Dominican Republic. The motherland that I couldn’t be prouder to represent. The food, the music, the heat, the enormous amount of people in my family, are just a few aspects of my country that make me love it. But what about culture? It’s probably the first thing people mention when talking about their own…
Cultivating Divine Gratitude by Gabrielle Greiner
Once again, Thanksgiving has come upon us and so many of us are unsure how to respond to this holiday of thankfulness. Most of us are struggling with something at the moment, such as with financial issues or relationship problems. Our government seems to be falling apart as we helplessly watch the systems so…
Mourning Pride – Jackie Torres
These past few weeks, I have participated in a very private kind of mourning. In the wake of Hurricane Maria’s devastation on Puerto Rico, the usual thoughts surrounding my identity have been exacerbated ten-fold in my already overactive brain. Shameful confession? I have never been to Puerto Rico; at least not when I was…
The Importance Of Self Caring In The Face Of World Tragedy – Kayla B.
The words flash across the screen. Unarmed black man shot and killed by police. 20 children killed in school shooting. Serial rapists claims latest victim. Terror attack at concert claims lives. World “Leaders” slinging angry tweets. Racism rearing its ugly head inciting violence and unrest. Chills run down your spine and in the moment,…
My Story – Ruby Elizabeth
“Niña! Bajate de alli!”, I can hear my grandfather yelling at me from the little porch behind the house as I swung on the tree filled of guava. I was born in Paitilla, Panamá; daughter of my Panamanian mother Rudy and my Jamaican father Richard. My name is Rubi Elizabeth Berry Harewood and you…
Ivana- Sol Larios – Raices
Una negra hispana. Eso es lo que mis padres creation cuando me hicieron. Una gitana sin una patria de mi propia Con una pierna en el Caroní y una pierna en la Amazónica. ¿Pero a quien pertenezco? El español no sale de mi lengua Tan fácilmente Como mi abuela quiere Y mi piel no…
Kayla B – Why Afro Latina Women need to show up for Latinas and Black Women
2017 can officially be called “The Year of The Woman” or “El Ano de la Mujer” if you will. We saw major strides in the name of feminism and sisterhood as we nominated a woman to run for president. We saw a statue of the courageous girl be placed in the path of…
The Unwritten Story of A Panameña
– Afro-Panamanians are Panamanians of African descent, and constitute 15% of the population. The Afro-Panamanian population can be broken into the “Afro-Colonial”, Afro-Panamanians descended from slaves brought to Panama during the colonial period and the “Afro-Antillean“, West Indian immigrants from Trinidad, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Grenada, Barbados and Jamaica, brought in to build the Panama Canal.-…
EL PALO
-Yazmerlin Rodriguez- “Ay qué palo mama, que palito. Ay qué palo mama, que palito. A mi me gusta bailar pegaito, a mi me gusta bailar pegaito.” Mama Africa although it seems your children have forgotten you, tonight we feel your spirit in the hypnotizing melody of your song. Let every beat of drums bring us…
LandishaBeauty: Discussing the LGBTQ & the Afro-Latina identity
“I drive to represent anyone like me, anyone who has ever felt not accepted or felt like an outcast because of who they are, or how they dress, or who they choose to love. And I also strive to show not only people like me but everyone that it’s okay to be different and it’s…
Afro-Peruvian Vibes: La Sangre Llama
By Cindy Aguilar – These were the terms of endearment my family has for me; Negrita, morena, morenetus (made up word by my favorite aunt). How could you ever think you are something different with nicknames like these?! I grew up to these names. The best part is that every single word is…
Brown Sugar & Canela
By Keyanna Gotay- Growing up as a young girl, I never thought of myself any different from others. That changed when my family and I moved down south from New York. Besides people constantly asking where I was from because of my then New York accent, people couldn’t seem to wrap their mind around the…
