A mixed race person is descended from parents of different races.
From the late Latin mixticius ( "mixed" , "mixed" ), a mestizo is someone born to a father and mother of a different race . The term is usually used to name the individual born of a white man and an indigenous woman, or of an indigenous man and a white woman.
The concept began to develop in 16th century Spanish America as part of the social stratification and caste system based on race. Mestizos had a lower status than whites, which prevented them from accessing certain positions or services.
Since the independence of the American countries, new legislation began to abolish privileges arising from birth or blood and established the equality of all human beings before the law . Since then, the notion of mestizo has been used to name people descended from American aborigines, African Americans and Spanish. This makes the majority of the Latin American population mestizo.
Discrimination against mestizos
Despite having crossed the mythical barrier of the 21st century, we are still at a considerably early evolutionary stage as a species, at least when it comes to our ideals and our ability to respect others and the planet on which we live. For a mixed-race individual, life can be a real hell because of the discrimination and different forms of abuse that many people continue to practice to torture those they consider "different."
In the case of heterosexual unions of people of different races, the first obstacle that must be overcome is the opposition of the parents of both parties, although the family of the white individual is usually the most severe, given the hatred and contempt against dark skin. that for some reason very difficult to understand feels a percentage of the world's population. But racism occurs in any direction and in none of them is it justifiable.
When two heterosexual people of different races decide to get married, if their families suffer from racism, the mere idea that a mixed-race child will emerge from said union produces the deepest of fears, since it would be an individual who would represent a stain on their family. race, would be found in a gray point and would be proof that was impossible to hide from the disgrace to which their descendants subjected them. Many times, racist people view mixed-race people in a worse light than other races.
Thanks to the media and the work of some foundations, societies seem to be slowly learning to respect their neighbors regardless of their ethnic origin, sexuality and beliefs, but there is still a lot of work ahead. Being mestizo can cause ridicule, physical attacks and different types of persecution, the same thing that happens to people who are born in the countryside, to homosexuals and to practitioners of various religions... The root of these conflicts is the same: hatred.
A mixed breed dog is born from the crossing of two different breeds.
The term referring to animals and plants
The idea of mestizo is also applied to other animal and plant species to name the specimens resulting from the crossing of two different breeds.
A mixed breed dog , for example, can be one born from the crossbreeding of a Doberman and a German Shepherd, although these breeds did not exist in nature but are the product of human manipulation.
Mestizo art
Cultural or artistic manifestations can be classified as mestizo when they arise from the mixture of different cultures.
A musical band that combines rock, country music and bolero is an example of a mestizo-style group, just as a writer who mixes Celtic legends and Guaraní characters could be considered an exponent of mestizo letters.