1.......It is first important to note the differences between Latin(o/a) and Hispanic.
2.......Hispanic is a linguistic term describing speakers of Spanish (Hispanics) exclusively. All Hispanics are Latin by virtue of his/her culture, but not all Latins are Hispanics.
3.........Latin(o/a) is a social identifier, encompassing all cultures whose main method of communication, or language, derives in part, or completely, from languages deriving from Latin. Those languages include Latin-based Creole languages (Louisiana Creole, Cape Verdean Creole, Papiamento, Haitian Creole etc), French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian and Spanish. Therefore, all persons utilizing one of the aforementioned languages are rightfully Latin(o/a)s.
4........Louisiana was a colony of both France and Spain.
5........Under the French, Louisiana, Saint-Domingue, Martinique, and French Canada operated essentially as one colony, with intense trade, commerce and migration between all four locations.
6........Under the Spaniards, (present-day) Louisiana, Cuba, Mexico, (present-day) Texas, (present-day) California, Central and Hispanic South America and the Caribbean were all part of New Spain.
7........During the period between 1764 and 1800, New Orleans, Veracruz, Mexico and Havana, Cuba; all Caribbean/Gulf of Mexico port cities, were the location of high volume migration, trade and commerce.
8........Between 1850 and 1898, Louisiana Creoles, in attempts to flee the increasingly oppressive Anglo-American regime, fled to Veracruz and Tampico states of Mexico. Traffic between New Orleans, Veracruz and New Iberia were intense, leading up to the end of Reconstruction (1891).
9........It was the traffic between Iberia Parish and Veracruz that brought back hot peppers to Southwest Louisiana. Tabasco was born as a result of this Veracruz-New Iberia trade and migration, and significantly figured into the culinary and dietary customs of southern Louisiana.
10.......Louisianans speak Louisiana French, French-based Louisiana Creole and Louisiana Spanish.
11........Louisiana French remained the lingua franca of many Louisianians until well into the 20th century. What most people do not know is the heavy Hispanic influence both in vocabulary, phonemes and expressions.
12........In Lafourche Parish, the letter ‘J’ /zh/ is pronounced like the Spanish ‘J’ /hota/, an aspirated ‘H’ sound in English. It is still debated in linguistics whether or not this is a direct influence of Canary Islanders and/or additional Spanish-speaking Louisianians who settled in Lower Southeast Louisiana in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, or if this was transported with a community from other regions of the French-speaking world, like Canada or France.
13........In Louisiana French and Louisiana Creole we also use the verb “espérer” for “to wait,” which is “esperar” in Spanish. This particular verb used elsewhere in the Francophone world would be “attendre.”
14........Zydeco and Cajun music share instrumental and performative relations to bachata and meringue of the Dominican Republic.
15.......inbobó), beans and rice (frijoles/habichuelas con arroz), meat pies (empanadas), all dishes for which Latin Louisiana is known for, can be found in the Hispanic Caribbean.
16...One cannot forget the famous daiquiri, a drink of Cuban origin, from the town of Daiquirí. This drink, on a national level, only took strong hold amongst Louisiana’s Latin population. Today, it is extremely popular in South Louisiana and in areas of the nation where Latin Louisianans have migrated.
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Must Read Article:
Latino, Hispanic, Quechua. No, American; Take Your Pick. (New York Times, 1992).
