When people think of famous Latina women, Jennifer Lopez or Sofia Vergara come to mind.
Not Zoe Saldana or Rosario Dawson.
The difference between these pairs of Latina actresses isn't one of talent or fame. Saldana and Dawson also happen to identify as Black - a reality some Tampa-area Afro-Latinas say is difficult to navigate.
鈥淧eople respect our (Latino) community but for the Afro-Latinas, people just like to group us as Black and stuff and want to deny that we鈥檙e Spanish,鈥� said University of South Florida student Jessica Roberts, who is Puerto Rican and Dominican. And Black.
Roberts said she doesn鈥檛 speak Spanish, and as a result is told that she鈥檚 not 鈥渢ruly鈥� Latina. People say she should only identify as Black.
鈥淚 really don鈥檛 like having to associate myself with a different culture that鈥檚 not my own, because I don鈥檛 know anything about that and it鈥檚 kind of annoying whenever someone tells you you鈥檙e something that you鈥檙e not,鈥� she said.
While Afro-Latinos have ancestry that links back to Africa, some like Roberts choose to identify with the country they鈥檙e from or where their parents are from.
鈥淪o I always try to side with my Puerto Rican and Dominican side, because that鈥檚 really what I am.鈥�
People who identify as Latinos make up a significant part of the Tampa Bay area population, nearly 23 percent. Blacks account for another 26 percent, according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau
However, it鈥檚 not so easy to break down the number of Afro-Latinos here 鈥� or elsewhere. The U.S. Census doesn't currently give the option for Latinos to identify as another race, meaning even if someone is Afro-Latino or Asian-Latino, they can only mark Latino.
USF sociology professor and author Dr. Elizabeth Hordge-Freeman said the inability to count Afro-Latinos isn鈥檛 the big problem. Latinas who are also Black struggle to find acceptance in both the Latino and Black communities, as well as with themselves.
She said it鈥檚 easier for people 鈥� in the Tampa Bay area and around the world - to see Afro-Latinas only as Black because skin tone is what people initially see.
鈥淭heir nationality isn鈥檛 seen first, their Blackness is seen first,鈥� said Hordge-Freeman, author of "The Color of Love: Racial Features, Stigma and Socialization in Black Brazilian Families."
鈥淪o I think that understanding the complexity of Blackness is a global issue, it鈥檚 not just an issue for the United States to figure out.鈥�
Evelin Diaz is Afro-Dominican, and a Spanish language teacher鈥檚 assistant at Lennard High School in Ruskin. More than 50 percent of the school's student population is Latino, but Diaz said she gets strange looks from students because of her kinky hair.
鈥淩ight now, where I work, a lot of Mexicans, people from Guatemala, students from Guatemala look at me like weird because of my hair, because I鈥檓 different than them,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 have the same hair that I have and we鈥檙e Latino.鈥�
Diaz said she chooses to identify only as Latina or Hispanic, because that鈥檚 how she was raised in the Dominican Republic.
Tampa resident Nanyelis Diaz - who is also Afro-Dominican 鈥� said identity is not that simple鈥攅specially when it comes to formal paperwork like a job application.
鈥淚 actually leave that question unanswered to be honest,鈥� she said.
The complexity becomes clear as Diaz breaks down her family lineage.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if I鈥檓 like White, if I鈥檓 African American because I am from the Dominican Republic. I was born there,鈥� she said. 鈥淢y grandmother is like Black鈥er skin color is Black, but my grandfather was part Chinese鈥o it鈥檚 just like a mixture. So I just really never know what to identify myself.鈥�
Hordge-Freeman said it鈥檚 critical for Afro-Latinos to know their racial history, and to realize that most people will judge them based off what they see.
鈥淚 think that it鈥檚 hugely important for Afro-Latinos in particular to understand this particular racial history of their countries and then when once they have that understanding make these more informed decisions about how they identify,鈥� she said.
鈥淯ltimately, at the end of the day, it鈥檚 everybody鈥檚 decision how they identify, but how they鈥檙e read by other people, I think can sometimes contradict how they see themselves.
Roberts said while it may be easier for some to accept what people say they look like, in the end, Afro-Latinas can never, and should never, deny their roots.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 deny where you鈥檙e from and your roots and stuff like that so people can put you in this box but that doesn鈥檛 mean you fit there.鈥�
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