Mestizo

Mestizo (meh-STEE-tzo), is a Spanish term for a person who is of mixed Spanish and Native American ancestry.

For the Portuguese term, see Mestiço.

Mestizo

A casta painting of a Spanish man and an Indigenous woman with a Mestizo child
Regions with significant populations
Latin America, United States, Spain, Philippines, Micronesia
Languages
Spanish (mainly), Indigenous languages of the Americas, and Austronesian languages
Religion
Predominantly Roman Catholic; religious minorities include Protestants and syncretism with Indigenous beliefs
Related ethnic groups
Spaniards Indigenous peoples of the Americas Métis[1][2][3][4]

An image from colonial South America shows that mestizos are the children of Spanish people and Indigenous people.

Mestizos have existed since men from Spain controlled much of what is now Latin America. "Mestizo" is the masculine form; "mestiza" the feminine. Mestizos form the largest part of the population in some Latin American nations. A large minority of mestizos makes up most of the population in Mexico, the Spanish-speaking nation with the largest population in the world.

During the colonial era, many Native Americans converted to Roman Catholicism and began using Spanish instead of their traditional language. That was because of the racial hierarchy that existed in the Spanish colonies, which gave Spaniards a higher social class than Native Americans and free or enslaved West Africans. That has made many Native Americans gain a better social status by calling themselves "mestizos" instead of "Indios."

Indo-Mestizo

Indo-Mestizo (also known as Cholo, is a Spanish term for a person who has around three-fourths Native American and one-fourth Spanish ancestry, It is a derogatory term used by the Spanish caste system for racial segregation and discrimination against original Native people.

It is a racial slur used that discriminates mostly against original Native people in eastern and southern Mexico, much of Northern Central America, the Pacific side of Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Colombia, and Bolivia.

Indo-Mestizos usually have more Native American traits but may have either a light pigmentation with completely Native American features or a dark pigmentation with some obvious Spanish features.

Famous Indo-Mestizos are Maya Zapata, George Lopez, and Danny Trejo. They are called so because of their appearance, not because of their known genetic background.