BLACK THOUGHTS: A Political Ideological Perspective for Afro Latinos
Part IV: Voice of the Voiceless

By Kevin Alberto Sabio

I had recently gone out to a Latino heritage festival out here in my new home state of Virginia.  Being that this is Latino/Hispanic Heritage Month, I had decided to come out and represent my Honduran heritage at this festival; one of the few opportunities that I have to not be the quintessential ‘angry black male’, and get to relax and let my hair down, so to speak.  I wore my paraphernalia (hat and wristbands) promoting my Honduran heritage, even buying a jersey with the Honduran flag on it at the festival when I finally arrived.  The festival itself was quite nice; not really being on the scale that I’m used to being from New York, but it was still entertaining and enjoyable.  The only downer was getting asked the same stupid question from those who dared to ask…

Are you really from Honduras?

No…I’m wearing all of this blue-and-white because it brings out the color of my eyes…     

It was quite troubling for me to experience this (yet again).  Another Latino festival has come and gone…and yet another missed opportunity for Latinos’ African roots to be shown and celebrated.  It was funny because even the vendor who had sold me the jersey (who also happened to be Honduran) questioned me as to where I was from.  Many assumed that I was African American, and was wearing the stuff just to fit in at the festival.  I do remember receiving a few dirty looks from a few Indigenous-looking Latinos at the festival.  Being the Brooklyn native that I am, I mean-mugged them back, letting them know that I wasn’t intimidated by them.  I’m not some interloper trying to crash ‘their’ festival.  I belonged at that festival just as much as they did.  Later that weekend, I had called a friend from back home to tell her about my experiences.  She was proud of me for going, and felt that my presence at that festival was much needed, despite my reservations and experiences after the fact.  Now looking back on it…I agree with her.

The Internet

Afro Latinos are rarely seen, and never heard.  Even at Latino cultural celebrations, our voices and experiences are seldom heard.  The mainstream media, Latino or otherwise, doesn’t provide us with any representation at all.  In order for us to have our voices heard we pretty much have to do for self.  In recent years, there have been a number of publications, albeit online publications, that have sprouted up and are providing an outlet for issues affecting Afro Latinos to be heard.  They speak on our political issues, explore our various cultures, and some even provide news from the respective countries that we come from. Some have even become interactive, providing streaming videos or audio podcasts.   Many of these sites have been started and are run by activists, journalists, and scholars who are heavily involved in Afro Latino affairs.  Were it not for these brave souls, who is to say that these outlets would ever exist otherwise?

There are several sites out there for you to choose from, depending on what it is that you want to know.   Sites such as AfroCubaWeb.com, Afrocolombians.com, and Afrovenezuelanos.com are more culture-specific, dealing with issues affecting the African population of those respective countries.  Other sites such as VidaAfroLatina.com, AfroLatin@Project.org, and Afropresencia.com are more universal in their approach, dealing with issues that affect Afro Latinos in general.  Sites like these also have links to other Afro Latino websites and organizations.  Though some of these sites might be written in Spanish, certain sites do carry a bilingual feature, allowing their content to be translated into English if your literacy in Spanish isn’t very up to par.

Music

Now, more than ever, there seems to be a new level of racial consciousness rising up from Afro Latinos, specifically from the younger generation.  You may hear some deep political thoughts being broadcasted by artists such as Immortal Technique, a Hip Hop MC, or Tego Calderon, a popular Reggeton artist.  I remember in my younger days listening to Hip Hop artists/groups such as the Orishas from Cuba, or the Arsonists who were based out of my hometown of New York.  You also have independent artists out there speaking on their roots, or expressing political thoughts in their music, such as Viva Fidel based out of Milwaukee, or Willie Villainova and Rebel Diaz from New York City.   There are probably many more that I can’t name at this time, only because I have yet to know of them.  The elder Salseros, Merengueros, and Latin Jazz musicians started it back in the ‘old country’; it’s now time for the next generation to pick up the baton, and carry on.

And lastly, there’s me.  I don’t claim to be any type of leader or mouthpiece, but I will do what I can to let others know about our issues, and that we exist.  There is much ignorance that needs to be combated from Black and Brown alike.  There is limited acceptance, if any, from within ‘mainstream’ Latino culture and society.  Race is still considered a taboo subject; sometimes considered specifically an ‘American’ issue.  That couldn’t be further from the truth.  At the same time, I have also butted heads with, not just regular African Americans, but with so-called ‘conscious’ revolutionaries within the Black Community.  The ignorance is abundant, and the silence is deafening.  It’s time for our voices to be heard.  Now, SCREAM!!!!!!

Kevin Alberto Sabio is a screenwriter, activist, and online journalist. His previous article series entitled "Black vs. Brown" was an eight-part series exploring the conflict between the Black and Latino communities from a historical perspective.  Sabio is currently located in the Richmond, Virginia area.  For further contact, please send all emails to KASprod_74@yahoo.com.