Am I Black Enough For You? A Latina Talks Race, Ethnicity & Identity
Recently I read an article on African-American MLB player Torii Hunter, in which he said, among other things, that dark-skinned Latino baseball players are "not us, they're impostors," and it sparked the question: how do Latinos see themselves in terms of race?For me, a couple of elements need to be factored in. I am a tan-skinned Dominican female, born and raised in New York City by non-English-speaking immigrant parents; I have unruly, coarse yet curly hair that I wear out most of the time; and I have curves up and down my figure. Depending on where I am in the world, I am considered Latina -- especially when I open my mouth and let out my thick Spanish accent -- or, because of my "light brown" skin color and the texture of my tresses, Black.
In the melting pot that is New York City, most people assume I'm Latina and usually hit it on the money by guessing Dominican. When I go to the west coast, specifically San Diego, which I frequent a lot, I'm mixed: Black and White. Even when I open my mouth, they don't think I'm Mexican (the Latino ethnicity they are most familiar with), they're just kind of confused. "How can a Black woman have such a heavy Spanish accent?" one friend told me she wondered after meeting me the first time.
On the flip side, when I visit the D.R., I'm simply just not " Latina enough." My Spanish is choppy (because English is my second and primary language) and my hair isn't processed, like most Dominican women with my hair type. In the D.R., I'm called "la Americana ," or the American. Little do they know that in the states I'm not "white enough" to be "la Americana" either.
For New York's Hot 97 radio DJ Kast One, an Afro-Latino, his dark skin has been more of an "advantage. I appreciate being able to switch back and forth between the two languages and my Dominican culture and my more Americanized one," he says. Kast One, who says he's been more so embraced by the Black community, says he's faced more acceptance issues from Dominicans themselves. "I remember going to D.R. as a kid and locals who thought I was Black (American) and didn't speak Spanish asking each other, "quienen son estos malditos cocolos?!" (who are these f--king Black n-ggas?) They were talking about us," he says.
When I read Torii Hunter's statements it made me think about some of my own experiences and how that's affected my attempts to put my Afro-Latino roots and physicalities in perspective. Like, the group of Black women at the Harlem YMCA gym I go to that don't like when the Black men in the gym give me, a Latina, attention, when there are "so many Black women in the gym to choose from." Or, how my ex-boyfriend's sister wasn't too excited about him, a Black man, wifing a Latina up. Or even my own family's comments about me as a Latina dating a Black man. "You're the one that's going to have to deal with having ugly babies with bad hair," I recall one cousin-in-law saying once. Or even their continuous questions about why I don't straighten my hair to appear "less Black."
These kinds of comments don't sit well with me. In fact, they confuse me. Why should my skin color matter? But then Zoe Saldana, an Afro-Latina like me, a Dominican-American like me, makes the cover of Essence magazine, and I realize it doesn't matter. And like me, she is also asked to define herself when she goes back to the native land, and she says she is a "mujer negra," a black woman. When they tell her no, she is "triguenita," or light brown, she answers, "I am a black woman."
At the end of it all, acceptance comes from within and, like Saldana, I am a Black woman too. I "fit the mold" physically and culturally, thanks to my African roots which I embrace wholeheartedly, from the inside out.
Mariel Concepcion grew up in Harlem, N.Y., and joined Billboard.com in February 2007. The former Vibe online editor graduated from the New School University in 2002 with a B.A. in journalism. Her byline has appeared in such publications as Vibe, Vixen, Scratch, the New York Post, Upscale and Billboard magazine.
Editor's Note: For a little background on Afro-Latino culture and history check out the trailer for Creador Pictures' documentary "AfroLatinos" below.
via thebvx.com