Black and Brown: The Invisibility of Afro-Latinos

Lin-Manuel Miranda in the lead role of Hamilton. Photo by Steve Jurvetson.

One of the earliest memories that I have growing up is “orange rice.”

My Abuela or grandmother used to make Arroz con Pollo, chicken with rice. The sauce would make the color of the rice orange. She would sometimes add lentils to the mix. It smelled good and the taste was wonderful.

Sometimes she would make pasteles which were made up of mashed plantain and filled with pork, olives, and raisins. She would then put this mixture into plantain leaves. Eating pasteles (or two or three) was a mini holiday for me.

My grandmother moved from her native Puerto Rico to Michigan when I was a year old in order to help raise me. I grew up with a woman who took care of me while my parents were working and one time even got up at 6:00 AM to help me open Christmas presents.

My grandmother didn’t speak much English, so I communicated with her mostly in Spanish. My mother’s two brothers came up from Puerto Rico to live with her in Michigan so I had a small community that spoke Spanish all the time. I got pretty good at understanding the language, so good that people started to learn not to talk about sensitive issues around me. My Uncle David came to the house one day to talk to Mom and started speaking in Spanish thinking I wouldn’t understand. Mom countered in Spanish that I would understand everything they said. To which I responded in English, “Yes I would.”

What I’ve shared is a little bit of life growing up with a Latino background in the 1970s and 80s. It’s probably like a lot of other people’s stories with one exception: everyone I’ve mentioned so far is Black or a small slice of the Latino community that is of African heritage.

Afro-Latinos are not numerous, but we have contributed a significant amount to Latin culture.

Enslaved Africans were brought to the Spanish new world centuries ago and the result is African communities throughout Latin America, from Caribbean places like Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba to Venezuela, Columbia, Brazil, and Uruguay. They speak Spanish and Portuguese and follow the customs of the lands where they were raised. They influenced their new cultures with traditions brought over from Africa, making their mark in dance, religion, food, and other customs. Latin America wouldn’t be Latin America it is without Afro-Latinos.

But most people don’t know that. It doesn’t matter if they are black or white, people will take a look at me and not think for a moment that I have any other background other than African American.

The problem in our society is that when we see someone who is black, we see someone who is black. That’s it. I’m not putting down, my African American heritage. But someone who is white can be more than just white, but not to put too fine an edge on it, it seems as though being black covers up anything else you might be.

I think that’s sad because it covers up the richness of my background and of others who are Afro-Latino.

Miranda has done a lot to bring Puerto Ricans in particular and Latinos in general greater coverage in our diverse nation. As I said earlier, he staged a play around very white historical figures like Hamilton and Jefferson and then gave those roles to persons of color. He made Hamilton not just a story about white people, but a story that belongs to all Americans regardless of race or ethnicity.

Two Afro-Latino artists responded with an op-ed that was over the top in its accusations of Miranda. Somehow he, Rita Moreno and others are perpetuating white supremacy because he didn’t include black Latinos. Reading the opinion piece, you could tell the writers were promoting race essentialism. What mattered to them was not that they were part of this diverse culture, what mattered was that they were black and being oppressed by those promoting whiteness like Miranda.

While I’m quite aware that I am Black and Latino, I also feel solidarity with all Latinos, not just the ones that have a skin tone like me. When Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico in 2017, I wasn’t worried about black Puerto Ricans. I was worried about all Puerto Ricans regardless of the color of their skin.

Are Afro-Latinos hidden in our culture? Yes. Has there been some “erasure” as that recent histrionic Washington Post op-ed noticed? Yes. But going after Manuel Miranda isn’t the right way to make ourselves visible. Instead, we need to be about telling our own stories and making ourselves visible. Instead of wanting Lin Manuel Miranda to make us visible, we need an Afro-Latino Manuel-Miranda who can write plays and musicals telling our stories. We don’t need apologies, and we don’t need to create scapegoats. What Afro-Latinos we need to get busy making our story known.

When Marvel Comics introduced Miles Morales as another version of Spiderman, I was fascinated. Here was a young kid that was African American and Puerto Rican, just like me. I’m glad that Marvel was willing to create a Spiderman with this mixture of cultures. I’d love to see more Afro-Latinos like Miles Morales. Chewing out one of the most successful Latinos in America is not how you do that.

I asked my mother what she thought about the controversy. She grew up in Puerto Rico, proud of her people and proud to be black. She considered the fight silly. She knows who she is and can show pride in being Latino and black.

I’m proud to be Afro-Latino. Lin-Manuel Miranda doesn’t have to apologize to me. Just keep making great musicals and making Puerto Ricans proud.