Comment by syzar

Spain is intertwined with Latin America and the distinction between being Spanish vs. being from Latin America is blurred in the general culture of the U.S. we don’t confuse German with Latinos. Cruz from Germany with a German accent would be considered white. From Spain with Spanish accent he may or may not be considered white. I’m the 1970s, with a Spanish accent, he’d be considered “Spanish”. Today he likely would not due to his skin color. These perceptions change over time and don’t always have to do with ethnic/geographic reality.

Whiteness and blackness have more to do with social status and class. Hence, in the South, you get people saying of certain types of blacks, “that’s a good one”. In Russia “blacks” would be Chechens and Dagestanis.