Well I am Latina and I consider us to be very mixed for the most part. As someone who identifies herself as part Afro-Cuban it's important that people know that we can be Hispanic and Black as the former does not equal a race but a culture. There are many Hispanics in my family who are all African rooted but are Spanish speaking and culturally idenitfy with Latino culture. There are many Latinos in my family who are Caucasian (hailing from Spain) and only came into the family through marriage. Others are mestiza or mulatto (Native American and Spanish or Black and Spanish respectively).
A lot of darker skinned Latinos who you know are obviously mixed with Black will try to hide it. But as us Latinos negros come into our own history, we are starting to recognize that we are just as beautiful and just as Latino as any light skinned Latino and at the same time we are also proud of our Black/African ancestry and embrace it the way African-Americans have embraced.
I love to see models like Ana Beatriz (who has claimed African heritage), Adriana, and A. Taveres step up and represent as mixed women and having African heritage. It's an awesome thing to come from the days of Claudia Mason denying her heritage to someone as popular and lustworthy as Adriana proudly stating it.
