Pt. 1 of ‘Negro: A Docu-Series about Latino Identity’

December 8, 2011 at 3:27 PM | Posted in Faces Abroad, Jetsetter | 1 Comment

During my three week journey, I went to Santo Domingo, where I stayed with a fantastic lady and her two daughters. I visited Villa Mella, Boca Chica and San Pedro de Macoris, home of most of the Dominican descended MLB players. I interviewed people on the beach, on the street, attended the final (9th) day of an Espiritu Santo funeral in a batey, was a guest on CDN-La Radio’s Haitian-Dominican radio talk show, ‘Dialoga en la Isla’ and was blown away by new insight and information.

I then went to Colombia, accompanied for a few days and was offered tremendous help from my dear friend Tee. We explored Cartagena and journeyed to San Basilio de Palenque, a maroon town established by a slave who ran away from the Port of Cartagena in the 16th century. I then continued on to Bogota then Cali, the salsa capital and where I met new friends and new insight into race relations and the war and displacement in Colombia. A 10-hour bus ride with tremendous views to Medellin before my last stop in Quibdo, in the Choco Region, where I was welcomed by a local woman who didn’t leave my side. I observed the Afro-Colombian campaigns throughout the country as well as the negative reasons why the campaigns are needed.

After a missed plane and bout of a stomach sickness, I have a lot of work ahead but this is a labor of love and I thank you all for your support as I embark on my journey. I am currently working on the rest of the series and conducting interviews in the U.S. The candor and insight will continue to blow you away as it has done me.