Why do Mexican people call themselves spanish when they are 99 percent amerindian?
I find it very funny when Mexican people claim they are spanish. If you ever go to Spain you will notice that Spanish people have much much much more in common with those hated gringoes than ANY mexican. Why dont they just come out and call themselves native american? Because they are more native american than most if not all native american tribes in the United states.
A well traveled man.
All I am saying is that Spanish people and culture is very very very different to Mexican people and Culture. Its like calling haitians french, it makes no sense.
Pepe those 60 percent mestizos are like 95 percent amerindian. and those 10 percent "spanish" are like 50 percent amerindian
If you EVER GO TO SPAIN, the people are much much closer to "gringoes".
Mexicana your analogy is 100 percent wrong. Mexicans are to Spaniards as Haitians are to French. GO TO SPAIN and you will see what I mean, everyone is gringo.
Tags: amerindian, analogy, gringo, gringoes, mestizos, mexicans, native american tribes, spain, spanish people, traveled man
November 2nd, 2009 at 4:25 pm
They don’t even speak Spanish. I’ve got friends from Spain who can barely understand Mexicans.
November 2nd, 2009 at 4:25 pm
They probably like being Spanish, gives them some historical backround…I have no idea…why does it matter? =)
November 2nd, 2009 at 4:25 pm
Why do we say we speak "English" when we’ve been American for over 200 years? The predominant language and government in Mexico is Spanish; hence, they are a Spanish culture (which includes many native cultures as well).
November 2nd, 2009 at 4:25 pm
Last I checked, Mexican people call themselves Mexican. How do I know this? I am Mexican!! The difference in dialects are similar to English/American differences, so no surprise there for anyone. I’m not sure where you get this 99% native figure, but, I can most assuredly tell you that figure is pretty far off. It really depends on what region of the country you go to. And for good measure you can go ahead and add some German and Italian into there somewhere as well. How do I know that? My great-grand father emigrated from Germany to Mexico around the time of the first world war, and he didn’t come by himself.
I don’t know where you have traveled, who you have talked to, but they obviously know about as much as you do concerning cultural, and language differences, which is to say not much at all.
November 2nd, 2009 at 4:25 pm
actually mexicans are a mix of spanish with indian.
60% of mexicans are mestizos
30% are amerindians
10% are spanishes.
if you go to Mexico, you’ll find a lot of "white mexicans" who don’t look like amerindian at all..
November 2nd, 2009 at 4:25 pm
They really are Mexicans, and I personally refer to them as Mexicans. I say do you speak Mexican, because that is what it is, not Spanish.
November 2nd, 2009 at 4:25 pm
Sorry you dont know much about native americans.. I am native and not mexican.. ,, I have nothing against mexicans… but the are a total different race than native american.. so i suggest you study your native american better…. cause i know my history and where i came from .. AND MEXICANS ARE NO WAY CONSIDERED NATIVE AMERICAN….
November 2nd, 2009 at 4:25 pm
They want a heritage. Aztec isn’t what they want to be associated as even thought that, and some other breeds of Aztec culture are their roots. Cortez and his troops "MINGLED" with them.
November 2nd, 2009 at 4:25 pm
Mexicans are to Spaniards as Americans are to Brits. There are some Americans that have very little in common with Brits. Sometimes, they have trouble understanding one another.
Mexicans are not 99% Amerindian. There is quite a bit of racial diversity in Mexico. There are whites with blond hair and blue or green eyes. There are blacks. There are Asians. If you were sufficiently well traveled in Mexico, you would have run into some of these people. Watch the you tube video I’ve linked–it shows the many faces of Mexico, that most Americans unfortunately do not know exist.
Mexico was a country of immigration as well. For example, there was a sizeable Lebanese immigration to areas of Mexico such as Puebla. There are communities of Mennonites and Mormons in the north.
They are not frequently the Mexicans that leave Mexico in order to perform menial jobs in the US, and therefore when they do come to the US (as tourists or students), are not noticed because they "don’t look Mexican."
Wealthy Mexican tourists spend millions in the US every year. On designer brands, expensive vacations, etc. They go skiing in Vail, Colorado and shopping for designer clothes in Houston, Dallas, Miami, and New York.
And some Spaniards don’t understand some Mexicans? I’m sure that there are some Brits that would have a very hard time understanding Americans from the south. I know Americans who could barely understand people from Scotland. That means nothing. Its called difference in dialects, has nothing to do with one group being "Amerindian". Mandarin-speaking and Cantonese-speaking Chinese don’t understand each other–that doesn’t mean that one group is any less Chinese.
November 2nd, 2009 at 4:25 pm
They do so because they are delusional.
November 2nd, 2009 at 4:25 pm
Mexican people don’t call themselves Spanish, and they are not "Amerindian". I don’t even know what an "amerindian" is.
America is a white man’s name, and Indian is a white man’s mistake. Before the white man came to our shores, we were people who identified ourselves by our tribes. We were not Americans. We were never Indians. The indigenous tribes of what is now Mexico were Mayans and Aztecs.
I am not an Indian, I am a Oglala Lakota, the French called my tribe Sioux "Savage" which is an insult. *None* of my grandparents bred with the white man. I am 100% Oglala Lakota, (Awww…this fact has annoyed the poster below twice now. LOL!) and unlike my ancestors I am an American citizen. So I am a Native American.
Blame the Spanish for enforcing their language and religion upon the indigenous tribes of what is now Mexico, if it offends you so much.
November 2nd, 2009 at 4:25 pm
Sioux means enemy in French and there are no 100% native Americans left, just those who are too afraid to admit that what they hate is what they are.
It’s not a fact. The fact is: "In 2000, eight of ten Americans with Native American ancestry were of mixed blood. It is estimated that by 2100 that figure will rise to nine of ten."
November 7th, 2009 at 5:43 am
to say mexicans speak mexican and not spanish is just complete and utter nonsense. its like saying , canadians speak canadian and not english, each country has their own slang, but other than that mexicans speak and will always speak spanish, as other spanish speaking countries…… *rolls eyes at stupidity found on the net
November 14th, 2009 at 1:26 am
The person that first started this blog is really ignorant. Mexico’s people are as diverse as USA or Canadas. There is light skinned,dark skinned, tall,short,thin,heavy,asian, etc you name it. They speak spanish. You obviously havent been anywhere in Mexico you are just an american being ignorant. I am glad there are those people though keeps less tourists in mexico which is good for people like me.
November 15th, 2009 at 11:39 am
Do you know that Mexicans do not consider themselves to be Spanish and Native Americans are Indian Tribes that were on this continent before anyone else came to this country Get your facts straight go back to school
November 17th, 2009 at 2:28 am
Folks this is so unbelievable and stupid talk I cannot even believe that im responding.
First I am of spanish descent as my family is from Spain . Contrary to stupidity spanish people are not white..we are caucasian. However, having said that we are a mix of many cultures. The original inhabitants of Spain were Iberians. They were a N African tribe. THey mixed with the Celts. THen we mixed with over 800 years of Moorish rule ( N Africa) the Berbers(native tribe of Morocco) and the arabs, we are mixed with the Romans, Greeks, Carthaginians, Phoenicians, Germans, Celts, Gypsies, Visigoths..even native americans brought back to Spain..this is partially what mixed and became the Spaniard.
Who gives a rip what happened over 500 years ago. Im so sick and tired of hearing about what the spanish did. Listen, since time and memorial people have been conquering and doing things in the name of lands…that has been forever..we need to move on and get over it. Native American tribes fought with one another…so again get over it!
What you americanos need to understand about latin people spaniards included is that we are proud . Not only that, if you were to go to Spain it would dawn on you that there are quite a few latin american communities living within Spain now. Why, it s because we view them as Hermanos and former colonies and they have privilidges and can even get a free education there and become citizens *dual…so there you go.
Now as far as this and that about Mexicans..im tired of hearing it. We are all creations of God..so there are good in bad in everyone. Spanish people nor mexicans really have anything against each other, other than we are not the same and should not be lumped the same. However, having said that let me say this..we will stick up for one another. So, if one of you americanos starting talking smack about one of my mexican friends.. I would not like it in the least and would stick up for them..as I would for anyone that is latin including italians and french. So please, can you keep the disrespect off these boards. If you want to disrespect Spaniards or Mexicans or other Latin or Latin American people..lets just keep it off here and clean.
Lets uplift and support one another versus tearing down.
VIVA LA GENTE DE TODO EL MUNDO!
LONG LIVE EVERYONE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD!
November 24th, 2009 at 3:35 am
First of all, the person who posted this is super IGNORANT about Mexican and Spanish cultures.
I’m a Mexican girl, and absolutely proud of it. NEVER EVER in my life I’ve heard a Mexican called himself/herself Spanish; we always refer ourselves as MEXICANS. We are very proud of our heritage. I know that many cultures are part of the Spaniards conquerors, but that doesn’t mean that we like to be called Spaniards.
I read a comment from rdyjoe who said that we (Mexicans) don’t want to be associated with Aztecs, which is also WRONG!!! We like to be associated with Aztecs, Toltecs, Olmecs, etc. because that were we came from. That’s our heritage. There are a variety of cultures in Mexico that obviously the owner of this post does not know anything about it.
My family came from a mixed of cultures because my grand grand grandparents from the side of my mom was from Spain and my grand grandparents from the side of my dad were Italians. My grandparents from both sides born in Mexico, and since then, all my family has been born in Mexico. Now we just moved to the United States, but we still proud of being Mexicans.
We know our history, our heritage, and we are proud of it. We NEVER called ourselves Spanish. We are MEXICANOS… Y A MUCHA HONRA!!!
November 27th, 2009 at 4:30 am
I am Mexican and have never called myself Spanish. I am extremely proud to call myself Mexican, is beautiful to be Mexican. Spaniards and Mexicans do have many costumes in common, we speak the language with different accents but still Spanish. We are all a meting pot so why hate on each other
December 21st, 2009 at 8:04 pm
what ignorance…..
what you americans need to understand is that mexicans are not a race .
nor any country in latin america.
a mexican can vary from being of native american decent, european descent, african decent, arab decent, asian descent and various others.
mexicans don’t call them self spanish, AMERICANS call mexicans spanish as well as other latin americans out of ignorance.
also i noticed that american born mexicans tend to refer to them selves as spanish because they have that american mentality
they think that spanish is a race.
i;m sick of americans and american born latin americans thinking that they are spanish.
thats like calling americans , jamaicans, australians , and trinidadians english people, do you see how stupid it is.
also i hate them thinking hispanic/latino is a race when its not,
both terms created by the ignorant american goverment.
January 3rd, 2010 at 7:28 pm
ok well lets get something straight mexicans arent native americans and they dont call them selves spanish they are referred as mexican hispanic or north americans. hispani is any type of person that speaks spanish as a language and mexicans are also refferred as north americans because their country is in north america. sometimes people are so ignorant. the spanish came and forced their language on the mexican people and for the person that said mexicans language is “mexican” you are so WRONG mexican isnt a language ok try to atleast know something before you respond to this. Many mexicans have some spanish background because they diversed their culture with the spanish and obviously had kids together which is why u get someone who is mexican and spanish. ALSO gringo isnt what you call a mexican or hispanic person gringos are white people dont post facts that are entirely wrong. i am mexican and spanish so i would know what im talking about. spanish and mexicans have some things in common but the mexican obviously wantd to keep most of their culture alive thats why you might see them different
January 9th, 2010 at 9:22 am
All the Mexicans (and others) here saying that Mexico is as racially diverse as the U.S. are either being fooled by the so called “statistics” provided to us by the Mexican and other Latin American governments or simply lying due to the huge inferiority complex that not only Mexicans, but most Latin Americans have. First of all, racial statistics in Latin America are not counted the same way as they are in the USA. In the USA, your blood=your race. In Latin America, you are only counted as an Indian if you speak some indian language like Mixteco, Nahuatal, or Quechua and conserve aspects of your indigenous culture. Any hispanicized Latino is counted as a Mestizo when they speak Spanish and are just like the regular population, even if they are 100% indian. Secondly, you qould be very hard pressed to find a Latin American calling themselves an indian. “Indio” is an insult in Latin America, and many latinos are ashamed of their indigenous heritage, and prefer to emphasize their white, Spanish ancestry, an ancestry which is usually non existent for them. Just look at their telenovelas, everyone is white!, it’s completely unrepresentative of their true population. Anybody who has dealt at any length with Mexicans will never believe that indians make up only 30% of their population, that is a ridiculous figure, which like I said only includes people who either speak an indian language or live in some tribe. If I had to guess, I would say 90+ % of Mexico’s people are indians (by race, not by culture obviously). Whites and mestizo probably make up less than 10%.
January 14th, 2010 at 12:52 pm
I am so tired of hearing about what Mexican people are. The great percentage of people are so mixed now days that nobody really could say that they are pure blood, therefore I couldn’t go out and say cause I was born in the US I am just American, Ethnicity is hispanic or non hispanic and Race is American Indians from all of the Americas! Indigineous to the land! and Afro American is what it is and yes there are Afro Americans in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Central America and beyond, Asian, Polynesian, Caucasian lots of European blood that is mixed!!Race and Ethnicity are very different cause of the Spanish empire and the ruling of the people. They taught their language and their foods, customs and religion. And till this day alot of poeple in the Latin nations continue with this. We are all children of God as I see it and it is wonderful to feel good about your culture and ancestors. So stop debating and educate don’t be ignorant and love one another. Learn!! Mucho Amor para todo el Mundo y la raza de Humanos!!
January 19th, 2010 at 1:09 am
I am Mexican and people will always be negative and ignore reality. We are Native American, people from Alaska all the way to Uruguay have the least diverse Genetic make up. We are the least diverse people. We are mixed with European blood and it is the way we became less of our Native way. There is nothing wrong to admit that we are both Native American and European. And I agree that people outside of US are more Native but we have many many Eurupean looking people, maybe not Scandanavian looking but more Italian or Spanish. I do believe that many people who are From “Latin America” feel lighter or Whiter is better, its a result of Colonial time and something we need to oversome. Black people in US are similar, after hundreds of years of being socially inferior to White man, they felt lighter skin and straighter hair was more attractive. You cant blame any people that after only 100ish years of being free still carry a scence of inferiority to Whites. We need to except that we are a result of human beings need to conquer, we were conquered and have evolved into our own culture. Who cares how much Native or European we are, all cultures evolved the same way.
January 28th, 2010 at 10:34 pm
This is so completely ridiculous. Although its true that Latin America is not as diverse as the US it still very diverse, and definitely not 90% indigenous. If you knew your facts, an enormous portion or South America is “white” or “caucasian” varying widely from russians, to czech to italian to french. Not only that, but Mexico has the largest community of Jews outside of Jerusalem along with a wide variety of immigrants from Asian countries. Also, if you go toward the east of Mexico toward the Gulf of Mexico there is many Mexicans of African descent. If you look at Argentina’s demographics the indigenous population is nearly non-existent, the majority were slaughtered by Europeans. The same is true about Uruguay and Chile is definitely not outnumbered by indigenous people. Speaking “Mexican” is a completely ridiculous statement, Mexicans and Spaniards understand each other 100%, and its true that they sometimes have some issues misunderstanding “slang” which is more of a dialect thing. And if you want to get started on Dialect, Spain has many and many times they do not even understand completely each other.
February 3rd, 2010 at 6:29 am
That idoit that said mexicans are not native americans is total wrong, you can look at the majority of mexicans and can see that they have native american blood in them whether its 100% or 20% it doesnt matter. Whats wrong with alot of people is that you use the government and ignortant american term as a native american only being from the U.S. Every tribe from North, Central , South (incl Caribbean) is Native american. I also agree with what vanessa said, its usaly U.S born mexicans or U.S citizens that refer to mexicans as spanish.
February 3rd, 2010 at 6:33 am
I would also like to add if a Mexican has a percentage of Spanish in them that gives them the right to call themselves spanish if they want. We are no one to tell that person any different.
February 25th, 2010 at 4:13 am
you have to be kidding me, this is so stupid you really need to do some research instead of speaking no sense.
First of all i am mexican and yes! i am considered spanish beacuse of my last name my ancestors came from Spain. i am also part Aztec.
So please before you speak, you really need to check your stuff out!
I AM MEXICAN && CONSIDERED MYSELF SPANISH. Wether you like it or not!
(:
February 27th, 2010 at 9:55 pm
I agree with Ander. Just look at most Mexicans and other so called Latinos for that matter. Most surely look like Native American/indigenous people (or a mix), not Western Europeans/Spanish to me. The shame of it is that most seem to insist on embracing the culture of their Spanish conquerors, rather than the rich heritage of the indigenous peoples of the Americas (the Olmecs, Myans, Incas, Atecs, etc) of which they should be so proud. Know this, that when Columbus and later the Spanish first came to the Americas, indigenous people had already developed (some 1000 to 1500 years before), civilizations rivaling those of ancient Egypt & Rome. This truth is now known and evidence still being discovered all over the Americas. This happened long before Western Europeans had crawled out of their holes following the dark ages (800 – 1066 AD). Yes I am a mixture of Native/Indigenous American/Black (and don’t call myself Latino/Spanish), and proud of it!
March 1st, 2010 at 12:49 pm
All of you Forget my buddy, he has issues
March 1st, 2010 at 12:55 pm
whoa, a chocolate powered car!
March 1st, 2010 at 12:56 pm
I LUV YOU.
March 7th, 2010 at 10:07 am
damn he said 99% amerindian… not even.. my nationality is mexican. yes mexican is a nationality not a race. my family is of european descent. my great great grandparents where from eurrope. one was french and the other was a spaniard. all that stuff about all mexicans have spanish, well thats wrong. there where europeans from different parts of europe that went to mexico throughout the centuries. not just spaniards…
March 7th, 2010 at 6:12 pm
Why the americans they do not call themself english/Americans or Germans Americans.
Quick call spanish or Hispanic people to the Central and South America volks.
Wake-up… you sleeping ignorants. We are in 2010
The only Spanish/Spanierds are in Spain EUROPE .
Change your way to learn about people and history.