Afro-Latinas Who Are Killing the Game

Hey y’all!

.It’s Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month and I want to show some love to some of my fave Afro-Latinas to follow. Now my number one would be my old roomie and one of my best gal pals Karina but…I’m going to talk about some of those we see out there in the media or on YouTube killing the game. Honestly, I didn’t notice that they were mostly all Dominicanas (legit that was not done on purpose).This post has honestly been a year in the making (no kidding.I’ve been working on this for a year).

Noelle Santos (she’s actually Puerto Rican)

I first heard about her on an article on Facebook about an indecent black bookstore, The Lit. Bar, in New York. It was pretty dope because there really wasn’t one before in her neighborhood so she started a Kickstarter, when the community can donate to your cause/business, and started this bookstore. I read the article and thought nothing else of it. However, one of my favorite girl bosses, Cara Alwill, interviewed her for her podcast. I was really excited because as I stated I read about her store and now she was being interviewed by Cara so of course I had to give her a follow afterwards. Y’all, this bookstore that she started is amazing and it’s inspired me to one day have a bookstore like her (I got dreams man). There’s music, awesome books, and a legit bar where you can order wine! It’s better to shop at Independent bookstores instead of national chains because well you’re helping your community and small business owners. If you’re not in the New York area, you can shop at her website (linked above).

Monica Veloz aka Monica Style Muse

I love her y’all so much. She is a makeup artist and influencer. I first saw her when she was featured on one of Pero Like’s videos where a couple of men (Eli Vazquez and Gadiel DelOrbe both of which are Afro-Latinos) tried to apply everyday glam makeup…it was hilarious. What caught my eye was the fact that she was so pretty and dark skinned! I say it time and time again, representation matters and thanks to her Youtube channel, she’s inspired me to want to try and play with makeup looks that would probably work for me. She boldly speaks out about her experience of being a black Latina and the struggles that came with it. She’s worked very hard to get to the place that she is today because nowadays she is booked and busy. Plus she makes sure to put her family on: her brother is an up and coming photographer and her cousin is a makeup artist as well as influencer.

Elizabeth Acevedo

This woman…I love her. First of all, she’s one of my favorite writers (check out this post). I found her from some teachers that I followed. Her name as well as Jason Reynolds were always thrown around and everyone raved about her book “The Poet X” and so as someone who has so self-control when it comes to books, I bought one of her books, “With the Fire on High” She’s awesome. Her books features characters who are Afro-Dominican and all have strong female leads. She has won many awards. She’s won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, the Michael L. Printz Award, the Pura Belpré Award, the Carnegie medal, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, and the Walter Award. I’m so inspired by her and want to write books in verse like her. I’m torn between The Poet X and Clap When You Land (which both will be reviewed on here really soon. Be on the lookout for that) for my favorite book written from her. Maybe I shouldn’t have to choose.

Julissa Calderon

I found out about her from Pero Like Buzzfeed, a channel geared towards the Latinx community. She and Gadiel DelOrbe caught my eye because they were the black ones who did videos for them. It was the first time I’ve seen Black Latinos in the media. Sure I mean I grew up listening to Celia Cruz but like that was it! I went to school with people who were Black Latinos but I haven’t really seen them on screen or in magazines. So it was quite refreshing to see black folks who spoke Spanish on a national platform. She’s from Miami (ayyyye shout out to the 305) and that made want to follow her even more! Her story is truly inspiring. She went from being a waitress in Los Angeles to working for Buzzfeed to stepping out on faith and choosing to bet on herself. Since she’s left Buzzfeed, she’s starring on two Netflix Shows, Gentified and Go Off, and she’s created a dream and manifestation journal so that her fans can manifest the life of their dreams just like she did!

Ada Rojas

I love her. She’s another Afro-Dominicana and a serial entrepreneur. She was actually one of the founders for the hair care brand Botanika, which is sold nationwide at Target. She’s since left the company and branched out on her own on a mission to make women feel the best that they can. I found her account from Miss Rizos. She sells batas (or robes) you can find her shop, Vecina Couture, here. She also has like a “small” group (like 70,000), Good Vibes & Chill club, which is a group of women who meet virtually and have book clubs, monthly virtual meet-ups, and vision boards parties. She’s all about living abundantly and wants to help everyone, including black and brown women, live abundantly as well. She’s worked with brands such as HBO, L’Oreal, Instagram, Amazon, and much more! For example, for women who said that her batas were too expensive, she talked to women about saving money and helped them do so with a small challenge that lasted a month that helped them save money. To join her group or to be coached by her (she does life coaching as well), click this link and you’ll be good to go!

Carolina Conteres aka Miss Rizos

I first saw her on Buzzfeed Pero Like’s Youtube page. This woman opened up one of the very first natural hair salon in the Dominican Republic (DR). She was born there but raised in Boston and decided to move back to the DR (she has dual citizenship) where she started a blog and eventually opened up a salon there. She found self love through trials when she went to the DR. She was shunned because basically for how she looked and she decided to do the big chop and document her self-love journey. She now currently runs two salons (one in New York and the other in the DR). She even has a foundation to help spread the case of self-love and promote society’s education for the eradication of racial and gender discrimination, and the empowerment and economic development of women in our country which is really awesome!

Juliette Juju Castaneda (she’s Afro-Cuban)

You may have seen her on Love & Hip Hop: New York. She dated the rapper Camron’ but she’s more than just his ex. She’s been in several movies and is an author, she has a book called Secrets of a Jewel. I discovered her on Instagram and I thought she was just so pretty, especially as a dark skinned girl because well, we don’t get much love in the media. She was raised in Miami, relocated to New York, and has since moved back to the MIA. She’s much more than a pretty face. Besides acting, and publishing a book, she’s also a licensed real estate agent and has both a Bachelors and Masters degree in Public Administration. She owns her own hair company called Candy Jewels Hair, which specialize in extensions and wigs. She’s passionate and outspoken about colorism in the Latin community and has a nonprofit to help girls with self-confidence and self-acceptance.

Who are some Latinx creators/business owners do you support?

XOXO,

NessaD