My mother was born in Mexico and my father was born in Venezuela, and I am cognizant that most Mexicans and South Americans are mestizos of mixed Spanish and Native American heritage.

Culturally and racially I identified as Hispanic, regardless how much the blood of my European conquerors may be in my DNA.

I was curious about the breakdown of my ethnic background, so I did what an increasingly greater number of people are doing: I took an Ancestry.Com DNA test.

I received my results today:

I`M 42 PERCENT EUROPEAN

Europe South: 26 percent

Europe West: 16 percent

I`M 32 PERCENT NATIVE AMERICAN

My DNA shows that I have ancestry from Native Americans that links me to these specific regions: Western and Central Mexico

OTHER REGIONS

Mali: 5 percent

Iberian Peninsula: 4 percent

Asia Central: 3 percent

Europe East: 1 percent

Africa: 1 percent

Finland/Russia: 1 percent

European Jewish: 1 percent

In light of the fact that I`m only 32 percent indigenous, and that I`m more European than anything else, you may be wondering if I still self-identify as Latino.

Hell yes, I have no intentions of marking the other field in any employment application.

Spanish was my first language, and my father was very proud of his Venezuelan ancestry, and he instilled in me a love for my Latino heritage.

My mother on the other hand, perhaps in an attempt to assimilate us into American culture, didn`t do anything to pass on Mexican traditions to her children.

Race isn`t just a biological construct, it`s a cultural thing, and it`s with great pride that I will continue to identify as Latino.

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