The Label of “Latino”

            The best way to treat a term like Latino or Hispanic is to acknowledge the hybrid nature of the identifying factors that relate to the labels, whether they are geographical, political, socio-economic, or otherwise. The term “Latino” is not a composite but rather a space to examine the different intersecting facets of identity. As Aurora Levins Morales says in her poem “Child of the Americas”: “I was born at the crossroads, and I am whole.” The only way to examine this identity is to acknowledge its multi-faceted qualities.

Works Cited

Aparicio, Frances R. “Reconstructing Latinidad: The Challenge of Latina/o Studies.” A Companion to Latina/o Studies.Flores, Juan and Renato Rosaldo (Eds.). Blackwell Publishing, 2007. Blackwell Reference Online. 13 January 2009 .

Morales, Auroa Levins and Rosario Morales. “Child of the Americas.” Getting Home Alive. Firebrand Books: Ithaca, NY, 1986. 

Oboler, Suzanne. “The Politics of Labeling.” Latin American Perspectives, Vol 19, No. 4, 18-36 (1992).

Sommers, Laurie Kay. “Inventing Latinismo: The creation of Hispanic Panethnicity.” The Journal of American Folklore, 1991.