If you frequent the digital space, there are several names that undoubtedly come to mind. For our community, online conversations surrounding identity, Black feminism and Afro-Latinidad are vital and one woman ensures that our visibility is always top of mind.

Zahira Kelly, known as Bad Dominicana, is a straight shooter, beyond 140 characters. Her tell-it-like-it-is approach has garnered extreme love and support, but also criticism and attacks. And still, she persists.

We had the chance to catch Zahira at this year’s Afro-Latino Festival in New York, which celebrated women of the Diaspora.

Ain’t I Latina? reporter Major Nesby caught up with her before she hosted the festival. The conversation spanned from asserting the existence of Afro-Latinas and who uses the term to the inspiration for her art.  

“It’s 2017 and just a week ago somebody tweeted that ‘Afro-Latina is a thing that Twitter made up a year ago,’” shares Zahira. “So people debate we exist in 2017, like right now, today.”

Watch the entire interview, below:

Photo, videography and editing by Francis Carrero.