Actress Gina Torres Explains Why She Felt Trapped Being A Latina Woman In African American Roles

[PJN]

I know this kind all too well in my family, all of them in NYC. Black when it's convenient, fuck Black, we're Puerto Ricans at the first hint of trouble a Timbuktu mile away. Fuck em.

 

[respiration]

Its called being an actor.

You think Daniel Day Lewis knew what it was like to be a 19th century American politician?

You think Wesley Snipes ever hunted vampires growing up?

Ok. And?

So she can't talk about what her personal experience is?

Your Daniel Day Lewis comparison is apples and oranges.

First of all because this is about ethnicity. Daniel Day Lewis white ass has never a day in his life been marginalized on the basis of his skin color or ethnicity. Roles for white men about white men comprise probably 2/3rds of movie roles.

And vampires are fictional. THAT shit was funny though.

 

[respiration]

i it get but alot ppl will interpret this as a dig or anti-black (like she had to settle for black roles)
its just like biracial kids who pass for black but want to claim their whiteness. That claim of whiteness however legit can easily be interpreted as minimizing/ignoring your blackness

Because MF's skim and call it reading.

They look at the spin of the article and the title more than what she actually said.

 

[geechiedan]

I said it before and yall ignored it... African- American/Black American should be its own specific category.

 

[Bluelaser]

How in the world is Thandie Newton "latina?"

When I told my cellmates the "Boom Boom Room" was a happening spot
that I owned in Harlem they believed it even though they knew it didn't exist.
It's the same thought concept with Thandie.
Of course the bitch aint Latina but if you conceive it and believe it, So shall it be !
Aint that right Goldmouth ?

You heard the man ! She's a Latina if you wanna believe that shit !

 

[November 17]

I wonder how often this is discussed within the Latin community?

Professor Tanya Hernandez Examines Latino Anti-Black Racism in New Book

Racial Innocence: Unmasking Latino Anti-Black Bias and the Struggle for Equality (Beacon Press, August 2022), the third book by Archibald R. Murray Professor of Law Tanya Hernández, will be publishedRead More

news.law.fordham.edu

What are some of the main topics this book tackles or some of the misconceptions it hopes to challenge?


Racial Innocence excavates the otherwise silenced voices of the Afro Latino and African American victims of Latino anti-Blackness from the case files of discrimination charges with the first comprehensive national analysis of Latino anti-Blackness and what it means for the pursuit of racial equality.


The book’s narratives show examples where: Latino workplace supervisors deny both Afro Latinos and Blacks access to promotions and wage increases; Latino homeowners turn away Black prospective tenants and home purchasers; Latino restaurant workers block Black customers from entry and refuse to serve them; Latino students bully and harass Black students; Latino educators belittle Black students; Latino police officers assault and kill Blacks; and, most heinous, Latinos who join violent white supremacist organizations and harm Blacks.


Yet, many Latinos deny the existence of prejudice against Afro Latinos and any “true” Latino racism against African Americans. This denial is rooted in the Latino cultural notion of “mestizaje,” that, as a uniquely syncretic, racially-mixed people, Latinos are incapable of racist attitudes. In turn, Latino mestizaje situates anti-Blackness as a North American construct learned only when “racially innocent” Latinos, once in the United States, encounter racist thinking for the first time.


The book demonstrates that U.S. racism is complex and multifaceted, and that it is possible for a historically marginalized group—now the second largest ethnic group in the United States—to experience discrimination, while simultaneously being discriminatory.

 

[geechiedan]

Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, the son of Giovanni "John" C. Esposito (1931–2002), an Italian stagehand and carpenter from Naples, and Elizabeth "Leesa" Foster (1926–2017), an African-American opera and nightclub singer from Alabama

Núñez was born in New York City, is of African American and Dominican descent, and was raised by his grandparents in Wilson, North Carolina.


anyone ask them how they identify??

 

[respiration]

Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, the son of Giovanni "John" C. Esposito (1931–2002), an Italian stagehand and carpenter from Naples, and Elizabeth "Leesa" Foster (1926–2017), an African-American opera and nightclub singer from Alabama

Núñez was born in New York City, is of African American and Dominican descent, and was raised by his grandparents in Wilson, North Carolina.


anyone ask them how they identify??

Why is it relevant?

 

[geechiedan]

Why is it relevant?

well Torres is clearly Afro-Cuban but identifies as Cuban solely..

My view of myself doesn't change. I know who I am. I'm Cuban-American; both my parents are Cuban--one was a little browner than the other one. That's who I am. I feel sorry that it's taken so long for the film industry to figure it out and to catch up.



maybe other biracial and mixed people may feel the same way....should we as Black Americans really feel some kind of betrayal about it?? And we clearly do...

 

[respiration]

well Torres is clearly Afro-Cuban but identifies as Cuban solely..

My view of myself doesn't change. I know who I am. I'm Cuban-American; both my parents are Cuban--one was a little browner than the other one. That's who I am. I feel sorry that it's taken so long for the film industry to figure it out and to catch up.



maybe other biracial and mixed people may feel the same way....should we as Black Americans really feel some kind of betrayal about it?? And we clearly do...

If what you are saying is that she identifies as Cuban solely while denying being Black, that is not true.

“There was no place for me as a Latina, and then as a Black woman—I didn’t identify as a Black woman, because for me it was cultural. Because, of course, I present Black, I am a Black woman. I am also Cuban,”

She is saying that culturally she identified as Cuban, coming from two Cuban parents. And seems to be saying that in Hollywood there have been few roles allowing her to be both Latina and Black.

If you think about it, how many roles have there been for women where they could be both?

Rosie Perez' various roles come to mind, but not many others.

In contrast to Gina, Giancarlo and Miguel both had an African-American parent. So I don't think there's a direct comparison with her.

As well, we don't know which grandparents raised Miguel- the Latino or the African-Americans.

 

[November 17]

If what you are saying is that she identifies as Cuban solely while denying being Black, that is not true.

“There was no place for me as a Latina, and then as a Black woman—I didn’t identify as a Black woman, because for me it was cultural. Because, of course, I present Black, I am a Black woman. I am also Cuban,”

She is saying that culturally she identified as Cuban, coming from two Cuban parents. And seems to be saying that in Hollywood there have been few roles allowing her to be both Latina and Black.

If you think about it, how many roles have there been for women where they could be both?

Rosie Perez' various roles come to mind, but not many others.

In contrast to Gina, Giancarlo and Miguel both had an African-American parent. So I don't think there's a direct comparison with her.

As well, we don't know which grandparents raised Miguel- the Latino or the African-Americans.

If you think about it, how many roles have there been for women where they could be both?

That's a good question, and I would say very few. You would have to look at who is doing the casting for film and television productions, and I get the feeling that if you are a brown skinned Latina you might be considered "black," and not Hispanic enough (because they are looking for someone that looks like Salma Hayek, Sofia Vergara or Jennifer Lopez, ironically, my first introduction to them were on black shows).

You might find this article of some interest regarding this subject:

Professor Tanya Hernandez Examines Latino Anti-Black Racism in New Book

Racial Innocence: Unmasking Latino Anti-Black Bias and the Struggle for Equality (Beacon Press, August 2022), the third book by Archibald R. Murray Professor of Law Tanya Hernández, will be publishedRead More

news.law.fordham.edu

In addition, Zoe Saldana produced a show entitled "The Gordita Chronicles," about a Dominican family that moved to Miami, Florida in the 1980's
It was cancelled after one season, this young lady was the star of the show.

'Gordita Chronicles' Canceled After One Season, Eva Longoria and Zoe Saldaña Are ‘Heartbroken’

“Gordita Chronicles” has been cancelled after just one season, and executive producers Eva Longoria and Zoe Saldaña are “heartbroken.”

news.yahoo.com

 

[mcguyver]

This dumb bitch.....smdh

 

[respiration]

If you think about it, how many roles have there been for women where they could be both?

That's a good question, and I would say very few. You would have to look at who is doing the casting for film and television productions, and I get the feeling that if you are a brown skinned Latina you might be considered "black," and not Hispanic enough (because they are looking for someone that looks like Salma Hayek, Sofia Vergara or Jennifer Lopez, ironically, my first introduction to them were on black shows).

You might find this article of some interest regarding this subject:

Professor Tanya Hernandez Examines Latino Anti-Black Racism in New Book

Racial Innocence: Unmasking Latino Anti-Black Bias and the Struggle for Equality (Beacon Press, August 2022), the third book by Archibald R. Murray Professor of Law Tanya Hernández, will be publishedRead More

news.law.fordham.edu

In addition, Zoe Saldana produced a show entitled "The Gordita Chronicles," about a Dominican family that moved to Miami, Florida in the 1980's
It was cancelled after one season, this young lady was the star of the show.

'Gordita Chronicles' Canceled After One Season, Eva Longoria and Zoe Saldaña Are ‘Heartbroken’

“Gordita Chronicles” has been cancelled after just one season, and executive producers Eva Longoria and Zoe Saldaña are “heartbroken.”

news.yahoo.com

Good post.

What you said about casting seems on point. There has seemed to have been a preference for a certain look to represent Latina. Thank you for posting an exception.

I remember just having turned 19 and spending part of the day at the high school where my father was teaching. In the study hall were blue eyed blond kids, dark-skinned kinky haired west-African looking kids, Puerto-Ricans, Mexicans, etc.

The commonality was they were all speaking to each other in Spanish. I think that's when I realized most acutely that Hispanic or Latino is a culture and not a race. It can come in a variety of packages, as looks go. African-American is also a culture and not a race. Racially, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyongo and American-born me are the same race. Our cultures are not the same though. There is overlap though.

I'm good friends with a Dominican-born sister who somewhat favors Gina Torres. She identifies as a Latina Black woman and has many Latino friends, mostly Black. A Puerto Rican artist who I'm cool with also identifies as Latino. All throughout his art are references to his African ancestry.

To have come from (or have one's parents come from) a Spanish speaking country, identify with the Latino culture, primarily eat and cook the foods, enjoy the music, dance the dances etc, does not necessitate a denial of one's Blackness - just on the basis that one didn't grow up on soul food and soul music. Blackness is blackness. It comes in many cultural flavors. I recognize that some do deny their Blackness. But one should not discount the fact that many embrace it.

I will read that article.

 

[keith6]

There is always Latina Abuse. Just don't do ghetto gaggers .

 

[geechiedan]

If what you are saying is that she identifies as Cuban solely while denying being Black, that is not true.

“There was no place for me as a Latina, and then as a Black woman—I didn’t identify as a Black woman, because for me it was cultural. Because, of course, I present Black, I am a Black woman. I am also Cuban,”

She is saying that culturally she identified as Cuban, coming from two Cuban parents. And seems to be saying that in Hollywood there have been few roles allowing her to be both Latina and Black.

If you think about it, how many roles have there been for women where they could be both?

Rosie Perez' various roles come to mind, but not many others.

In contrast to Gina, Giancarlo and Miguel both had an African-American parent. So I don't think there's a direct comparison with her.

As well, we don't know which grandparents raised Miguel- the Latino or the African-Americans.

If you think about it, how many roles have there been for women where they could be both?

That's a good question, and I would say very few. You would have to look at who is doing the casting for film and television productions, and I get the feeling that if you are a brown skinned Latina you might be considered "black," and not Hispanic enough (because they are looking for someone that looks like Salma Hayek, Sofia Vergara or Jennifer Lopez, ironically, my first introduction to them were on black shows).

You might find this article of some interest regarding this subject:

Professor Tanya Hernandez Examines Latino Anti-Black Racism in New Book

Racial Innocence: Unmasking Latino Anti-Black Bias and the Struggle for Equality (Beacon Press, August 2022), the third book by Archibald R. Murray Professor of Law Tanya Hernández, will be publishedRead More

news.law.fordham.edu

In addition, Zoe Saldana produced a show entitled "The Gordita Chronicles," about a Dominican family that moved to Miami, Florida in the 1980's
It was cancelled after one season, this young lady was the star of the show.

'Gordita Chronicles' Canceled After One Season, Eva Longoria and Zoe Saldaña Are ‘Heartbroken’

“Gordita Chronicles” has been cancelled after just one season, and executive producers Eva Longoria and Zoe Saldaña are “heartbroken.”

news.yahoo.com

Good post.

What you said about casting seems on point. There has seemed to have been a preference for a certain look to represent Latina. Thank you for posting an exception.

I remember just having turned 19 and spending part of the day at the high school where my father was teaching. In the study hall were blue eyed blond kids, dark-skinned kinky haired west-African looking kids, Puerto-Ricans, Mexicans, etc.

The commonality was they were all speaking to each other in Spanish. I think that's when I realized most acutely that Hispanic or Latino is a culture and not a race. It can come in a variety of packages, as looks go. African-American is also a culture and not a race. Racially, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyongo and American-born me are the same race. Our cultures are not the same though. There is overlap though.

I'm good friends with a Dominican-born sister who somewhat favors Gina Torres. She identifies as a Latina Black woman and has many Latino friends, mostly Black. A Puerto Rican artist who I'm cool with also identifies as Latino. All throughout his art are references to his African ancestry.

To have come from (or have one's parents come from) a Spanish speaking country, identify with the Latino culture, primarily eat and cook the foods, enjoy the music, dance the dances etc, does not necessitate a denial of one's Blackness - just on the basis that one didn't grow up on soul food and soul music. Blackness is blackness. It comes in many cultural flavors. I recognize that some do deny their Blackness. But one should not discount the fact that many embrace it.

I will read that article.

you guys have pretty much covered it but I will say that I really feel that the term black and blackness is just too broad and needs to be more specified. Torres concluded that part of her ability to thrive while feeling as though she was “alienating that other part of myself” was to accept she had to code switch by learning “whatever ‘Black’ was.” She noted that “It just kind of became a Jedi mind trick, to keep myself from just being sad all the time about not being able to fully experience and express the entirety of myself.”

 

[respiration]

you guys have pretty much covered it but I will say that I really feel that the term black and blackness is just too broad and needs to be more specified. Torres concluded that part of her ability to thrive while feeling as though she was “alienating that other part of myself” was to accept she had to code switch by learning “whatever ‘Black’ was.” She noted that “It just kind of became a Jedi mind trick, to keep myself from just being sad all the time about not being able to fully experience and express the entirety of myself.”

I really think it's more about Hollywood's narrow view of what constitutes, "Latina" that has her in a place where if she wants to work, she must play African-American characters, a cultural identity she's not wholly familiar with.

This, versus her being able to also play Latina characters, which is a large part of her cultural identity.

 

[ronmch20]

Her comments are not surprising. She's from Cuba, the most color conscious country in the Caribbean. You have the Marco Rubio, Eva Mendes hued Cubans and the darker colored Cubans who are looked upon as inferior on that island. That mentality is akin to high yella African Americans who were, and still are to some extent, looked upon as superior to brown to coal black African Americans.

What's most distasteful about Gina Torres is she didn't what to be thought of as being black but had no problem taking the money playing black roles. To me she's as much a racist as any white person and for that she gets a big fuck you bitch from me.

 

[knightmelodic]

When I told my cellmates the "Boom Boom Room" was a happening spot
that I owned in Harlem they believed it even though they knew it didn't exist.
It's the same thought concept with Thandie.
Of course the bitch aint Latina but if you conceive it and believe it, So shall it be !
Aint that right Goldmouth ?

You heard the man ! She's a Latina if you wanna believe that shit !

What?

You're the one who posted that she is Latina. When questioned about it this is your explanation?

 

[November 17]

I really think it's more about Hollywood's narrow view of what constitutes, "Latina" that has her in a place where if she wants to work, she must play African-American characters, a cultural identity she's not wholly familiar with.

This, versus her being able to also play Latina characters, which is a large part of her cultural identity.

Ironically, I was just looking at Gina Torres's bio on Wikipedia. I'm a little bit older than her and she was born a few blocks away from where I was born also (I mentioned that because we basically grew up in the same era) What would really be interesting is to have a conversation with her "off the record," and she would probably tell you that a certain portion of the Latin community was not and is still not accepting of her because of her complexion (trust me, she is going to tell you she has heard some hurtful things about darker skinned Hispanics coming from people in the Latino culture, and being said around her not realizing that she speaks Spanish).

I thought this was interesting, Lin-Manuel Miranda directed and wrote "In the Heights," but listen to the conversation they are having.

 

[shaddyvillethug]

@mangobob79 is she black or Cuban?

u always tell me it’s black first

why is she saying ANYTHING about Cuban?

 

[geechiedan]

I really think it's more about Hollywood's narrow view of what constitutes, "Latina" that has her into a place where if she wants to work, she has to play "African-American" characters. This, versus being able to play both or being able to play Latina characters, which is a large part of her cultural identity.

Lets be honest about that..Ive watched Gina Torres ever since she was on Cleopatra 2525




what about that character stands out as anything other than a kick ass action woman? If anything she was cast a nonwhite woman just to break up the color scheme of the casting...but "blackness" wasn't played up in that character as far as I could remember.

How would they portray her Cubaness in any of the roles she's ever played??

How do you portray any ethnicity without getting dangerously close to stereotyping??

So her complaint about how her being Cuban was never portrayed is kinda dubious because how would it be for many of the characters shes played in the last 30 years??

 

[November 17]

Lets be honest about that..Ive watched Gina Torres ever since she was on Cleopatra 2525




what about that character stands out as anything other than a kick ass action woman? If anything she was cast a nonwhite woman just to break up the color scheme of the casting...but "blackness" wasn't played up in that character as far as I could remember.

How would they portray her Cubaness in any of the roles she's ever played??

How do you portray any ethnicity without getting dangerously close to stereotyping??

So her complaint about how her being Cuban was never portrayed is kinda dubious because how would it be for many of the characters shes played in the last 30 years??

Good point, and I would not be surprised if that role was originally written for a white actress.
Just a little history (please feel free to research this information, if you like)but...


Lola Falana with Sammy Davis Jr.
(Ms.Falana's father is Cuban and Mr.Davis's mother is Cuban)

 

[respiration]

Lets be honest about that..Ive watched Gina Torres ever since she was on Cleopatra 2525




what about that character stands out as anything other than a kick ass action woman? If anything she was cast a nonwhite woman just to break up the color scheme of the casting...but "blackness" wasn't played up in that character as far as I could remember.

How would they portray her Cubaness in any of the roles she's ever played??

How do you portray any ethnicity without getting dangerously close to stereotyping??

So her complaint about how her being Cuban was never portrayed is kinda dubious because how would it be for many of the characters shes played in the last 30 years??

She didn't say anything about portraying her Cuban-ness or not portraying it.

She was speaking about not her not having played many roles depicting Afro Latinas. She also indicated that playing an African-American woman was somewhat of a stretch for her acting-wise given that was not her culture, but it was part of her job if she wanted to work as an actress in Hollywood. If she felt that she wasn't able to be all of who she was in her roles and it saddened her, so be it. That's how she felt.

I don't at all see her as being a sell out or a bitch like some are saying. That's harsh. It's her truth and her expressing what she did was not a putdown of any group nor a denial of her Blackness.

The role you posted has nothing to do with Afro Latina culture. If anything, it reinforces what she said.

 

[respiration]

Good point, and I would not be surprised if that role was originally written for a white actress.
Just a little history (please feel free to research this information, if you like)but...


Lola Falana with Sammy Davis Jr.
(Ms.Falana's father is Cuban and Mr.Davis's mother is Cuban)

Thanks for the history lesson. In my opinion, Sammy Davis Jr. was the most gifted entertainer of the 20th century.

Lola was FINE fine.

 

[Blkops]

well Torres is clearly Afro-Cuban but identifies as Cuban solely..

My view of myself doesn't change. I know who I am. I'm Cuban-American; both my parents are Cuban--one was a little browner than the other one. That's who I am. I feel sorry that it's taken so long for the film industry to figure it out and to catch up.



maybe other biracial and mixed people may feel the same way....should we as Black Americans really feel some kind of betrayal about it?? And we clearly do...

Yeah we should feel some kinda way when these people pretend to be black for some coins and once they got the bag they Cabalinasian or whatever. If they feel that way say it loud upfront. Not after you stole money and roles from black people. She can take that shit over to Univision... oh wait she too dark for them.

 

[MistaPhantastic]

Most of what I was gonna say has already been said here.

It comes down to this:
America is RACIST.
This is why it is often suggested that Americans get a passport and travel. Most of the rest of the world puts cultural identity first and foremost.
America is racist, therefore race is primary. So many of us here are so divided that when someone says something like "I don't identify culturally..." we immediately make it a racial thing, ignoring what it means to have a cultural identity. This lack of understanding is also the cause of some American expats' misinterpretations when they travel overseas. Americans look at the world through a race lens because this is what we are inundated with throughout our lives. This is not the way in many places. Basically, she is being scolded in this thread for not viewing the black experience through an American lens.
She is caught in the middle of a war that she didn't grow up in.

White American casting agents see her color first, so they cast her as "black"; then they see that she's pretty and speaks English without a thick accent, so as far as they are concerned, she fits aesthetically for what they need her to do. She's hired. As an actress, she's happy to be working.
Black American actresses say "that should have been me" and get mad at her when they problem is and always was the system of racism in America itself. Its the insensitivity of soft racism that is the real problem, not the people who are also caught up in it.
Often times, we are so caught up in the "great divide" of racism ourselves that we don't open up enough to understand what those of us who look like us but have a different cultural background than we do have to endure from both sides.
Ultimately, white and black Americans are American. We share the culture of racism. We understand it. "Outsiders" who look like us may not.
It is just as insensitive to bash someone who doesn't culturally identify or who is forced to adhere to cultural rules (in the case of Americans - race first) that they may not fully understand or accept.
The rest of the world identifies culturally first. The west identifies racially first. Its not "wrong" to identify the way you grew up. It is also not a cultural betrayal. After all, that person is whatever "culture" they grew up in.

 

[0utsyder]

I get the gripe she has where she didn't grow up black and wasn't trying to culture vulture black culture. From what I read she wasn't shytting on black folks. She said she looks black, the article calls her Afro-Latina so it isn't like she is dismissing her black features, she could have had them walk that back. it's just the core of her is Latin. Unfortunately for her Hollywood calls the Rosario Dawson's to play those roles. Your identity plays a huge role in a profession that you have to play make believe for almost a year at a time.

That being said a lot of the roles that she plays usually aren't black specific. Like a white woman could have played those roles if I am remembering well. So it isn't like she was taking food away from a black woman, so the culture vulture mind set she has I am calling bullshyt on.

 

[KA$H]

Good point, and I would not be surprised if that role was originally written for a white actress.
Just a little history (please feel free to research this information, if you like)but...


Lola Falana with Sammy Davis Jr.
(Ms.Falana's father is Cuban and Mr.Davis's mother is Cuban)

I'm Jamaican and on both sides I have a lot of Cuban/Panamanian born uncles, aunts, and cousins due to the work migration of the post WWI Era. All of them consider themselves black. Granted; most of them were back in Jamaica by the age of 5. It wasn't until they migrated to the US in the 60s, & 70s that they had to even think about their race as it relates to their nationality.

One of my aunts, who has a classic Latina look, fair skin, wavy hair, hazel eyes, went to nursing school in London & Spain, and did some Peace Corp type work in Haiti in the 70s. When she migrated to the US in the late 70s (Miami & then NY), she got into a ton of heated discussions about her ethnicity. The spanish nurses were offended that she recognized herself as black and not spanish. In their eyes she was born in Cuba and spoke fluent Spanish (Spain influence) yet was turning her back on her culture. Even though my aunt left Cuba at the age of 6 and only returned to vacation a few times in her teens and 20s. They justified it as she was scared to associate with a communist country while living in the US. When the truth of the matter it wasn't a subject that she had to address, must less think about until her 30s.

 

[gdatruth]

I get the gripe she has where she didn't grow up black and wasn't trying to culture vulture black culture. From what I read she wasn't shytting on black folks. She said she looks black, the article calls her Afro-Latina so it isn't like she is dismissing her black features, she could have had them walk that back. it's just the core of her is Latin. Unfortunately for her Hollywood calls the Rosario Dawson's to play those roles. Your identity plays a huge role in a profession that you have to play make believe for almost a year at a time.

That being said a lot of the roles that she plays usually aren't black specific. Like a white woman could have played those roles if I am remembering well. So it isn't like she was taking food away from a black woman, so the culture vulture mind set she has I am calling bullshyt on.

I was thinking about Rosario as a comparison
She can and has played both black and Afrolatino
But when I see her I generally identify her as a black woman. Maybe it’s my own personal bias or the fact that in America you are what you look like

it wasn’t until I was a young adult that I realized that Latin ppl could be and were black. That’s because in media you never saw darker Hispanics and in real life they typically rejected their African roots/blackness

I swear I never heard the term and acceptance Afro Latino until like maybe 10 years or so ago

 

[BKF]

She's not in denial of her blackness or African heritage,

She's saying that she was raised a Latina- which does not have a specific color assigned to it.

African-American culture is different in many ways, idiom, meals, rituals.

Yet, these are the roles that she is offered. And it's not always easy to play the roles because it's not native to her acculturation.

As well, the movie industry tends to have only a narrow view of what Latina looks like despite the fact that there is a spectrum of looks that Latino people have. Afro-latina has traditionally been rarely represented.

That's what I read.
One moment you have black folk pressing people to claim they are Black. The next moment they are telling the same people they aren't black.

Me I just don't give a fuck if you claim it or not. You don't want to claim it, cool!
I don't understand why people care.

 

[BKF]

I'm Jamaican and on both sides I have a lot of Cuban/Panamanian born uncles, aunts, and cousins due to the work migration of the post WWI Era. All of them consider themselves black. Granted; most of them were back in Jamaica by the age of 5. It wasn't until they migrated to the US in the 60s, & 70s that they had to even think about their race as it relates to their nationality.

One of my aunts, who has a classic Latina look, fair skin, wavy hair, hazel eyes, went to nursing school in London & Spain, and did some Peace Corp type work in Haiti in the 70s. When she migrated to the US in the late 70s (Miami & then NY), she got into a ton of heated discussions about her ethnicity. The spanish nurses were offended that she recognized herself as black and not spanish. In their eyes she was born in Cuba and spoke fluent Spanish (Spain influence) yet was turning her back on her culture. Even though my aunt left Cuba at the age of 6 and only returned to vacation a few times in her teens and 20s. They justified it as she was scared to associate with a communist country while living in the US. When the truth of the matter it wasn't a subject that she had to address, must less think about until her 30s.

Well there was a time when melanated people from the carribbean melted into the FBA community back when the Latino thing wasn't a thing (especially in places like NYC). So you had those from originally from the southern states and those from the carribbean island socializing and forming families. A lot if people are just finding out about part of their family tree that includes people from the island because those folks lived "black".

 

[MistaPhantastic]

The first time I saw Gina Torres, I thought "damn, that's a bad ass sista!"
That was my gut reaction to her.
I had no idea that she was Afro-Latina/Blatina/whatever the kids are calling it these days.
She is black racially and latina culturally. I'm cool with it and I would hit. That is all.

 

[0utsyder]

I was thinking about Rosario as a comparison
She can and has played both black and Afrolatino
But when I see her I generally identify her as a black woman. Maybe it’s my own personal bias or the fact that in America you are what you look like

it wasn’t until I was a young adult that I realized that Latin ppl could be and were black. That’s because in media you never saw darker Hispanics and in real life they typically rejected their African roots/blackness

I swear I never heard the term and acceptance Afro Latino until like maybe 10 years or so ago

Yeah I was the same way as a kid the Puerto Rican kids I grew up around looked white. When I got the college all these Afro-Latinas was speaking Spanglish to the point I had to ask their background and got some play cause I just didn't ask; 'what is you?' My nerdy ass fcuked up any chance for pussy but learning about their families and backgrounds was pretty cool.

 

[geechiedan]

She didn't say anything about portraying her Cuban-ness or not portraying it.

She was speaking about not her not having played many roles depicting Afro Latinas. She also indicated that playing an African-American woman was somewhat of a stretch for her acting-wise given that was not her culture, but it was part of her job if she wanted to work as an actress in Hollywood. If she felt that she wasn't able to be all of who she was in her roles and it saddened her, so be it. That's how she felt.

I don't at all see her as being a sell out or a bitch like some are saying. That's harsh. It's her truth and her expressing what she did was not a putdown of any group nor a denial of her Blackness.

The role you posted has nothing to do with Afro Latina culture. If anything, it reinforces what she said.

I get the gripe she has where she didn't grow up black and wasn't trying to culture vulture black culture. From what I read she wasn't shytting on black folks. She said she looks black, the article calls her Afro-Latina so it isn't like she is dismissing her black features, she could have had them walk that back. it's just the core of her is Latin. Unfortunately for her Hollywood calls the Rosario Dawson's to play those roles. Your identity plays a huge role in a profession that you have to play make believe for almost a year at a time.

That being said a lot of the roles that she plays usually aren't black specific. Like a white woman could have played those roles if I am remembering well. So it isn't like she was taking food away from a black woman, so the culture vulture mind set she has I am calling bullshyt on.

Most of what I was gonna say has already been said here.

It comes down to this:
America is RACIST.
This is why it is often suggested that Americans get a passport and travel. Most of the rest of the world puts cultural identity first and foremost.
America is racist, therefore race is primary. So many of us here are so divided that when someone says something like "I don't identify culturally..." we immediately make it a racial thing, ignoring what it means to have a cultural identity. This lack of understanding is also the cause of some American expats' misinterpretations when they travel overseas. Americans look at the world through a race lens because this is what we are inundated with throughout our lives. This is not the way in many places. Basically, she is being scolded in this thread for not viewing the black experience through an American lens.
She is caught in the middle of a war that she didn't grow up in.

White American casting agents see her color first, so they cast her as "black"; then they see that she's pretty and speaks English without a thick accent, so as far as they are concerned, she fits aesthetically for what they need her to do. She's hired. As an actress, she's happy to be working.
Black American actresses say "that should have been me" and get mad at her when they problem is and always was the system of racism in America itself. Its the insensitivity of soft racism that is the real problem, not the people who are also caught up in it.
Often times, we are so caught up in the "great divide" of racism ourselves that we don't open up enough to understand what those of us who look like us but have a different cultural background than we do have to endure from both sides.
Ultimately, white and black Americans are American. We share the culture of racism. We understand it. "Outsiders" who look like us may not.
It is just as insensitive to bash someone who doesn't culturally identify or who is forced to adhere to cultural rules (in the case of Americans - race first) that they may not fully understand or accept.
The rest of the world identifies culturally first. The west identifies racially first. Its not "wrong" to identify the way you grew up. It is also not a cultural betrayal. After all, that person is whatever "culture" they grew up in.

theres a lot of good points already made...and I'm not trying to be obtuse about it but I'm not getting her gripe. As Mista said before we live in a racist/racially minded society that sees complexion first so when we SEE Rosario Dawson and Sofia Vergara because of their complexion they read LATINA.. its that kinda light skin complexion thats typical of how we see Latin people. And ANYONE who has it could PASS for Latino

hell I thought Zendaya was latina

Her father is African-American, with roots in Arkansas; her mother has German and Scottish ancestry.

AOC is clearly latina....darken her complexion two shades and she will read as mouthy black chick.

But that doesn't change that the history of roles she plays could have easily been Cuban as there was nothing culturally specific about any of them really.

Again how would one portray a specific Latino ethnicity? Okay so she speaks Spanish fluently...meh...she could be PR, DOM, MEX, South American etc....how would one portray Cuban without saying I'M CUBAN! Hell Desi Arnez had to make a point if constantly referring to himself as Cuban otherwise visually he could have been any Latino. And in the black and white days of tv and film if he didn't have that slight accent he'd read as white.


I think her statements made out of her personal frustration really can only confuse things between Blacks and Latinos. I'm still a fan of hers but on the surface, her statements read as kinda lefthanded to Black Americans.

 

[respiration]

Most of what I was gonna say has already been said here.

It comes down to this:
America is RACIST.
This is why it is often suggested that Americans get a passport and travel. Most of the rest of the world puts cultural identity first and foremost.
America is racist, therefore race is primary. So many of us here are so divided that when someone says something like "I don't identify culturally..." we immediately make it a racial thing, ignoring what it means to have a cultural identity. This lack of understanding is also the cause of some American expats' misinterpretations when they travel overseas. Americans look at the world through a race lens because this is what we are inundated with throughout our lives. This is not the way in many places. Basically, she is being scolded in this thread for not viewing the black experience through an American lens.
She is caught in the middle of a war that she didn't grow up in.

White American casting agents see her color first, so they cast her as "black"; then they see that she's pretty and speaks English without a thick accent, so as far as they are concerned, she fits aesthetically for what they need her to do. She's hired. As an actress, she's happy to be working.
Black American actresses say "that should have been me" and get mad at her when they problem is and always was the system of racism in America itself. Its the insensitivity of soft racism that is the real problem, not the people who are also caught up in it.
Often times, we are so caught up in the "great divide" of racism ourselves that we don't open up enough to understand what those of us who look like us but have a different cultural background than we do have to endure from both sides.
Ultimately, white and black Americans are American. We share the culture of racism. We understand it. "Outsiders" who look like us may not.
It is just as insensitive to bash someone who doesn't culturally identify or who is forced to adhere to cultural rules (in the case of Americans - race first) that they may not fully understand or accept.
The rest of the world identifies culturally first. The west identifies racially first. Its not "wrong" to identify the way you grew up. It is also not a cultural betrayal. After all, that person is whatever "culture" they grew up in.

Best post in this thread.