Latino

It is common for "Latino" to be constructed as a racial identity alongside (or in opposition to) "Black", "Asian" , "white" or "Native American" but in reality this is more than a bit misleading. Aside from the usual objections that race is a social construction anyway, Latin America is a place more than a people. It's not just a magical land where Latinos come from and spring out of the earth (although some indigenous groups do have that as part of their founding myth). Instead, Latin America is a space where different people come and meet, and a certain dynamic can play itself out. For example, Cuba, before the Revolution was segregated not unlike the US. In fact, it was proverbially, if not literally true, that there were country clubs so exclusive that Batista, the mulatto dictator of the country couldn't get into. In Mexico there are conflicts between the "white" rulers and the "Indian" Zapatistas in Chiapas. etc. Using "Latino" as a racial category is a blanket which covers over these differences. When in reality, "Latino" is more like an address.