The Guatemalan Indian and the Mexican mestizo were never called "Hispanic" in their own country. Only when they cross into the U.S. are they given that name which, incidently, they hate.
It is exacly analogous to declaring that English Speaking Native Americans will, from now on, be called "British". The term not only strips the Indios of their Indian roots. It also strips the Spanish European of his ancient roots.
The point that Nasstarr and I are trying to make is that the term "hispanic", in the way you are using it on this post and in the way that the American media uses it, is a co-opted term whose meaning has been totally turned on it's head.
Nowhere else in the world except in certain U.S. circles and not in Spain, not in Europe and not in Latin America, is the term "Hispanic" used as a euphimism for "non-white Spanish speaker".
In Spain, "Hispano" (from Hispania) specifically means Spain as in for example, III Seminario Hispano-Portugués de Periodistas España y Portugal en el nuevo horizonte europeo
Now, the Portuguese will take exeption to this and protest that Lusitania was just as much a part of Roman Hispania as Spain was and that the Spaniards have no right to take the name solely for themselves.
A few years ago, on the Iberian History Discussion List ESPORA-L which is populated by posters in Iberia as well as the Americas, a thread began about the "Spanish Armada" and a Portuguese historian posted that a more proper term would be the "Hispanic Armada" as Portugal also had ships in it. (On ESPORA-L, English, Spanish and Portuguese were all used. The Portuguese wrote his "Hispanic Armada" post in Portuguese.) A Spaniard then chided the Portuguese about now wanting Portugal to be part of Spain as, the Spaniard claimed, Hispano and Hispanic specifically meant Spain.
The Portuguese properly corrected the Spaniard as follows:
Sender: History of the Iberian Peninsula
From: ***** <******@INDIVIDUAL.EUNET.PT>
Subject: Re: Spanish Armada
To: Multiple recipients of list ESPORA-L
About de Spanish an the Hispanic, the question is that spanish is from Spain - excluding Portugal - and Hispanic is from Iberia Peninsula or Hispania, including Portugal.
Those are the two ways that the term "Hispanic" is used in the Iberian Peninsula itself. The Spaniards have taken it exclusively for themselves and the Portuguese rightly point out that they are "Hispanic" too.
Now, the Spaniard comes to the U.S. and his 2,200 years of cultural history are summarilty thrown out the window by being informed by some that "Hispanic" refers not to his ancient civilization that produced Trajan, Hadrian and the Senecas but to the non-white Mesoamerican Indians who hate being called "Hispanics" as much as the Irish hate being called "Brits".
A recently arrived Spaniard, before he is acquainted with U.S. Politically Correct euphimisms will take it as a matter of fact that he is himself a Hispanic and that the Mexican with mixed Indian apearance is a Mexicano Mestizo and that the Mexican with no apparent trace of white ancestry is a Mexicano Indio. The Spaniard, being a jovial sort and having studied his English in Europe might readily admit that he is a gay fellow.
Only later, when he learns the code words, is he forced to foresake the name of ancient Hispania and make it perfectly clear that he is not gay.
The absurdity of these euphimism was recently illustrated by the newest member a our medical community, a Mexican surgeon who hails from Mexico City. His office nurse asked him what ethnicity label he preferred. Hispanic? Latino? Chicano? What?
He replied, "Why don't you just use 'Mexican'? That is, after all, what I am."