“Ayy!” This Afro-Latina has been trending all over the internet since her appearance on Love & Hip Hop, but she’s been in the music and entertainment industry much longer than that. This week’s pick is Amara La Negra.
Dana Danelys De Los Santos, known as Amara La Negra [10/04/1990], is a self-proclaimed Afro-Latina of Dominican (Republic) descent. She was born in Miami, Fl and has been in the entertainment industry since she was 4 years of age. She was enrolled in acting, modeling, and dance classes when she was young, and was well-known in the Latin world for her appearances on the TV program Sábado Gigante, the longest-running program on Univision [53 years].
Amara became internationally known once she made her appearance on the reality show Love & Hip Hop Miami. She came on with a different accent and a different look that wasn’t like the stereotypical African-American in the States. She was criticized for looking NATURAL.
Having an afro isn’t the ideal hip hop look, so she stood out, especially being Afro-Latina, which was a term that was new to many in the African-American culture.
Amara La Negra is breaking barriers. She’s vocalizing for the Afro-Latin community, letting it be known that the African diaspora is present in the Latin world. She’s showing the world the Afro culture that always seems suppressed in media unless you’re referring to Celia Cruz (If y’all don’t know about the late and great Cubana sensation, then you need to check out the history on her) within the Latin communities. Her voice is being heard and it’s causing other suppressed cultures to speak out. Amara has been a unique influence on the Latin and African diaspora and she brings that uniqueness to her music as well.
I came across Amara before Love & Hip Hop. I was listening to one her songs which had a Caribbean flavor that I could rock to. I then checked out the video and was shocked when I seen her. She was black with a fro!!!!!!!!!!! That’s a win for #TeamNatural and she’s of Caribbean descent too. STRAIGHT WIN! I started listening to her more and would occasionally hear DJs remixing her song “Ayy” at parties (that song used to have everyone twerking). I heard her remix to “What a Bam Bam“, which was released around the time she was on Love & Hip Hop, and noticed she was really starting to trend. She recently dropped her EP “Unstoppable”.
I hope Amara continues to vocalize how she feels, because she’s breaking barriers and creating a dialogue that needs to be discussed. Here are 2 picks from Amara La Negra that I rock to: