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Revision as of 04:54, 8 March 2004 by 203.206.16.46 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Mulatto (also Mulato) is a term of Spanish and/or Portuguese origin describing people of mixed European and African racial descent. The feminine form is mulatta.
In colonial Latin America, the term originally referred to the children of one European and one African parent, but today refers to all people with a significant amount of both European and African ancestry.
One criticism of the term is that it ignores the huge amount of racial intermixing in North America in which few people have African ancestry without significant amounts of European ancestry.
Mulattos officially make up the majority of the population in the Dominican Republic* (73%) and Cuba (51%).
For other Latin American countries where mulattos don't constitute a majority they can represent a significant portion of their populations; Brazil (aprox. 23%), Colombia (14%), Panama (14%) and Puerto Rico# (aprox. %).
However, these are exceptions rather than the rule.
Although mulattos, and even full-blooded Africans, did once represent a portion of the population in countries such as Mexico and Honduras, they were absorbed by the mestizo populations there.
Many Americans of Hispanic and/or Latino origin identify themselves as mulatto as well. The term, however, is rarely used by non-Hispanic African Americans in the United States.
In the United States, because of the one-drop-rule, a person with both African and European ancestry, regardless of how little the ratio of African blood — ½ White and ½ Black, or ¾ White and ¼ Black, or lower — will always be considered to be Black. Because of this, a person who may be considered Black in the United States could be considered White in Brazil.
Some people consider the term pejorative, as it derives from the Spanish word Mula (Mule; the infertile offspring of a donkey and a horse).
The popular song, "The Yellow Rose of Texas" is about a mulatto woman, and not about a flower.
(*) In the Dominican Republic, locally known in the Taíno language as "Quisqueya" ("Great Island"), the mulattos have also absorbed the small number of Taino Amerindian strains once present in that country.
(#) In Puerto Rico, locally known in the Taíno language as "Borinquen" ("The Land of the Mighty Lord"), the mulatto population has absorbed the historic presence of mestizos, as well as absorbing the smaller numbers of Taíno Amerindians once existant there.