Hispanics, Latinos, or Americanos: The evolution of identity By: Ericka Ortiz

Lillian Comas-Diaz Born in Chicago, Illinois but moved to Puerto Rico at the age of 6 B.A., University of Puerto Rico (1970) M.A., (Clinical Psychology), University of Puerto Rico(1973) Ph.D. (Clinical Psychology), University of Massachusetts (1979) Career Focus: Ethno cultural approaches to mental health, women’s spirituality, intersecting identities, social justice, and international psychology Felt destined to be a psychologist because of her family background Became an advocate for undeserved population

Summary Identifies and categorizes terms used to designate the Hispanic/Latino population in the United States Evolution of Latino identity Self- and other identification naming evolves in response to individual thought and behavior and geopolitical factors Goes into detail of what it is to be Latino(a), Hispanic, Mexican, Americano(a) etc.

Self Interpretation Generic terms to identify Spanish-speaking people such as “Hispanic” is incorrect as it is not applicable to all Spanish-speaking people Our cultural values, where we are born and our behaviors are how we designate what race we identify with Continue searching for the evolution of identity Identity is such a huge problem because the selection is diverse Appropriate terms used today to identify a group may be inappropriate terms in the future as evolution take place