Students in a third-semester Spanish class at the university and a second semester Spanish class at a community college (n=48) were asked to explain what the words "Hispanic" and "Mexican" meant to them.
The majority of the comments (32 out of 48) were along the lines of the following: "Mexican means a culture of people born in Mexico. Spicy food including tortillas, frijoles, and salsa." "Hispanic is someone with a Spanish or Latin descent."
Blatantly negative remarks were given by respondents. The terms "poverty," "homeless," "dumb," and "dirty" were mentioned in connection with "Mexican." "Culture,""travel," and "Spain" were associated with "Hispanic."
The use of the terms to describe Spanish-speaking people and the very request for descriptions or impressions appear to carry a heavy emotional charge.