Afro-Latinxs Archives

Meet Djali Brown-Cepeda, the Afro-Latina Preserving Latinx & Black New York

Virginia IsaadFebruary 25, 2021February 25, 2021

by Virginia IsaadFebruary 25, 2021February 25, 202104913

Passion project turned communal emancipation, Nueva Yorkinos, a digital archive of the triumphant lives of Latinx New Yorkers, is a family album too prolific to keep stored away. Exemplifying the rich cultures and walks of life from multiple generations and...

News and Entertainment

Actress Laneya Wiles on How ‘She’s Gotta Have It’ Season 2 Highlights Afro-Puerto Ricans

Johanna FerreiraMay 23, 2019August 7, 2020

by Johanna FerreiraMay 23, 2019August 7, 202002953

Even in 2019, it’s not often we see Afro-Latinxs highlighted in film, TV, or mainstream media. What’s even rarer is to see a film or series set in a part of Latin America that consists of predominately Afro-Latinxs, despite the...

News and Entertainment

What Ghana’s Year of Return Means For The Afro-Latinx Community

HipLatinaDecember 3, 2018August 19, 2020

by HipLatinaDecember 3, 2018August 19, 202002230

I received my degree in Spanish Culture and Literature—which means I spent four years of my life studying the displacement of peoples, colonization, and the slave trade in Latin America and reading the literary works surrounding these topics. And one...

News and Entertainment

Why We Need To Stop Referring To Afro-Latinxs as ‘Other Latinxs’

janelmartinezNovember 25, 2018September 8, 2020

by janelmartinezNovember 25, 2018September 8, 202001503

Being Black in a Latinx space is by design an othering experience. Just how melaninated you are, or tight and course your curls are, will determine which questions get funneled your way. As an adult, I now know these attempts...

News and Entertainment

8 Latin American-Centered Films Directed by Black Women

janelmartinezSeptember 22, 2018September 9, 2020

by janelmartinezSeptember 22, 2018September 9, 202008620

It’s no secret, the film industry isn’t diverse. From the directors and producers to the characters (with speaking roles) and costume designers, it’s evident in all aspects of the filmmaking process that representation isn’t at the forefront of creation for...

News and Entertainment

12 Women On How They Preserve Garifuna Culture

HipLatinaSeptember 5, 2018September 3, 2020

by HipLatinaSeptember 5, 2018September 3, 202007216

With the increase in visibility surrounding Afro-Latinxs in the United States, there’s also been greater recognition of identities within such as the Garifuna community. Garinagu, plural of Garifuna, describes both a language and group of people that reside along...

News and Entertainment

How Sarunas Jackson Convinced ‘Insecure’s Writers To Make Dro’s Character Panamanian

Johanna FerreiraAugust 23, 2018September 16, 2020

by Johanna FerreiraAugust 23, 2018September 16, 202002555

There’s a huge lack of Latinx representation in media, in film, and on television. The lack is even greater for Afro-Latinos, which is why so many of us were hyped when we learned that Sarunas Jackson’s character Dro, on HBO’s...

News and Entertainment

‘La Negrada:’ Mexico’s First Fiction Film With An Entirely Black Cast

Johanna FerreiraAugust 16, 2018September 14, 2020

by Johanna FerreiraAugust 16, 2018September 14, 202004429

“Black Mexicans practically don’t exist,” I remember a Mexican woman defensively telling me once after I had pulled up the stats proving the opposite. Her argument was completely shut down in 2016 when Mexico finally recognized it’s black citizens. Discrimination...

Culture

The Rise in Latina-Owned Feminist Bookstores Is More Important Than Ever

Johanna FerreiraJune 15, 2018September 29, 2020

by Johanna FerreiraJune 15, 2018September 29, 202003438

Small bookshops have been a dying business in the states, especially in big cities like NYC thanks to Barnes & Nobles and Amazon.com. But it seems that the number of feminist, Latina-owned independent bookstores is slowly growing and the timing...

News and Entertainment

Afro-Latina Amara La Negra Was Discouraged From Dating Black Men

Johanna FerreiraJune 7, 2018September 28, 2020

by Johanna FerreiraJune 7, 2018September 28, 2020011515

If you grew up in a Latino household, chances are you’ve heard the incredibly racist phrase: “mejorar la raza,” which means to “better or improve the race.” The phrase which is commonly used in Latin American countries implies marrying or...

News and Entertainment

Amara La Negra: You Don’t Need Dark Skin to Be Afro-Latina

Johanna FerreiraMay 25, 2018October 9, 2020

by Johanna FerreiraMay 25, 2018October 9, 20204 6459

Amara La Negra is more than just a talented music artist. The Dominican-American activist has become a voice for the Afro-Latino community and really wants to make a difference for disenfranchised communities. In fact, she recently got involved with the Cielo Benefit...