mestiza
Woman of blended descent
A mestiza is a woman of mixed European and Indigenous American ancestry, particularly in Latin America and the Philippines.
The term carries different weight depending on context—neutral demographic description in some countries, tied to complex racial hierarchies in others.
Her grandmother was mestiza, her grandfather Spanish.
The masculine form is mestizo.
Colonial racial taxonomy
- mulattoMixed-race person, archaic
- quadroonOne-quarter Black ancestry
- octoroonOne-eighth Black person
- criolloAmerican-born colonial Spaniard
peninsular · encomienda · sangre · colonial-era · classification · negro
Fusion of different beliefs
- hybridityMixed-origin quality
- fusionJoining into unity
- blendingCombining into uniformity
- creoleNativized pidgin tongue
indigenous · amalgamation · traditions · customs · folklore · cuisine · music · dance
Of multiple ancestries
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- descentDownward slope or lineage
- bloodlineAncestry through generations
- genealogyStudy of family descent
heritage · forebears · progenitors · ancestry · roots · family · kinship · birthright
Of or from Tenochtitlan's successor
- FilipinoNative of Manila's nation
- Latin-AmericanOf Romance-language Americas
- ChicanaMexican-American woman, culturally identified
- PeruvianOf a South American nation
Colombian · Guatemalan · Salvadoran · Nicaraguan · chola · Southwest
Of two cultural backgrounds
- selfhoodIndividual identity, personhood
- self-identificationClaiming an identity label
- belongingState of fitting in
- in-betweennessQuality of being neither one nor another
duality · racialization · self-concept · neither-nor · code-switching · passing · visibility · recognition
casta
Colonial racial taxonomy
criollo · peninsular · encomienda · sangre · colonial-era · classification · negro
syncretism
Fusion of different beliefs
creole · indigenous · amalgamation · traditions · customs · folklore · cuisine · music · dance · adaptation
mixed-race
Of multiple ancestries
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- descentDownward slope or lineage
- bloodlineAncestry through generations
genealogy · heritage · forebears · progenitors · ancestry · roots · family · kinship · birthright · inheritance
Mexican
Of or from Tenochtitlan's successor
- FilipinoNative of Manila's nation
- Latin-AmericanOf Romance-language Americas
- ChicanaMexican-American woman, culturally identified
Peruvian · Colombian · Guatemalan · Salvadoran · Nicaraguan · chola · Southwest
bicultural
Of two cultural backgrounds
- selfhoodIndividual identity, personhood
- self-identificationClaiming an identity label
- belongingState of fitting in
in-betweenness · duality · racialization · self-concept · neither-nor · code-switching · passing · visibility · recognition · empowerment
- Latina IdentityChicana, Afro-Latina, hyphenated identity, belonging, first generation
mestizapureblooded
Of unmixed descent
unmixed · full-blooded · pureblood · peninsular · purebred