What is the Spanish word for a person of mixed European and Indigenous blood?

What is the Spanish word for a person of mixed European and Indigenous blood?

• A. Mestizo
• B. Mulatto
• C. Criollo
• D. Zambo

Answer: (A)

In many Spanish-speaking cultures, the word mestizo specifically names someone with mixed European and Indigenous ancestry. This term arose in colonial times to describe people whose heritage combined Indigenous backgrounds with European descent. It’s distinct from other mixed-heritage labels: mulatto refers to mixed European and African, zambo to mixed Indigenous and African, and criollo describes someone of European descent born in the Americas rather than someone who is mixed. So for “a person of mixed European and Indigenous blood,” mestizo is the appropriate term.

In many Spanish-speaking cultures, the word mestizo specifically names someone with mixed European and Indigenous ancestry. This term arose in colonial times to describe people whose heritage combined Indigenous backgrounds with European descent. It’s distinct from other mixed-heritage labels: mulatto refers to mixed European and African, zambo to mixed Indigenous and African, and criollo describes someone of European descent born in the Americas rather than someone who is mixed. So for “a person of mixed European and Indigenous blood,” mestizo is the appropriate term.