The Hispanic/Latino Debate: The Language Is Still Searching for a Term That Satisfies Everyone
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Latino definitely does not “affirm our Indian-ness.” The term derives from Latin, as in Roman Empire.
Nahuatl is not a Romance language. Its variant Ladino is used in Central America by persons who speak Spanish and who identify themselves with Ibero-American culture and society, not Indian culture and society.
Campesino affirms Indian-ness, while simultaneously doing away with it because campesino means peasant, and one need not be Indian to be a peasant.
Bernal, however, does underscore the problem of the variety of nationalities and cultures that Ibero-Americans bring to the United States and the need (?) for a term common to all.
T.D. PROFFITT
History Department
San Diego City College
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