is it true that in latin countries they say things like..?

Question

little black girl for complimants...not meaning any harm. I was just watching the "I love new york" show and the guy Rico said that which ofcourse made new york angry..but her personal assistant let her know that they do say things like similar to sayen "Baby".

Answer 1

Yes, to call someone Negra, *****, or their diminutives (Negrita and Negrito) is a form of endearment. It is usually applied to a darker-skinned person (though not necessarily so), and it has no racist connotations at all. I lived in Caracas some years ago, and actor Paul Michael Glaser was a guest on a Venezuelan TV show. A song, that had just been sung, was about to be translated for him. I cringed, because it contained the word "negrito", and I feared a bad translation. However, it was translated as "darling" by the perceptive programme host, and that translation was spot-on in terms of the context and the meaning conveyed therein. I knew several people who asked to be called Negra or *****, in preference to their real names.

You also have to know that there is a larger setting, which is that the *****/negra names are just one example of what we might consider name-calling, at best, or insults, at worst. I was regularly called "musiú" (foreigner) or "catire" (fair-skinned man). I witnessed a Venezuelan relative stop a man in the street to ask directions, by calling out "epa, barrigón" (hey, big belly). No-one takes offence, and though it seems strange to North Americans or Europeans, it is just a normal part of Latino culture.