Recently in Afro Latino Category

The Miami Herald did a phenomenal job with it's series called "A Rising Voice: Afro-Latin Americans" and it is a five part series on black populations is Latin America, accompanied with beautiful photos which capture the lives of people in some of these countries. Countries covered include, Nicaragua, Honduras, Brazil, Dominican Republic, and Cuba. Photo'd above are two young ladies for Pearl Lagoon, Nicaragua.

In the Honduras and Nicaragua they address cultural and civil rights issues. A quote in the Dominican Republic segment "Nearly all Dominican women straighten their hair, which experts say is a direct result of a historical learned rejection of all things black." The Brazilian part covers "racial democracy." The Cuban part covers the black political activism movement. READ MORE...

Reference:
Miami Herald

Photo Credit:
Miami Herald

Check this video out on his MySpace page: www.myspace.com/tegocalderon

Excerpts from Latina Magazine interview with the Puerto Rican Latin hip-hop artist:

"Latina: You've been an outspoken advocate for Afro-Latinos, including when you said Afro-Latinos need a civil rights movement. Do you think racism is different in the United States versus in the Caribbean or Latin America?

Tego: Well, I'd say yes. In the United States, it's more obvious who is your enemy. In our countries, it's more subtle yet more (pervasive).

Latina: We often hear now in the U.S. that there's a growing black-Latino divide. Having worked with African-American hip-hop artists, what's your take on that?

Tego: Obviously a lot of Latinos have African blood. But now we are getting to be so many here in the United States that maybe the African-Americans feel displaced. We're seen as the competition. It's the same thing that happens in Puerto Rico with the Dominicans who have come there, that people view them as a threat or competition. I would like to see all of that change and relations get better." READ MORE...

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I always thought of former major-league baseball player Ruben Sierra as the sexiest man in the world. His dark, chocolaty skin, spicy Puerto Rican accent, and cocky attitude--together with his home runs and $6 million contract--always made for an enjoyable day at the ballpark.

But during my monologue of praise, nothing dampened my mood quicker than hearing, "Ruben's not black; he's Puerto Rican." It was a grim reminder of the ignorance that I've had to deal with ever since I was old enough to fully understand the truth.

If I received a dollar for every time I heard " You're not black you're Hispanic" or "You're not Hispanic your black." I'd be well on my way to equaling Ruben's small fortune. To a lot of people, and to the majority of the people I've met, "black" and "Latino" are mutually exclusive terms.

Reality couldn't be further from the truth.

Many people don't realize that slave ships dropped Africans off not only in the United States but also in the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and South America. Blacks in this country share a common history with those in the Caribbean and Latin America. Yet, because historical circumstances have created a variety of cultures within the black community in the Americas, people, including blacks themselves, are quick to make distinctions.

It saddens me that those with an obviously African ancestry refuse to acknowledge it, clinging instead to a lone term, "Hispanic" or "Latino". READ MORE...

References:

Hispanic Magazine
World History Archives

Photo Credit: image of Ruben Sierra from ESPN.com

“The United States Bureau of the Census asks these two key questions on race and ethnicity:

Are you Spanish/Hispanic/Latino? [ ] Yes [ ] No

What is your race? Please "X" one or more races to indicate what you consider yourself to be.

[ ] White [ ] American Indian or Alaska Native [ ] Black, African American or Negro [ ] Asian or Pacific Islander [ ] Some other race

These are separate questions, because there can be Asian Hispanics, white Hispanics, black Hispanics and so on. The subject of this article is about the black Hispanics as a group. In the socio-economic structure of American society, it is well-known that blacks and Hispanics are disadvantaged minority groups. They earn less money and they have fewer educational opportunities. So our question here is whether the black Hispanics look more like blacks or Hispanics? Are they better or worse off than both?” READ MORE...

Reference: Zonalatina.com