[quote=Zeitgeist]”Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former.” Einstein
Web definitions for La Raza
La Raza (literally “The Race”) is sometimes used to denote people of Chicano (i.e. Mexican American) and Mexican descent and the Hispanic world, as well by mestizos who share Native American or national Hispanic heritage.
While it is true that one meaning of “raza” in Spanish is indeed “race,” in Spanish, as in English and any other language, words can and do have multiple meanings.
I guess they want it both ways.[/quote]
The bolded words are the important ones. I’m not a native spanish speaker. At one time I was conversant. But I know enough to be confident that the nuances of the language evaded me. “Literal” translation is not always possible. Just like the same word can have different meanings in english, the translation of words is often imperfect.
The origin of “La Raza”:
the term originated in the book “La Raza Cosmica” written by José Vasconcelos, a Mexican intellectual (1881-1959). He described la raza cosmica as the product of racial mixing over time that was already in progress (black, white, asian, native american, all becoming racially and culturally mixed due to the events of time, for example the conquest of mexico resulted in mixing of the blood and culture of the natives and the spaniards). He believed that eventually all of the races would be completely mixed into a new race that had the best attributes of all the cultures and would “show us the way” so to speak.
the term caught on as simply “la raza” and has come to refer to the people of mexican ancestry(mexican as in from mexico, not specifically the native mexica tribe)wherever they may live at the present time. La raza to us means “our people” of common ancestry the same way a proud U.S. citizen might say “americans” with the intended meaning as his/her people of this country, all sharing a common background. that is the true meaning of “la raza”.
The full name of the organization is the National Council of La Raza. Since we should now be past the silly argument that the name itself is racist, I’ve yet to see any documentation that the organization has ever been involved with, or promoted racist activities. Unless, of course, it is assumed that promotion of any particular culture that isn’t white, is racist.
