Promo Shoot for Japanese Pizza Clothing

Edits were done in a natural style (i.e. blemish removal and skin smoothening)

Expanding my horizons:

The past two semesters have really been spent developing my skills as an artist in terms of graphics, drawing, photography, and video. It’s truly amazing to see how far I’ve come from where I started and I’m ultimately starting to see my passion coming to the forefront. I really owe so much to the professors that I’ve been working with, for spending the extra time with me and understanding my developmental stages. In some aspects, I wish I had leaned towards art a lot sooner in life, but everything has a reason, and I trust that my purpose will still be successful. I’m really excited to share some of the works that I’ve been creating and developing on. Expect to see more posts, as I update the bodies of work that fully encompass my portfolio.

June 29: Day in the Life of Retail

Thought of the day: Everybody is going through their own issues, so treat people like they’re fragile, because they are. I feel like sometimes this should come as common sense, but working retail has taught me that plenty of people have a certain disregard of that simple fact. Whether it be from customers, co-workers, or management staff. We’re all only human, some of us are having a bad day or just overloaded with work, or my favorite: the ratio of workers to customers is approximately 1:7. There’s only so much we can do at a certain speed. Everybody wants our attention and to be treated with the same respect and happiness and it can be very trying. I’ve had days where I had to keep running to the back to cry because of outside life stress making it very difficult for me to focus on even keeping a smile on. Of course we’re supposed to leave our home life at home, but sometimes it’s too much when you’re not paid enough or don’t get enough hours. Honestly, with all the racial tension going on and reading so much about what’s happening to people of color, I’m on edge 24/7. Sometimes there will be that customer that comes in and is clearly privileged, and I have to really put maximum effort into keeping myself from firing right back at their demands and attitude. I just wish more people treated people like people. If they could just take into consideration that we might have just got some bad news or are being strained by management or anything really. It’s crazy to think of how would they like it if the roles were reversed? If someone treated them just like they treat us (retail workers)? I’m just trying to put out a friendly reminder to treat retail workers with just at least some humility and basic respect, you don’t have to best friends, but at least be rational.

Op-Ed: The Impact of Roots Reimagined on an Afro-Latina

“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots,” said the revolutionary Marcus Garvey. History is fundamental to every individual’s development of self; it can be that missing piece of the puzzle needed in order to authenticate a part of his or her identity. The word history in itself can already be broken down into: his-story, indicating that it’s the telling of somebody’s story. As an Afro-Latina, my identity has always been a question mark, a question even for myself. From an early age, I noticed that people appeared to gawk when I walked alongside my mother or my grandmother. Only noticing the difference in the color of our melanin, as though it was ludicrous for us to be of the same kin. The “Afro” in Afro-Latina was lost on me. It has been through readings and films like Roots, that I have come to identify with the origin of my roots and bequeathed me with great dignity in the conquests of my ancestors.

It was always evident to me how much of the cultural outcast I was in a vast majority of social settings. I was looked upon as a rare entity on the playground, surrounded by namely Hispanics and white people. Year after year, I was forced to pick who I identified myself as racially on standardized tests or registration. With my mother, I was Hispanic like her, but with my father I was African-American, period. As I grew older, I was dumbfounded as to which option to pick out of: Hispanic or Latino, White (but not Hispanic or Latino), Black or African-American (but not Hispanic or Latino), Asian (but not Hispanic or Latino), Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (but not Hispanic or Latino), American Indian or Alaska Native (but not Hispanic or Latino, or Two or More Races (but not Hispanic or Latino). At the crossroads, I normally chose not to identify; it felt as though I would have solidified my identity as one or the other and resulted in leaving a piece of my heritage in the dark.

As I got into my adolescent years, I began to be surrounded by more representation of African-Americans and emerged into the culture. My complexion may have reflected African-American, but I became faced with something new. “What are you mixed with?” began to be the question I was asked in mere seconds, during introductions. I am the “mixed girl,” sought for my good hair and exotic background, but not for my charming personality or comical banter. It’s presumed that because of my race, that I am put on a pedestal, that I consider myself better than the average black girl. It wasn’t until I started surrounding myself with friends that were of many different nationalities, that I grew to get a greater sense of pride in my African roots. Unlike in the movie Roots, where it was adamant to reiterate who his or her ancestors were, even though they might not ever come face to face. I observed the dynamics within my friend’s families. Just like in Roots, they still kept true to their rituals from home and took great pride in their homage. Seeing all this, encouraged and inspired me to seek out who my people were and what they had done for me to form my own dignity upon.

Although the deeds of Hispanics have been present in a majority of my history books, I had only surface value of what African-Americans had contributed to America. I nose-dived into time periods like the slave age and the civil rights movement, but I was always drawn to the livelihoods of slaves. Roots provides a realistic example of the day and age of a slave. Slaves were dehumanized and forced to give up their self-identity just to stay alive. Many slaves, like The Fiddler and Thomas Jr., maintained the ideology that freedom was merely an idea, a goal even, but not attainable. Occasionally, the slaves would come into contact with a free African-American, a reminder of a life without “Massah.” For some that was enough, for others it emblazoned a fire within to actively seek freedom. This fire is what propelled people, like Harriet Tubman and Robert Smalls, to overcome their fears and ferociously seek his or her own freedom. How could I merely just go through life and not attain any accomplishments with ancestors who fought so hard for me to have these opportunities? Roots undeniably shows the struggles of the heroines that laid the foundation for me to prosper from. Storytellings like Roots, are able to inform and remind everyone that America hasn’t always been the land of the free.

Without examples like Roots, I would never have been able to develop the connection that I feel with my ancestors for sacrificing and persevering for their freedom. As a child, I was in the dark about the self-worth that I should have held when identifying as part African-American. It was normal for people to see skin color first when my mother and I appeared before them. During my developmental years, I had no idea what the true meaning of being an “Afro-Latina” was. History is ultimately the mixture of each one of our ancestor’s stories compiled together. Without knowing your history, can you truly say that you know yourself?

June 27ish (Lol): Domestic Abuse Advocate

I decided that I want to help women who have been in a similar situation, some much worse than what I went through. I made it, and I know that if they’ve come to the turning point of not wanting to be in that type of relationship, that means they’re just as strong as I am. If I made it, so can they. I’ve always said that I want my story to inspire and help people one day, and I don’t see why not start now. I know I’m not the first and probably won’t be the last girl to feel like she’s trapped in a bad situation with no way out. And I remember feeling lost and not knowing what I was going to do without the boy who did this to me. In fact, I blamed myself; If I had just done this or that better then he wouldn’t have ever put me in that situation. I remember saying that I never wanted to be like my mother, as I watched her as a child daily, get hit and disrespected. I grew up around a slew of dysfunctional relationships and told myself that I wouldn’t repeat what I saw. Regardless, this isn’t about me, exactly, this is about me wanting to help women who need it. Because I so desperately wished that somebody would help me. I want to be that for someone else. Show them just how strong they are. Uplift them when they need it. I just want them to feel the support and love that they deserve and need. To remind them just how irrevocably valuable they are.

June 24: Thoughts on OITNB controversy

So I just finished the episode were Poussey Washington emulate’s Freddie Gray’s death, and I will say that the plot is great, sure, it’s great that they incorporate #BlackLivesMatter into their script. But, when you consider the fact that they have an all white writing crew, that puts an all new perspective on the story that they’re trying to tell. How do you properly convey the feelings and emotions invoked involved in the unjust killings and slayings of a culture that you are not at all apart of? They are merely all spectators to what the media has portrayed of #BlackLivesMatter and if they paid attention to social media as well. I think that it’s inappropriate for them to tell somebody else’s story, when they definitely could have brought in black writers and protestors and family members. People that were there or that were affected and could articulate what it’s like to feel like when there’s a target on your back at all times when you’re just doing the same things as some of your white counterparts. I’m sure that they thought that they were doing a great job and meant well, but the mindset that they have is part of the problem. The problem being that if it’s told by somebody who has no idea what it’s like to see a family member die for nothing other than a misunderstanding by the very justice system that supposed to protect all of us. It’s white washing history. They’re only able to tell the story through the lens which they experience it which is nothing like what it actually felt like to be a victim to police brutality.

What is Art?: A few raw shots from a current project

June 23rd: Getting the Afro-Latina Story Out

After writing my piece that incorporated a lot of what growing up as Afro-Latina, and meeting a few other people in the same position, I’ve had an epiphany: I have to keep telling this story! Our stories, as Afro-Latinos. You can’t find them in the history books, and that is infuriating. The feats, triumphs, and adventures of a whole people are lost on a vast majority of people. As though no one of Afro-Latino descent has ever done anything worth taking note of. The white washing of history is unfortunate and shouldn’t be so one-sided. I just want people to know what contributions were made by a group of people that is sprinkled all over the world, due to the African Diaspora. There is no one in the black press even identifying the contributions of Afro-Latinos and that’s sad. When not even Hispanics can see anything past the depth of our melanin, making us outcasts to both groups. We’re humane too, and deserve just as much as any other person to be heard and documented. So, I’m going to keep writing as many stories about the lives of Afro-Latinos that have/are doing great things, until more people finally attribute our contributions. And one day, hopefully, this will have started a network or at least connected a good portion of Afro-Latinos.

Singer, Micah, performing at the Dean’s Rising Stars Gala

Interview with Eefy Ike from the Rising Star Gala