Radio Caña Negra

We discuss the societal climates of non-masked Northerners versus the masked norm elsewhere, in Panama specifically, hygiene and cleaning habits and Janvieve's experiences traveling on the continent of Africa and "tamales of dirt."

We chat about May being "mes de la Etnia Negra" in Panama (and also in Colombia and Venezuela). We know, we know... Black is not an ethnicity, yet the month has been misnomered and we can hold multiple truths at once... the importance of these months AND the fact that nonBlack folks in Latin America WILL show up in Blackface during these "celebratory" Black history and futures months. We share our real-life, fear-inducing antiblack experiences in Guatemala, Panama and others. 

We talk about communal economic structures, hoe sh*t as praxis as Evelyn describes her mother being a seamstress and her most loyal and easy to work with customer base being sex workers. Dash is left gagged and speechless as Janvieve and Evelyn describe the changes their bodies went through before and after pregnancy and birthing. And we all agree, at no point would we ever miss a meal. Anxiety, depression or not. 

When you're going through shit, it's legit! Ev reminds us while also inviting us to plant yourself and swim because you already have what you need to build the life that you want. And don't ever forget to celebrate your wins and victories! 

"Geriatric" pregnancies, starving alone, "grandkids money" and mastering life's stages. Join the macheteras as we discuss intentional family planning, birthing over age 35, powerfully parenting and our relationships with aging. Enjoy an excerpt from AfroColombian poet, Mary Grueso, "Negra Soy" (I am Black) at the end of this episode. Second part of this episode coming next week! 

We chat about the women we lift up everyday, how our grandmothers set up the path that we currently walk on, and some bad-ass women centering Black Latin Americans. TUNE IN TODAY 1pm EST for AfroResistance´s panel: Our Realities: Black Women Speak from Their Territories with Mirtes Renata (Brazil) and Sara Quiñones (Colombia). Sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/our-realities-black-women-speak-from-their-territories-tickets-144042078735

Follow Gloria Malone on Instagram (@gloriamalone) and TikTok (gm4xx) for her content centering Black Latin Americans. 

There's a difference between "tiene de Negro" (having African/Black ancestry) vs. actually BEING NEGRO (being Black). The entry into Blackness is porous while whiteness guards with an iron fist. We undress the Black women cosplayers, have specific questions for white women "of color"???? call in enabling white-centering academia and establishments, identify Mrs. Clause's long lost twin, and how we will now be checking white on all  of our documents and forms. Tune in for the deets! 

  "My identity is tied into my racial component significantly more than my ethnic one like I feel more detached from my ethnic self than I do from my racial self. " - Evelyn Alvarez

In this episode, Evelyn and Dash chat about how we ground ourselves in our Blackness more than anything else. That Blackness is diasporic, it is global and it is real. We are Black despite Latinidad, which we all agree, is and continues to be a hegemonic white-centering subordination and assimilation project hellbent on a flat beige identity. And we've made it very clear, we are not beige, nor morena...somos NEGRAS. 

We chat about h ow we de-center  whiteness, the many instances of inter and intra-Black allyship, and about survival theft and scamming.   

Walking unicorn, fairy dust from my coochie ministry, the colorism that jumps out of said ministry, our take on the bizarre Red Table Talk, antiblack "pro-Black" practices, and exactly why y'all need to leave these nothing-to-lose young dudes alone.  

"Ain't-Shit" Bro Code, Performative Oppression, Power in Relationships, and the Usual Anti-Black Latinos.

 "Issa shoulda had a Latina friend" goofball analysis, people who are not "of the people" speaking for the people and maligning the same people they perform activism for, “Baby mothers" as the best organizers, men trapping women with babies and other reproductive realities in Latin America, including the lack of information and the case of a 12-year-old taking headache medicine (panadol) to stop a pregnancy, and folks feigning struggle for an audience.  

We air out a Panamanian journalist that used her platform to malign a fellow Black woman and offer her up to be disparaged on her social media platforms, a panel of non-Latinos giving an analysis of Latin American politics and life, men not holding other men accountable through "ain't shit" bro code, mushroom babies, "air semen," power in relationships, generational differences in a culture of oversharing, and the way a 7-year-old and a duck taught us how unwitting impact can spread, simply by being ourselves and more.  

The topic list is long but all fuckery is surprisingly connected. Who knew? We sure did. Take a walk with us. 

P.S. The filmmaker mentioned is Nikyatu Jusu, her film "Suicide by Sunlight" is streaming here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRR-0IcKLd8 

What skills are we leaning into, what joy are we finding, and what traditions are we passing on to our children during this time of social isolation? What do we lose or gain living and assimilating in the U.S. and away from our families and spouses in Latin America? And what spiritual practices are keeping our peace during this time? 

EPISODE 5: ¡MACHETAZO! to generational trauma, harmful traditions, and most of all anti-black norms period and especially within Latinx spaces! We are dragging out the dysfunction and revealing our grievances for generational transformation.  Join us in dragging: projectile trauma, scapegoating Dominican anti-blackness, the incessant habit of calling Black hair "rizos" & curls, beating children, and what is up with Janvieve's affinity for cow lung?  

Listen. Share. Give us feedback at radiocananegra@gmail.com.