Afro-Latina Newsletter ~ Issue 46

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"Dime What’s up! My name is Eleny Giselle. I’m from Washington Heights, New York. Residing in LA for the last 3 years. I work in the mental health field full time while building a natural hair care brand called “Curlsential”. Which will be launching later this year. I’m also a content creator and upload hair tutorials on YouTube/IG.

Being Afro-Latina to me means being courageous and confident in a world where we’ve been told numerous times we don’t exist. From having to speak Spanish to prove that you’re “Latina enough”. To constantly being told, “you don’t look Latina”. And also having to deal with people getting upset with you for speaking Spanish and being told: “I speak English, you don’t have to speak Spanish to me”. Being Afro-Latina is accepting and loving your self and understanding that we come in all different flavors with different hair textures, and knowing that we’re all beautiful. SOMOS LATINAS!" ~ Eleny Giselle

Follow Eleny
Instagram & YouTube: @Ellecurly
Natural Hair Care IG: @Curlsential

"I am Katryna, people also know me as Kat. Born in the U.S. and come from a biracial family, my mother is Salvadoran and my father is Black. I am that girl that loves anything to do with avocados, oat milk, or pupusas (and lately arepas). I love spending my weekends exploring and supporting small local businesses - for the past two years, I’ve curated a marketplace showcasing Black Owned businesses in the bay area. This time next year I’ll be living in New York - catch me if you can.

Right now I’m exploring what community drivers look like: specifically when it comes to women of color - I want to bring together networks and community-based events that focus on women empowerment, self-love, and cultivating conversations around identity. In my 9-5 I work for Airbnb supporting project management efforts around how we hire more inclusive and diverse people; specifically from underrepresented groups in tech: Latinx & Black.

The word itself Afro-Latina is still fairly new in my experience of identity as of the past few years; it wasn’t a term I heard growing up even in a place as culturally diverse as the bay area. Both my parent’s culture and heritage were very prevalent and I was fortunate to have very strong ties to both my Black and Salvadoran family; even growing up bilingual - I’ve always identified with both; clearly identifying each in its own felt really important that I wasn’t leaving out one over the other.

Continuing to meet people who have similar ethnic backgrounds to me and whose experiences extend beyond the American narrative has taught me the power of the Afro-Latinx community and how powerful it is to embrace the mix of this culture apart from the typical norm of Black, White, Latino, etc. I find value in having conversations about both perspectives and love hearing how people resonate with our Afro-Latina community." ~ Katryna

Follow Katryna
Instagram: @katt_daddy

"My name is Tally Dilbert and I'm a proud Afro-Latina. I was born and raised in Honduras. I currently attend the University of Texas at San Antonio and major in communication. My main passion is blogging and photography. I love to be creative and build relationships with people.

As an Afro-Latina, I love to share my culture and my beautiful country, Honduras. Ever since I started blogging on Instagram, I've shared about my roots and I embrace being able to speak Spanish which is why I also try to share that side of me on social media. By doing these things, I've been able to connect with other Honduras and also Afro-Latinas around the United States." ~ Tally Dilbert

Follow Tally
Instagram: tally.dilbert
Twitter: tallydilbert_

Reggaeton began in Panama during the 1990s. The Central American country is where the likes of El General and Nando Boom emerged as forefathers of reggae en Español, which meant singing or rapping Spanish-language lyrics over traditional Jamaican dancehall. The burgeoning genre would spread like wildfire throughout the Caribbean diaspora with fans gravitating toward the fusion of soca and riddim.

Before Afro-Latina artists Cardi B and Amara la Negra, there was a Panamanian force to reckon with who not only shared record releases with El General and Jamaica’s Little Lenny, but inarguably paved the way for today’s leading women in the charge of reggaeton: Rude Girl La Atrevida. She both pioneered Spanish-language reggae and trailblazed for women MCs with songs like “Aventura y Romance", about her carnal desire to love and who spared no male ego like in “Que Lo Que Es.”

Continue Reading

Nike’s Air Force 1 Low Puerto Rico Shoes Illustrated a Lack of Cultural Competency

Guggenheim’s Latest Exhibit Centers Afro-Latinx Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat’s ‘Defacement’

All-female mariachi band Flor de Toloache to perform at Afro-Latino Fest NYC in July

Why This Census of US Afro-Latinos Is Groundbreaking

Steven Canals on How Growing Up as a Queer Afro-Latino in 1980s Bronx Prepared Him to Write ‘Pose’

Panamanian TV Host Asks: Where Are the Black Latinas in Reggaeton? (VIDEO)

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Es Mi Cultura is published every first Monday of the month by Tamika Burgess.
Tamika is a Afro-Panameña, California based Writer. Learn more about her by visiting TamikaBurgess.com