Final answer:
A mestizo is a person descended from Europeans and Indigenous Americans, a term from the Spanish colonial era, often associated with a mixed heritage population in Latin America. In the US, people with mestizo heritage may identify as 'Latino' or 'Hispanic Other' on census surveys.
Step-by-step explanation:
Mestizo is usually a term used to define a person who is descended from both Europeans and Indigenous Americans. The term originates from the Spanish colonial period in the Americas. Mestizos often occupied various roles in the social and economic structures of colonial Latin America. They ranged from serving as artisans, shoemakers, tailors, or working the land, to sometimes serving in lower ranks of the colonial militias. The social caste system of Latin America also included castas such as mulattos (of European and African descent), and the distinction between different mixed heritage groups was an attempt by colonists to impose a caste system designed to favor European descendants. Nonetheless, over time, mestizo populations have developed strong ethnic identities in Latin America.
In the United States, the term 'Latino' is now more commonly used, which refers to people with Latin American heritage but is not an exact synonym for mestizo. The U.S. census does not officially recognize 'mestizo' or 'Latino' as racial categories, prompting individuals with Latinx (mestizo) heritage often to identify as 'other' or 'Hispanic Other' in demographic surveys.