Castizo
Encyclopedia
Castizo is a Spanish
word with a general meaning of "pure" or "genuine". The feminine form
is castiza. From this meaning it evolved other meanings, such as "typical of an area" and it was also used for one of the colonial Spanish race categories, the casta
s, that evolved in the seventeenth century.
system of colonial Latin America
, the term originally applied to the children resulting from the union of a European
and a mestizo
, that is, someone of three quarters European and one quarter Amerindian ancestry. During this era a myriad of other terms (mestizo, cuarterón de indio, etc.) were in use to denote other individuals of mixed European and Amerindian ancestry in ratios smaller or greater than that of castizos.
The term was mainly applied to mixed-race people who had a slightly darker complexion than what was assumed an unmixed Spaniard would have, but which were otherwise of European appearance with almost no visible admixture. Under this same caste system, the offspring of a Spaniard and a Castiza was classified as a criollo
(legally, a Spaniard born in the Americas), thus the offspring regained his or her "purity of blood". (See the related concept of Limpieza de sangre
.) For some castizos whose residual quarter of Amerindian ancestry was not apparent at all, many simply consolidated themselves within the criollos
and Peninsulares (Spaniards born in Spain).
With the fall of the Spanish Empire, the numerous caste terminologies fell out of use and lost all meaning, other than the categories of White
, Black
, Amerindian, and their three possible resulting combinations; mestizo
, mulato
and zambo
(the latter three, now without blood quantum connotations), as these legal categories were seen as incompatible with the new concept of citizenship
.
Furthermore, by the second part of the 19th century, most Hispanic countries had abolished even these surviving categories of distinction among their citizens, and so the racial heritage of a person was no longer compiled by the state as part of the individual's civil record, whether to legally hinder or privilege him in matters of civil life. Some countries, however, have recently reintroduced voluntary and annonymous declarations of race (or race mixture) in recent population censuses for statistical purposes, with no legal consequence to the individual.
A person who formerly would have been deemed a Castizo, would today simply identify as mestizo or White. The word "castizo" itself has lost all racial meaning.
However, the term castizo remains evident in Chile
with the current-day racial self-identification of some Chilean people
and other persons of a lighter-skinned mestizanje appearance. This is also true in Central America
and South America
the interior regions of Argentina
, Colombia
, Venezuela
and in Costa Rica
where about 50-60% of the inhabitants are "white" and "mestizo" but preferably self-claimed to be white or of mostly Caucasian lineage.
for costumes, music, speech typical of the Madrid populace about the end of the 19th century. A person dressed in Castizo fashion can be called manolo/manola and chulapo/chulapa. Many zarzuela
s are set in a Castizo environment, like La verbena de la Paloma
.
Items associated with Castizo culture are the street swivel piano, barquillos, Schottisch music (spelled as chotis) and Manila shawl
s.
s and stick to traditional Spanish
roots. An example is deporte, a word recovered from Medieval Castilian
meaning pastime, that successfully replaced the Anglicism sport, which has the same Latin origin as the Spanish word. It's closely related to costumbrismo in literature.
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
word with a general meaning of "pure" or "genuine". The feminine form
Grammatical gender
Grammatical gender is defined linguistically as a system of classes of nouns which trigger specific types of inflections in associated words, such as adjectives, verbs and others. For a system of noun classes to be a gender system, every noun must belong to one of the classes and there should be...
is castiza. From this meaning it evolved other meanings, such as "typical of an area" and it was also used for one of the colonial Spanish race categories, the casta
Casta
Casta is a Portuguese and Spanish term used in seventeenth and eighteenth centuries mainly in Spanish America to describe as a whole the mixed-race people which appeared in the post-Conquest period...
s, that evolved in the seventeenth century.
Race
Under the casteCaste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
system of colonial Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, the term originally applied to the children resulting from the union of a European
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
and a mestizo
Mestizo
Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...
, that is, someone of three quarters European and one quarter Amerindian ancestry. During this era a myriad of other terms (mestizo, cuarterón de indio, etc.) were in use to denote other individuals of mixed European and Amerindian ancestry in ratios smaller or greater than that of castizos.
The term was mainly applied to mixed-race people who had a slightly darker complexion than what was assumed an unmixed Spaniard would have, but which were otherwise of European appearance with almost no visible admixture. Under this same caste system, the offspring of a Spaniard and a Castiza was classified as a criollo
Criollo people
The Criollo class ranked below that of the Iberian Peninsulares, the high-born permanent residence colonists born in Spain. But Criollos were higher status/rank than all other castes—people of mixed descent, Amerindians, and enslaved Africans...
(legally, a Spaniard born in the Americas), thus the offspring regained his or her "purity of blood". (See the related concept of Limpieza de sangre
Limpieza de sangre
Limpieza de sangre , Limpeza de sangue or Neteja de sang , meaning "cleanliness of blood", played an important role in modern Iberian history....
.) For some castizos whose residual quarter of Amerindian ancestry was not apparent at all, many simply consolidated themselves within the criollos
Criollo people
The Criollo class ranked below that of the Iberian Peninsulares, the high-born permanent residence colonists born in Spain. But Criollos were higher status/rank than all other castes—people of mixed descent, Amerindians, and enslaved Africans...
and Peninsulares (Spaniards born in Spain).
With the fall of the Spanish Empire, the numerous caste terminologies fell out of use and lost all meaning, other than the categories of White
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
, Black
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
, Amerindian, and their three possible resulting combinations; mestizo
Mestizo
Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...
, mulato
Mulato
The mulato pepper is a mild to medium chile pepper, closely related to the poblano , and usually sold dried. Mexican mulato chiles are part of the famous "trilogy" used in mole as well as other Mexican sauces and stews. The mulato's color while growing is dark green, maturing to red or brown...
and zambo
Zambo
Zambo or Cafuzo are racial terms used in the Spanish and Portuguese Empires and occasionally today to identify individuals in the Americas who are of mixed African and Amerindian ancestry...
(the latter three, now without blood quantum connotations), as these legal categories were seen as incompatible with the new concept of citizenship
Citizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
.
Furthermore, by the second part of the 19th century, most Hispanic countries had abolished even these surviving categories of distinction among their citizens, and so the racial heritage of a person was no longer compiled by the state as part of the individual's civil record, whether to legally hinder or privilege him in matters of civil life. Some countries, however, have recently reintroduced voluntary and annonymous declarations of race (or race mixture) in recent population censuses for statistical purposes, with no legal consequence to the individual.
A person who formerly would have been deemed a Castizo, would today simply identify as mestizo or White. The word "castizo" itself has lost all racial meaning.
However, the term castizo remains evident in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
with the current-day racial self-identification of some Chilean people
Chilean people
Chilean people, or simply Chileans, are the native citizens and long-term immigrants of Chile. Chileans are mainly of Spanish and Amerindian descent, with small but significant traces of 19th and 20th century European immigrant origin...
and other persons of a lighter-skinned mestizanje appearance. This is also true in Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
the interior regions of Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
and in Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
where about 50-60% of the inhabitants are "white" and "mestizo" but preferably self-claimed to be white or of mostly Caucasian lineage.
In Madrid
Castizo is used in MadridMadrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
for costumes, music, speech typical of the Madrid populace about the end of the 19th century. A person dressed in Castizo fashion can be called manolo/manola and chulapo/chulapa. Many zarzuela
Zarzuela
Zarzuela is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular song, as well as dance...
s are set in a Castizo environment, like La verbena de la Paloma
La verbena de la Paloma
La verbena de la Paloma is a very successful 1894 zarzuela with libretto by Ricardo de la Vega and music by Tomás Bretón. It was adapted for the cinema in 1921 by José Buche, in 1935 by Benito Perojo and in 1963 by José Luis Sáenz de Heredia....
.
Items associated with Castizo culture are the street swivel piano, barquillos, Schottisch music (spelled as chotis) and Manila shawl
Manila shawl
The Manila shawl is an embroidered silk shawl associated with the Port of Manila.-History:Its name is associated to the Port of Manila , however, its origins are in China. Manila is the port where the Spaniards collected the products of the Far East during the fifteenth century...
s.
Casticismo in the Spanish language
Casticismo is a tendency among Spanish and Latin American intellectuals to reject foreign loanwordLoanword
A loanword is a word borrowed from a donor language and incorporated into a recipient language. By contrast, a calque or loan translation is a related concept where the meaning or idiom is borrowed rather than the lexical item itself. The word loanword is itself a calque of the German Lehnwort,...
s and stick to traditional Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
roots. An example is deporte, a word recovered from Medieval Castilian
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
meaning pastime, that successfully replaced the Anglicism sport, which has the same Latin origin as the Spanish word. It's closely related to costumbrismo in literature.