One in four Hispanics identify as Afro-Latino and most face discrimination from both their Black and Latino sides. On Thursday, Oct. 14, artist Amara La Negra brought this issue of colorism within the Latino community to the table on the latest episode of Red Table Talk: The Estefans. 

The episode, "Black and Latin: Racism Within," features guest appearances by La Negra and Karamo Brown of Queer Eye. In the important conversation, Brown spoke about his struggle to accept his Cuban roots as a Black man, while La Negra revealed that she experienced racism on the set of a popular television show and at different casting calls for soap operas.

La Negra, an Afro-Dominican woman, heard many times that she was not the "prototypical" Latina woman they were looking for in the casting calls. According to her, the Latina woman they look for in a casting is more like Jennifer Lopez, Salma Hayek and the Estefans, but not her.

"I've been to  auditions for these Latino channels and they've said: 'We love your energy, your personality, but we're looking for someone who looks more Latina!'" she said on Red Table Talk.

Although it is common for to hear about “Latinos” or “Hispancs” as one community, ethnic and racial differences are undeniable within the community. Skin color does not make anyone more or less Latino.

With a common history of colonization and miscegenation on the continent, in Latin America, we find a beautiful diversity of origins and phenotypes, so we should always remember that there is no single referent of "Latino-ness" or "Hispanic-ness," but that we are of all colors and sizes.