The Origins and Evolution of Latino History Virginia Sanchez Korrol I am new. History made me. My first language was spanglish. I was born at the crossroads and I am whole. Aurora Levins Morales "Child of the Americas"(l) ? Mexican Americans/Chicanos, Puerto Ricans, Cuban Americans, and their descendants, the oldest and largest subgroups among a population of some thirty million Hispanos in the United States, form the core of a union that matches relatively recent arrivals, pre dominantly from the Dominican Repub lic and Central and South America, with long-time U.S. residents; English speak ing with Spanish speaking; aliens with citizens; and documented individuals with undocumented immigrants. As the nation's fastest growing "minority," all indicators point to a heightened sense of awareness and receptivity among Latinos across ethnic and national lines, regard-~~ ing a collective consciousness and histori cal role in the U.S. The validation of memory, self-iden tification, contestation, and affirmation spans centuries as persons of Spanish American heritage have always figured in the making of the United States of America. Viewed from another perspective, as Na tive Americans, Latinos were there when Plymouth Rock was just a pebble. As Spanish settlements, presidios, villas, pueblos, and missions throughout the Americas pre-date Jamestown by at least As the nation's fastest growing "minority/' all indicators point to a heightened sense of awareness and receptiv ity among Latinos across ethnic lines and national lines, regarding a collec tive consciousness and gia,
