¿Sabías que nuestra estrella de Navidad favorita es Afro-Latina?

Alexandra (Year 12) discusses Mariah Carey’s Afro-Latino heritage.

Here is a song to listen to whilst reading: ’Azucar Negra’ by Celia Cruz: https://www.kapwing.com/videos/6387ac435b74170098819075

As Christmas is around the corner, it seems appropriate to discuss one of the world’s most loved and well-known holiday artists: Mariah Carey. Not only this, but as Black History Month has just ended, we should also discuss and understand her Afro-Latino heritage. Her father is African-American and Venezuelan, and her mother is Irish. In many interviews, Mariah has stated she always felt confused as a child growing up in a biracial family, with people questioning and challenging her ethnicity throughout her whole life. She always felt like she never had a ‘tribe’ of people to back her up, as she thought she ‘was never enough of one thing or another for most people’.

This racial ambiguity is actually a common problem for many Afro-Latinos, as they feel misunderstood, out of place and struggle with identity; this is why we should raise awareness about the heritage of Afro Latino culture.

What is the history?

Spanish speaking Africans were present in North America before the arrival of English Settlers, and Afro-Latinos came to be an integral part of American history, adding to the nation’s ‘cultural tapestry’. However, society has sought to understand or differentiate differences between Blacks, so Afro-Latinos have often been underreported in the news media or are barely mentioned in history textbooks. There is such little awareness and knowledge about them, despite them being such a significant part of American history.

In America, 6 million people identify as Afro-Latino, yet even some of these people have not been exposed to their history and significant figures, such as Cresencia Garcia, a Black Puerto-Rican woman who served in World War II and helped to save the lives of soldiers.

Who are some other Afro-Latino icons?

There have been Afro-Latino figures that have had a tremendous influence on the music industry, such as one of the first black singers in opera, Martina Arroyo, or Celia Cruz (‘The Queen of Salsa’), the woman who effectively brought Latino music to North America with her most iconic song ‘¡Azúcar!’, which alluded to African slaves working in sugar plantations in Cuba. Not only the music industry, but also the world of sports was heavily influenced: Roberto Clemente was one of the brightest stars in baseball, and in 2020, 10% of the MLB’s roster was entirely from the Dominican Republic. In literature, Paulo Lins wrote the award-winning ‘City of God’ masterpiece about the corruptions and dangers of Brazil, or Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, a famous historian and activist, being one of the first to discover more and share the history of Afro-Latino culture.

This is only a small number of the many influential and significant Afro-Latino figures, and hopefully has risen more awareness surrounding this topic. So just remember, next time you hear ‘All I Want for Christmas’, which you will undoubtedly hear a lot this December, think about Mariah Carey and not only her beautiful voice, but also her beautiful culture!

¡Feliz Navidad!