Angely Morel Espinal – Reflection
The project I worked on delves into many historic elements of Afro-Latinidad and it personally relates to me as an Afro-Latina myself. The zine serves as a visual representation of my culture, history and resilience. Other than the zine, we also took some time to make cheese pastelitos and morrir soñando which I grew up eating and making in my Dominican household.
The zine begins with the food component of how to make morrir sonando and queso pastelitos. I thought this was such an important part of the project for me because it allowed me to reflect on my culture and how from a young age I was taught to make easy Dominican snacks. Making it now as a 21 year old away from my family was the little piece of home I was missing. Moving forwards the next topic on the zine was about Roberto Clemente as an Afro-Latino athlete. Roberto Clemente transcended the baseball field, championing humanitarian efforts and social justice causes throughout his career. Clemente’s accomplishments paved the way for not just Afro-Latinos but other people of color, giving a glimpse of what it possible to achieve and how one can use their platform for the better. As someone who grew up playing softball, I was taught early on about Roberto Clemente and learned to appreciate baseball and softball.
The most exciting part for me was the section in the zine about afro-latina hair. I have been on a journey with my hair and identity for years and continue to appreciate and learn the power I hold with my natural hair. I have always had curly hair but because of the history of a Dominican dictator trying to whiten our race, for many years straightening our hair was seen to be more socially beautiful than leaving your hair curly. I experienced this growing up with many family members until the natural hair trend started evolving and I started to embrace my curls. Until going to a Dominican salon once and they permanently relaxed my hair for it to naturally be straight without my knowledge. I had to then grow out my natural hair for 2 years. My curly hair plays much more of a role than just a hairstyle but a lifestyle and embracing my identity as an Afro-Latina and normalizing natural curly hair being just as beautiful.
Overall, this final project allowed me to do a great load of reflecting on the topic of passing on one’s culture and experiences. I grew up not really realizing how being in America my parents did a great job at keeping me connected with my culture, and not assimilating to American culture as my only identity. It also allowed me to continue to embrace my culture, history and experience. As the co-president of the Dominican Student Association here at Cornell it served as another motivator to continue to share my cultures with other and provide a piece of home to other Latino students in Ithaca.