Zoe Saldana: A Beautiful, Strong, & Confident Afro-Latina

I love love love Zoe Saldana! She is one of the strongest, most confident Afro-Latinas in Hollywood. She has no shame in the fact that she is in fact a black woman, with her ethniticies being Dominican and Puerto Rican. She is an Afro-Latina that is making other people more aware of who we are, and I think that is amazing! Now if an afro-latina such as Zoe Saldana who is so strong could go natural, that would be amazing. It would show Afro-Latinas that our hair texture is beautiful as is! The one thing that upsets me though is that she cannot get roles as a latina, because she doesn't look "latina" enough. Its probably going to take a long time for that to happen, but I'm sure it'll happen eventually.

Here are a few articles about her:

"Afro-Latina actress Zoe Saldana graces the cover of Mujer magazine. In the issue on the inside, Zoe Saldana covers everything from how she obtained success to how people treat her differently because of her race. Of course, we find the race politics very interesting, here's what she said:

“I’m just Zoe. Not a little bit Dominican, not a little bit Puerto Rican, none of that silliness…I am what you want me to be if that’s what it takes for you to overcome your insecurities. As a Latina, I think we should be very proud of our heritage. We tend to look for European roots and reject the indigenous and the African, and that is disgusting. Being Latin is a mix of everything. I want my people to not be as insecure, and to adore what we are because it’s beautiful.”

What's the problem with Latinos being considered a different race anyway? Africans were shipped there and mixed with Europeans and Native Americans just like they did in the US. So, Zoe Saldana's ancestors' slave masters spoke Spanish instead of English - the history is pretty much the same from there."

http://www.dimewars.com/Blog/Zoe-Saldana-Tackles-Afro-Latina-Race-Politics.aspx?BlogID=939184b8-3302-4d4c-bcc7-b6623cfc9e6c

"*In the hit film Avatar, Zoe Saldana is the color blue.  No sooner than the film, premiered the world wanted to know more about the lead female warrior character in the James Cameron film.  People are learning that the talented actress, Saldana is Afro-Latina.

Born and reared in the United States until she was 10 years old, her multi-cultural heritage includes her father being of Domincan descent and her mother Puerto Rican.  She lived in the Dominican Republic until age 17.

Believe it or not, some parts of the world are not aware of the Afro Latino or the identity of the Latino image bearing Black skin too.  It is great that Zoe’s success is shedding more light on culture.
She embraces her physical identity as Black and her culture as Latin.  She never let Hollywood’s typical ideal leading lady concept be a hurdle for her.  She has simply jumped over the hurdles."

http://www.eurweb.com/?p=11384

"When I go to the D.R., the press in Santo Domingo always asks, "¿Qué te consideras, dominicana o americana?" (What do you consider yourself, Dominican or American?) I don't understand it, and it's the same people asking the same question. So I say, time and time again, "Yo soy una mujer negra." ("I am a black woman.") [They go,] "Oh, no, tú eres trigueñita." ("Oh no, you are 'dark skinned'") I'm like, "No! Let's get it straight, yo soy una mujer negra." ("I am a black woman.")"

Sources:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0757855/bio