What is an Afro-Latino Anyway?

I am sure that most Americans have never really heard much about Afro-Latinos, unless they have gone to the countries themselves, or have had Afro-Latino Friends. Afro-Latinos are Latinos that are from a Hispanic country, but have blood that traces back to Africa. To make a long story short, back in the day of Christopher Columbus during the slave trading, as slaves were being taken all over the world to different countries, they were also being taken to Hispanic Countries. I don't know much about the other countries besides Puerto Rico, so I am going to explain Afro-Rican history and assume that the other countries happened similarly. There were Indians originally in Puerto Rico when Christopher Columbus discovered Puerto Rico. The Indians, Spaniards, and slaves all mixed together, which is what the typical Puerto Rican consists of. I am going to guess and say that a lot of the people who are Afro-Latinos today are the ones whose ancestors stayed in the slave towns (such as my mom's hometown, Loiza, Puerto Rico), and continued to reproduce with other afro-latinos. That is what I believe carried the black blood on, and the reason why Afro-Ricans aren't as mixed as other Puerto Ricans. Afro-Ricans are just as Puerto Rican as typical Latinos, they still know the culture just as well. Their race is black, and their ethnicity is Puerto Rican. Also, in some slave towns like Loiza there is still a little piece of Africa, such as in Bomba, an African dance that originated in Loiza. Loiza is also known for it's Vejigantes, which is a costume that consists of a mask made out of coconut and painted, and a decorative jumpsuit. These costumes are worn during festivals and parades.  That is the short version of what an Afro-Latino is, but of course I don't know exactly how it happened for other countries.
 

Here is what Bomba dancing looks like:


What is This Blog is About?


This blog is about bringing Afro-Latinas together so that we can be proud of who we are. I will be discussing many different topics on this blog, with an emphasis on Natural Black Hair Care. SO if you are African American or any other ethnicity, you are very welcome to subscribe to my blog as well! Other topics I hope to discuss are fashion, beauty, and my journey through motherhood. I am by no means an expert on any of these topics, but I do a lot of research on them. My goal is to gather all of this useful information, and put it into one useful site. A lot of the topics being discussed will be through other sources, but I find that it is easier to have everything on one site, rather than having to search different websites for different topics. This blog is all about making us Afro-Latinas feel good about ourselves on the inside AND on the outside. I hope you enjoy my blog and subscribe! :)