I'm half Latino, half white Australian. I wasn't sure whether or not to flare this as a rant or identity question, as it very long-winded but I guess it's not really a rant. I'm not even sure if I am really mixed race, considering 'Latino' is not a race itself. Also, to complicate things more, my Latino side is from Uruguay, which is probably the most European descended country in Latin America, although the average ancestry according to different studies is still mixed, roughly: 76-84% European, 10-15% Indigenous and 5-11% West and Central African. With the majority of people being mostly European with decent indigenous ancestry and lower African ancestry, and then about 10% of the country identifying as 'Afro-descendants'. Like in many other Latin American countries, the upper class pushed for the 'Europeanisation' of the country, leading to a somewhat European self perception, although the regular people, especially from the country retained more knowledge of indigenous ancestry/culture (mate, gaucho culture etc) than is often projected online and Afro-descendant culture is very visible (eg candombe).
I know relying on percentages is probably not the best thing, but my maternal grandparents did DNA tests which helped me understand more of mine and their ancestry as they didn't know much beyond the knowledge of a recent Italian ancestor on my grandma's side and inferring ancestry off of appearance (e.g. my grandma had a grandfather she said was 'Indio' and a grandmother who was nicknamed 'La Brasileira'). The results were roughly 75 and 80% European and 20 and 25% non-European (primarily Indigenous (both 16%), Central African (my grandma is 5%) with the rest being North African). Phenotypically, I feel like my grandparents and maternal family look relatively mestizo to European, with some who look more admixed with black ancestry. On top of this, my dad's side is white, meaning my European ancestry is around 85-90%. I feel as though I look broadly Southern European/Mediterranean. In Australia I feel like my family members are generally seen as non-white and have been assumed to be Indian and also Aboriginal (by people of those ethnicities). I have also been asked if I was Indian but I think this was partially influenced by my name, which is Spanish but seen as 'exotic'/very foreign to English speakers. Also, Australia was primarily white for a long time and similarly to the US in the 1900s, Southern Europeans were and sort of are seen as a distinct racial group in a way. Anyway, I feel like my family is on the edge of whiteness and depending on different factors, such as phenotypic changes over their life and their location in the world, can be perceived quite differently. Also, the fact that there isn't a 'niche' so to speak of my grandparent's and mum's ethnic/racial makeup is also annoying. For example, they don't really fit into the category of mestizo and it's not really a word used in Uruguay. This means that the only option left is to explain the colonial history of Uruguay and how there are no indigenous people, but most people have some ancestry etc and then it gets into percentages and then you start to sound chronically online. In regards to my grandparent's own self perception, they sort of see themselves as white, but not really. My grandma one time when talking about her family history, after thinking for a bit said that her 'race' was Italian and indigenous, which was incomplete but those were the only aspects of her ancestry that she knew/could infer, coming from a MGM family. Overall, they grew up in a very diverse neighborhood (European immigrants plus black and 'somewhat-mestizo people originally from the countryside like them) and don't really ponder on race. Culturally I feel very close to my mum's side, e.g. I speak Spanish, am in contact with family members, I like traditional and more modern music from Uruguay and Latin America in general, probably half of the food I eat is Uruguayan etc. At the end of the day I don't have any major identity issues, I just feel as though I don't know how to identify in a racial sense, nor do I know how to perceive my grandparents racially. In a way, I'm sort of looking to see how people perceive my mum and maternal grandparents. It might be a bit of a trivial thing really and sort of demonstrates the constructed nature of race, but I was sort of just looking for any tips/opinions. Also, this sort of sounds counterintuitive to this whole post but I do acknowledge that I am read as white in most places in the world and this questioning of this fact mainly has to do with living in a predominantly white area in a predominantly white country. Thanks and sorry for the massive amount of text and lack of structure.
TL;DR: Half Uruguayan, half white Australian. Latino side is roughly 3/4 European with 1/4 Indigenous and African ancestry. I'm roughly ~80-90% European overall, look Mediterranean. In Australia, family often gets read as non-white. Culturally I’m close to the Uruguayan side. My Latino side doesn’t really fit neat racial labels and just feel unsure how to identify.