Funny - Although that is one of my favorite jokes that I have told hundreds of times with the punchline: "...So my kids are Confused."
It actually stems from the fact that their Colombian side of the family prefers to refer to themselves as 'Latino or Latina'... Interestingly, they (Colombians) do not like nor want to be referred to as 'Hispanic.'
The
Hispanic–Latino naming dispute is an ongoing disagreement over the use of the
ethnonyms "
Hispanic" and "
Latino" to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the
United States of America who are of
Latin American or Spanish origin—that is, Latino or Hispanic Americans. The usage of both terms has changed to adapt to a wide range of geographical and historical influences. The term "Hispanic" was used first; later, some Hispanics in the western United States came to prefer the term "Latino". The Census does not classify persons of Portuguese or Brazilian descent as Hispanic, as those are
Portuguese-speaking populations.
[1] According to a 2011 study by the
Pew Research Center, the majority (51%) of
Hispanic and Latino Americans prefer to identify with their families' country of origin, while only 24% prefer the terms "Hispanic" or "Latino".
[2]
Ref Wiki:
Hispanic vs Latino Naming Dispute