by
Black Girl With Long Hair
Vickiana says:
I am so happy I came across your website. As a latina (dominican), there aren’t many women going natural around my neck of the woods. So, it was comforting to find this website and motivate me to stick through this…
And this email is from Vashti:
I wanted to send you this email to let u know that ur website is absolutely awesome! 11 years ago I got pregnant with my daughter and decided that i didn’t want to put anymore relaxers in my hair. Unfortunately i had no idea how to take care of my hair and after i gave birth i let my mother convince me to go to the salon and have a relaxer done. After that i tried on and off to go natural but always ran into the same problem I didn’t know how to take care of my natural hair.
Then Jan 2010 I decided that was it, I wasn’t going to try to go natural I was going to just do it. So I started researching online and stumbled onto your site… I’m half black and half puerto rican and grew up with my puerto rican mother who never did that kind of stuff to our hair so it was all foreign to me.
I’ve wanted to address this topic for a while, but felt I unqualified because I’m not Afro-Latina.
Then, at the Chicago naturals meetup, I met Dheena (pictured above) a GORGEOUS Panamanian natural. We started talking and she agreed to write a piece about her experience going natural as an Afro-Latina. Enjoy!
Being Hispanic — “Afro-Latina” — and natural is a complete challenge. It amazes me that in America, where being different is interesting and studied, we as beautiful brown-skinned Latinas have to deal with the negativity that surrounds natural hair.
I was born in Brooklyn, New York the “Americanized” child of Panamanian parents. I have a keen understanding of where I’m from and the beauty of my cultural background BUT there is one BIIIIIIIGGGG problem — brown-skinned Latinas are extremely hesitant to embrace the African roots mixed with “el son, la cumbia, el congo, y la salsa” within us. The big question is ‘why’? Why are the majority of Latina women OBSESSED with the waves and soft curls, rollers, perms, and “el blower” wraps?
As a little girl I used to admire seeing my mom get her hair done. I thought it was magic whenever her tight coils turned into a bone straight mane.
As I got older I noticed how Latin women would go insane over having straight and wavy hair. No NAPS! As my mom would say back in the day “no kinky…ese estilo no me gusta”. “No kinks…I don’t like that style”. The Latina beauty standard was just like America’s; a woman with a small waist, hips, very fair skin (European decent) and with LOOOOONG wavy hair. The media, novellas, and the public considered it the beauty norm. In soap operas the Afro-Latina is ALWAYS the maid or mami caregiver.
As a child I was obsessed with getting a perm. My mother gave me my first “Just for me” Perm at the tender age of nine. My hair was thick, full, and flowing for about a year.
I decided to go natural in 2003 while I was attending Florida A&M University. Because of the negative remarks from family members acting like I had committed the worst sin, plus dealing with an unsupportive boyfriend, I relaxed it. I became victim to damage (again) and chopped my hair to an inch in 2006. When I went home to NYC for the holidays I got the “oh my God, you look like a little boy”, to “como vas a conseguir un novio con ese pelo?” (“How are you going to find a man?”) Thankfully I had enough confidence to say, “Well I like it and at least my hair is healthy”.
Today I have aunts — whose hair is damaged from years of perms and light dyes — that are in awe of my mane and inspired by my hair, thinking that it’s a full wig.
Ciao Chicas xoxo,
Dheena Acuña-Doyle
87 Responses
The site exited out on me, now I have to type it all over. I decided to roam through the afro-hair forum and this thread caught my attention. I do get e.ated and interested at my expense when I see things that are catered to me or concerning me. I like to read things that are positive, uplifting, and adoring to my culture. Something that celebrates the way I look and who I am. I try not to run into threads that are negative. I did a good job at not being bitter/overly sensitive when it comes to articles like this. Already knowing about the Dominican Republic at age 18 when I read an article about a man writing about the oppression against natural hair, it sent me to watch a video about The Dominican Republic and why things are the way they are.
I’m use to cavil, I guess because I am aware and have a clear understanding behind it. I’m 19 now and my birthday passed 13 days ago. I didn’t get deep into my history until I was 17. I use to ask myself sometimes;wondering how did Black people get to Europe, the Uk, and Canada. I didn’t want to believe there were Black people living there and I guess because I associated the country with skin color. I didn’t find out until It was because of the slave trade landing in different countries. That was interesting but it is saddening to read threads like this, as I scroll down and read some comments here and there. It is made out to be like we are the worst to have existed but it is only because the rapid westernization of colonization did that and practically brainwashed people to believe there is only one beauty norm.
I don’t try to run into threads that have an attached negative talk to it because all it does is get inside your head and make you worry. Dealing with positive and negatives ges you confused and makes you worry. It’s a waste of time so I like to learn and be aware. I don’t want to be fill up with bitterness. I like that meet ups allows us to meet other people and share their experiences.
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Hair is a huge part of the Afro-Latina experience. I found Nutress Hair products and they have made that part of the experience all the more better. Whether I’m wearing my hair natural or straight, the products keep my hair healthy, moisturized, and looking great. Check them out!
Dheena, I enjoyed your story sooo much. And I really dont get why so many persons made an issue out of what was not said and certainly not implied. I am a proud Jamaican, who lives in Europe now, but has lived in America as well. And to be honest, I found that being from a country whose national motto states Out of Many One People, I proudly accepts all parts of me. Several persons in some office somewhere, in some government building in the U.S.A has decided though to mix the word Black and African American interchangeably. The latter is a part of a race HOWEVER not the race…. I remember being chewed out several times by friends who were African Americans who were upset that I choose not to identify with that term as my race. I wasnt trying to exclude myself from them, we share common ancestry, I am black and proud! But I am also Afro West Indian and very very Jamaican! Being constantly told that I was African American by forms and censuses because I am black felt like I was denying my true self.I am proud to state that I am of African ancestry, but stating that I have grandfathers on both sides from strong European lineage as well does not make me a sell out. It was because of slavery.. people, we are now scattered all over the world with with different looks, shapes, sizes and hues!!! This makes us so beautiful as a race people, we are soooo amazing and diverse, embrace this.
Wow, very interesting! Education is the key, in the bible it say my people are destroy by the lack of knowledge. One love to everyone!
Some people on here have to understand what it means to come from another country or who have families that were born in another country. My parents are Dominican and the beauty standard is straight hair or straight hair with a little loose curl at the end. It’s already hard being black but it’s especially hard if you come from a Latin country that only wants to embrace one color. For years I struggled with identity because I was the black one out of my step sisters. They’re the typical Latinas that you would expect. I call them the J-Lo Latinas. No one really talks about being black because people still remember what would happen to you in D.R if you were. No one wanted to be black because it meant death. So I just saw myself as Dominican when I went there with my mom that was my identifier. I remember living there for a couple of years and having to hide when the military men came around so they wouldn’t snatch me up and take me away.All my life I’ve had to defend my blackness. The sad part is that it comes from AA. I’m never black enough because when I speak you hear an accent. Then comes the question ” oh where are you from?” “I say NY.” ” Then I get the no where were you born what island?” “To which I have to laugh and say Manhattan…. Then I get what’s your nationality and I say American because really that’s what I am. But as soon as they find out my parents are Dominican I’m not BLACK. To this day I Still get this. even my husband jokes that I’m not black. I know that I’m blabbering but please understand that culturally there’s so much pressure to be the norm in Latin America. If you think racism is Bad in America. Well at least you expect it from some people. Go down to D.R and experience it from someone that looks like you. I’ve been natural for a year and when I told my mom I was going to big chop she cried. That’s how bad it’s looked at. All she cared about was damaged hair that looked long and healthy. So before anyone gets on people for identifying themselves as Afro Latinos or Latinos in general you have to know the history behind that culture and see why they won’t identify with being black. In DR two of their names are Trujillo and Balaguer.
Thank you for sharing this! I am not Latina (and won’t reveal my ethnicity here) but I’ve read about the violence against Black skinned people in DR during the 20? / 40s? regime and I think people should educate themselves about it! Thank you!
Finally! 🙂 I’ve been waiting to hear another story of an Afro-Latina like me (well, at least, 1/2 Afro-Latina like me [Viva Belize!]). I totally relate to this story; my mom used to take me to get my natural hair blowdried and flat ironed every couple of months when I was 11-14 years old. My mom used to get her hair relaxed too, because that’s what the majority of women in Belize would do, even though their hair is not “nappy”; they still desired bone-straight hair like the Mexican/Maya girls had. I’m proud to say that I inspired my mom to go natural and I’m working on my big and little sisters! 😀
I’m also Dominican/afro-latina and its nice to see women also going natural. So many of us buy into the hype of stereotypical latina look. Its unfortunate. But! Your hair is beautiful. And I dont see what the problem is with being hispanic and identifying as being black is. I can and will because I am! Shoot! Lol it’s an insult for so many…smh. Anywaaay, <3 your hair ladies!!!
I too am Afro Latina of Puerto Rican descent. I would not have identified myself that way until about a year ago when I shaved off all my relaxed hair. I’ve moved to a place where there is little-to-no diversity. The only Latinos are Mexican. I am an anomaly in my own world. Embracing my natural hair brought on criticism and anger from my own family – even from 1500 miles away! I was questioned about an emotional breakdown. “Que, eres tan baga que no quieres arreglarte el pelo mas? Tu eres muy joven para dejar de cuidarte.”, said my mom. “What, are you so lazy that you no longer want to FIX your hair? You are too young to stop caring for yourself.” From my sister, “OH HELL NO! You will look like Foxy Cleopatra, ha!” From my brother – this one hit home because of the the level of ignorance, “Wo, not everyone can go natural”. ????? I’ve repeatedly received a side eye from those within my christian congregation and am labeled “a progressive.” My only source of support are a few select friends and my ever-loving husband of German descent who tells me daily, “I love your chunky fro”. But I digress. What I most wanted to relay is that it is true that SOME, as in my experience, Afro-Latinas are exposed exclusively to the Spanish side of their heritage, learning nothing of their rich African history. Growing my natural hair has opened my eyes to a history I didn’t know I even had. Duh, I’ve had this brown skin my whole life?! Living in a place where having brown skin irrefutably means you’re African regardless of your culture and language (while proudly wearing a MASSIVE IN YOUR FACE AFRO) has allowed me to see myself, my whole self, through the eyes of others – 1 part Latina, 1 part African, 2 parts proud.
Wonderful article, I really enjoyed it. I too am Latina…I’m black and Cuban…and I am a proud alumnus of Florida A&M University! We are probably cousins, LOL!
Wow. Beautiful story sister! Afro- Latinas hardly get recognized, and I am glad you shared your story. You are gorgeous btw. Your mom looks ALOT like my mom, which is really freaky. Just goes to show that we are all related. There’s no beauty like a natural beauty. Take care =)
Thank you all for sharing your story. I have a 12 year old daughter that fits the mold so to speak. he has always been proud to wear her naturally curly sometimes kinky hair and she’s beautiful. She gives me strength just watching her soul power invading the 99% caucasian world called school that she attends everyday. You all are beautiful!!!!
I just read this story and literally started shedding tears. I am afro-Venezuelan and have been longing to go natural for quite some time! It’s just so much pressure coming at me from every where to relax that I haven’t done it yet.
Inspiring article.
I am a Dominican woman I decided to go natural this year ur story reminds me alot of mine but my grandma is the one thts upset…
Thank you for this story it is truly inspiring
I absolutely LOVE your story! I too experienced the “y ese pelo tan feo…porque no te lo derizas?” It’s sad to say that my entire family (by the way my family on both sides is Dominican and Haitian) is addicted to the creamy crack and every time I see them, they try to convince me to cut my locs and get a relaxer….NOT HAPPENING!!!
Thank you for speaking for us Afro-Latinas Quidate 😉
Loved your story! I am Honduran – AfroLatina – and newly natural as well!!
Loved your story! I am Honduran – AfroLatina – and newly natural as well!!1
One day I met a Domincan man who I thought was black. He spoke perfect English w/o an accent so of course I didn’t know his ethnicity. (He was born in America so his nationality is American) I can’t remember what my co-worker said but his reponse was “I am not black” That statement wasn’t the problem, it was the look of disgust he had on his face that made my blood boil. I know my history so if there is ANYTHING he wanted to say negative about American blacks, I could counter it with the positives/and tell him about himself lol. Calling a latino black is like fightin’ words. Kinda like “yo mama”
First time I have commented on website in years, yay! I am a black American (google Smokey Robinson’s black American poem, it sums up how I identify myself) and I think the problem with identity, esp amongst those of the African Diaspora, is the color lines all countries have drawn. I am an American so I am more familiar with the one drop rule but I read it worked in reverse in Latin America.
NONE of my latino friends/co-workers of African descent will EVER say they’re black and I don’t think they should. I am too proud to ever try to convince someone from another country to admit to being black; I couldn’t care less if they did or didn’t. American blacks shouldn’t worry about how anyone else identify themselves. I have nothing in common with them besides…our friendship. It’s funny, I was talking to my Venezuelan friend (of Spanish descent) one day about this very same topic and I had to admit, I don’t see Latinos as black. With the negative comments I have received from them about American blacks, I have no familial tie with them. I repect their nationality/ethnicity and I leave it at that.
With the one drop rule I hope you ladies know that, it was a white racists supremacists named Walter Ashby Plecker, that made that rule up, because he didn’t want colored people in which we are, we actually are not fully black, to identify with the white society or indian society, when most likely that is what we african americans/colored people really got along with african, if you don’t believe look it up! It is sad that people say they don’t heed to the white society, but they are heeding to their rules. We are still believing in that one drop rule mess in which it is really sad! I am sorry to say people donot realize that everybody is not 100 percent pure race, if you ladies read your bible and I am sure hope you ladies do, you will realize that mixing from generations to generations started with Noah sons, Ham, Shem, and Japheth. Even though Adam and Eve were the first ones to have a soul, Ham, Shem, and Japheth started generations after generations after generations, nobody is really 100 percent pure, that stop when adam and eve took the true of life like a big dummy uhh, but god said forgive and forget. So we all are mixed up, like really and I hope you ladies realize that, rather trying debate who is pure black and who isn’t, because really it aint no such thing as pure black. Like we are colored people even the white people are colored, so that is that.
@ Anon,
Your “Israeli” friends are not just white in appearance, they are white. Europeans are not the real Hebrews. Israelis are invaders.
Just had to get that out!
The problem is black has become synonymous to some with African American. I personally don’t like that term. Ever hear of European Americans? No. So, personal rant is over!
I’m Black. I’m American. I’m naturally nappy and I love it! There’s definitely a complex about having natural hair among black women from many countries, but sites and stories like this are helping to change that.
No sense in arguing over something that neither side will 100% agree on. I am Latina and almost everyone in my family has natural hair. Its nothing new, nobody talks about it, its not a big deal. I keep it straight sometimes.. I keep it curly and big sometimes.. nobody is coming after me with a relaxer LOL
As far as the subjects that are off topic… I love my African roots, but I don’t necessarily identify with people that are African. I also love my Spanish roots, but I don’t identify with anyone from Spain at all either. Women of color, specifically black women, are not a “one size fits all.” I don’t call myself black, I call myself Dominican. Of course I’m black! I love my skin color and I know its dark. In American everything is black and white. If you live in one of the islands (or Caribbean country) you’re Panamanian or Cuban or Dominican or Puerto Rican etc.. your identity is the country you’re from, not where your ancestors were from. Its just the way it is, might seem right or wrong to some, but its not going to change because a group of people from another country want it to change. We can all agree to disagree.
I knew someone would say that and think what you want, but again it wasn’t meant to downplay American culture or put my own over others. it was simply MY personal preferences. But I mean, like i said I know I’m black, and I have to deal with that like every other black person does. I’d just rather do it with my preferences.
@anon
your post is umm…..a tad bit ignorant. Not all black Americans listem to Hip-Hop/Rap and eat fried chickien or soiuthern(soul food) like not all Latinas listen to salsa music. You generalized a whole race of people, which is disrespectful yet you want people to respect your Latina culture? Whether you like or don’t some aspects of what is percieved to be Black American culture is fine, but don’t lump all black Americans together or belittle us over your “culture”. PLease step out of your box….
& why are people arguing about being black. Whether your African, Black American, Afro Caribbean, Afro Latina, & so on and so forth YOU ARE BLACK. Yes we don’t share the same exact culture, and not one culture is better than the other!
I think we need to realize that we all have the right to self identify with what we want to identify as. Also not every Latino of African ancestry denies that ancestry (I have met some who identify as Afro-Latino expressing their African identity). Trust I know plenty of African Americans who always say they have “Cherokee, Creole, Irish…” but I never hear AFRICAN. This is why I said that every country that has had slavery does have a superior/inferior complex. This isn’t exclusive to Latinos which is why I always get confused when a debate goes on about people who identify as Latino who have vieweable African ancestry. In South American and Latino-Carribean countries, the people live by a “mixed, singular society” idea. At the same time they support that superior/inferior complex. Here in the U.S., we live in a rigid racial system that categorizes us into separate ethnicities/racial groups. But we still have the same inferior/superior complex. I think most people who argue this point about Latinos of African descent really want them to identify as African American. When I think of African American, I think of my ancestors and culture from the Southern part of the U.S. not West Africa, West Indies, or Latin America. A culture that embodies “jumping the broom”, Jazz, lindyhop, soul food, Blues, Rock-n-Roll, Civil Rights, Juneteenth, etc. I like this identity (it specifically points to my history), but I wouldn’t want to argue that people of African descent from other cultures and countries should identify as such. I feel that African Americans can fall under this denial of African/black descent to with the “Cherokee this and Irish that…”. I think most people have the realization that racism is everywhere. But I can agree with you about people distancing themselves from us with the “hype”. But my mom believes the “hype” about African men being too aggressive and domineering. So it goes both ways. I just want people to understand that most people (no matter what culture you are from) of the African diaspora have negative feelings about their African roots.
P.s. We need to stop questioning why people of other cultures identify as such. If you haven’t experienced the country or culture (b/c for some, you can easily go into your neighborhood) yourself, without preconcieved notions, than you wouldn’t have any actual experience to give an opinion on. Reading from books in a collegiate class is not going to give you all the resources to argue a topic.
@ Seattle Slim
My mother is from Colon and my father is from Rio Abajo. Saludos AMOR!
To all of you that have an opinion on my “brown-skin” comment, I am referencing my skin tone. I believe in this post that I show how I am PROUD of having African roots instilled in me. “BLACK” is a color. Not once have I mention that I had a problem with my AFRICAN roots. In my family we dance Congo in Panama which is an ode to african dance rituals. This story was to expose what Afro-Latinas, Latinas, Black Latinas, Black hispanics, whatever you want to call us go through as it pertains to image. Take note: I DID attend an historically black university to learn more about the AFRICAN roots with in me. My family came to Panama from the Carribean (Barbados) and Colombia to be forced to work and build the canal in Panama and were subject to stay because they could not afford to go back. I KNOW my history and I know who I am. This was merely my hair story…and quite frankly I AM PROUD OF ALL MY ROOTS!
I am thankful for everyone’s compliments and opinions.
All that should stem from this is positivity and Unity.
Dheena
@Dheena!
Being Afro Latino/Carribean American, I grew up always being proud of my roots and my nation I live in which my grandparents worked hard to come to from Barbados too. My Great Grandpa worked in Panama too…my great abuela was Bajan and puerto rican. I read your comment/story I totally agree! Sometimes I still feel I am not enough latina for some people or black for others, but I am happy and proud of everything that makes me who I am. The only thing that is still annoying is when people say “Oh, you just look Black or West Indian to me…”, who died and made them the ethnicity police lol, people amaze me—-the things that come out of their mouths. I am a stylist and I stopped going to my old dominican salon because they used to beg me to relax no matter how much I told them no, I am natural and love my curls. smh hopefully a large majority in the community will learn that we define our own standards of beauty. BTW, I also went to a HBCU, what an experience!
siempre familia,
Say
Thanks for sharing your perspective Dheena. I am also [genetically]Afro-Latina (my father’s family is Puerto Rican). I fully embrace an American lifestyle and actually do not know much about my Latina roots because that side of my family does not live here.
In more recent years have dipped my toe into the Latina-American community to try and learn more and have felt a little off-put due to not only my complexion, but my tight natural curls. I know first hand how the Spanish-speaking community can respond to natural hair and a great deal of racism is present even amongst those who share my complexion and this prejudice or racism, however you’d like to categorize it, is also present in the African-American community where lighter skin and looser coils are preferred.
The only difference I have found is that Americans are more passive-aggressive about their preferences whereas the Latino community has no shame in their game! My only explanation for that is that many in the Latino community do NOT understand their heritage as well as Dheena seems to and think they are “broken” because they are “supposed” to look like something else.
Just a second opinion from an American Afro-Latina! Much love to all the kinky and curly ladies of every nationality!!
Soy Panamena tambien!!! Y tambien nacio en Brooklyn!!! 😀
@ Can’t keep my mouth shut I love a lot of your points, and I respect that you feel Familial to the diaspora, but (and I really don’t want to be bombastic or start any confrontation so please please please try not to read into the comment as such) I refuse to feel as familial just because we are all black. White people do NOT do that so why should we? I have some Israeli friends, white in appearance, who can not STAND American whites, or Italian whites.
I understand that at the end of the day we’re all black and people aren’t going to stop and think, oh that black is from country a and that black is from country b, but that doesn’t concern me because it’s not necessarily affecting me what people think unless they are an employer or someone equally as important.
I do care that in my personal life, I don’t like hip-hop OR rap, and would rather listen to Salsa or reggae. I don’t like chitlins, collard greens, fried chicken, or any other down-south food, and would rather eat sous, carimanola, empanadas, rice and peas, and oxtail. Yes my parents did preach about black americans this and black americans that, but that is their problem. What I prefer is just people who share my culture… not just my skin color.
Love to see articles about my afro-latina’s! Most people don’t even know we exist. I’m Dominican, all natural and oh so proud.
Those of you that said we cannot chose another’s identity are correct, but I am still going to take issue with a few points.
One, when I studied Spanish my Panamanian teacher fed me the lie that racism does not exist within Latin America. Two, in college I also learned the difference between the British system of slavery versus the Spanish system, and their supposed inclusionary, singular national identity.
However, if the Latin countries were as inclusionary as we are led to believe, its citizen with African/”black” ancestry would not be hard-pressed to deny that ancestry, as evidenced by some comments. In addition, I believe of those countries with large populations of African descent, those populations also happen to be the poorest with the least formal education. I may also like to point out the discriminatory experience that black Cubans faced once on U.S. soil by their light-skinned brethren.
From the comments I find something else at play, the admittance of African/black ancestry, but the denial of the black-american experience. We are not trying to force a black-american experience upon you. We do realize that you have a rich cultural experience of your own. Yet, I get the feeling this distancing from “black” or “black-american” or “black” AND “american,” is just more folks discriminating against African-Americans as a whole because they believe the hype – the very loud negative stereotypes cast about us. I’ve dealt with this discrimination not from just “Afro-Latinos,” but from various emigrants of African nations, black Canadians, Afro-Caribbeans.
It amazes me when I meet another BLACK person no matter their nationality, and I feel FAMILIAL, like I’ve stumbled upon a long-lost cousin. I see many similarities in cultural behavior amongst the disapora, and I often shake my head in amused wonder.
I got nothing but love for y’all.
As a lifelong Texan of African American descent, I agree wholeheartedly. Well said! And I too have nothing but love for people who look like me (until they add the distance and I sense the rejection).
I really, really enjoyed reading your article Dheena. God bless.
I’m a little confused by why people are giving the ‘brown-skinned’ comment a side-eye, maybe she is just describing her skintone as their are Latinos of all tones. Think about it, who told you you were ‘black’? Wasn’t it the same ‘oppressors’ we are all (still) trying to overcome? It’s funny how we hold onto certain things, the term ‘Black’ is political (its also something that we learn; if you ask a four year old kid what colour they are, chances are you’ll get something like ‘Brown’) commonly used to identify people of the diaspora (and encourage Pan-Africanism) but in the UK, South Asians are also ‘Black’.
I love this blog and yes I feel woman who do all natural thing and take care of their hair. It can come out looking so much prettier!
@ Summer-daze:
We live in a multiracial and multicultural world… NO ONE is racially pure… I think you’re confusing biological and socio-political definitions of race…
I agree with Black Married Momma & Monisola.
The whole ‘”brown-skinned” Latina’ statements caught me making this face: :-
There are 3 races: Mongoloid, Negroid & Caucasoid. Where is Latinasoid? Doesn’t exist right? That’s because the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Cuba are all NATIONS. There’s a difference between RACE & NATIONALITY & alot of BLACK PEOPLE from South America fail at understanding the difference.
Why are we SO afraid to be Black? If you tell a Black person from Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic they’re Black, they’re just about ready to fight. I’ve never heard a white person from Puerto Rico calling themselves a European-Latina so why do we do it?
I LOVED THIS!!! To the author, what part of Panama are you from? I’m from Panama too. My family is Panamanian and my grandfather still lives there. I came up here in 1992. Anyway, I remember this happening to an extent. My grandmother and all of her friends were always on time for their presses. The one thing that saved me while in Panama, was my mom was fiercely natural. It actually came crashing down when I came to the states. The presure was on in Panama but it seemed irrelevant, background noise. Up here, it was hell. I’m a happy natural now and my mom is ever supportive and so is my family (my brother, grandfather, etc.) but I know I’m lucky. It shouldn’t be about luck. Either way, it was great to read this. Saludos!
A different culture is a different culture, no matter WHAT color you are. White folks from Sweden may not have the same eating habits as white people from America. I’m also Panamanian, and I do NOT identify with African-American experience because my parent’s are NOT American (African, sure, we’re black, but American, no) so I would say my experience is latino, but also West Indian as well… but never American. That doesn’t make me better than my neighbor’s who can find slave graves in Tennessee, that’s just who I am.
Since this is a hair board, I compleeeetely agree with the author. When I told my [panamanian] mother that I was going natural, she was NOT in agreement. It really really baffles me that my white friends will scrunch their hair to make it curly, or tan until they burn, and all kinds of thing just to look like us… and we spend SOOO much time trying NOT to look like ourselves.
I’m also concerned by this preoccupation with how other women self-identify. it’s like me as an African telling every Black person on this site that y’all are all Africans and it doesn’t matter where your immediate ancestry is from and how that has affected your life, you should all self-identify as AFRICAN! that doesn’t make sense. i think we all love this site because it has encouraged us in some way to embrace who we are instead of someone else’s definition. when you say that you “get confused about the ‘Afro-Latina’ thing” and then someone explains it, we should respect their explanation because it’s the way they choose to self identify.
@Cygnet
Word to your whole post, especially this part:
“You may draw conclusions and have opinions about who they are and how they should identify based on any arbitrary thing you want to bring up, but the only one you can truly identify in the end is your own self.”
and this
“Do you!” And mind your own identity!”
It’s very out of line for outsiders to try to tell others how to identify, or to try to oversimplify their unique experiences. I want to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth! Great topic BGLH.
Dheena-
Your hair is beautiful and your story is inspiring. Thanks for sharing.
I agree wholeheartedly with Cygnet. Who are we to assign labels?? It is her hair, her life and her journey. She is sharing to educate us. She knows who and what she is.
@ Patrice:
In response to your statement about the “one drop rule” encouraging greater racial self-identification than the more fluid racial model characteristic of Latin-America, I would not disagree with you there. However, I don’t remember saying that the Latin-American model was superior to the Anglo-American racial model, I simply pointed out that there are differences and those differences should be appreciated and understood. While there may not be as strong racial self-identification in Latin America, Latin American nations often view themselves as being “mulatto” nations or “brown nations” where racial mixture is a part of the national character. The underlying belief is that there are no true racial distinctions because there is one race. Sometimes even people who are not visibly of African descent will acknowledge African ancestry. Now does this eliminate the reality of racial prejudice? No. Afro-Latinos/as still face very strong prejudice prejudice in various sectors of society. But in the end both the Anglo American and Latin American systems are premised on white superiority Only the one drop rule presumes that whitness should be kept apart from blackness and the Latin American model presumes that blackness should be diluted. It’s not really fair to suggest that one is better than the other…
I thank you for the compliments ladies. Means a lot! I am elated that I have inspired some women and sparked a topic of discussion for others.
Much love and blessings,
Dheena
I can not express how excited I was to see the words “Afro-Latina” when I came to this site today. My lovely boyfriend is Panamanian with features that clearly show his African ancestry and I have been hard pressed to find ANYTHING, ANYTHING that had to do with the Afro-Panamanian experience. I truly want to understand his culture, experiences and perspective but for all intents and purposes, there isn’t much out there. He loves all my natural kinks, coils and curls but it is obvious that he has only come to love all of our African features after years of hating his deep brown skin complexion, kinks, full lips and broad nose. Since he doesn’t really want to talk about “race/nationality/heritage” this is my first real-life, unadulterated look into the afro-latin world.
Thank you!! Thank you!! Thank you!!
Beautiful story and beautiful woman
I’ve studied and read a lot about the differing manifestations of slavery in the Americas and the different racial classification systems. Franz Fanon and many, many others. It still reaks of an anti-African sentiment – pointing out the non-visible aspects of oneself that are not black while downplaying that which clearly is, referring to oneself as “brown-skinned” rather than black . . . all symptoms of at least a partially colonized mind, in my mind, anyway.
I am African-American, and I am astounded and appalled by what I see as arrogance from other African-Americans who think it is your place to re-identify African Latinas because you disagree with where they put the emphasis on their own identification of the various parts of the cultures that make them who they are. You may draw conclusions and have opinions about who they are and how they should identify based on any arbitrary thing you want to bring up, but the only one you can truly identify in the end is your own self. And let’s face it, some African-Americans can’t even get their own identity straight. If she thinks she is as much Latina as she is African, and it’s what her culture and nationality have taught her, then that’s her business, and since you’re not her, you can’t tell her she’s wrong. If she came from the same womb as you, she wouldn’t be the same as you, so how can you tell her she’s the same as a whole country as other African-descendant people when she may not even be from the same hemisphere?! Their dysfunctionality is their own, and yes they need to deal with it. But once they’ve done so, they still will be African like an African person of Latin cultural descent/history/experience, not like an African of North American descent/history/experience. If there is any one thing that should make it glaringly obvious that just being African doesn’t guarantee commonality of community and culture among Africans, it is the constant warfare that rocks the various parts of that continent on any given day.
And let’s be precise about it: Africa is a continent. A continent made up of a number of countries, all with their distinct borders and cultures within those borders. And within one country may be several ethnicities and/or people groups. Being on the same continent does not make an Ethiopian the same as a Kenyan, or a Gambian the same as one from Lesotho, or a Somalian the same as a Zimbabwean. So if all these Africans are so different one from the other, and they live on the same continent, why is it anathema to some African-Americans that Afro-Latinas can self-identify thus, especially when many of them are on a different continent than us?
The same thing we say to each other about hair applies to identity here: “Do you!” And mind your own identity!
I do agree that across the board, no matter what culture you grew up in, some black people have complexes and don’t want to be considered completely black. It annoys me sometimes when people are like are you mixed because I guess my hair is not “black” enough. When I tell people I’m just black, they’re like, “no, you must have some white in you.” Granted, my grandmother is actually Cherokee Indian and had wavy hair, but what I identify with is my black culture. I’ve also been asked if I was Dominican. I never understood that one either. It never fails that you will hear a person say that “o I’m not just black..I’m Black, Indian, and Scottish” for example. It’s sad we often downplay our “blackness” so to speak.
Adriana
There were many differences between slavery in the carribbean / latin american countries and the US. Black N. Americans are more generationally removed from Africa than are their carribbean / latin american cousins. And as mentioned before the American idea of race is much more rigid.
I’m not sure if having more a minority population means that white slave owners would encourage or tolerate intermixing. In many southern states black slavers were in fact the majority. Although the situation in S. Africa about slavery-“blacks” were the majority and intermixing was not really encouraged or tolerated.
I believe that what these differences present is a wonderful opportunity to explore how two different “slave systems” produced similarities and differences.
The one-drop rule had and has it limitations for many reasons however it help to establish a political definition of “black.” This meaning help black americans fight discrimination.
Why do believe there aren’t more afro-latinas developing blogs about the politics of hair?
@ Married Black Momma and Monisola:
How is the unwillingness of the Latinos of visible African descent to identify as being “black” any different from those African Americans who insist on pointing out their distant “Native American” or indigenous roots?? Like Daja said despite our differences black societies all over the world have a tendency of affirming traits associated with the “oppressor.”
Other differences between Anglo-American slavery and Latin-American or slavery that may explain the tendency of Afro-Latino/as to identify with a national or cultural identity:
– in latin-american slave colonies, black slaves were the majority rather than the minority (as was the case in anglo-america), so by necessity there was more intermixing between slaveholders and the enslaved black population. Additionally the one drop rule wouldn’t have worked so well for the white slaveholders (it would have meant that there would be more blacks and less whites… it made more sense to extend nominal privilege to those of mixed heritage and to encourage more intermarriage to “whiten” the population).
– Spanish and Portuguese legal systems favored the “legitimation” of children born out of wedlock to enslaved women and white slave-holding men. English common law was quite the opposite.
Anyway this is a really interesting topic, and I would be interested in hearing what more Afro-Latinas have to say about it…
Shout out to FAMU!
I agree with Adriana. Language definetly isn’t the main thing that separates us from Latinos of African descent. Even some West Africans cannot identify with us solely on our ancestral background. In South America and the Carribean, their racial history is different then ours in the US (One drop Rule, Miscegenation). Slavery was slavery but the structure of slavery was different depending where it happened. The British were always isolated so when they joined the slave trade they had deep repulsive attitudes against black people b/c they had never seen them before. This lead to a great separation between them and other foreign people (e.g. Indians in India). Which is why here in the US we tend to separate from each other even when we share a singular American culture. With the Spaniards or French, they had already traded with Africans for many years before the knowledge of a New World, which is why they didn’t really mind being around Africans as much as the British did. I’m from Louisiana and I can first hand tell you how the French rule of Louisiana has affected our attitudes today (for the most part Southeast La). We all share the same culture. The only thing that distinguishes me from a white person in Louisiana is my slave history and I can acknowledge that. If the Americans hadn’t bought Louisiana who knows, we might feel more connected to each other way pass our racial differences and more so on our nationality or culture. Although in reality, I know most people of African descent (not exclusively Latinos) are somewhat ashamed of their African roots b/c of the slave history complex (even here in Louisiana). This I can agree with the other posters on. We share the same slave concept of anything African is ugly (this by far is the main thing we share in slave history). The difference is culture as a whole. With my example of the French, it shows that they pushed my ancestors in being proud of a singular culture while affirming a superior/inferior complex. I can see this with many Latinos of viewable African descent (this doens’t mean they are primarily African descent). They are proud to be of a singular culture amongst other Latinos while still carrying negative feelings about their own unique ancestry. In other news, the OP’s hair is beautiful. I like it when people of other backgrounds have a story to tell.
First off thank you so much for sharing your story. I am Hispanic of Mexican background my husband is African American and we have a beautiful little girl. I have searched high and low for a term I can use to describe my daughters background without making either one of our ethnicity’s seems less important than the other and absolutely love the term “Afro-Latina”. I was blessed to have a close African American friend who has natural hair. She has guided me, advised me, encouraged me on how to take care of my little ones hair. I have educated myself and continue to do so on how to maintain my daughters hair natural and beautiful. I tell her everyday she’s got amazing hair. Once again thanks for your story.
I don’t understand the distinctions people are making. I am a black American. Afro-latinas are just black people in latin america. Africans were taken from Africa and sent to many different places. We are the descendants of those Africans. So whether you are from Latin America or South America or North America, USA, Canada whatever….you are black. Because we are all mixed up. The majority of black people in the USA are mixed with europeans and native americans too. But we don’t try to down play our African or black heritage. We just say we are black. Why do Afro-Latinas even call themselves that? They are just black people from Latin America. I am a black person from North America. Not only is there a problem with “Afro”-latinas not accepting their hair. They don’t seem to want to accept that they are just black, African people, whose people back in the day got stolen from Africa.
dheena, you are beautiful!
i must admit, i am just now learning that many afro-latinas do not embrace their natural hair. i always that latinas wore their natural hair out all the time. it didn’t make it any better when snoop dogg noted, “hair long, black, and curly like you cuban” (beautiful ft. pharrell). so this is very new to me.
i’m glad that the issue is being addressed, and must say that regardless of your heritage, your texture and curls are just beautiful! fascinating, even!
i’m upset that i straightened my hair before national afro day, and am tempted to wash it! haha! but i can’t wait to get my curls and texture back.
Adriana,
I understand what you mean. However, it’s somewhat difficult for me to balance that with so much of what I have usually encountered with Blacks from Latin America. Yes, there is certainly a great sense of cultural allegiance/connectivity, in fact, they tend to be even more dysfunctionally color conscious than we are, but often at the expense of acknowledging the fact that they are (primarily) black/African-descended. For example, I recently enocuntered a guy who was from the Dominican Republic. He looked somewhat on the order of someone like T.J. Holmes from CNN; he absolutely would not acknowledge that he had any Black/African in him at all. He’d say Native American, European . . . and would only go as far as “Dominican.”
My statements are by no means intended to be an accusation against the poster of the original blog post, but it’s simply an observation, generally.
Que linda! Thank you for your story.
Yes, our culture may be becomingly increasingly global, but not when it comes to celebrating anything that’s native to West Africa: skin color, hair texture, facial features. And the saddest thing is that it’s mostly US downplaying OURSELVES. We should ALL OF US be proud of what we’re given…and stop paying attention to a media that makes money off of our shame…
Great was a great read!
I’m Afro Puerto Rican and I can totally understand where you’re coming from. As a child my mother grew frustrated with me squirming and crying when she would try to comb and tame my thick afro hair. At the very tender age of 4 she gave me a kiddie relaxer to make it easier to comb my hair. I hated going to the salon! I hated not having wash and go hair like my white and lighter Hispanic peers.
I took the natural plunge at 15 (with locs)and reverted to the creamy crack after cutting off my locs at 19. Thankfully I woke up and left the creamy crack for good.
Our communities and media, both African American and Latino, need to start showing that natural hair is beautiful! Keep up the beautiful coils!
I am really glad to see this article. It is very VERY rare to see a Latina embrace her natural roots. So this is very inpirational
oops I should have said “Anglo-America” instead of North America!
@ Black Married Momma and Michelle:
While the Afro-Latina/o and Afro-American experiences share some commonalities, I think it’s a vast oversimplification to say that the only difference between the way that race has played out in North America and they way that it has played out in Latin-America, is a matter of language. Even though racial differences are still an issue, Latin-American societies place a strong emphasis on shared culture and national identity irrespective of race. That may explain why so many of the Afro-Latinas represented on this site identity as being both Latina and of African descent.
I say all of this b/c think it is important to acknowledge the unique struggles that Afro-Latinas face in embracing their natural textures. Yes, we’re all “black” but we all bring diverse experiences because of the cultural context in which we experience that blackness…
Hi all vashti here I bc’d june 12th n the next day sent an email 2 leila n my email was part of this post as I said in my email I’m black n puerto rican n can definetly relate 2 dheenas story. When I told my granma from my moms side[puerto rican but wit hair nappier then spanish culture likes n at 80 still doin relaxers] she said what r u gonna do just walk around nappy? It just kills me that ppl even my own fam don’t understand their own hair. To make matters worse the day I bc’d my friend came ova wit her domnican mother in law. I had neva met this woman b4 but 4 some reason she felt the need 2 tell me that my curls r 2 tight n that my hair would look nice n silky if I did a texturizer. I looked at her as if she was crazy. She confirmed 2 me that ppl r brainwashed into thinkin that if u have curls they need 2 b loose n silky 2 b pretty. I love my curly fro n wish I did it sooner. To all the ppl who don’t understand the afro latinas imagine being stuck between 2 cultures I speak spanish so I’ve always been considered by the black girls as spanish cuz I speak spanish n since I’m darker n my hair isn’t “nice” the spanish girls always considered me black. But I’ve always loved myself n I looked at it as havin the best of both worlds. Thanks 4 lettin me vent. I love this site without it I prob would still be a slave 2 my flat iron n blow dryer.
This is a very powerful piece! Thanks D! Love your fierce hair and style!
I’m really glad Afro-Latina’s are being represented on such a positive site. I could definitely relate.
I agree with Black Married Momma..it’s all almost the same story just in different languages..and I don’t consider the Dominican Republic “another part of the world”..it’s in the Northern Hemisphere, in the Americas..
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR POSTING THAT! Ive been natural for one year and a half and considering moving to the Dominican Republic, and I always remember from past trips there, the whole obsession with good hair bad hair! i get so sick of people denying their african heritage. people are SO brain washed! its sickening sometimes. But i have to admit, i probably was for a while too.
At least we have the each other in the natural hair blog world.
THANKYOU FOR SHARING YOUR STORY, its sooo sad, but im glad you realised that natural is better. and im gladu were the first to do it and continued through even though you didnt have the support of no one not even your familia
xx
its nice to here afro latina side of the hair stories as there are so many african americans on this site so its nice to hear it from a different perspective and a different part of the world
xx
Shukura
I get confused about the “Afro-Latina” thing, admittedly. Why? It seems that most of those whom I’ve met who may be characterized in this manner emphasize the Latin and downplay the “Afro,” when in fact, just like their brethren and sistren in North America, we are byproducts of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and all mixed up with other peoples, often by force. They speak Spanish and we speak English, but we are of primarily African descent with a shared heritage of capture, enslavement and assimilation.
I love this post! I am also a black person of Latin descent. We come in many shades and with many different hair textures. I love my kinks/curls and I am never looking back! Kudos on this post!
Between this and the NFATW posts we see that culture is truly becoming globalized. Our experiences going natural are echoing each other no matter where we are in the world, no matter which dialect or language the people advising us to take up the flat iron/hot comb/relaxer are doing it in. It’s comforting to have so much company and scary at the same time.
And I think Dheena and her hair are gorgeous too 🙂
This post made my heart swell with pride and love. As a natural Latina (cuban/puerto rican), It’s hard not to occasionally feel isolated -like an island, if you will 😉 by lack of visibility on these sites from other naturals whose culture and ethnicity i can identify with.
I agree with b. Standing ovation!
She’s absolutely gorgeous! I love her hair in the curly afro. Just pretty!
Loved this story and love her hair! I’m actually part Latina by way of my mother, but don’t know Spanish, lol.
Anyway, I’m glad to see stories like this because I realized long ago the pressures many Afro- or curlier haired Latinas had to make themselves conform to the supposed beauty norm. I have to admit, some of the best salons I’ve visited over the years were the Dominican ones. But it made me sad how all of us felt we had to get our hair blown to silky straight perfection just to look “right”. 🙁
By the way, Jasmin, I have a few Dominican friends who are either very dark skinned or have kinkier hair and get that crap all the time. I say ignore their ignorance! Latinas come in every complexion from white to black!
Thank you so much for this post. It is difficult for us latinas because people so often want you to draw a fine line and “choose” which side you are on. I also am Puerto Rican and black. My family can’t relate cause all they’ve known is relaxers but they NEVER made me feel like I had to choose. So why does the rest of the community want me to? Why should I have to choose between the two sides of me that I love… naturally.
Represent Mija! We are all beautiful!
What a beautiful story! Gotta use “Oingy-Boingy”, lol that’s a cute phrase!
I remember you from the meetup.I was right behind her and we are all a thing of beauty in our natural state, but that girl was gorgeous. very inspiring Chica
OMG!! I can totally relate. It is a damn shame that the Latin culture is so negative about embracing their true roots. I am Dominican and people ask what my background is ALL the time. When I respond telling them I am Dominican, they are like “oh, guess you did not get the good hair” or “oh, your hair makes you look black”, SO IGNORANT!… I absolutely LOVE my hair! It is dark and FULL of coils and curls. My own family sees me and asks when am I going to get my hair done. All this to say WE ARE LATINAS…whether you want to say Afro-Latinas or not we are just that…LATINAS. I definitely feel uncomfortable when I have to sometimes “prove” that I am Dominican by speaking fluent Spanish, it makes absolutely NO sense to me. I can completely relate to this article, you couldn’t have described it any better.
Standing ovation!!!
Absolutely love this blog. I completely understand where you are coming from with the Latina “norm” its so aggravating at times, because in some cases like at my university the Latin organizations are pretty particular in who they “accept” as far as looking like a Latina. I am Afro-Latina as well and most can tell i am of African decent however it bothers me to an extent when my fellow peers ask me my background and i say “I am African and Cuban American, and they say “no i mean your ancestry.” As if to say I cant possibly be of Latin decent if my hair is kinkier and my skin is darker. I do not mind being different but do not make it a big deal when its not. I love my background but that has nothing to do with my future. Anyways thanks for letting me ramble 🙂 I am definitely happy with my decision to go natural because it is really a part of me, and very few people sadly appreciate it. Thanks for sharing
Your hair is very cute. I get really tired of hearing about how “Afro”-Latinas don’t embrace their West African looks..I could care less if they acknowledge they are part of the diaspora and are looked at as black people too-that’s their problem. I love being who I am.
beautiful! keep rocking that hair and being yourself. you never know, your familia may come around.