Asian Hispanic and Latino Americans
Encyclopedia
For the Asian population of Latin America, see Asian Latin American.
Asian Hispanic and Latino Americans is a term for Hispanic and Latino Americans
having Asian
blood and for those Hispanics who consider themselves or were officially classified by the United States Census Bureau
, Office of Management and Budget, and other U.S. government agencies as Asian Americans.
Hispanicity
, which is independent of race, is the only ethnic category, as opposed to racial category, which is officially unified by the U.S. Census Bureau. The distinction made by government agencies for those within the population of any official race category, including "Asian American", is between those who report Hispanic or Latino ethnic backgrounds and all others who do not. In the case of Asian Americans, these two groups are respectively termed Asian Hispanics and non-Hispanic Asian Americans, the former being those who say Asian ancestry from Spain
or Spanish-speaking Latin America
, and the latter consisting of an ethnically diverse collection of all others who are classified as Asian Americans that do not report Hispanic ethnic backgrounds.
identified as being of Asian race alone. In 2006 the Census Bureau's American Community Survey
estimated them at 154,694, while its Population Estimates, which are official, put them at 277,704. In the 2010 Census there were 598,146 Asian "Hispanic or Latinos", including those who are multiracial in origin.
minorities (both Chinese and Japanese
). The next largest Asian Hispanic groups are Mexican American
s, Cuban American
s, Paraguay
an Americans (Paraguay has large Japanese minority), and Panama
nian Americans (Panama has large Chinese minority).
Most countries of Hispanic America
have Asian minorities. Because of this, most Asian Hispanics are not distinguished from non-Hispanic Asian Americans because of their physical appearance, but they may be distinguished from non-Hispanic Asian Americans by Spanish fluency, Spanish surnames.
There may has been increasing rates of intermarriages between non-Hispanic Asian Americans and Asian Hispanics or non-Asian Hispanics, and because of this, large numbers of Asian Hispanics are of these said ancestries.
and in general American social perceptions, where being "Hispanic" is often incorrectly given a racial value, usually mixed-race, such as half-caste
or mulatto
.
Since the early days of movie industry in the U.S., when Asian Hispanic actors were given roles, they usually cast as non-Hispanic Asian Americans, given the reason of their appearance that is similar to the non-Hispanic Asian Americans and no trace of Spanish accent in their spoken English
. Those who were given roles as Hispanics have 2 conditions: roles as Asian Hispanics and native Latinos or light-skinned mestizo Latinos with native American appearance were given to Asian Hispanic actors whose Asian appearances are seen and who can speak Spanish with Spanish accent in their English and roles as non-Asian Hispanics or mestizo Hispanics of Caucasian appearance to Asian Hispanic actors with partial Asian blood and Asian appearance is unseen and who can speak Spanish with Spanish accent in their English. Some Asian Hispanic actors were given roles as non-Hispanic non-Asian or Caucasian to Asian Hispanic actors whose Asian appearance is unobvious and not fluent in Spanish.
Those who claim that Asian Hispanics are not allowed to play Hispanic roles in the U.S. say that this unfairly leads the masses of viewers to the assumption that there are few, if any, Asian Hispanics. Further, some Asian Hispanics are categorized as non-Asian and misunderstood by the media as having some innate knowledge of indigenous culture, e.g., in terms of customs, food and music, which is an individual inclination and not necessarily confined to Hispanics in general.
Asian Hispanic and Latino Americans is a term for Hispanic and Latino Americans
Hispanic and Latino Americans
Hispanic or Latino Americans are Americans with origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain, and in general all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.1990 Census of Population and Housing: A self-designated classification for people whose origins...
having Asian
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
blood and for those Hispanics who consider themselves or were officially classified by the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, Office of Management and Budget, and other U.S. government agencies as Asian Americans.
Hispanicity
Hispanicity
The Hispanidad is the community formed by all the people and countries that share a common Hispanic heritage and cultural pattern. The 20 nations that are included are all Spanish-speaking countries, including the Philippines which may not have Spanish as the language of the majority, but also...
, which is independent of race, is the only ethnic category, as opposed to racial category, which is officially unified by the U.S. Census Bureau. The distinction made by government agencies for those within the population of any official race category, including "Asian American", is between those who report Hispanic or Latino ethnic backgrounds and all others who do not. In the case of Asian Americans, these two groups are respectively termed Asian Hispanics and non-Hispanic Asian Americans, the former being those who say Asian ancestry from Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
or Spanish-speaking Latin America
Hispanic America
Hispanic America or Spanish America is the region comprising the American countries inhabited by Spanish-speaking populations.These countries have significant commonalities with each other and with Spain, whose colonies they formerly were...
, and the latter consisting of an ethnically diverse collection of all others who are classified as Asian Americans that do not report Hispanic ethnic backgrounds.
Population
In the 2000 US Census, 119,829 Hispanic or Latino AmericansDemographics of the United States
As of today's date, the United States has a total resident population of , making it the third most populous country in the world. It is a very urbanized population, with 82% residing in cities and suburbs as of 2008 . This leaves vast expanses of the country nearly uninhabited...
identified as being of Asian race alone. In 2006 the Census Bureau's American Community Survey
American Community Survey
The American Community Survey is an ongoing statistical survey by the U.S. Census Bureau, sent to approximately 250,000 addresses monthly . It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census...
estimated them at 154,694, while its Population Estimates, which are official, put them at 277,704. In the 2010 Census there were 598,146 Asian "Hispanic or Latinos", including those who are multiracial in origin.
Demographics
Asian Hispanics number about 0.3% of the Hispanic American population. Most Asian Hispanics are Peruvian Americans, since Peru has large and important AsianAsian Peruvian
Asian Peruvians, primarily Chinese and Japanese, constitute some 3-5% of the total population, which in proportion to the overall population is one of the largest of any Latin American nation. Peru has the second largest population of Japanese people in Latin America after Brazil and the largest...
minorities (both Chinese and Japanese
Japanese Peruvian
Japanese Peruvians are people of Japanese ancestry who were born in or immigrated to Peru. The immigrants from Japan are called the Issei generation. Second and third generation Peruvians are referred to as nisei and sansei in Japanese...
). The next largest Asian Hispanic groups are Mexican American
Mexican American
Mexican Americans are Americans of Mexican descent. As of July 2009, Mexican Americans make up 10.3% of the United States' population with over 31,689,000 Americans listed as of Mexican ancestry. Mexican Americans comprise 66% of all Hispanics and Latinos in the United States...
s, Cuban American
Cuban American
A Cuban American is a United States citizen who traces his or her "national origin" to Cuba. Cuban Americans are also considered native born Americans with Cuban parents or Cuban-born persons who were raised and educated in US...
s, Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
an Americans (Paraguay has large Japanese minority), and Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
nian Americans (Panama has large Chinese minority).
Most countries of Hispanic America
Hispanic America
Hispanic America or Spanish America is the region comprising the American countries inhabited by Spanish-speaking populations.These countries have significant commonalities with each other and with Spain, whose colonies they formerly were...
have Asian minorities. Because of this, most Asian Hispanics are not distinguished from non-Hispanic Asian Americans because of their physical appearance, but they may be distinguished from non-Hispanic Asian Americans by Spanish fluency, Spanish surnames.
There may has been increasing rates of intermarriages between non-Hispanic Asian Americans and Asian Hispanics or non-Asian Hispanics, and because of this, large numbers of Asian Hispanics are of these said ancestries.
Representation
Like black and white U.S. Hispanics, Asian U.S. Hispanics are sometimes overlooked in the U.S. mass mediaMass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
and in general American social perceptions, where being "Hispanic" is often incorrectly given a racial value, usually mixed-race, such as half-caste
Mestizo
Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...
or mulatto
Mulatto
Mulatto denotes a person with one white parent and one black parent, or more broadly, a person of mixed black and white ancestry. Contemporary usage of the term varies greatly, and the broader sense of the term makes its application rather subjective, as not all people of mixed white and black...
.
Since the early days of movie industry in the U.S., when Asian Hispanic actors were given roles, they usually cast as non-Hispanic Asian Americans, given the reason of their appearance that is similar to the non-Hispanic Asian Americans and no trace of Spanish accent in their spoken English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. Those who were given roles as Hispanics have 2 conditions: roles as Asian Hispanics and native Latinos or light-skinned mestizo Latinos with native American appearance were given to Asian Hispanic actors whose Asian appearances are seen and who can speak Spanish with Spanish accent in their English and roles as non-Asian Hispanics or mestizo Hispanics of Caucasian appearance to Asian Hispanic actors with partial Asian blood and Asian appearance is unseen and who can speak Spanish with Spanish accent in their English. Some Asian Hispanic actors were given roles as non-Hispanic non-Asian or Caucasian to Asian Hispanic actors whose Asian appearance is unobvious and not fluent in Spanish.
Those who claim that Asian Hispanics are not allowed to play Hispanic roles in the U.S. say that this unfairly leads the masses of viewers to the assumption that there are few, if any, Asian Hispanics. Further, some Asian Hispanics are categorized as non-Asian and misunderstood by the media as having some innate knowledge of indigenous culture, e.g., in terms of customs, food and music, which is an individual inclination and not necessarily confined to Hispanics in general.
Notable Asian Hispanic and Latino Americans
- Tatyana AliTatyana AliTatyana Marisol Ali is an American actress and R&B singer, best known for her childhood role as Ashley Banks on the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air...
, American actress and R&B singer - Daniella Alonso, actress
- Tyson BeckfordTyson BeckfordTyson Craig Beckford is an American male model and actor, best known as a Ralph Lauren model. He was also the host of both seasons of the Bravo program Make Me a Supermodel.-Biography:...
, American male model and actor - Franklin Chang-Diaz, former NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
astronaut - Sonia Chang-DíazSonia Chang-DíazSonia Rosa Chang-Díaz is an American Democrat politician who represents the 2nd Suffolk District in the Massachusetts Senate. She is the first Hispanic or Latino woman to hold such office.-Background:...
, politician - Darren CrissDarren CrissDarren Everett Criss is an American actor, singer-songwriter, musician, composer, and a founding member and co-owner of the theater company StarKid Productions. He currently portrays Blaine Anderson, an openly gay high school student, on the FOX television series Glee...
, actor - Rudolph B. Davila, United States ArmyUnited States ArmyThe United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
officer - Carlos Galvan, singer
- Jessica HagedornJessica HagedornJessica Tarahata Hagedorn is a Filipino-American playwright, writer, poet, storyteller, musician, and multimedia performance artist.-Biography:...
, writer - KelisKelisKelis Rogers Kelis Rogers Kelis Rogers (born August 21, 1971 is an American musical artist. She is a BRIT Award, Q Award and NME Award winner and has been nominated for two Grammy Awards. She has had nine top 10 singles on the UK Singles Chart...
, singer - Bruno MarsBruno MarsPeter Gene Hernandez , better known by his stage name Bruno Mars, is an Filipino-American singer-songwriter and record producer. Raised in Honolulu, Hawaii by a family of musicians, Mars began making music at a young age...
, singer - Chino MorenoChino MorenoChino Moreno is an American musician. He is best known as the lead singer and contributing guitarist of Deftones. He is also a member of the side-project bands Team Sleep and Crosses....
, rapper - Asia NitollanoAsia NitollanoAsia Nitollano is an American singer, dancer, model and cheerleader. After winning the television series Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll, Nitollano became a member of the Pussycat Dolls, only to leave a few months later to pursue a solo career.-Early life:Nitollano was born...
, singer - Sigrid NunezSigrid Nunez-Biography:Sigrid Nunez is the daughter of a Chinese-Panamanian father and a German mother. She was born and raised in New York City. She received her BA from Barnard College and her MFA from Columbia University. After finishing school she worked for a time as an editorial assistant at The New York...
, writer - Lou Diamond Philips, actor
- Anna Maria Perez de TagleAnna Maria Perez de TagleAnna Manria Francesca Enriquez Perez de Taglé is an American actress and singer. She is known for her roles as Ashley Dewitt on Hannah Montana and Ella Pador on Camp Rock and Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam...
, actress - Dominic Sandoval, dancer
- Harry Shum, Jr.Harry Shum, Jr.Harry Shum, Jr. is an American dancer, actor, and choreographer. He is best known for his role as Mike Chang on the FOX television show Glee. He has appeared in dance films such as Stomp the Yard, You Got Served, Step Up 2: The Streets and Step Up 3D...
, actor - Elmelindo Rodrigues SmithElmelindo Rodrigues SmithSergeant First Class Elmelindo Rodrigues Smith born in Wahiawa, Hawaii, was a United States Army soldier, of Hispanic-Asian descent, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Vietnam War...
, United States ArmyUnited States ArmyThe United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
soldier - Tia CarrereTia CarrereTia Carrere is an American actress, model, voice artist, and singer, perhaps most widely known for her role as Cassandra Wong in the feature films Wayne's World and Wayne's World 2, Queen Tyr'ahnee in Duck Dodgers, and as Sydney Fox in the TV series Relic Hunter.-Early life:Carrere was born in...
, actress - Jasmine VillegasJasmine VillegasJasmine Marie Villegas also known as Jasmine V is an American teen R&B, pop and soul singer. She has Filipino and Mexican heritage. After many years of pursuing a career in music she was recently signed to Sony Music. In September 2010 she joined the second leg of Justin Bieber's My World Tour as...
, singer
See also
- Latino
- HispanicHispanicHispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
- Black Hispanic and Latino Americans
- White Hispanic and Latino AmericansWhite Hispanic and Latino AmericansWhite Hispanic and Latino Americans are citizens and residents of the United States who are racially White and ethnically Hispanic or Latino.White American, itself an official U.S...
External Link
- PBS: A CULTURAL IDENTITY An essay on the meaning of the Hispanic label. By Richard RodriguezRichard RodriguezRichard Rodriguez is an American writer who became famous as the author of Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez , a narrative about his intellectual development.- Early life :...
.