Why do I get mistaken for Hispanic?
Posted by OkAcanthocephala8326@reddit | AskBalkans | View on Reddit | 101 comments
What the hell why? I am mostly Greek and somewhat albanian. I would get if I was mistaken for middle eastern, I do once in a while, but why does so many people assume I’m Hispanic? Balkans have no indigenous ancestry.
Idk if this matters but i live in a diverse location. And 90% of the people who assume / say I look hispanic are Hispanics. Not all but most. But even when in Latin American countries the locals assume I’m Hispanic even in tourist areas.
Equal_Search_1268@reddit
Yeah I have had random people speak Spanish to me out of the blue many times
Teodosij@reddit
This happens to me every time I go on a vacation to France. Una faccia, una razza 💪🏿💪🏿💪🏿
johndelopoulos@reddit
Weird, because in Greece you are mostly mistaken for Albanians
swanson6666@reddit
Which is worse for a Greek, being mistaken for an Albanian or for a Turk? 😂😂😂
johndelopoulos@reddit
neither, as we are not brachycephal, like Albanians, Turks or the descendants of Alexander the Dardanian
swanson6666@reddit
Wow. You went directly to skull comparisons.
Maybe I don’t see the subtle differences, but I couldn’t tell apart people from Greece, Western Turkey, and Cyprus during my travels. All beautiful countries and wonderful people.
I loved visiting Greece. I sailed to about ten Greek islands in the Ionian Sea and Aegean Sea. I loved the people, food, and beautiful scenery.
johndelopoulos@reddit
ok, but the people do differ, in all 2 sides. Exception might be Balkan turks, who are genetically irrelevant to anatolians, and who look like Northern Greece, about as much as they look like Balkan people (and they make up a huge part of Western Turkey, to be fair)
swanson6666@reddit
I know there is a Turkish minority in Greece. Can you identify them on the street by just looking at them? Do they speak Greek with an accent? Are there mixed marriages?
As I said, I couldn’t distinguish people in Greece, Cyprus, and Western Turkey. (I have only been to western 10% of Turkey. Never to the central, eastern, and northern parts, but I have seen pictures. I only visited places like Istanbul, Symirna, Cesme, Ephesus, Bodrum, and Antalya).
But you probably have a sharper eye.
johndelopoulos@reddit
There is no "Turkish minority of Greece" outside a region which is sadly the most isolated and poor in the country, Western Thrace. So, seeing a Turk, other than tourist, in Greece, outside that region, is technically impossible as a thing itself. Forget having mixed marriages etc
Even if we focus on this region, the muslims (1/3 of whom are Turks) apply sharia law, and so rarely mixed marriages would occur
yeah, I have a sharper eye as it seems :)
swanson6666@reddit
I read in a British history book that after the First World War, the population of Greece was 4 million and they moved (in the population exchange) 1 million people from Asia Minor to Greece. Many of those people didn’t speak Greek (basically Christian Anatolians Turks and others). Basically Greece had to assimilate 1 of every 5 person. From what you are saying all those people have been assimilated and no longer recognized as different.
Similarly, the population of Turkey was 8 million and they received 2 million people (many of which did not speak Turkish). What happened to them is not as well documented, but it seems like they have been assimilated completely.
The population exchange was based on religion, not on ethnicity or language. Ottomans gave tax benefits to those who converted to Islam. It seems like the locals who converted to get tax benefits were deported.
Numbers are debated. They may be half as much as quoted above (half million immigrants to Greece and 1 million to Turkey).
I found it fascinating. I read about it from British sources. Maybe they teach it in more detail at schools in Greece. You may know more.
johndelopoulos@reddit
not sure what kind of book you read, but it certainly had a lot of inaccuracies, let alone that demographics of Greece (including the Anatolian Greeks, of whom nobody was an ethnic Turk Christian, that was impossible due to Sharia law) drastically changed after ww2, not in favor of exchanged people
swanson6666@reddit
I gave you the short version due to limited space. It is true that sharia does not allow Muslims to convert. Some of the Anatolian Turks were the early arrival tribes. They came with their primitive religions (shamanism, etc.) and adopted Christianity which was dominant in Asia Minor at that time during the Byzantine. They didn’t convert from Islam. Later arrival Turks (much more numerous) adopted Islam.
I am curious about the demographic changes in Greece (not in favor of exchanged people) after the Second World War that you mentioned. What were they?
Jnyl2020@reddit
I appreciate your effort and curiosity but the guy is simply a hater. So it seems kind of pointless...
swanson6666@reddit
You are correct. I have never been to Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kirghizistan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan, but I have seen their pictures. They look like the Chinese and Mongolians.
I don’t know how much original Turkic genes people of Turkey have. They don’t look like the Turkic people in Asia (their ancestral land).
People in Western Turkey probably have mostly Greek, Bulgarian, and other Balkan genes. And people in Eastern Turkey probably have mostly Persian, Arab, Armenian, and Azeri genes. With a little bit of Turkic genes from Asia.
Jnyl2020@reddit
No, many people in Western Turkey look alike to Turkmens of Turkmenistan for example. They are still living in Aegean villages.
Also I dare you to say to a Kazakh or Kirghiz that he looks like Chinese if you see one.
Also Tajiks are Iranian.
swanson6666@reddit
Enemies often look alike because often they are neighbors with common genes.
For example, Greeks and Turks look more like each other than they look like the Swedish, German, English, or the Russians.
Jews native to Israel look just like the Arabs. They are both Semitic people. Hebrew has much in common with Arabic (simple example, Shalom and Salam).
Japanese killed more Chinese than anyone else did. They even share an alphabet foreign to anyone else.
Jnyl2020@reddit
Irrelevant.
I'm talking about the ones doesn't look the same anyway. They live in Turkey as not mixed with locals
swanson6666@reddit
You are talking about a handful of people in a country of 86 million. I think you used the wrong expression when you said “many people.” It would be more correct to say “some people,” or even “a small group of people.”
Jnyl2020@reddit
Based on your assumptions
swanson6666@reddit
Objective scientific data is not “assumption.”
Look up the data about the demographics. It’s available. Don’t be lazy.
Honditarrr@reddit
Oh shut up
Teodosij@reddit
That Greece has an average IQ of 90 is really showing in this thread
johndelopoulos@reddit
you do know that your own is well bellow 90 on average, don't you?
Teodosij@reddit
It's not "well below 90", it's around 90 as well.
Kalypso_95@reddit
For a TurkAlbanian /s
Plastic-Cap-7169@reddit
Πιο πολύ μοιάζουν οι Έλληνες στους Τούρκους παρά οι Αλβανοί.
Kalypso_95@reddit
I find it hilarious that this word always triggers Albanians xD
Plastic-Cap-7169@reddit
It's not triggering. It's a slur Kalyspo mou.
Teodosij@reddit
Shit bait Sakis
nmaddine@reddit
… HOLA …
Humble-Tourist-3278@reddit
When we used to live in Australia ( Melbourne) my family used to get mistaken by Greeks . We are Mexicans of mixed ethnicity like most Mexicans . I guess most people who have Mediterranean ( Spaniards, Italians, Greeks, Jewish, North Africans etc..) heritage look alike . There’s also a Greek restaurant where the owners assume I was Greek too 😂🤣 they were surprised when I told them I’m not .
OkAcanthocephala8326@reddit (OP)
Lolll. Was there not many Hispanics in that area?
Humble-Tourist-3278@reddit
Here’s an old picture of my dad , he is half Native American with some small percentage of African and half Southern European .
Humble-Tourist-3278@reddit
Nope not in Australia. My dad was the only Hispanic working for Quanta’s all his coworkers were white Australians . This was back in the early 90’s , now I believe they have some Hispanic immigrants but the majority are from South America mostly Colombian or Venezuelans .
HTravis09@reddit
Hispanic is not an ethnic group, It is a cultural group as like they all speak Spanish and their culture is derived from Spanish culture. The people that live south of the Rio Grande are more diverse than what people in the USA understand or visualize. Hispanics can be of pure African, European, Asian, and Native American ancestry or any combination thereof.
OkAcanthocephala8326@reddit (OP)
True but most people, especially but not limited to Hispanics, assume me to be Hispanic rather than the native Mediterranean/balkan courntries. I almost never get told I look any European even though an expert told me I look more southern European than anything
HTravis09@reddit
I grew up in Peru where my ancestors per my DNA came from every part of the world except India, Caucus region of Eurasia, and Australia. People have asked on different occasions if I am Samoan, Hawaiian, or Jewish. That has never bothered me but it was a great ice breaker and gave me the opportunity to share my pride in my nationality.
Your looks are your looks which may not match your self identification. The Balkans and Greece have had fluid population settlements with now Slavic Romanians speaking a romance language and Albania and Kosovo and Bulgaria speaking this own unique non Slavic languages.
SignAutomatic3849@reddit
Occasionally I see Spanish or Portuguese people who I think look Greek or Albanian.
VeterinarianSoft1336@reddit
Because Balkans in reality are so genetically mixed that no phenotypes are unique to the region. For example I’m a Croat who resembles a mix of Italian/Illyrian physiognomy.
peepooplum@reddit
This is not true. My partner is not even Balkan and can spot them out. OP probs lives somewhere with a lot of Latinos and little Balkan population where they assume someone slightly different must be Hispanic. I live in an area with lots of Balkan population and very little Hispanics and have never heard of someone being mistaken as Hispanic. There are so many people who look distinctly south Slavic like Nikola djuricko.
VeterinarianSoft1336@reddit
I think you’ve missed the point. I was more alluding to the fact that one doesn’t have to look “balkaner” in order to be one. You can see people from Balkan who resemble Indians, Nordics, Germans, Latinos…
Ghostofcoolidge@reddit
Is that really true? I feel like I can spot Albanians out in a crowd, even amongst Greeks.
VeterinarianSoft1336@reddit
You can find common physiognomical patterns, but do not be surprised to see Albanians who resemble nordics or gypsies.
Goated549@reddit
I mostly get either Romanian or Italian and occasionally Spanish/Brazilian/Argentinian/French
MrDDD11@reddit
Speak for yourself am 333% Serbian son of Perun and look like the Slavic warriors of old/s
Putrid-Try-9872@reddit
If you're dalmatian then you're mediterranean you could pass anywhere from calabrian to catalan to albanian
VeterinarianSoft1336@reddit
Dalmatian/Herzegovian but yeah, you’re correct xd.
Putrid-Try-9872@reddit
Herzegovinians are to me the core balkans doesn't get any more hardcore than that.
VeterinarianSoft1336@reddit
I lived in Herzegovina for a while, tbf I don’t think it is, but I still understand why you think so, haha.
Putrid-Try-9872@reddit
:D
Substratas@reddit
What does Illyrian physiognomy mean?
Ghostofcoolidge@reddit
Dude you're taking it way too seriously. Hispanics think EVERYONE looks Hispanic. If I had a dollar for every time my Mexican wife claimed some random person we pass by looks like one of her 60 cousins, I'd be one of the richest guys on the planet.
OkAcanthocephala8326@reddit (OP)
Lmaoo😂😂
practical_mastic@reddit
I'm Greek and I never get that. I'm a pale one tho, maybe they don't relate to me.
TopBoysenberry8563@reddit
Greeks and albanians due to regional mediteranian climate often have tanned skin.
big_cat112@reddit
We don't
MrDDD11@reddit
Well yeah you are from Kosovo and aren't on the Mediterranean coats.
Illustrious-Tea-8771@reddit
Your from North so your more dinaric
Substratas@reddit
Compared to the rest of Europe, we do.
big_cat112@reddit
We look like other balkan, Italians and Spanish have more tanned skin
OkAcanthocephala8326@reddit (OP)
But in my case I don’t have tan skin but do have black hair that’s a bit curly
Glittery_Marshmallow@reddit
It depends on who is doing the guessing. The truth is that most people have no idea how people from the Balkans look like. Even in Western Europe, and especially on different continents.
General darker European is immediately Latino, cause that is all they are familiar with either personally or from American media. Some US Americans even go as far and say Italians and Spanish people aren't white. On the other hand in Lat Am they overestimate the whiteness of Southern Europeans.
vbd71@reddit
I'm often mistaken for Iraqi.
Interesting_Ad9098@reddit
I have blue eyes, light color hair, pale skin in the winter and not only have I gotten mistaken for a Hispanic, I’ve had multiple Hispanics not believe me when I tell them I’m not and do not speak Spanish.
ImPainNagato@reddit
People just don't know Greeks with darker features exist. It's nit about phenotype preservation like phenotype needs claim, it's just that people are that dumb 🤷♂️
OkAcanthocephala8326@reddit (OP)
Agreed
ImPainNagato@reddit
Wait until the average Westerner learns the differences between Mainland Greeks, Pontic Greeks and Cypriots lmao.
OkAcanthocephala8326@reddit (OP)
Lmao true. To be fair though majority of people who mistake me as Hispanic are Hispanic themselves
Longjumping-Slip-376@reddit
Hispanic people are honorary Balkans: thats why. We have the same spirit
Abject-Stranger-985@reddit
I get mistaken for South American almost exclusively and I am Croatian
No_Reporter9213@reddit
many people have assumed I was Spanish or Turkish.
Spiritual-Ad-8265@reddit
I am from Bosnia and I bet you couldn't guess it by my looks.
Substratas@reddit
Albanians abroad cannot guess I’m from Albania either, so I can easily go under the radar 💀
Idk how to explain this, but the Albanians I see in Sweden look nothing like the ones I see in Albania.
Spiritual-Ad-8265@reddit
Bosnia is crazy melting pot. I have got cousins that look like Swedes. Others dark almost like gypsies...
swanson6666@reddit
The one who looks like a Swede is probably Serbian. The one who is dark is probably Turkish. You were all Ottomans at one point.
Substratas@reddit
Do Serbs look Swedish?
swanson6666@reddit
No, Serbians and Croatians don’t look Swedish, but they look more Swedish than the Greeks, Albania, and the Turks.
Isn’t that obvious? Have you visited those countries?
Substratas@reddit
Girl, don’t pull this red herring shit just to distract the attention away from your initial claim and be real. Nobody claimed Croats or Serbs are less similar to Swedes than Greeks, Albanians & Turks are. Are Serbs similar to Swedes, yes or no?
I haven’t, but you clearly haven’t been to Sweden either because you’d know Swedes are phenotypically VERY DIFFERENT from Balkan countries, including the ones with many Russian looking people like Croatia or Serbia.
swanson6666@reddit
Your reading comprehension is lacking. Read my comments more carefully.
I have been to Sweden, and I had a real ethnic Swedish girlfriend for three years. (Nowadays, they got too many immigrants.) I know them better and more intimately than you do.
Substratas@reddit
Yeah, you sure do. 😂💀
Spiritual-Ad-8265@reddit
Nope... Cause there's no such thing genetically as Serbian, hardly... Have you ever seen blonde Albanian with blue eyes, especially girls?
Also region shares negligible Turkish genes. Suprisingly.
swanson6666@reddit
I have been all over the Balkans (Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Turkey, etc.). There is of course stereotypical look for each country, but also diversity. Any Balkan country can have blond, blue eyed, fair skinned people.
Spiritual-Ad-8265@reddit
I have been all over and wouldn't agree, except part of Serbians being dark (dark Slavs? Yeah right).
Only half of Slovenians kinda look of Slavic decent (like Poles...).
I have lived 4 years in Croatia, three different towns hundreds of km away between each and haven't noticed any stereotyping look.
Dude I never paint or draw, but I am still able to produce a decent portrait. My eye for the line and shape is given by birth...
swanson6666@reddit
My first hand experience is I have seen some blond haired, blue eyed, and fair skinned people in every Balkan country I visited. Even in Greece and Turkey. And of course in Croatia and Serbia. Romania. Etc. etc.
Spiritual-Ad-8265@reddit
There are few researches of genetics of regional population. You would be amazed to learn we have the least sharing with other Slavs.
Maybe not that little, but around 20% isn't that much either.
vlookup11@reddit
Probably because from afar the differences between anyone from the Balkans and the wider Mediterranean aren’t that big. I’m not saying we’re all the same (far from it), but the differences aren’t that big either.
ManOfAksai@reddit
Greeks influenced the Roman/Latin culture and ethnicity, and modern Hispanics/Latinos are a subset of said group.
wantmywings@reddit
A lot of hispanic people also have Spanish ancestry and they have a Mediterranean look.
OkAcanthocephala8326@reddit (OP)
Yes that’s true. But I think those Hispanics with that look should be mistaken for Mediterranean, not the other way around lol
wantmywings@reddit
I have definitely assumed some Colombians were Albanian before
OkAcanthocephala8326@reddit (OP)
Do u live in Albania?
Illustrious-Tea-8771@reddit
Because you are Mediterranean my guy, it happened to my Albanian and Italian friends too.
OkAcanthocephala8326@reddit (OP)
Glad to know I’m not the only one lol
Amazing-Row-5963@reddit
Most people don't know much about the balkans. I mostly get Italian and occasionally Hispanic or Greek by foreigners.
OkAcanthocephala8326@reddit (OP)
Do u live in US or Europe?
Arminius001@reddit
So do I? I live in the US and always get approached by spanish speaking people who think I'm one of them haha. Its because people from Southern Europe are more tanned I would say
OkAcanthocephala8326@reddit (OP)
In my case I don’t have tan skin but I do have black hair that’s kind of curly lol
LateKaleidoscope5327@reddit
Hispanics/Latinos have a wide range of genetic backgrounds. Many are partly indigenous, but most are partly or largely of Iberian (European Spanish) ancestry. Some have almost completely European ancestry. People around the Mediterranean basin (and especially those on the European side) are genetically pretty similar. In ancient times, there was a lot of migration across Mediterranean Europe, including Greek colonization and the Roman conquests, but also the movement of early agriculturalists from the Balkans to the rest of Mediterranean Europe. What might distinguish people from the Balkans is a bit more West Asian ancestry, with some ancient gene flow from Central Asia. Indigenous American peoples probably had very ancient ancestry in Central Asia, or Siberian ancestors who moved south in prehistoric times. In other words, Balkan people might have a small amount genetically in common with indigenous Americans through prehistoric migrations. That plus the Mediterranean ancestry could lead someone familiar with Latinos and not with Balkan people to think a Balkan person was Latino.
OkAcanthocephala8326@reddit (OP)
Thanks for this!
vllaznia35@reddit
You're maybe a descendant of the Catalan Company /s
It depends. Many Portuguese, especially those from the countryside, are short and tanned, they could pass for Albanians or Greeks undetected. And Greek (and to a certain degree Albanian) can sound to the untrained ear like Spanish when spoken fast. Albanian mostly sounds like a mix of Greek and Romanian tbh.
Substratas@reddit
Yes, it happens very often. I think it’s because of the black hair, brows & lashes.