In many parts of Latin America, Black identity has been systematically erased or minimized through colorblind ideologies and national narratives that glorify mestizaje while ignoring African heritage. Yet across the region, Afro-descendant communities have long preserved their traditions, languages, and cultural memory through music, spirituality, and resistance. The term Afro-Latinx is not just an identity—it’s a reclamation, a refusal to be invisible in countries that too often deny Blackness within their borders.

For many, naming themselves Afro-Latinx is an act of resistance and visibility. It challenges the idea that Latinidad is synonymous with whiteness or European heritage. It also acknowledges the unique ways in which anti-Blackness manifests across Latin America—often differently from the U.S.—but just as deeply rooted in colonial violence. Embracing Afro-Latinx identity is about celebrating Blackness in all its complexity and reclaiming a lineage that was never truly lost, only obscured.