Identities in conflict

Abstract

This paper explores the construction of Latino identity in Spain. The term Hispanic (Latino later became the label of choice) was added to the US census in the 1970s, initially as an ethnic category, but it has undergone a process of racialization, making Latinos a distinct racial group in the US. The concept of Latinidad has been extensively studied in the US context. This paper adopts a netnographic approach to examine how Latinidad is constructed in Spain. To conduct this qualitative research, NVivo was used to analyze a reference corpus of over 5,000 online comments triggered by a video discussing the situation of Latinos in Spain that had been posted on YouTube by El País. The study employs a multidisciplinary approach, drawing from fields like identity, impoliteness, and raciolinguistics. It particularly focuses on perceptions of visible minorities and attitudes towards language varieties different from European Spanish.