Just a question here (it might sound stupid, but have never been able to answer it):
My grandparents immigrated to the US from Spain; I was born and raised in a Central American country; my mother was from that same country... what does that make me, aside from an American? Hispanic, Latina?
I do not feel, -nor have ever felt- as if I belong there. More like the damn stork dropped me wherever!!!!
To me, you would be an American. But I know you said "aside from an American."
This is from the U.S. Census Bureau:
"Hispanic Origin. Persons of Hispanic origin in this file are determined on the basis of question that asked for self-identification of the person's origin or descent. Respondents are asked to select their origin (Or the origin of some other household member) from a "flash card" listing ethnic origins. Persons of Hispanic origin, in particular, are those who indicated that their origin was Mexican-American, Chicano, Mexican, Mexicano, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Hispanic."
According to the Wikipedia:
"Often the term "Hispanic" is used synonymously with the word "Latino", and frequently with "Latin" as well. Even though the terms may sometimes overlap in meaning, they are not completely synonymous.
Latin in this context refers to "Latin America," a term introduced by the French in the 1860s when they dreamed of building an empire based in Mexico. It was closely connected to the introduction of French positivism into Latin American intellectual circles. [1] The French correctly understood "Latin" to include themselves and exclude the "Anglo-Saxons" of the US and the UK.
"Hispanic", on the other hand, specifically refers to Spain, and to the Spanish-speaking nations of the Americas as cultural and demographic extensions of Spain.
Meanwhile, Latinos are only those from the countries of Latin America, whether Spanish or Portuguese-speaking, though in the latter case, not so frequently and with some ambiguities.
The confusion that arises is from the similarity between the words Latino and Latin, and between the concept of Hispanic and Latino. Latino is a shortened version of the noun Latinoamérica (Latin America). In the Spanish language "Latín" (Latin) is the name of the language of the Romans. It also means Latin people such as Italian, French, Romanian, Portuguese and as such is not confined solely to Hispanics and Latinos.
Thus, of a group consisting of a Brazilian, a Colombian, a Mexican, a Spaniard, and a Romanian; the Brazilian, Colombian, and Mexican would all be Latinos, but not the Spaniard or the Romanian, since neither Spain nor Romania are geographically situated in Latin America. Conversely, the Colombian, Mexican and Spaniard would all be Hispanics, but not the Brazilian or the Romanian, since Brazil was colonized by the Portuguese, and neither Portugal or Romania are extensions of Spain. The one exception for a Brazilian to be considered Hispanic is if his ancestry was Spanish. Finally, all of the above nationalities would all be Latin, including the Romanian.
Along the same lines, one should note that the term Latino is never, or very rarely, applied to French-speaking Québécois of Canada or Haitians. The categories of "Latino" and "Hispanic" are used primarily in the United States to socially differentiate people. As social categories they are not mutually exclusive and without ambiguities and cannot be seen as independent of social discrimination (socio-economic, ethnic or racial).
Aside from "Hispanic", "Latino", and "Latin", other terms are used for more specific subsets of the Hispanic population. These terms often relate to specific countries of origin, such as "Mexican", "Mexican-American", "Cuban", "Puerto Rican" or "Dominican", etc. Other terms signify distinct cultural patterns among Hispanics which have emerged in what is now the United States, including "Chicano", "Tejano", "Nuyorican", etc."
I think Hispanic would work for you, but I don't really know.
What really concerns me is that you don't feel like you belong here. I didn't grow up anywhere else like you did, so it is easier for me. Yet, even so, when I see some of the social engineering going on, sometimes I feel like I have been dropped on another planet myself!
What is the issue(s) that makes you feel like you don't belong?
No country is perfect, but look at the values and see if you feel aligned with them. For example, do you believe in freedom -- to worship, to go to school where you want, live where you want (within your own country, of course; I don't mean to force another country to take you), to be able to read both sides of an issue, to be able to vote, to express your opinion; do you believe in a classless society, that noone can force you into slavery, etc.?
A person. :-)