Latino Studies Glossary

The mythical ancestral homeland of the Aztec people, symbolically claimed as the U.S. Southwest by the Chicano Movement.

A Spanish-speaking neighborhood or district, often in an urban area. The term carries cultural significance as a site of community, identity, and sometimes socioeconomic marginalization.

The ability to speak two languages fluently. In Latino Studies, it encompasses debates about language policy, English-only movements, bilingual education, and code-switching.

Physical and metaphorical spaces where cultures, languages, and identities meet and interact, particularly along the U.S.-Mexico border.

A 1942-1964 bilateral agreement between the U.S. and Mexico that brought millions of Mexican guest workers for agricultural labor.

A term of political and cultural identity for Mexican Americans, reclaimed during the Chicano Movement of the 1960s-1970s to express pride and self-determination.

The practice of alternating between two or more languages or language varieties within a conversation, common among bilingual Latino communities.

The practice of acquiring political control over another country or territory, exploiting it economically, and often imposing cultural dominance. Central to understanding Latin American and Latino histories.

The assertion of belonging and rights through cultural practices and community participation, extending beyond formal legal immigration status.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a 2012 policy providing temporary protection from deportation and work permits to undocumented individuals brought to the U.S. as children.

The dispersion of a people from their original homeland. Used in Latino Studies to describe communities maintaining connections to Latin American and Caribbean nations of origin.

The process of neighborhood transformation through an influx of wealthier residents, often displacing established Latino and other communities of color.

A framework for understanding how multiple social identities (race, gender, class, sexuality, immigration status) interact to create overlapping systems of disadvantage or privilege.

A sense of pan-ethnic Latino identity and solidarity, connecting diverse national-origin groups through shared cultural and political experiences in the U.S.

A cultural concept of exaggerated masculine pride and authority. In Latino Studies, it is analyzed critically as a gendered power structure while also being understood within broader colonial and socioeconomic contexts.

The idealized feminine counterpart to machismo, emphasizing self-sacrifice, purity, and moral strength, often modeled on the Virgin Mary. Critiqued as limiting women's agency.

Racial and cultural mixing among Indigenous, European, and African peoples in Latin America. Both a demographic reality and an ideology that can obscure racial hierarchies.

Political opposition to immigration based on the perceived threat immigrants pose to the culture, economy, or security of the receiving country.

Puerto Ricans born or raised in New York City, associated with a distinctive cultural and literary identity.

The grouping of diverse ethnic subgroups under a broader racial or ethnic umbrella, such as 'Latino' or 'Hispanic.'

The social process of ascribing racial identities and meanings to a group, placing them within a society's racial hierarchy.

Money transfers sent by immigrants to family and communities in their countries of origin, forming a crucial economic lifeline and transnational link.

A hybrid form of speech blending Spanish and English, widely used in U.S. Latino communities. Reflects bilingual creativity and cultural negotiation.

The maintenance of economic, political, social, and cultural ties across national borders by migrant communities.

The presence of foreign-born individuals in a country without legal authorization. A central issue in Latino Studies involving human rights, labor, family separation, and policy debates.