What is "afrolatinidad"

AfroLatinidad is a collective cultural identity of Latinos and Latinas of full or partial African descent. There are an estimated 200 million African descendants in 19 Latin American countries. AfroLatinidad celebrates the cultural similarities among many African Latinos in Latin America. AfroLatinidad is thus born from the mixing of different African, North, South and Central Latin American and indigenous American cultures. Often, seclusion and rejection of Eurocentral national identities force them to become marginalized economically and culturally.

Most countries in Latin America acknowledge African Latinos in their census; however they are often discriminated against and are not granted social and political equality. Biological identity is a major factor in defining AfroLatinidad and their social status. The widely accepted Eurocenteric national identity does not include African Latino populations because of their mixed heritage and physical traits- specifically their dark skin. Their physical bodies do not constitute an authentic or pure meztizaje identity which isolates them socially. AfroLatinidad has brought together the struggles of many African Latinos that mainly focus on high levels of poverty and also a rich cultural diversity. AfroLatinidad celebrates the cultural similarities among many Afro Latinos in Latin America.