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Amara La Negra is redefining what it means to be Latinx, and you need to stan immediately

Afro-Dominicana Amara La Negra is Love & Hip Hop: Miami’s most exciting new star.

January 02, 2018

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In the first episode of vh1's Love & Hip Hop: Miami, we're introduced to Amara La Negra, an Afro-Dominican singer from Miami with dreams of crossing over from the Latin market to mainstream success. Her identity as both black and Latina is a major focus in the season premiere, where she explains how often people in the industry try to get her to change her appearance.

In a meeting with Latin trap producer Young Hollywood, Amara La Negra is criticized for wearing her hair in a natural afro and for embracing her blackness. Amara holds firm and refuses to change her image after Hollywood suggests she straighten her hair to be more "elegant."

"Not all Latinas look like J. Lo or Sofia Vergara or Shakira, so where are the women that look like myself?" she explains. The scene is a standard example of how black Latinxs, especially dark-skinned Latinxs, are commonly treated in the Latin community, with Young Hollywood taunting and dismissing Amara's identity.

Amara La Negra is breaking stereotypes about what it means to be black and Latinx in the entertainment industry, and it's refreshing as fuck to see her on primetime television. On top of that, she can sing her ass off. Watch the video for her infectious single "Se Que Soy" below.

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