Why Latine & Latinx

People from Latin America and the Caribbean living in the United States have long complicated histories with the various ethnic terms that have come to define them as a community. The region known as Latin America and the Caribbean is made up of 33 distinctive countries where over 500 different languages are spoken. To further these complexities, in the United States, the identity of people and descendants from Latin America and the Caribbean has also been shaped by local U.S culture. Due to these nuances, people and descendants from Latin America and the Caribbean in the United States identify themselves ethnically in varying ways. Some of the common terms used within these communities are those that indicate national origin, hyphenated American, Latino, Latina, Latin American, Chicano, Chicana, Chicanx, Hispanic, Latine and Latinx. Each of these terms have complicated histories and do not always contain the multitudes that make up the identity of Chicago’s Latine/x communities. 

Raices will employ Latine/x terminology strategically to indicate geographical locations and the gender and sexual variance of these communities. Latine, which signals being born and raised in Latin America and the Caribbean, is employed strategically to recognize how migrants have shaped Chicago. Latinx, which signals being born or raised from childhood in the United States, is employed strategically to recognize how the descendants of migrants born and raised in the U.S have shaped Chicago. These two terms are employed strategically to recognize the geographical differences between these two distinctive groups whose experiences merge and branch off throughout history.  

Raices understands the importance of self-identification and will be intentional in engaging all participants and contributors to utilize their preferred ethnic terminologies. This too will allow for a nuanced understanding of the multitudes within Chicago’s Latine/x communities.