"Get to know the Afro-Latino Education & Arts Collective, a dynamic non-profit organization that’s creating actual change. Founded by Sharon Cruz, a native of Los Angeles, this collective is rewriting the narrative, celebrating Afro-Latino voices, culture and creativity."
"COMMENTARY: Raíces, Growing up Afro-Latina in LA" by Reva Santo, CALO News, February 2, 2024
"I grew up practicing Candomblé, an Afro-Brazilian spiritual tradition that is Afro-indigenous at its core, practicing Capoeira at my parent’s Brazilian arts and culture center, and eating foods that were distinct to a Latinx blackness that I didn’t see represented in the world immediately around me. I don’t think you can ever truly strip yourself of who you are, but when I reflect back on that period of my life, I’m aware of how much of myself I did not express because I did not feel that it would be legible to others. I didn’t fit neatly into any category, and it was confusing for a long time to understand."
"Meet the Blaxicans of Los Angeles" by Walter Thompson-Hernandez, BuzzFeed News, October 29, 2015
"Can you be black and Mexican at the same time in South L.A.? In lyrics and interviews, Miguel describes challenges familiar to anyone who’s tried."
Afro-Latino Culture Fest, September 30, 2023. First annual Afro-Latino Culture fest. The Afro-Latino Education and Arts Collective (ALEAC) is a vibrant celebration of Afro-Latino heritage, art, music, and culture. The event program will include a lineup of talented artists, musicians, and speakers across the Afro-Latin diaspora, centering our own communities’ artistic excellence.
LA-based DJ collective La Junta celebrates 10 years of cultural celebrations that feature tropical Afro-Latin music. Resident selectors Degruvme, Yukicito, Miz HoneyP, and Glenn Red – whose respective ethnic heritages begin in Mexico, Japan, and the Philippines – together create a rich pastiche of tropical dance music celebrated for its unique balance of vintage and cutting-edge sounds.
