La Raza

La Raza

In the Spanish language the term Raza translates to "race". Its meaning varies amongst various Spanish-speaking peoples. For instance, in Spain, "Raza" may denote specifically Spanish and often something or someone of a European Christian heritage. The Francoist film Raza, from 1944, which celebrates ideally Spanish qualities, is an example of this usage. In Latin America, depending on the location, it may primarily emphasize Spanish and European heritage, and/or the family, such as the name Dia de la Raza to mark the arrival of Christopher Columbus to America. In other Latin American contexts, it is used more expansively to describe the race formed by the fusion of Spanish people, Native American and African peoples in Latin America. In this way, "La Raza" symbolically means "the people". It is equivalent in meaning and intent to the German word Volk which may be used in reference to a population as a nationality or a race.

In the United States, "La Raza" is sometimes used to denote people of Chicano and Mexican mestizo descent as well as other Latin American mestizos who share Native American heritage. The term is rarely inclusive of entirely European or African descended Hispanic peoples.

In his 1925 book, La Raza Cósmica (English: The Cosmic Race), Mexican writer José Vasconcelos described La Raza Cosmica as the product of gradual racial mixing that was already underway in the Latin world. Vasconcelos believed that eventually all of the people within the former Spanish Empire would be completely mixed into a new race.

The term is also used by the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic advocacy group in the United States.