Inspired by a friends? comments (and surprise) on the diverse terminology applied to the population of American territories colonized by Spain , I decided to do some research on the usage of the following terms and combinations.
Negro + Blanco = Mulato or Pardo
Mulato + Blanco = Terceron ( 1/3 white)
Terceron + Blanco = Cuarteron (1/4 quarter white)
Cuarteron + Blanco = Mestizo
Mestizo + Blanco = Blanco
Negro (Male) + India(Female) = Alcatraz
Negra(Female) + Indio(Nale) =Zambo
Alcataraz or Zambo + Mulato = Grifo
Alcataraz or Zambo + Terceron = Grifo
Alcataraz or Zambo + Cuarteron = Grifo
I have heard about these terms, but never knew about the gender factor in relation to Alcatraz and Zambo..
There is even a more interesting term : ?Saltapatras?; literally meaning ?going backards? ;which is the combination of a Terceron or Cuarteron or Mulato with Black
I do recall my Venezuelan grandfather reciting, like almost reading from a book, these terms and knowing the exact ?outcome? from any specific pair or combination. ,
I believe these charts were part of primary school curriculum during the first half of the 20th century.
Are still some of this terms, heard in DR or jokingly being applied to people ? Or perhaps it?s only the old generations who vaguely remember them and will occasionally make references to them ?
Nowadays, we hear of ?Indio Oscuro? (dark Indian) and ?Indio lavado? (washed out Indian) but it seems that ?politically correctness? has made a joke of their real origins. It makes no sense that ?Indio Oscuro? is the result of Mulato and Black; given the fact that there?s no ?Indio? neither in Mulato nor in Black. Perhaps, the result of Trujillo?s or Balaguer?s intention on ?whitening? the nomenclature used to designate different shades of skin color.
Ok..back to topic..Could those above mentioned expressions find their way back into regular everyday language or are they already too derogative, offensive and even wounding to be even spoken ?.
Any info or further addition to this topic is greatly appreciated.
Contasm
Negro + Blanco = Mulato or Pardo
Mulato + Blanco = Terceron ( 1/3 white)
Terceron + Blanco = Cuarteron (1/4 quarter white)
Cuarteron + Blanco = Mestizo
Mestizo + Blanco = Blanco
Negro (Male) + India(Female) = Alcatraz
Negra(Female) + Indio(Nale) =Zambo
Alcataraz or Zambo + Mulato = Grifo
Alcataraz or Zambo + Terceron = Grifo
Alcataraz or Zambo + Cuarteron = Grifo
I have heard about these terms, but never knew about the gender factor in relation to Alcatraz and Zambo..
There is even a more interesting term : ?Saltapatras?; literally meaning ?going backards? ;which is the combination of a Terceron or Cuarteron or Mulato with Black
I do recall my Venezuelan grandfather reciting, like almost reading from a book, these terms and knowing the exact ?outcome? from any specific pair or combination. ,
I believe these charts were part of primary school curriculum during the first half of the 20th century.
Are still some of this terms, heard in DR or jokingly being applied to people ? Or perhaps it?s only the old generations who vaguely remember them and will occasionally make references to them ?
Nowadays, we hear of ?Indio Oscuro? (dark Indian) and ?Indio lavado? (washed out Indian) but it seems that ?politically correctness? has made a joke of their real origins. It makes no sense that ?Indio Oscuro? is the result of Mulato and Black; given the fact that there?s no ?Indio? neither in Mulato nor in Black. Perhaps, the result of Trujillo?s or Balaguer?s intention on ?whitening? the nomenclature used to designate different shades of skin color.
Ok..back to topic..Could those above mentioned expressions find their way back into regular everyday language or are they already too derogative, offensive and even wounding to be even spoken ?.
Any info or further addition to this topic is greatly appreciated.
Contasm