www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Hola amigos,
It may be just me and my ill concieved perceptions but it seems to me that hispanics have a lot of predjudices and class distinctions within their race. I would like to hear what some of you think and especially would like to hear from any latino member such as Mente and get your reactions. Before I procede I must be politically correct and say that since we are talking abut race I have no intentions of saying anything of a hurtful nature and hope it is not perceived as such.
Several months ago in order to attempt to improve my spanish I signed on with a satalite tv service which has 7 espanol channels. I watch these channels about a hour or so every night and have come to enjoy some of the shows. Most of the dramas are of the Dallas/Dynasty variety,ie rich backstabbing the rich ect. I also watch the news and a few game shows. Now,, I know these are not CR shows, most if not all are mexican but I presume the mindset is the same. What I have noticed is as follows...
1 Almost 100% of the actors/actresses are white as I am and the girls are drop dead gorgeous.

2 Same thing with the news anchors,,white and the females are unbeleiveable, I am in love with Paola Roja, one of the most desireable creatures on planet earth.

3 Same with the talk shows and game shows.

4 When you see a hispanic in these shows with the indian features they are usually in the roles of servant, gardener, maid, or the bad guy and are generally portrayed as poor and ignorant. Not always, but mostly.

5. What really made me think of this is the comments about blacks that Vincente Fox made about a month ago. If Bush had said that Cheney would now be pres..

Certainly we all know the hispanic race covers all colors from pure white to indian to black and any combo of the above, and it would not be noticable exept that none of the hispanics pouring across the border look like the people on spanish tv. But by looking at the spanish tv one would otherwise assume that most latinos are gringoish. Vincente Fox could easily pass for a gringo if he spoke perfect english. But none of the many mexicans/ hispanics I deal with every day could pass for gringos. Taking all this into consideration makes me wonder if their is an unspoken predjudice in favor of the lighter skinned european descended hispanics?? Anybody have any thoughts on this, or has anybody else noticed this, or is it just my incorrect perceptions??? Junkyard dog,,, grande barko pero pequeno biteo......

JD,

Of course there is prejudice. Prejudice of one sort or another exists in the mammalian species from moles and voles to homo sapiens. It is a natural event in survival of the fittest etc. Anything that is different is to be ostracized or belittled whether right or wrong. In all cultures the world over prejudice is prevalent!

Is prejudice justifiable?...of course not, however it will never end because we are all perpetuating it in one form or another in our daily lives. Passed on to us by our parents and society in general.

In latin countries as in almost the whole world lighter skinned people are assumed to be from the "upper" class. Partly (mostly) I think this is due to Euro-Norteamericano influence; not to mention the stigma of the darker you are the more subservient you should be leading from the days of slavery etc.

Wow you got me going!! Still allin all I too enjoy the "novellas" on latin tv. BTW a lot of them are from Brazil.

Pax,

Sluthog

I had a long time girlfriend who was Filipina. She refused to wear short sleeve shirts or shorts in the summer for fear of tanning. In her country, the darker skinned people were of "lower" class. The darker skinned females were looked upon as "hookers." She even went so far as to buy the skin lightening cream for her face. So, I think that prejudice exists around the world.

dapanz1

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Paradise= Sitting outside the Bodega in Panama City about 1 am. Drinking cool Balboas with cool friends and blazin' hot Colombianas. I want to be there..RIGHT NOW!

If you are seriously interested in this topic you have to do some research into the Spanish conquest and the history of Latin America during the colonial era. But in a nutshell:

The Spanish conquistadors came to America for the sole purpose of exploiting the natural resources of the new world and enriching the Royals in Spain. The crown appointed Viceroyalties in the Americas from influential citizens and soldiers of pure Spanish blood and white skin only, and these people became the ruling class whose purpose it was to enslave the indigenous population (dark skin) and exact tribute from them. Throughout the years, the Spanish intermixed with the Indians and created a Mestizo class with mixed blood. While not as detested as the Indian slave class, the mestizos were still not considered equal to the Spanish ruling class and were denied the status and privelege of the aristocracy.

At the same time, the indigenous population in the Caribbean Islands of Cuba and Hispanola (now the Dominican Republic) was being killed off by disease and hard labor by the conquistadors and the only way to replenish the slave class was to import black labor from Africa. Additionally, the English and Dutch were trying to intercept the trade routes between Spain and the new world and attempted to colonize the Caribbean coast of Central and South America. They did not have the populations in their home countries required to colonize so they also imported large numbers of black slaves from Africa to form their working class. This is the reason that today the Caribbean coast and the islands are predominantly black.

So there you have it. The current class system in Latin America has it's roots in the colonial era and it is almost as strong today as it was then. The upper class is and has always been white decendents of pure or almost pure Spanish blood. Then comes Matizos of mixed blood, followed by indians and blacks. While you may find some mestizos who have been fortunate enough to find their way into the upper class, you will find virtually none with predominantly indiginous or African blood.

An interesting note is that Costa Rica is an anomoly in that it has never had a sizable indigenous population. Therefore, the majority of it's citizens are decendents of Spanish blood. Perhaps more so than any other country in Latin America aside from Argentina and Uruguay.

So... are the mestizos the same as the Morenos?

And why do many of the Columbians look so similar to the Gurkhas and the (if I remember correctly) the Malasians?

Also... my limited experience here has shown me much more classism based on education than on race.

And the Tico's don't care for the Nicas.
LVSteve

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Just an old horney, fat gambler.

Prejudice is found all through Latin America.

People from one country look down on people from another country.
People within one country look down on people from a different part of their country.
People from one city look down on people from a less-privileged part of the city.

And on it goes.

As for the Novelas and news babes, most of the beauties are from Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Colombia, Miami (Cuba) and Mexico.

I don't think so. It's my understanding that mestizos are mixed, specially black & white, and morenos are black.

The Nico's and Nica's infeast my country like the illegal alliens do in south Texas, South California and South Florida. Although i did bang a Nica one time by accident. Didn't ask her where she was from until after i was all up in that ass. It was good sexo, but i felt kind of shitty afterwords. Kind of like that time i banged that 55 year old when i was 19. Didn't know she was 55 till after...i puked a few seconds after she told me. I mean the sex was good, but the thought of it made me feel real funny. Same thing with the nica...
Lou

Metizos is a person of mixed racial ancestry, especially of mixed European and Native American ancestry, or in this case Latin American natives.

A mulatto is a person having one white and one black parent.

So... what's a 50/50 bar?

Unless I'm missing something or this is an inside joke, I find this post to be extremely offensive. This discussion has centered on explaining the extent and roots of racism in Latin America and this person responds with a post that is nothing short of racist in itself.

Not defending him but Superman is a Tico, and like LVSteve said-

It blew me away.

Living in the U.S.a., I've heard more than my share of Mexican jokes...racist, terrible, and sadly very funny at times.

When I was last in Costa Rica, a tico friend told me a joke. Substitute "grapes" for "coffee" and"mexicans" for "Nicas," and it's the same old, tired joke I've heard about Mexican immigrants a hundred times.

"What do you get when you cross a nica with an octopus?
Beats me, but you should see it pick coffee."

I only quote this joke to show how universal such prejudice can be. And no offense to any readers of African descent, but the word "nica" may or may not be taken badly by someone from Nicaragua, depending upon how the word is said. A neutral pronunciation will get a neutral or positive response from the Nicaraguan person, but slurring the word into something that sounds like "niggah" will universally recieve a negative response.

Again, just an illustration; I intend no offense to anyone.

The biggest issue among Latinos whom I know is "classism" rather than racism. It's about money, education and social status; in many ways, it reflects the United States of a hundred years ago. The higher levels of Costa Rican society are very closed and nearly inaccessible to most ticos, and while the middle class is solidly established, there seems to be no way to climb above it. Every tico I met is conscious of this, and if one cannot rise up the social ladder, one can always put down those below. State of the world, my friends.

We Americans, who believe intrinsically that all are created equal have a hard time with this. But, on a positive note, mongering-wise: This gives gringos a serious edge. The ticas know that we have compulsory public education through age 16 (tenth grade) at minimum; this is on average three to five years more education than a lower class tico will receive. So at minimum, we're more educated. Read that, higher social class, and probably more money. This is a case where "prejudice" (pre-judgement) serves us well, and while a stereotype, it is a correct one.

Skin color really doesn't matter much in the Hispanic world; it really is about education, money, social class, family standing and social/business connections.

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Pura Vulva! Wandering through the dark, I am El Ciego.

To get back on topic:



In Latin America generally speaking, Mestizos are a mix of Spanish and Indigenous blood. Morenos are simply people with darker skin (usually African or Indigenous/African blood). Mulattos are a mixture of Spanish and African blood (half black/half white). For centuries this has been the main criteria separating the classes. If education plays any part in it, it is due to the fact that in most of Latin America only the upper class has access to higher education. Social mobility is difficult if not impossible. Even when Pablo Escobar was one of the wealthiest men in the world, he was never accepted by the Colombian upper class because of his Mestizo blood. The Ochoa family, conversely, has always been upper class and still is to this day.