how our country has grown to include many different cultures.

History

Some White Hispanic and Latino Americans today come from Spanish people who first settled in areas that later became part of the United States, like Louisiana and parts of New Spain. As the United States grew, it took over lands where many Spanish-speaking people already lived. These people, often of full Spanish ancestry, were called Hispanos. Before these areas became part of the United States, those of pure Spanish heritage held a special place in society. However, most Hispanos had mixed backgrounds and were not always considered "white" by U.S. standards.

Racial identity

Ideas about having more than one race have been part of life in Latin America since long ago, starting from a system made by Spain. In the 1900s, many Latin American countries began using the idea of mestizaje, meaning 'blending', as part of their national identity to help avoid fights about race.

A survey done in 2014 by the Pew Research Center found that about one-third of Latino people living in the United States see themselves as "mestizo", "mulatto", or another mix of races. This can be confusing because of how race is usually asked about in the United States. For example, among those Latino adults who see themselves as having more than one race, around 40% still say they are "white" when asked about their race on forms like the US Census. About 13% say they belong to more than one race, and about 20% choose "Latino" as their race.

Demographics

White Hispanics live in many places in the United States. California and Texas have large numbers of Hispanics who identify as white. West Virginia has the highest percentage, with 34.2% of its Hispanic population calling themselves White Hispanic. In Puerto Rico, there were 536,044 people who were white, making up 16.5% of all Hispanics there.

In the year 2000, the U.S. government changed how they counted races for people who marked more than one race. As a result, 44.24% of Hispanics who had marked white and another race were now counted only as white.

Most Hispanics, whether they were born in the U.S. or came from another country, identify as white. In 2007, about 53.9% of U.S.-born Hispanics and 53.7% of foreign-born Hispanics said they were white. Overall, 53.8% of all Hispanics identified as white.

By 2017, many people with Hispanic ancestry no longer identified as Hispanic. About 11% of U.S. adults with Hispanic background, or 5 million people, did not call themselves Hispanic anymore. First-generation immigrants from Spain and Latin America still identified as Hispanic at very high rates (97%). But each generation after that identified as Hispanic less often: second generation (92%), third generation (77%), and fourth generation (50%).

Population by national origin

Some Hispanic or Latino American groups that are mostly white come from countries where most people are not white. For example, in Mexico, only 9% to 17% of the population is white, and most people there are mestizo, meaning they have mixed European and Native American ancestry. Yet, in the United States, 52.8% of Mexican Americans identify as white in the Census.

The way people think about race in Mexico and the United States is different. In Mexico, ideas about race include things like skin color, culture, and economic status, which can change depending on the situation. This leads many white people in Mexico to see themselves as mixed heritage due to cultural influences. In the United States, many people may have mixed ancestry but often identify with just one cultural background because of historical influences.

Representation in the media

Judith Ortiz Cofer noticed that people see her differently depending on where she is. In Puerto Rico she was seen as white, but in the United States she was often called a "brown person."

Since the early days of movies in the United States, white Hispanic actors were often given roles meant for non-Hispanic white characters. When Hispanic and Latino Americans started appearing in films in the 1910s, the main actors were usually light-skinned and had features like olive skin, dark hair, and dark eyes.

Myrtle Gonzalez was a Mexican-American actress in the silent film era, starring in many movies from 1913 to 1917. In 1919, she received an award for her role in “The Mexican.”

Anita Page was an American actress of Spanish descent who became famous in 1928. She was called "a blond, blue-eyed Latin." Hilary Swank, a well-known actress, has Mexican heritage through her grandmother.

Telenovelas or soap operas have been criticized for not showing the full range of races among Hispanic and Latino Americans. They often show characters with lighter skin, blonde hair, and blue or green eyes, rather than the more common features of olive skin, dark hair, and brown eyes.

White Hispanic and Latino literature from the San Joaquin Valley often tells stories about the lives of farmworkers.^: 45  The autobiographies of white stateside Puerto Ricans and the poetry of the Nuyorican Movement usually focus on their socioeconomic challenges.^: page

Marriage trends

Many Hispanic people marry someone who is not from their own background. About 27% of Hispanic people marry someone who is not Hispanic. The most common type of intermarriage in the United States is between non-Hispanic white people and Hispanic people. This type of marriage makes up 42% of all marriages between people of different backgrounds. This rate is much higher than marriages between white and Black people, which make up only 11% of interethnic marriages. The chances of marriage between white people and Hispanic people are about the same for men and women, with Hispanic women marrying white men slightly more often.

Genetics

Genetic studies show that White Hispanic and Latino Americans have a mix of European and other ancestries. On average, they have about 73% European ancestry, which is lower than non-Hispanic European Americans, who have about 98.6% European ancestry. However, these numbers can vary a lot because each Latin American country has its own history and diversity.

For example, Mexico has a large white population, estimated to be between 13 and 42 million people. In Cuba, about 64% of the population are white. Other countries like Uruguay and Argentina also have large majorities of people with European descent. The genetic makeup of American Latinos depends on their unique immigration histories. For instance, many Cuban exiles who came to the United States in the 1960s and '70s were mostly white, educated, and from middle or upper-class backgrounds.

Employment

Many farmworkers in the country come from white Hispanic or white Latino backgrounds. This is especially true in places like Southern Arizona. In these areas, white Hispanics and Latinos make up a bigger part of the population and are important workers in farming. In the United States, how people are classified by race can sometimes be confusing. Brown Latinos might be recorded as white if they are not part of a native tribe and do not have black ancestry.