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Afro Latinx interviewer, asks the cast/director of ‘In The Heights’ why there was a lack of Afro latinx cast in the film…

PaulAtreides

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This was already discussed in the main thread. Leslie Grace/Nina and Dasha Polanco are Afro Latinas.

Re: her point yes, it's true it favors white skinned and light skinned Latinos but that doesn't mean they aren't Afro Latino.
 

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just saw this on twitter and all I have to say is a bunch of nothing was said from the director & that one actress. Tbh, they made matters worse with there black people were dancers and hey at least there were a lot them at the audition bs.

The interviewer really pressed them and I really love to see it bc it needs to be said
 

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I mean ultimately people generally only care about seeing people who look like them (ie. similar skin color, hair texture etc.) represented.

The people involved at the top were lighter latinx so that is what they chose to put front and center. They then wanted it to be a success so they could say "see people who look like me can be a contender in HW". At the end of the day they could probably care less about latinx representation if it doesn't advance them personally in any way hence only using people who look like them.
 
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Ms.cleo

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This was already discussed in the main thread. Leslie Grace/Nina and Dasha Polanco are Afro Latinas.

Re: her point yes, it's true it favors white skinned and light skinned Latinos but that doesn't mean they aren't Afro Latino.

Dascha-Polanco-junto-a-su-padre-Ruben-Dario-Polanco-MercadoSocial.com_.jpg

That’s Dascha’s father, so unless her mama is black, she’s not Afro latina.
 

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This was already discussed in the main thread. Leslie Grace/Nina and Dasha Polanco are Afro Latinas.

Re: her point yes, it's true it favors white skinned and light skinned Latinos but that doesn't mean they aren't Afro Latino.
I see you're being obtuse and definitely missing the point about how colorism plays a role.

Let me put this vid. Oh and before you try and gaslight, yes it was duplicated, but they duplicated the black man three times
 

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just saw this on twitter and all I have to say is a bunch of nothing was said from the director & that one actress. Tbh, they made matters worse with there black people were dancers and hey at least there were a lot them at the audition bs.

The interviewer really pressed them and I really love to see it bc it needs to be said
Yep, that second chick was stupid to mention that there were a lot at auditions, just to say that “the right people got the part”. I don’t think she realized how ignorant that sounded.
 

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I see you're being obtuse and definitely missing the point about how colorism plays a role.

Let me put this vid. Oh and before you try and gaslight, yes it was duplicated, but they duplicated the black man three times

No, Afro Latino just doesn't mean dark skinned. The complaint should be there are no dark skinned black Latino main characters not that there are no Afro Latino characters.
 

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Which Latino country are you from?

This is another problem. This misunderstanding of the term Afro Latino. If you want to say someone is a black Latino then say black Latino.
I’m not latina at all, I’m African American. I don’t have to be latina to understand what an Afro latina is either.
Afro latinas have ONE or TWO black parents. Just because you have distant black ancestry (like most of Latin America & the rest of the world) doesn’t make you Afro latina.

black latina & Afro latina is the same btw, used interchangeably.
 

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I’m not latina at all, I’m African American. I don’t have to be latina to understand what an Afro latina is either.
Afro latinas have ONE or TWO black parents. Just because you have distant black ancestry (like most of Latin America & the rest of the world) doesn’t make you Afro latina.

black latina & Afro latina is the same btw, used interchangeably.
No, it's not the same.

I mentioned in the other thread, a study was done and most Latinos who identify as Afro Latino don't identify as black.

Afro latino is a translation of a Spanish word that is celebrating African ancestry. But not everyone with African ancestry is black. Not even every African is black.

There are some people who use it to mean black but that's not the majority and sometimes it's contextual.
 

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I also disagree with her. I wasn't going into this movie expecting to see black Panamanians. This movie is about Washington Heights. Panamanians are heavy in Brooklyn.

They didn’t really cast for neighborhood accuracy though, but to showcase generalized “Latinx pride”. I remember an interview or something done where they were talking about being proud to have casted so many different types of Latinos, from Mexicans to Puerto Rican to Dominicans, even though Washington Heights is primarily Dominican. So if they could cast Mexicans like the “they picked the best person for the role” chick, why not black Panamanians or Cubans? It’s for the same reason Dascha Polanco and John Leguizamo had a melt down about no Latinos winning Emmy’s one year, even though Dominican Jharrel Jerome won for his portrayal of Korey Wise in When They See Us. We all know why they don’t consider him part of them.
 

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The fact that they had an Asian dude as the director of the movie tells me all I need to know. If I ever feel curious about watching this, I'll find it on 123Movies.
919.png
 

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They didn’t really cast for neighborhood accuracy though, but to showcase generalized “Latinx pride”. I remember an interview or something done where they were talking about being proud to have casted so many different types of Latinos, from Mexicans to Puerto Rican to Dominicans, even though Washington Heights is primarily Dominican. So if they could cast Mexicans like the “they picked the best person for the role” chick, why not black Panamanians or Cubans? It’s for the same reason Dascha Polanco and John Leguizamo had a melt down about no Latinos winning Emmy’s one year, even though Dominican Jharrel Jerome won for his portrayal of Korey Wise in When They See Us. We all know why they don’t consider him part of them.
They showed other Latinos but I'm talking about going in there with the expectation. Why would I do that when Panamanians aren't from there? I thought the white Cuban character was weird also.
 

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Apparently a lot of black latinos from the area went up to the set to see if they could be background actors and they were turned away.

The actress who plays vanessa is played by a mexican! They would rather cast a white/mestiza person from a completely different culture than an actual black person from the culture the movie is based off of. Crazy.
Dascha-Polanco-junto-a-su-padre-Ruben-Dario-Polanco-MercadoSocial.com_.jpg

That’s Dascha’s father, so unless her mama is black, she’s not Afro latina.

Dascha is not afro-latina. She's just saying that because it's a trend right now. She's just like Gina Rodriguez and only claims the imaginary blackness when convenient.

They didn’t really cast for neighborhood accuracy though, but to showcase generalized “Latinx pride”. I remember an interview or something done where they were talking about being proud to have casted so many different types of Latinos, from Mexicans to Puerto Rican to Dominicans, even though Washington Heights is primarily Dominican. So if they could cast Mexicans like the “they picked the best person for the role” chick, why not black Panamanians or Cubans? It’s for the same reason Dascha Polanco and John Leguizamo had a melt down about no Latinos winning Emmy’s one year, even though Dominican Jharrel Jerome won for his portrayal of Korey Wise in When They See Us. We all know why they don’t consider him part of them.
Exactly! Dascha always gotta open her mouth whenever AAs get recognition just like Gina. If you see yourself as black, you would have no problem with AAs being recognized and awarded for their work.
 
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just saw this on twitter and all I have to say is a bunch of nothing was said from the director & that one actress. Tbh, they made matters worse with there black people were dancers and hey at least there were a lot them at the audition bs.

The interviewer really pressed them and I really love to see it bc it needs to be said
Does someone need to ask about the lack of Chinese in this movie? How about the lack of Indians? Perhaps the omission of white Euros should be questioned?

Or maybe its a story told from the perspective of someone who kinda mostly hangs out with family and friends who happen to look like they look

I feel like the faux outrage folks are trying to make this into a ''thing'' when it doesnt need to be
 

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Apparently a lot of black latinos from the area went up to the set to see if they could be background actors and they were turned away.

The actress who plays vanessa is played by a mexican! They would rather cast a white/mestiza person from a completely different culture than an actual black person from the culture the movie is based off of. Crazy.


Dascha is not afro-latina! She's just saying that because it's a trend right now. She's just like Gina Rodriguez and only claims the imaginary blackness when convenient.
Yes, she is. A Mestizo would definitely clock her as one.
 

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I love when their biases are exposed and can't wiggle their way out of it. It's sooooo funny.
 

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Apparently a lot of black latinos from the area went up to the set to see if they could be background actors and they were turned away.

The actress who plays vanessa is played by a mexican! They would rather cast a white/mestiza person from a completely different culture than an actual black person from the culture the movie is based off of. Crazy.


Dascha is not afro-latina. She's just saying that because it's a trend right now. She's just like Gina Rodriguez and only claims the imaginary blackness when convenient.
What actual Black person from the culture was the movie based off
Also see below



I’m not latina at all, I’m African American. I don’t have to be latina to understand what an Afro latina is either.
Afro latinas have ONE or TWO black parents. Just because you have distant black ancestry (like most of Latin America & the rest of the world) doesn’t make you Afro latina.

black latina & Afro latina is the same btw, used interchangeably.
All Afro-Latino means is that you are Latino and have significant African heritage. And the reason is because the definition of what it means to be Black can change from country to country

If it turned out that Dascha had the same amount African heritage in her family tree as Tina Knowles, that wouldnt stop Tina from being Black - so why would it stop Dascha from being Afro-Latino
 

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They didn’t really cast for neighborhood accuracy though, but to showcase generalized “Latinx pride”. I remember an interview or something done where they were talking about being proud to have casted so many different types of Latinos, from Mexicans to Puerto Rican to Dominicans, even though Washington Heights is primarily Dominican. So if they could cast Mexicans like the “they picked the best person for the role” chick, why not black Panamanians or Cubans? It’s for the same reason Dascha Polanco and John Leguizamo had a melt down about no Latinos winning Emmy’s one year, even though Dominican Jharrel Jerome won for his portrayal of Korey Wise in When They See Us. We all know why they don’t consider him part of them.
They probably had no idea he was Dominican to be honest which again shows the ignorance. I don't take John Leguizamo seriously because he's been pretending to be Puerto Rican his whole career for some type.of benefit when he is actually Colombian and his own father called him out on it.
 

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What actual Black person from the culture was the movie based off
Also see below




All Afro-Latino means is that you are Latino and have significant African heritage. And the reason is because the definition of what it means to be Black can change from country to country

If it turned out that Dascha had the same amount African heritage in her family tree as Tina Knowles, that wouldnt stop Tina from being Black - so why would it stop Dascha from being Afro-Latino
You're shaking the table.

I've complained a lot about the hypocrisy. On here, Neymar is called self-hating for not identifying as black when for all we know he is just as African as the Latinos who are said not to be Afro Latino given that his black father is mixed race.
 

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Ive never heard people that look like the people in this musical call themselves arfro-latino lol and theres PLENTY in Philly. Its only become a thing recently from what I see. Ive seen them claim nationality, latina, Nuyorican (etc in example Rosie Perez and JLo). I would consider someone that has some notable african descent features as Afro Latino even if they are light (ie Rosie Perez, Cardi B, Rosario Dawson, LaLa) but not someone like J Lo or anyone with European type hair AND complexion (phenotype) because truly theyre probably mostly european or native...u dont have to have black in you to be Latino at all even.....some are mostly white, mostly native or mixed with that and some have african descent in there...its all about who bred with who during colonisation and after....black is usually used to describe African Americans and now Africans and other noticably "black" people from the Caribean that would never be clocked as latino or at least look heavily mixed with black.
 

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Ive never heard people that look like the people in this musical call themselves arfro-latino lol and theres PLENTY in Philly. Its only become a thing recently from what I see. Ive seen them claim nationality, latina, Nuyorican (etc in example Rosie Perez and JLo). I would consider someone that has some notable african descent features as Afro Latino even if they are light (ie Rosie Perez, Cardi B, Rosario Dawson, LaLa) but not someone like J Lo or anyone with European type hair AND complexion (phenotype) because truly theyre probably mostly european or native...u dont have to have black in you to be Latino at all even.....some are mostly white, mostly native or mixed with that and some have african descent in there...its all about who bred with who during colonisation and after....black is usually used to describe African Americans and now Africans and other noticably "black" people from the Caribean that would never be clocked as latino or at least look heavily mixed with black.
Leslie Grace has a similar look to Joan Smalls, who is known as one of the top Afro Latina models. Christina Milian is known as Afro Latina and to me she looks more obviously triguena than Leslie does.
actor-leslie-grace-60427_large.jpg


vs Christina with her sisters.
d64e060813b377a44ffd576755b9fd0c.jpg



They have a similar look but I would place the latter as slightly more mixed looking.
 

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I noticed as soon as I saw the trailer/commercial for the first time and I mentioned this in a thread. Just a movie full of white hispanics and the obligatory token Black dude to chase some white Latina around. Amazing that they always have a role(s) for Black men but Black women are nonexistent in these movie universes as if Black men are made by osmosis.
 

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Dascha-Polanco-junto-a-su-padre-Ruben-Dario-Polanco-MercadoSocial.com_.jpg

That’s Dascha’s father, so unless her mama is black, she’s not Afro latina.
When I saw her hogged kneed ass, I said "Why I had a feeling her ass was gone be in this. She was gone make sure she was seen".

Lin is starting to irk because in the broadway show there was barely anyone darker than a paperbag on stage.
 
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Leslie Grace has a similar look to Joan Smalls, who is known as one of the top Afro Latina models. Christina Milian is known as Afro Latina and to me she looks more obviously triguena than Leslie does.
actor-leslie-grace-60427_large.jpg


vs Christina with her sisters.
d64e060813b377a44ffd576755b9fd0c.jpg



They have a similar look but I would place the latter as slightly more mixed looking.
I see afro latino in both pictures....meaning I am able to perceive and see at least some evidence of african ancestry but if a persons hair is like corn silk and their complexion is like milk all at once then that person would never be called afro latina...lets be honest....the hair has to have some type of non european texture or else most likely they would not ever call themselves afro latina in real life...or even if they look like the actress in the cliff in the OP, she would never be called afro latina ever (not saying she does claim that but just using her estetic as an example)...not Leslie...the one that spoke along with the director
 

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