Not really, some may but not all. I consider myself a Latina...

Thanks for the clarification. I did initially write "some" but removed it as you are the first Spaniard I have ever met that refers to him/her self as a Latino/a.

Best to avoid the term though as there are very many Spaniards that don't see themselves that way.

OTOH I have met many Latinos that consider themselves to be Spanish.

Somepeople see Latino/a as a diminutive of LatinoAmericano/a. Hence the latino/a would not apply to spanish.

However, it can also refer to the Latin world which means any territory in which a romanesc language - any languge derived from Latin - is spoken as first language. In which most certainly Spain is included, as would Portugal, Italy...

It is all in the way you say it. Unfortunately, It can have a negative undertone, and hence some spanish people wont like it/ wont use it to refer to themselves.

It is a bit like spanish people will never say we are "spaniards" (we say we are Spanish) while speaking in English unless living in the USA (maybe the rest of America too).

I know some portuguese people living in the UK who say they are spanish, when they certainly they are not.

It is all very complex isnt it. Well, it is bound to happen with the second most spoken language in both accounts (after chineses as a native language and after english as a second language learnt).

PS I did study all that at uni. It is been a few years though...

Dancing wise, I think it is more confusing to classify the jive as a latin dance than the Paso.

I always saw "Spaniard" interchangeable with "Spanish person". Are there any negative connotations to it? I also noticed your very Spanish use of lower case "spanish"

Particularly in the US, I have found Spanish people distance themselves from "Hispanic" even preferring "European" to "Spanish".

I liked your use of "the rest of America" which will puzzle many.

i think natalie and patrick are equally good, but very different in presentation.

natalie is showy and dazzling brilliance, like her pro partner.

patrick is understated and laid back brilliance. a slow but incandescent burn. and anya is a cracking dancer, she was superb in that samba, but like patrick, you don't quite realise their brilliance until they've finished and you're just going 'wow'...

after that abbey and ashley are probably tied for next best.

Indeed! There are certain things that I do not try to correct myself at, more important things.

Completely agree on the Hispanic thing, though again, Hispanic is anyone who speaks Spanish as native tongue. But in the USA has another connotation a bit like the short version of Pakistani.

I sometimes think the word 'European' has those connotations in the US

We've got serious thread drift here but ....

I snigger when I read "Continental Cuisine" on US menus.

"Which Continent?" I ask.

I would say its
Natalie
Patrick
Ashley
Susanna
Abbey
Sophie
Mark
Ben

A bit like when in the uk they say, oh that is very European!

I'd go with Patrick but I think Ashley's running him close. Abbey is a lovely ballroom dancer but her latin isn't great and she's a tad overmarked. Susannah can sell a sand dance to the Arabs but given the comments of others on here I'm starting to see it might be a style over substance - I thought her paso was overmarked and not particularly technically good, Sophie is erratic and hasn't really hit her stride yet. Mark and Ben just aren't in the same class as everyone else - I say this as a Mark lover.

That makes very good reading katmobile.

Difficult. This is such a weak line up bar Natalie.

Would have to go for Abbey. Patrick looks just a bit too computer controlled for my liking.

I would go with Abbey as well Fiddly.