When one of the most popular singers in the world like Demi Lovato releases a song in Spanish (“Echame La Culpa”), it is only natural that the world wonders whether she is Latina.
Demi Lovato is Latina. She is of Mexican ancestry through her father, but her mother is of English and Irish ancestry. Demi was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and her family is of Mexican ancestry.
Read more about Demi Lovato’s cultural ties, Hispanic influence on her body image and whether she speaks Spanish.
Demi’s father
Demi is half Mexican through her father, Patrick Lovato who was of Mexican descent (with Spanish and Native American ancestors). His family has been living in New Mexico for generations, which is where Demi was also born.
Patrick Lovato also had Portuguese and Jewish ancestors. He was descendant of a Civil War Union veteran Francisco Perea and Santa Fe de Nuevo México governor Francisco Xavier Chávez.
Through her father, Demi is also of Mexican ancestry, but she admits that she wasn’t quite aware what being Latina actually meant when she was young. She went on to explain how she felt then: “Growing up in America, I never really appreciated my culture. I knew what being Hispanic was, but I thought that since I didn’t look Hispanic, I was white,”
That’s why she decided to take a DNA test and discover her heritage once and for all.
Mexican or Spanish roots?
A couple of years ago, Demi took a DNA test to discover her roots. The test revealed that she is Spanish, Native American, British/Irish, Scandinavian and African. After her enthusiastic tweet about this discovery, she encountered a backlash from the fans. Most of the fans criticized her excitement about being 1% African, which she later addressed in a series of tweets saying ‘she didn’t mean to offend anyone’.
Shortly after this, in a red carpet interview, Demi admitted she was in fact not Mexican. She explained that her test results came back Spanish and Native American, but not Mexican.
However, as Mexican is not a race, but a nationality, her test results couldn’t have turned out any other way. Most Mexicans are actually a mix of Spanish and Native American roots. Having a father with Mexican ancestors, her results actually prove that she is, indeed, of Mexican descent too.
Does she speak Spanish?
Demi Lovato and Luis Fonsi released a song called Echame la culpa. The song became extremely popular worldwide, and it was one of the reasons people asked themselves once again if Demi was Latina and whether she speaks Spanish.
While she is proud of her Latin roots, she admits that she doesn’t speak Spanish. When asked about her Spanish skills, she explains that even though she isn’t fluent, she still loves singing in Spanish. “I love being able to represent the curvy sassiness of a Latina woman. It’s just a part of who I am, and I couldn’t be more proud to represent that.”
Despite the fact she doesn’t speak Spanish fluently, her fans were impressed with her cute Hispanic accent and the way she represents her culture.
You can listen to the whole song “Echame la culpa” (which means “Blame me”) with Luis Fonsi in the YouTube video below:
Hispanic influence
Despite having a Hispanic background, Demi mentioned that when she was little, she didn’t really understand what it means to be Latina. Having a complicated relationship with her father and his family, it is logical that she needed time to understand her culture and roots.
With her recent struggles, she learned to appreciate her body and she admitted she is now more thankful for her Latin background.
Demi is known for being vocal about self-image and body issues, so being partially Latina has helped her appreciate her body even more. Hispanic culture celebrates curvy and healthy looks, which is what Demi stands for today.