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    ‘We Are Here’ Author Jasmin Hernandez On Unapologetically Centering BIPOC Artists & Art Workers

    Before I met Jasmin Hernandez in-person for the first time, I was introduced to her digitally — specifically through her groundbreaking website Gallery Gurls. Focused on amplifying the work of womxn of color artists and art workers, Hernandez launched her site in 2012 as an antidote to the white-male-centered art world.

    A study conducted by Williams College revealed that 85.4% of the works in the collections of 18 major U.S. museums are created by white artists and, more specifically, 87.4% are by men. Meanwhile, African-American artists make up 1.2% of the works, Hispanic and Latinx artists make up 2.8% of the artists, and Asian artists account for 9%.

    The Black Latinx founder and editor in chief of Gallery Gurls saw the void in the industry firsthand. Hernandez’s efforts documenting womxn and artists of color on her well-known digital platform over the years led to a deal with Abrams Books. In We Are Here: Visionaries of Color Transforming the Art World, which published in February 2021, she invites readers into the work of 50 artists and art workers of color, with a focus on queer, trans, nonbinary, and Black, Indigenous, and women of color, or BIWOC.

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    We Are Here: Visionaries of Color Transforming the Art World. By Jasmin Hernandez. Published by Abrams.
    ©2021 Jasmin Hernandez

    A year after publishing her stunning, coffee table book, I caught up with the Afro-Dominican Yorker to reflect and discuss her journey to creating We Are Here:

    How do you feel a year after publishing We Are Here: Visionaries of Color Transforming the Art World?

    There has been massive love online and on social media, which is so touching to see. A year later, it still feels surreal to walk into a bookstore or museum shop and see they carry We Are Here. It feels like a great accomplishment — can’t lie about that. But I’m most happy that the 50 brilliant, groundbreaking Black and POC artists and art workers in the book are thoughtfully and carefully presented in one book. I’m glad that anyone — but specifically, a young Black person who seeks a place in the contemporary art space — can view this book as a guide or roadmap.

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    Recording Artist LATASHÁ On Embracing Authenticity

    Brooklyn-born recording and performance artist Latasha Alcindor, widely-known as LATASHÁ, has carved out a lane for herself. Her secret weapon: authenticity.

    The Afro-Latina creative — who is of Panamanian, Puerto Rican, Haitian and Jamaican descent — is not shy about tackling layered topics throughout her work. Whether you listen to her debut album, The L.A. Riots: Mental Fatality (released under her former moniker LA), B(LA)K or more recent project, Teen Nite at Empire, she unpacks gentrification, womanhood, healing and Blackness, to name a few.

    “As I transcend, I want to continue to create art that is still like, yo, that girl is just like me,” she shared with Ain’t I Latina?.”

    LATASHÁ spoke with me at the 2018 Afro-Latino Festival in New York about her cultural background, how she infuses identity into her music, and why she’s transparent about her hardships. Watch the interview, below:

    Producers: Francis Carrero and Sasha Fountain

    Video edit by Francis Carrero

    Click here to see what went down at the Afro-Latino Festival!

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    Bachatera Andre Veloz On Navigating Male-Dominated Genre, Body Positivity & Self-Titled Album

    Andre Veloz is a one-of-a-kind artist.

    While Latin trap, reggaeton and dembow penetrate the airwaves, the bachatera has caught the attention of audiences here, in New York City, in the Dominican Republic, and beyond. Though some were introduced to Veloz through the virality of her smash hit “Eta Que Ta’ Aquí,” the St. Croix-born singer/songwriter has been shaking up the male-dominated genre for years.

    ”I feel frustrated,” says Veloz, when asked about being a woman in the industry. “There’s no space for us to go in. I have to work extra hard — I don’t want to say to prove myself because I don’t have anything to prove, in general, but to keep myself in the game. I have to put in an insane amount of effort.”

    Our correspondent Major sat down with the Bronx-based artist to discuss her career, body and self-titled album, Andre Veloz.  

    Watch the interview, here:

    Camera woman: Francis Carrero

    Huge thanks to the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute for allowing us to interview Andre Veloz in your beautiful space!

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    Behind The Scenes With Stand-Up Comedian Glorelys Mora

    Comedy had always been in the back of Glorelys “Glory” Mora’s mind. But it came front and center after the Hamilton Heights-born dominicana took a class to hone in on her natural ability to make people laugh. Shortly after Mora landed her first show, she realized it was difficult balancing the buzz of her side hustle and her advertising career.

    Ultimately, she quit her six-figure, cushy job and chose her passion: comedy.

    “This is bigger than just stand up. I’m making a career out of this. I need people to believe not only in me, but the brand,” says Mora to AintILatina.com.

    The quick-witted millennial launched her production company Pretty Funny Presents, which houses her monthly stand-up show Strawberry Milk and Pretty Funny Friends, a comedic party designed for comedians of color. (For the latter, think an all-Black version of Saturday Night Live.)

    “I like the idea of me creating my own stage,” she shares. 

    We caught up with Mora to discuss her career transition, unique approach to comedy, Afro-Latina visibility in the industry and what’s next for her burgeoning empire.

    Watch the interview, here:

    Editing and Production: Francis Carrero
    Interview: Major

    DJ-Bembona

    DJ Bembona On Her Boricua-Panameña Roots & Spinning Activism For the Culture

    Xiomara Marie Henry, better known as DJ Bembona, has taken the deejay scene by storm. The Bori-Panameña is known to fuse political and social messaging into her sets. If you’re at a DJ Bembona bash you’re bound to hear Latin trap, merengue, salsa, cumbia, Brazilian funk and plena, to name a few genres. It’s through music, the Brooklyn-born DJ has empowered herself and gente to center the very foundation of our community: Blackness and Indigeneity.  

    Our own Major sat down with Bembona to discuss her roots, how she became a DJ and how she’s educating the community with each spin.

    Watch the interview, here:

    Interview edited by Francis Carrero

    Melania-Luisa Marte-AintILatina

    Meet Melania-Luisa Marte, the Woman Behind the Petition to Include ‘Afro-Latina’ in the Dictionary

    The term “Afro-Latina” has been in existence for decades. But the word has reached new levels of visibility in recent years, making it a recognizable term. So, why isn’t it in the dictionary?

    It’s a question posed by dominicana Melania-Luisa Marte, who started a petition to get it in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. The request isn’t far fetched. In September, the term “Latinx” officially became part of the dictionary. Marte points out that while that is the case, Afro-Latina/o/x is not defined or even suggested when you search for it.

    “Including the term ‘Afro-Latina’ in the dictionary is about creating visibility for those who have been erased from media for far too long,” she writes in the petition.

    AintILatina.com caught up with the poet to discuss why she started the petition and what she hopes will come from the conversation its sparked.

    The term Latinx was recently added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, and identifiers like Latino/a, African American, African and Caribbean exist on Dictionary.com. For you, why do you feel it’s important that the term Afro-Latina be recognized as well?

    I’ve identified as Afro-Latinx for many years and as I started educating myself more and more about my own identity and hold close the spaces that make me feel the most seen and represented, I couldn’t help but feel this slight erasure and upset over the lack of visibility for people that look like me and have similar cultures. The fact that Latinx was added to the dictionary before and not in addition to Afro-Latina to me felt like an act of erasure and reiterated this constant message that media has been going along with for centuries. That message being, that Afro-Latinx people are almost invisible and perhaps extinct. It inspired me to write a poem exploring those feelings and thoughts and I felt I needed to do more to really allow people to understand how this small micro-aggression can really impact the psyche of those living within those margins of constant invisibility. Although I applaud Latinx and those who reference it as a word helping to create more intersectionality within our communities, it does not do much for me if a huge part of my own identity does not feel represented in this term.

    You’ve particularly addressed your petition to media outlets and companies like Univision, USA Today and Google. Why did you choose to direct this toward those companies? What role do you feel they play in this?

    I chose these media outlets and companies because I felt that they are very much so complacent in the way my narrative as an Afro-Latina gets told. My iPhone replaces Afro-Latina with Afro-Latona and I’m not sure why but it does not consider Afro-Latina/o/x words and therefore tries to replace them. Some of the media outlets like Univision have had the resources and opportunity to start educating and being more inclusive in the diversity they show on their channel and yet have chosen to continue this ideology that Black people from Latin America and the Caribbean do not exist or are not worthy of being seen or their stories told from their own mouths.

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    AfroLatino-Fest-NYC-AintILatina

    WATCH: Afro-Latino Festival NYC 2018 Recap

    With the theme of “Identity and Beyond,” the Afro-Latino Festival NYC 2018 brought out hundreds to their three-day event. The festival wrapped at The Well in Brooklyn with performances by Brooklyn rapper LATASHA, singer, actress and Love & Hip Hop: Miami star Amara La Negra, and Afro-Colombian music group Palma Chonta, among others. There were also vendors educating attendees about their organizations and others selling Afro-Latinx made jewelry, clothes, food and art.

     We caught up with performers and creatives alike on the final day. Hear from DJ Nina Azucar, LATASHA, Amara La Negra, Babe Comets creator Joan De Jesus, and AfroLatino Travel co-founders Dash Harris and Javier Wallace in our recap, below:

    Producers: Francis Carrero (video editor) and Sasha Fountain (videographer)

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    Amara La Negra Discusses Her First Children’s Book, ‘Amarita’s Way’

    It’s been quite the year for singer/actress-turned-reality-TV favorite Amara La Negra. The Miami native, who is of Dominican descent, has expanded her empire, which now includes publishing.

    She officially announced her latest project on Instagram and Twitter on July 21, writing, “I’m so excited to inform y’all that McBride Stories and I have formed a partnership on my first children’s book, titled Amarita’s Way, that contains three stories that are intended to motivate positivity, inspiration, and ambition in life.”

    I got the scoop on the children’s book before her performance on July 15 at the 2018 Afro-Latino Festival in New York.  Watch the interview, below:

    Producers: Francis Carrero and Sasha Fountain

    Video edit by Major

    Click here to see last year’s interview with Amara at the Afro-Latino Festival, where she reveals her role on Love & Hip Hop: Miami!

    Dominican Artist Maluca Mala On LGBTQ Latinx Identity, Holistic Health & the Need to Take Up Space

    Afro-Dominican singer and rapper Maluca Mala has graced the music scene with what she describes as “ghetto-techno, Latin-dance, hip-hop, rave music.” Hits like “El Tigeraso,” “Trigger” and “Mala” remain on heavy rotation, but the Washington Heights-raised performer has a new focus: self-care.  

    She’s been transparent in sharing her sobriety journey and the importance of holistic health. “I’m just working on living my life,” shares Maluca in her interview with AintILatina.com. “I’m really into wellness.”

    That quest for holistic wellness led Maluca to start her own platform, Namaste Mami, in 2017.

    With music and entertainment still very much apart of her life, we caught up with the Uptown goddess at Boiler Room and Presidente’s screening of Sean Frank’s Más Fuerte, which focuses on the underrepresented Dominican and NYC sound system culture. We discussed LGBTQ identity within the Latinx community, wellness and why there’s no more room to play nice.

    Watch the interview, below:

    Interview conducted by Major, and edited by Francis Carrero.

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    7th Annual Dominican Film Festival New York Highlights Dominicanas In the Industry

    The 7th Annual Dominican Film Festival in New York (DDFNYC) took over the big apple. From July 24 – 29, the festival screened in six venues across Manhattan, with the AMC Empire 25 as its main venue, and hosted more than 60 actors and filmmakers to participate in Q&As and panel discussions.

    On Thursday, July 26, Somos, in partnership with the DFFNYC, hosted the event Dominican Women in Film, featuring Orange Is The New Black actress Laura Gómez; actress, writer and director known for In My Mother’s Arms, Lia Chapman; comedian Kiki Melendez, and producer Katherine Castro.

    Our correspondent Major caught up with Gómez and Chapman at the event to discuss the diversity within the Latina narrative, their experiences in the industry, and what it takes to sustain a career in film.

    Watch the interview, here:

    Camera woman Andrayah Del Rosario.