To sum it up in two words — that depends.  Some Brazilians consider themselves Hispanic, while many others do not, depending on their ancestry.  Brazilians are actually categorized as “Lusophones” which means “Portuguese-speaking.”  This term specifically refers to people whose cultural background is primarily associated with the Portuguese language, regardless of ethnic or geographical differences, where the term “Hispanic” is primarily associated with Spanish-speakers. 

Where does all the confusion come from?  First of all, the confusion may stem from the different terms we use — race, ethnicity, and nationality.  “Nationality” is the easy one.  It is based on the country in which you were born.  If you were born in Brazil, your nationality is Brazilian.  “Ethnicity” means “pertaining to or characteristic of a people sharing a common and distinctive culture, religion, language, or the like.¹”  Now, the term “race” is defined as “a group of persons related by common descent or ancestry; an arbitrary classification of modern humans...based on various physical characteristics (skin color, facial form, or eye shape).¹”   So it appears that race pertains more to the physical characteristics of the individual, and not so much their cultural background.

Are we getting closer to answering the question posed?  Perhaps.  If the racial categories on the U.S. census are White, Black, Asian, Native Pacific Islander, Native American Indian, Hispanic or Latino and Other, how would a black Brazilian man (remember that many blacks were brought from Africa during early slave trade, and ultimately mixed with the locals) with a Argentinean mother categorize himself?   Most likely he would consider himself to be Latino, but not Hispanic, even thought the term “Latino” means “related to a Spanish-speaking people or culture.¹”  Some Brazilians might mark “Other” while yet others will go by their skin color.

So why are we posing this question in the first place?  Why does it matter?  Well, if you work in a multi-cultural environment, it matters to those individuals who are very proud of their heritage.  Do not assume that someone is Spanish-speaking just because they “look it.”  Some Brazilians take offense at being confused with Spanish-speakers.  In order to build cross-cultural relations, make no assumptions—always ASK!  Remember that Brazilians have their own history, language, and cultural traditions, which may be similar in some aspects to Hispanics, but they are definitely not “exactly like them.”

Understanding Hispanics and the Hispanic culture is an integral part of language learning.  Look for more articles in the future on this topic at:  www.stmpublishing.com/language-teaching-blog.

¹www.dictionary.com