Blogger Ada Rojas, who founded natural hair brand, has been braiding her hair for years as a way to grow out her hair with minimal daily styling. She admits that, at first, she was scared that as a lighter-skinned Latina, her braids would get her called out for appropriation. But, as someone who identifies as Afro-Latina — a Latin American with African ancestry — who is also aware of hair's context and culture, she felt that she had a right to wear them.
Eurocentric beauty ideals still live on today. Historically, the Afro-Latinx community has faced erasure in both U.S. and Latinx media, which tend to favor Latinas with lighter skin and long, straight hair . There are hardly any visible Afro-Latinx people in the public sphere. However, one in fouridentify as Afro-Latinx, Afro-Caribbean, or otherwise. And some Latinx people consider themselves Afro-descendants.