What’s the Difference Between Hispanic and Latino?

Latin America, extending from the deserts of northern Mexico to the icy wilds of Tierra del Fuego in Chile and Argentina, encompasses many diverse countries and peoples. Though most of these countries are largely Catholic and Spanish-speaking, thanks to a shared history of colonization by Spain, they have at least as many differences as they do similarities with each other. In the United States the terms "Hispanic" and "Latino" (or "Latina" for a woman; sometimes written as “Latinx” to be gender-neutral) were adopted in an attempt to loosely group immigrants and their descendants who hail from this part of the world. The terms are often used interchangeably, though the words can convey slightly different connotations. It is important to clarify that the categories refer only to a person's origin and ancestry. A Latino/a or Hispanic person can be any race or color.

In general, "Latino" is understood as shorthand for the Spanish word latinoamericano (or the Portuguese latino-americano) and refers to (almost) anyone born in or with ancestors from Latin America and living in the U.S., including Brazilians. "Latino" does not include speakers of Romance languages from Europe, such as Italians or Spaniards, and some people have (tenuously) argued that it excludes Spanish speakers from the Caribbean. Although people from French Guiana are sometimes accepted as Latino since French shares linguistic roots with Spanish and Portuguese, there is much debate about whether people from English-speaking Belize and Guyana and Dutch-speaking Suriname truly fit under the category since their cultures and histories are so distinct.

"Hispanic" is generally accepted as a narrower term that includes people only from Spanish-speaking Latin America, including those countries/territories of the Caribbean or from Spain itself. With this understanding, a Brazilian could be Latino and non-Hispanic, a Spaniard could be Hispanic and non-Latino, and a Colombian could use both terms. However, this is also an imperfect categorization, as there are many indigenous peoples from Spanish-speaking countries who do not identify with Spanish culture and do not speak the dominant language.

 

Why Do We Carve Pumpkins at Halloween?

In Ireland, people started to carve demonic faces out of turnips to frighten away Jack’s wandering soul. When Irish immigrants moved to the U.S., they began carving jack-o’-lanterns from pumpkins, as these were native to the region.

The jack-o’-lantern has a long history with Halloween, although our favorite demonic faces haven’t always been carved out of pumpkins.

Their origin comes from an Irish myth about Stingy Jack, who tricked the Devil for his own monetary gain. When Jack died, God didn’t allow him into heaven, and the Devil didn’t let him into hell, so Jack was sentenced to roam the earth for eternity.

But how did jack-o’-lanterns become associated with Halloween? Halloween is based on the Celtic festival Samhain, a celebration in ancient Britain and Ireland that marked the end of summer and the beginning of the new year on November 1. It was believed that during Samhain the souls of those who had died that year traveled to the otherworld and that other souls would return to visit their homes.

 

Why Do Bananas Turn Brown?

When a fruit comes into contact with ethylene gas, the acids in the fruit start to break down, it becomes softer, and the green chlorophyll pigments are broken up and replaced—in the case of bananas, with a yellow hue. 

FOOTBALL World Cup JOKE

 

At the World Cup final a man takes his seat and looks over and notices there's an extra seat in between himself and the next guy.

The man says, "Who would ever miss the World Cup final?

The guy replies, "Well that was my wife's seat. We have been to the last five World Cup finals together, but sadly she passed away.

The man says back, "That's terrible, but couldn't you get another close family member to come with you?

The guy says, "No. They're all at the funeral."