mestizo

mestizo (māstē`sō) [Span.,=mixture], person of mixed race; particularly, in Mexico and Central and South America, a person of European (Spanish or Portuguese) and indigenous descent. The mestizos constitute a large part of the population in several Latin American countries; they are in various places also called by other names, e.g., ladinos in Guatemala, caboclos in Brazil. The word is primarily applied to a mixture of racial strains, but it has acquired social and cultural connotations; it may be applied to pure-blooded indigenous people who adopt European dress and customs. All persons of mixed race are called mestizos in the Philippines.

---

mestizo

Any person of mixed blood. In Spanish America the term denotes a person of combined Indian and European extraction. In some countries, such as Ecuador, it has acquired social and cultural connotations: a pure-blooded Indian who has adopted European dress and customs is called a mestizo (or cholo). In Mexico the term's meaning has varied so greatly that it has been abandoned in census reports. In the Philippines it denotes a person of mixed foreign (e.g., Chinese) and native ancestry. See also ladino.