Me posing with Gypsy in the City founder Ada Rojas at the SheaMoisture booth.
It’s no secret: I LOVE being Latina!
So, when I heard that Latina Magazine was hosting Latina Expo, I knew I needed to be there. Held last weekend at the Meadowlands Expo Center in Secaucus, NJ, it was a congregation of Latinas, who come in all shades and shapes. Let’s say it was something like a family reunion with beauty and wellness enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, blogueras, reporters and more, all of which came to celebrate what makes us Latina.
The first day kicked off with a panel comprised of Dascha Polanco, Adrienne Bailon, Denise Bidot, Lenny Santiago and Massiel Arias. Moderated by Latina’s Director of Content Shirley Valasquez, the panelists discussed beauty and body image in the Latino culture.
“I don’t care what people think. I don’t care what they say to me because every person has a different perception of beauty,” said Arias, a social media sensation, fitness guru and trainer.
The weekend was jam packed with interactive guest experiences such as cooking demonstrations with TheLatinKitchen.com contributor and TV host Evette Rios; fitness sessions with Arias; and hair and make-up tutorials with Latina Editor-at-Large Verky Arcos, Celebrity Stylist Ona Diaz-Santin and GLAMSQUAD, as well as a variety of beauty perks (hair braiding stations, manis and samples) at brands respective booths.
Me: Getting my hair did at the Mizani booth.
I attended the expo on Sunday. I walked in with my pajón and left with a braided ‘do (thanks to MIZANI stylist Nikki Latty) and nails done by Lespri at the SheaMoisture booth.
The #RealCurl chat, powered by SheaMoisture, was EVERYTHING! The panel featured Alba Garcia of SunKissAlba, Ghislaine Leon of FearlessLeon.com, Tribe Called Curl founder Imani Dawson and Ada Rojas of Gypsy in the City. It was moderated by radio personality Valerie Lora.
What stood out most was the overall pride in having and maintaining natural hair, which growing up in a Latino and/or Black household isn’t always embraced. It was great to see so many women inquiring about up keeping their kinks and coils. Ultimately, the conversation turned from personal accounts of self-acceptance when it came to natural hair to embracing your true self, flaws and all. I was happy to see that an honest conversation surrounding our hair was able to take place at this type of an event, and supported by Latina and SheaMoisture.
Here are several tweets from Sunday’s curly chat:
Great to see @SunKissAlba showed her fam that you can rock curly (fabulous) hair. Now her mamá is loving it! #RealCurl #SheaMoistureLatina
— Ain’t I Latina? (@aintilatina) July 19, 2015
“It starts with you.” @imanidawson @TribeCalledCurl on embracing your #naturalhair. #RealCurl #SheaMoistureLatina #LatinaExpo — Ain’t I Latina? (@aintilatina) July 19, 2015
“Be your own curl crush.” – @GypsyinTheCity on loving you and your hair. #RealCurl #SheaMoistureLatina #LatinaExpo — Ain’t I Latina? (@aintilatina) July 19, 2015
Be patient w/ your #naturalhair journey. @SunKissAlba #RealCurl #SheaMoistureLatina #LatinaExpo
— Ain’t I Latina? (@aintilatina) July 19, 2015
“My hair is my connection to my ancestry. It’s a statement.” – @FearlessLeon at #SheaMoisture-sponsored #RealCurls panel at #LatinaExpo
— SheaMoisture (@SheaMoisture) July 19, 2015
Enjoy the journey. “The beauty is not in the end result…the beauty is in the journey.” @GypsyinTheCity #RealCurl #SheaMoistureLatina
— Ain’t I Latina? (@aintilatina) July 19, 2015
