Talk: Hispanic American

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People of non-Spanish ancestry may be regarded as "Hispanic" (or Hispano) in Latin America, provided that they are culturally Hispanic. A German speaking Mennonite in Paraguay or Mexico would not be considered "Hispanic", but a Latin American of non-Hispanic descent who has been assimilated into the Hispano-American culture (such as Argentina's Swiss-Croatian president Nestor Kirchner) would not be regarded as part as a seprate group.

Of course, this varies by country...an German descended Argentine will hardly stand out from the population while an German descended Dominican probably would remain outside of the "Hispanic" majority even after a few generations. Likewise, blacks may or may not be considered "Hispano". In Panamá, many of the blacks are Antillean English speakers, and not really part of the Hispanic community, while in Cuba or Puerto Rico, they are more integrated into the population. Also there is a distinction between assimilated Indians ("cholos") and non-Hispanic Indians. In truth, many Latin American "mestizos" are the descendants of Hispanicized Indians and have little to no Spanish ancestry.

Anyway, the bottom line is that Hispanic is a very generic label, and is hard to define in specific terms. Even some "Spaniards" (i.e. Basques) may not embrace or be adequately described by terms such as "Hispanic" and "Latin".