Ethnicities Magazine_Abril-Mayo 2018_Volumen_22_English

People - Origins - Culture 

ETHNICITIES 

www.ethnicitiesmagazine.com 

Issue 22- April - May 2018 

Amilcar & Mai-Elka 

AFRO-LATINO FESTIVAL NYC 

ENGLISH AS A RELEVANT TOOL IN 

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 

WORLDWIDE 

- MAGISTER NILSA JUSTAVINO 

THE CHALLENGES OF A MULTI- 

CULTURAL PERU 

- ANA LUCÍA MOSQUERA B.A.

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CONTENT 

ETHNICITIES 

Editorial Letter 

Keila Salazar de Moreno, B.A. 

English as a relevant tool in professional develpment 

worldwide................................................................................4 

Magister, Nilsa Justavino 

The Challenges of a Multicultural Peru......................10 

Ana Lucía Mosquera, B.A. 

4 

FOUNDER & EDITOR IN CHIEF 



ASSOCIATE EDITOR AND COLLABORATOR 

Judith Rapley, M.S.W. 

judith@judithrapley.com 

GRAPHIC DESIGN 

Stephany Salazar, B.A. 

stephany.salazar20@gmail.com 

EDITORIAL LETTER 

Lil Taitt– Entrevista............................................................19 

Ethnicities Magazine 

Mai-Elka y Amilcar - Afro-Latino Festival NYC 

Interview................................................................................23 


Leonela Martínez– Interview.........................................24 


Let’s talk about nude lipstick.........................................30 

Samara Wallace, B.A. 

What is to be spiritual? A step to Inner Evolutio.....33 

Jessica Bernard, B.A. 

Important Announcements...........................................35 


Events...................................................................................38 


ENGLISH AS A 

RELEVANT TOOL. 

13 

THE CHALLENGES OF A 

MULTICULTURAL PERU 

PHOTOGRAPHS 

www.pixbay.com 

Courtesy of Afro Latino NYC Festival 

Cristina Lombana 

COVER AND INTERVIEW CONTENT 

PHOTOGRAPHS 

Courtesy of Afro Latino NYC Festival 

APRIL WRITERS 

Magister, Nilsa Justavino 

Ana Lucía Mosquera, B.A. 

Samara Catherine Wallace N., B.A. 

Jessica Bernard, B.A. 


SALES, MARKETING AND PUBLIC 

RELATIONS 


SPANISH VERSION CORRECTION 


Stephany Salazar, B.A. 

ENGLISH VERSION CORRECTION 

Judith Rapley, M.S.W. 

WEBMASTER 



CONTACT 

+507 62523175 

Dear readers, we thank you for joining us in this adventure and we hope 

you will be completely pleased with the content that we bring thanks to our 

different collaborators for this edition # 22 of Ethnicities Magazine. 

For this month as you may have noticed, we have delayed a bit the output 

of this edition, but we had strong reasons for doing so, we wanted to include 

the as most activities as we could that will take place in Panama during 

the month of May, in which Black Ethnicity is celebrated, as in other sister 

countries in Latin America. 

This month the content is very diverse, we bring you 3 interviews, between 

them you will find the interview we did to Mai-Elka and Amilcar of the 

Afro Latino Festival of New York founded initially by Dr. George Priestley, 

Afro-Panamanian leader, and they are both Afro-Panamanian figures, so 

if you want to know more about this great festival we invite you to take a 

look into this one. We also interviewed Leonela Martinez, current Queen of 

the Black Ethnicity Panama West of the Immaculate Conception Church, 

by the way, they will be choosing their queen for this year 2018 on May 26, 

so if you are 18 years old or more, you can participate. And we also bring 

the interview we did to Lil Taitt, a young exponent of the Panamanian rap 

genre, very promising, with lyrics that carry a message of change and life. 

Find very interesting topics such as: English as a Relevant Tool in Professional 

Development Worldwide by Prof. Nilsa Justavino, What is to be spiritual? 

A Step to Inner Evolution by Jessica Bernard, The challenges of a 

multicultural Peru by Ana Lucía Mosquera, and Nude Lips by Samara Wallace. 

In our events section find details about the 3rd Encounter of the Youth 

Afro Panamanian Network and Pollera Conga Festival. 

I leave you with this edition that like every month, we work especially for all 

of you. 

With love, 

**Ethnicities Magazine investigates the seriousness of their advertisers, 

but i not responsible with related offers they do. The 

opinions expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the 

position of editor of the publication, total or partial reproduction 

of the content and images of the publication without prior authorization 

of Ethnicities Magazine is strictly prohibited. 

23 

MAI-ELKA Y AMILCAR 


Keila Salazar de Moreno 

Presidenta y Editora en Jefe 


1 2

AFRO PANAMANIANS 

ETHNICITIES 

ENGLISH AS A RELEVANT TOOL IN 

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORLDWIDE 

BY: MAGISTER, NILSA JUSTAVINO DE LOPEZ 

In linguistics, the discipline studying the nature 

of language, a lingua franca is a language 

form adapted for the common understanding 

among many other languages in 

mutual exchange. Accepting this language 

form as universal comes as an agreement or 

by political reasons. For example, Greek and 

Latin were for the most part the language of 

the ancient world and for most of the Western 

civilization, Latin became the language 

of religion, law and protocol; in a similar instance, 

that was the case of Russian for the 

Soviet Republics; German for central Europe, 

and Portuguese and Spanish throughout the 

extension of their respective empires, Hindi 

in the Indian subcontinent, Mandarin for the 

589 ethnic groups in China and Arabic for 

most of the Middle East. Currently, the lingua 

franca for culture, economy, technology, 

art, cinematography, politics, and geopolitics 

is English. 

From this perspective, English as an 

adaptable and adoptable language in 

every branch of human creativity has become 

the work tool, along with technology, 

cybernetics, electronics, and the rules 

of business, marketing and multimodal 

transportation. 

In linguistic terms, English produces an 

average 1000 words per day among the 

different disciplines of human ingeniosity: 

industry, technology, cinema, television, 

politics and social events—through 

the methods of coinage, blending, 

borrowing of foreign words, acronyms 

(the creation of words by the initials of a 

major concept), idioms, street and ethnic 

talk, and professional jargon. From these 

words, experts claim that around 300 

remain in the common lexicon and half 

get to the dictionary. The others are seasonal, 

trendy, and they disappear in oblivion 

with time. This flexibility and creativity 

account for the number of mixed 

dialects or pidgins that have emerged 

in the last 30 years around the world: 

Frenglish, Italglish, Chinglish (Chinese), 

Greeklish (Greek) , Danglish (Danish), 

Porglish (Portuguese), Taglish,(tagalog) 

Norwenglish (Norwegian) , Runglish 

(Russian) and In Latin America and Panama—Spanglish. 

Samples of Panamanian Spanglish— 

chateamos, esmarfornizamos, luqueamos. 

We have friqueo, chilin, grubear, 

llamar para atrás, and we scream “si un 

man nos yopea el raid” . Identlical situations 

extend wide and at large around a 

planet that for a long time now, ceased 

to be compartmentalized and has been 

reduced to nanoseconds of information, 

thanks to technology and satellite communication. 

Long dissertations about the benefits of 

the language are quite redundant because 

we know all the recommendations, 

suggestions, and limitations imposed on 

new professionals looking for job opportunities. 

We all know that this country 

has been permanently a transit, traffic, 

and trade area way back since colonial 

times…and as such, it requires a broad 

vision and a great capacity for adaptability 

for survival. 

It was no coincidence, that although 

ETHNICITIES 

Christopher Columbus was the first to 

set foot in Panama—or better yet, Bocas 

del Toro—in 1501, it is Vasco Nuñez de 

Balboa who takes the accolades for the 

discovery of the Pacific Ocean in 1513, 

simply because his feat discovered the 

route towards gold and riches in America. 

As a melting pot, Panama embraces 

foreigners and natives who speak quite 

a number of different languages. In an 

economy dependent on tourism, on the 

transportation of goods, in communications, 

in business and service, English is 

the unavoidable element for the future 

of a country currently living an unprecedented 

economic success, and facing a 

new era of growth and development. 

In 1914, when the Panama Canal was 

inaugurated, Panama was a newborn republic; 

the others in the area were almost 

100 years old by the time we became a 

real self-governed nation. Regardless of 

political aspects, the Canal at the time 

determined the economic path of the 

new country and our tradition of business 

and services again took the preeminence 

it had lost while it was a Colombian 

department. We had to run faster to 

get in tune with the other Latin American 

nations; and we literally jumped over the 

hurdles to reach the goal. The economic 

development of this country makes us 

different from our Latin American neighbors, 

and today, we hold quite a desirable 

position in the hemisphere. In addition, 

we have, we do have a dollar economy, 

and that makes us strong. 

With the widening of the Canal in 2015, 

exactly 100 years after the advent of the 

first Canal, the forecast of a similar economic 

boom as that in the 20th century 

goes beyond the next 50 years or more. 

We need to stop driving with parking lights 

and turn on our halogen beams and 

look ahead towards the confines of the 

road. The mere fact that the widening 

works have brought in people from all 

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over the world, demands a need for bilingual 

personnel and staff, everywhere— 

from the chauffer and the nanny to the 

floor manager and the CEO. English IS 

the language to be spoken. Not Mandarin. 

Even the Chinese got wise and learned 

English rather than Mandarin…We 

just need to look at the economic success 

in China TODAY. 

Concurrently, many doors and opportunities 

have been made available in the 

last 40 years, and many Panamanians 

have studied in Asia, China, Japan, Europe, 

the United States, and the British 

Commonwealth. Cultural, academic, 

scientific, and technological exchange 

has been brought about; for example, in 

this university academic and research 

agreements have been made with the 

United States and other countries; the 

Fulbright scholarships, the scholarships 

and endowments by several embassies, 

all the universities at City of Knowledge… 

all of which somehow have a basic requirement—the 

applicant HAS to speak 

English. 

And this is true around the world, a wide 

variety of International treaties and 

agreements of political coexistence, 

cooperation, support, assistance in every 

area--health, business, industry, construction, 

even sports—engage not only 

governments, but also their people within 

the conditions and requirements—and in 

order to overcome language barriers— 

English has become the object, the tool, 

the means to achieve these agreements. 

It is not anymore a matter of sovereignty, 

imperialism, domination—no. It is being 

practical and intelligent. The Lingua 

franca becomes a means to facilitate, 

to break barriers, to make opportunities 

available—it is a flexible, useful and efficient 

tool. 

So what do we have to do, then? Join in, 

adapt, get ready and get really ready for 

real competition, for success, for achievements. 

We pursue college degrees to 

satisfy needs, wishes, and dreams, to 

set the basis for our future. For a better 

chance than that our parents could 

afford for us, or whoever was responsible 

for our academic growth. When we 

go to the jungle, we carry all the gear we 

need for the trip. In our own Panamanian 

vernacular: Si vas al monte, lleva 

machete.” We cannot afford being surprised 

for lack of caution. We need the 

unexpendable tool—we need to speak 

English. (Not just mumble, or stumble in 

English—really speak English well) 

We cannot be left behind for a whim, for 

ignorance, for lack of interest or worse, 

for a lack of vision of the future. THE FU- 

TURE IS HERE. The Panama we dreamt 

of is here. And you, the future of the next 

50 years have to follow the dream, make 

it bigger, larger, richer, better, and make it 

available for the Panamanians that you 

will produce and who will run the next 50 

years to 2114. 

Now, I want to share with you, among 

facts and figures lived throughout my 43 

years as an English teacher, an experience 

concerning the relevance of speaking 

English as the most important qualification 

for a job today and in the future in 

Panama, without putting aside the value 

of our own culture. 

My life has been blessed with many 

opportunities—one of those was working 

at Panama Canal Commission, ACP 

today. In 2007, I was entrusted the job 

of interviewing Panamanian professionals—in 

the maritime area and other 

fields, for 10 managerial positions and 

15 other for pilots in the Canal, for the 

mule operators who guide the ships in 

the locks, and for port-entry coordinators. 

The Authority selects, trains this personnel 

for a long time before they start on 

the position to guarantee the efficient, 

100 percent free transit of a ship in the 

Canal. This process of interviewing took 

6 months. 

Every Friday from June to December that 

year, I interviewed an average 15 Panamanian 

from Escuela Nautica de Panama, 

ages 22 to 39 year old who wanted to 

be chosen to work in the great marvel of 

the modern world. They came for all over 

the world. They first took a written test, 

and then came to the interview, which 

score in the end, would determine their 

entry to the position or their rejection. I 

interviewed Panamanians from Chitre, 

Veraguas, los Santos, Bocas del Toro, 

Colon, from the City of Panama, from Darien---different 

social levels, from remote 

areas in Panamá. Sometimes, the names 

of these places where they had been 

born were lessons in geography for me, 

ETHNICITIES 

since I didn´t have a clue that these places 

existed. The interview was a 10 run 

to evaluate their oral and listening skills. 

It was a conversation where they talked 

about their experiences as sailors, deck 

officers, engineers, machinists; in other 

words, their work at sea. I spoke quite 

amenably with Panamanians of humble 

origins who told me of their long trips in 

cargo ships, in bunker transport vessels, 

research vessels, marine research ships, 

bathyscaphes, ferries, launches, yachts, 

catamarans. I talked to Panamanians 

who had works in Qatar, Singapore, Pakistan, 

Sri-Lanka, Canada, Australia, Terra 

Nova, Ireland, Scotland, Patagonia, 

Mozambique, practically all and every 

unexpected place in the world. They told 

me of their fears, their loneliness when 

they started on their first ship where no- 

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ETHNICITIES 


body spoke a Word of Spanish, ironically 

though, because the ship carried a Panamanian 

flag. 

They told me how the basic classes attended 

in school had been their lifesaver 

in ships filled with Chinese, Malaysians, 

Phillipino, Greek, Turkish, and how they 

had managed to survive. And I sat there, 

taking notes, looking at them, evaluating 

their performance according to preset 

rubrics, and I thought to myself, filled with 

a pride I had to hide as an interviewer. It 

was difficult though, because my pride 

to hear these “panameñitos, vida mía” 

to flow, tell, make jokes and speak in a 

language that ranged from good to excellent…they 

spoke English like music to 

my ears, proficiently, telling me their stories 

at sea, some quite difficult and scary 

for someone who can´t swim in a baby´s 

pool. AND I WAS PROUD THAT I CHOSE 

TO BE AN ENGLISH TEACHER. O YES. 

Likewise, for the management positions, 

I interviewed many Panamanians who 

worked at local banks, law firms, in government 

posts, who came in with Master´s 

degrees, PhD’s, graduate studies 

and all other academic paraphernalia… 

who stammered, did not answer, kept 

quiet or rather signed an affidavit waiving 

all responsibility on the Authority for 

their refusal to take the interview. THEY 

COULD NOT SPEAK ENGLISH. 

Some, but not to many, struggled to 

communicate; a very low percentage of 

the total interviewees had an adequate 

mastery of the language. These could 

go on to the next step. At times, deep inside 

I felt sorry for these applicants, who 

in spite of their academic achievement 

would not be able to fulfill a dream. A 

couple even asked why they had to take 

a test in English if the Canal was Panamanian. 

And I would answer,” We offer 

service to our customers, and our customers 

do not speak Spanish, but they do 

English”, yes, the Canal is ours, but our 

services have to be delivered in the Lingua 

Franca. 

For you, who come through this University 

to get a degree in English, to become 

teachers, hopefully, I hope this little experience 

of mine gives you a message. We 

are not in the classroom to teach books, 

or teach the intricate world of transformational 

grammar, or the difference between 

a schwa and a fricative sound in 

English. We are in the classroom to take 

a challenge, to take a child by the hand, 

and teach him how to change his whole 

linguistic knowledge to be able to acquire 

another. We are not in the classroom 

to teach 6 or 10 chapters of a book a 

year, and teach the same thing year after 

year after year---from preschool to 12th 

grade—the verb to be, the irregular verbs, 

the pronouns, there is, there are, do, did 

not and does, and maybe, just maybe the 

future with will. 

We are in the classroom to make Panamanians 

capable to think, to understand, 

and communicate in English so that they 

are able, like those interviewees I met, to 

get an education, to go abroad, to have a 

tool to help them get jobs for their future…for 

the next 50 years along with you, 

and to build the next 50 years to 2015 for 

their children. 

At the end of the day, I hope that when 

another interviewer like me, has to engage 

in a conversation with one of you 

for a position in the future, or one of your 

students, she might feel as proud as I felt 

interviewing my fellowmen, proud of being 

bilingual, proud of having passed on 

to others the tool for success: that they 

can and they do speak English. Thank 

you. 

7 8

THE CHALLENGES 

OF A 

MULTICULTURAL 

PERU 

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BY: ANA LUCIA MOSQUERA, B.A. 

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Peru conducts the first specialized 

survey on issues of cultural 

diversity and perceptions of racial 

discrimination. 

Peru is an immensely diverse 

country. However, the country still 

faces great challenges for the positive 

assessment of this diversity 

and the elimination of racial discrimination; 

and this challenge 

has been taken on by government 

agencies that, along with civil society 

organizations and other relevant 

actors, dedicate their efforts 

to making this problem visible 

and working to find solutions that 

contribute to the construction of 

a society in which differences are 

not an obstacle to development 

with equal opportunities. 

With this in mind, one of the first steps is 

to identify the state of the issue. It is necessary 

to know how Peruvians and Peruvians 

perceive different ethnic and linguistic 

groups and how they relate to and 

interact with others. For this reason, the 

Ministry of Culture of Peru and Ipsos Peru 

came together to design and implement 

the National Survey on Perceptions and 

Attitudes on Cultural Diversity and Racial 

Discrimination. 

This survey is important for many reasons, 

but the most important is related to 

the public-private partnership to address 

important social issues and collect information 

for the development of public policies 

aimed at the recognition of cultural 

diversity that contribute to the elimination 

of racial discrimination, since this survey 

provides, for the first time in the history of 

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AFRO-PERUVIAN MOVEMENT 

ETHNICITIES 

the country, real and statistically valid indicators 

on this problem that affects Peruvian 

society. 

The results of the study confirm this: 

more than 50% of the people surveyed 

consider that Peruvians are racist or very 

racist, more than half of Peruvians have 

felt something discriminated against, discriminated 

against or very discriminated; 

and of this figure, 28% felt discriminated 

by their skin color and 17% by their facial 

or physical features. Likewise, the places 

in which they are exposed to experiencing 

greater discrimination are public hospitals 

or medical posts (22%), commissariats 

(19%) and municipalities (14%), evidencing 

that the highest percentage of cases 

of discrimination are generated in entities 

of the State. 

nation are focused on skin color, physical 

features and the prevalence of stereotypes 

that commonly associate them with 

delinquency and criminality. In this same 

line, the results indicate that the Afro-Peruvian 

population is underrepresented in 

the highest socioeconomic levels, thus 

evidencing their situation of vulnerability. 

The survey provides information on perceptions 

of discrimination also addressing 

issues such as interracial marriages, 

indicating that there is greater rejection of 

these in the case that one of the people 

is of African descent; and the percentages 

of self-identification of the Afro-Peruvian, 

indigenous and native populations within 

the framework of the National Population 

and Housing Census. 

Despite showing, mostly negative indicators 

on the Afro-Peruvian population, the 

results show interesting information regarding 

the process of self-identification 

of this population, since a percentage higher 

than those observed in previous instruments 

is clearly observed, which would 

indicate that the inclusion of the ethnic 

variable would have a greater effect on the 

identification of the Afro-Peruvian population. 

The results of the survey leave us more 

questions than answers. However, this 

is an important effort as it contributes to 

the continuation of a necessary dialogue 

about our differences, and it challenges 

us to reevaluate ourselves and continue 

rethinking our country in the complexity 

of its diversity. This survey should not be 

the end, but a starting point for a serious 

conversation as a country to deconstruct 

our prejudices and build a more inclusive 

society. 

In addition, the results indicate that the 

Afro-Peruvian population is perceived as 

the most discriminated population and 

that the main reasons for this discrimi- 

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ETHNICITIES 

ETHNICITIES 

LIL TAITT 

INTERVIEW 

What is your real name, where were 

you born and how old are you? 

My real name is Alexander Javier Taitt 

Hall I was born in Panama City and I’m 

28 years old. 

Why did you decided to get started 

with your musician career? 

Well, from an early age I always had that 

passion for music, and from age 9 I wrote 

my own songs. I did not take it as serious 

at that age as I was focused on my studies, 

however that passion continued and 

I kept writing until one day I said to myself: 

“It’s time to stop seeing this as something 

normal, it is a gift is a talent and 

I must take it seriously, but in a different 

way, being different from the others, keeping 

certain important principles for me 

and making themes that really generate 

positive changes in people and that it is 

an inspiration to many people”. So then I 

decided to form a group starting with my 

cousins, who had the same passion. 

about me, now they feel very proud and 

support me, I have been able to show that 

I have a future in this. 

I have had to sacrifice a lot of things that 

have hurt me, but at the same time they 

have been necessary for my musical 

growth, certain friendships, also sacrifice 

a lot of time that used to dedicate to 

many important people in my life, to give 

time to what I love, seeing them affected. 

I sacrificed job opportunities, money etc. 

What is more complicated, the creative 

process of an album or touring? 

I think if you have a good album that 

draws attention, well prepared, that opens 

many doors and you have an effective 

spearhead to be able to make a musical 

tour, however I think the most difficult 

thing is the making of the album, since it 

takes more time, sacrifice and it must be 

something that is truly worthwhile, each 

instrumentation, each letter, the concept 

of the album, the approach etc. 

How has your family’s support been 

and what have you had to sacrifice 

for your dream? 

Even though art and music are generational 

in my family, at first they saw what I 

was doing as a waste of time, for them 

it was more important for me to I finish 

my degree, they did not want me to waste 

time on studio expenses, recording, 

events, because they did not see future, 

for them it was like a simple hobby. But 

I did not see it that way, for me it was a 

great dream 

So I struggled twice and continued studying 

and at the same time working hard 

on my musical projects, until I graduated. 

It was like a gift for them and so when I 

finally finishes, I was able to concentrate 

on what I wanted, music; Little by little, I 

have been reaping the rewards and when 

they saw that, they changed their opinion 

15 14

ETHNICITIES 

ETHNICITIES 

What do you enjoy most about being 

a musician? 

Wao! I think everything, from the moment 

that inspiration arrives and you begin 

to write, to connect with all that you are 

passionate about and share it with people 

who share your same passion and vision, 

in this case my group, the council of 

each topic, each events, uff is inexplicable 

I LOVE MUSIC. 

What other interpreter has been a 

source of inspiration for you? 

Well I could mention the American artist 

LECRAE, he is a different artist who has 

reaped many success with a different 

musical concept from the others, I can 

also mention J COLE and of my land El 

Rookie. 

Who do you admire of the current 

musical environment? 

LECRAE. 

What message can you leave to our 

youth? 

That regardless of the situation, always 

strive for your dreams and goals, that you 

enjoy what you love to do, but above all 

that you are passionate about, you can 

always do something that generates positive 

changes for your nation and your 

environment. That they can inspire many 

people and that in each decision they can 

have GOD as their guide since He will 

always know what is best for us. 

15 

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AFRO-CHILENOS 

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ETHNICITIES 

ETHNICITIES 

We want our readers to more about 

you ... can you share with us a bit 

about you, your origins? 

We are Afro-Panamanians Mai-Elka 

Prado was born in Panama and Amilcar 

Priestley in New York, son of Panamanian 

parents. Mai-Elka, the founder and creative 

director of the Festival, is a psychologist, 

medical translator for social services 

in New York and a singer. Amilcar 

is a lawyer and director of the non-profit 

organization, Afrolatino Project, founded 

in 2006 by Dr. George Priestley, Afro-Panamanian 

leader. 

When and why was the idea of making 

an Afro Latino Festival in New 

York born? 

It is a very interesting and complete 

festival: music, gastronomy, photography, 

dance and others. It shows 

that there is previous experience. 

Have you organized other festivals 

before? 

Since 2010 we are working on events 

with Afro-descendant themes. Mai-Elka 

was also active in the Afro-Latin music 

scene in New York as a singer-songwriter. 

In combination with the experience as 

entertainment lawyer and director of the 

Afrolatin Project we have had the opportunity 

to incorporate different elements in 

the Festival. We are always learning and 

seeing how to improve the experience 

and programming. 

It was born in 2013 summer due to the 

lack of affirmed and recognized community 

platforms for Afro-Latinos in New 

York. We started on a corner in Brooklyn 

for only one day, but we have been fortunate 

to grow the fesrival for several days 

and components with the support of the 

community, our team and organizations 

like the Schomburg Center for Black Culture 

Research in Harlem, the Blood Center 

of New York, the Abrons Art Center in 

Manhattan and many more. 

MAI-ELKA 

& AMILCAR 


INTERVIEW 

As any new project, there must have 

been both sweet and difficult moments. 

What is it that has encouraged 

you to continue in the most 

complicated moments? 

This it is about keeping and developing 

this platform to help in the expansion of 

artists, leaders, theorists and activists of 

African descent. Our encouragement is 

that this has to continue at least until the 

end of the Decade 2024 and if God wants 

much further. 

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PERSONALITIES 

ETHNICITIES 

What do you want to show the audience 

that attends the Afro Latino 

Festival? 

One of the most important aspects of 

which we realize, is the value that the 

community gives to the festival. They 

want to show their pride. For many it 

has a sense of discovery of their culture, 

identity or activism and for others a more 

a space to become more visible, to meet 

and share with others. There is a sense 

of community and solidarity that we want 

to support through the Festival and the 

work we do in general. 

¿Cómo se han encargado de proyectar 

toda nuestra esencia Africana 

a través del festival? 

Este año nuestro tema es “Más allá de la 

identidad”. El año 2016 nuestro tema era 

“Las Vidas Negras Importan”, en 2017 

era “Mujeres de la Diáspora”; este año es 

“Identidad y Más Allá”. O sea los principios 

del Decenio Afro son reconocimiento, 

justicia y desarrollo. Estamos poniendo 

al frente la importancia de celebrar 

nuestra identidad, pero también entender 

y analizar qué es lo que esto implica en 

el contexto político, socio-económica, 

educativo y del medio ambiente. El año 

pasado la honorable Susana Baca nos 

dijo que hemos logrado mucho, pero hay 

mucho más que hacer. La regeneración 

de la conciencia negra en esta nueva generación 

da mucha fe de que esto va ser 

posible. 

How have you managed to show 

all our African essence through the 

festival? 

socio-economic, educational and environmental 

context. Last year the honorable 

Susana Baca told us that we have 

achieved a lot, but there is much more to 

be done. The regeneration of black consciousness 

in this new generation gives 

great faith that this will be possible. 

For what date are Afro Festival Latino 

of New York 2018 scheduled and 

what can we expect? 

The dates for this year are July 13 to 15 in 

several places in New York including Harlem, 

the Lower East Side and Brooklyn. 

Our conference and awards, the Afrolatin 

Talks, will be held on the first day, July 13, 

which aims to promote speeches on various 

topics of interest in our communities. 

There will be presentations on topics 

such as discrimination and legal systems 

in the Americas and on the Census. We 

announce our winners in May. 

This year we expanded the Liberation 

Film Festival on the second day, July 14. 

We have programmed films, documentaries 

and short films from more than 10 

countries, along with talks and workshops 

of the film industry. From Panama 

we have several documentaries, one of 

them is “Panama Al Brown” by director 

Carlos Aguilar. It is the story of the first 

boxing world champion of Latin American 

/ Latin origin in the world. 

We will have the final concert, on July 15, 

will be a joy with handicrafts and meals 

Afro-Latin, African, Caribbean, vegetarian, 

fish and much more. We will announce 

the lineup for 2018 on May 5. 

What message can you give to our 

readers? 

We invite all of you to come to the Festival 

from July 13 to 15 to see how we celebrate, 

educate and affirm representation, 

culture, entrepreneurship, activism in the 

context of Afro Latinity. 

21 

The first year the theme was “Beyond 

identity”. In 2016 our theme was “The 

Black Lives Matter”, in 2017 it was “Women 

of the Diaspora”; this year is “Identity 

and Beyond”. In other words, the principles 

of the Afro Decade are recognition, 

justice and development. We are putting 

forward the importance of celebrating 

our identity, but also understand and 

analyze what this implies in the political, 

How can our readers contact you? 

You can go to the page of us and subscribe 

to receive our news, updates and more 

information: www.afrolatinofestnyc.com 

22

AFRO-CHILENOS 

ETHNICITIES 

LEONELA 

MARTÍNEZ 

INTERVIEW 

24

ETHNICITIES 

ETHNICITIES 

Who is Leonela, what are your family 

roots, where were you born and 

grew up? 

Leonela is a talented, daring, enterprising 

girl, she is full of a spark that makes her 

appreciate her virtues and learn from her 

failures and there is no doubt that she is 

madly in love with God. 

My roots, on my mother’s side, are a 

combination of Afro-descendant Jamaica 

and indigenous Sambú-Darién, on my 

father’s side are Indigenous of Garachiné 

- Darién and afro-descendants from Colombia 

- Jurado. 

How and when did you have the idea 

to start your business? 

At the age of 21, on December 1, 2011, I 

decided to conclude what I had been thinking 

all the time, start a business where 

I cooked and with what little resources I 

had, I named it Leo - Mar , Catering (combination 

of the beginning of my name 

and surname, Leonela Martínez) and with 

the vision that it will be one of the best 

Catering company in Panama, I drew a 

logo, I made a business plan, (learned in 

the course of business management of 

Ampyme ), I designed my logo, Mission 

and Vision. I went from house to house 

with fruit sponge cake with liquor so 

that my neighbors and whoever I found 

would taste it and make an order for Mother’s 

Day and Christmas, after delivering 

the orders, I gave an anonymous survey, 

where they could rate the product. 

What personal and professional 

support did you receive? 

The first personal support I received was 

very valuable and unforgettable, with the 

financial support of a counselor and guide 

person, I was able to obtain the first 

necessary supplies to start my project. 

Working with Chef Cuquita Arias de Calvo 

motivated me in an extraordinary way, her 

advice and love have had a lot to do with 

the motivation of my projects. My friends, 

neighbors, family became the best promotion 

and advertising of my business, 

and if I need something I’m sure I can 

count on them, another professional support 

that I had was Ampyme, since they 

taught me a lot in a course of Business 

management, they gave me an industrial 

furnace and I still keep in my mind and 

put into practice many of the lessons I 

learned. 

Did you make a business plan before 

you started? 

My Business Plan I owe to the example and advice 

of my entrepreneurial parents, the business management 

and marketing class of my secondary 

school San Martin de Porras, the Culinary Arts studies 

at the Interamerican University of Panama, the 

business management course of Ampyme, without 

all this it would not be possible to know so much 

valuable information to begin my entrepreneurship. 

25 26

What cost you the most when starting 

your project? 

The organization, managing time and 

money, was very difficult for me since I 

must confess that I have never been organized, 

planned, ordered and punctual. I 

owe it to my enterprise and to the blows 

that I have given to learn, that with the 

absence of all these characteristics it is 

impossible to reach the goal. 

What platforms do you use to promote 

your business and to communicate 

with your customers? 

Facebook, Instagram, whatssap in communication, 

dissemination of information 

and advertising of my products to my 

clients and potential clients, it has helped 

me a lot. 

If you were to start over, would you 

change anything? 

I am a faithful believer that what one happened 

in the past is what had to happen, 

in order to be where I am and to be where 

I am going to be in the future. God’s plan 

is perfect. 

Of all the products that you offer, 

which one do you enjoy the most 

when it comes to making it? 

All those who carry processes, details 

and natural ingredients, the simpler the 

more beautiful. Little and unforgettable 

people fall in love with it, I love those that 

tell stories, those that are full of beautiful 

feelings, that transmit emotions. Definitely 

all events are very special, birth, 

wedding, birthday, graduation, among 

many more occasions to celebrate that 

they can exist, everything is extremely 

important, especially the food that feeds 

the soul, from the mouths, the food , the 

bakery should always give of what to talk, 

my mission is to make them smile, sigh 

and never forget that feeling in sight and 

then on your palate. 

* A lot of effort. 

ETHNICITIES 

Reflections and recommendations 

to Entrepreneurs. 

* Listen to audios, watch videos, read tips 

for entrepreneurs, learn! 

* Study the most you can in emotional 

intelligence, if you do not have control of 

yourself, you cannot control anything! 

* Follow successful people in your social 

networks, positive people. Motivate yourself! 

* Negative comments will always have, 

use them as gasoline to keep going! 

* If you do not trust your decisions, you 

transmit insecurity and nobody wants a 

product or service that emanates insecurity. 

Believe in yourself! 

* Every time I go through a mirror and see 

my reflection, I tell myself I LOVE ME, I 

ACCEPT, I FORGIVE AND I AM DESERVE 

OF .... (WHAT YOU WANT HERE). This has 

helped me a lot to strengthen my self-esteem, 

I recommend them. To undertake 

self-love is too important, good self-esteem. 

* Do not despair, be patient, do not compare 

yourself. Your time is not the same 

as anyone’s. GOD’S TIME IS PERFECT. 

** I wish you great success in everything 

good you undertake ** 

Where are they located, in what networks 

can they follow you and how 

can they place orders? 

We are located in La Chorrera, Las Lomas, 

Calle Flores, house # 250. 

In social networks: 

Instagram: @Leomarcatering, @Leohealthy_ 

Facebook: Leomar Catering 

Whatsapp: 65477133 

28

LET’S TALK 

NUDE LIPSTICK 

BY: SAMARA CATHERINE WALLACE-NOYOLA, B.A. 

Are you a woman of medium and/or 

deep skin tone who would like to wear 

nude lipstick, but are certain that if you 

wore it you’d look intoxicated or like 

you’ve just eaten a white powdered 

donut? Do you feel like these shades 

cannot possibly complement your 

skin tone? I too have felt this way. As 

a woman of dark complexion, with 

an uneven lip tone, I would only wear 

lipstick that was much darker than my 

lips; typically, dark brown or burgundy, 

wishing that I could pull off a nude 

lipstick. Nevertheless, my makeup 

remained the same until I learned of 

tricks to wear (almost) any lip shade--even 

these trendy nudes! In this 

edition of Beauty Express, we want to 

share our “Black Girls hack to wearing 

nude lipstick”. 

Nude lipsticks are generally understood 

as being a flesh toned shade that 

30

BEAUTY EXPRESS 

ETHNICITIES 

mimics the color of a person’s natural 

lips or it can simply be a neutral shade. 

These shades are usually a variation 

of brown, pink and/or coral. 

Wearing nude lipstick is a great way to 

wear the “no makeup, makeup” look. 

This trend is a light makeup application 

where the makeup is so natural looking 

that you cannot tell if she is wearing 

any or if she just has phenomenal 

skin and is well put together. Nude lips 

can also be a subtle way to enhance 

or highlight another facial feature. For 

example, if you want to make your eye 

makeup pop with a smokey eye as the 

main attraction of your makeup look, 

pairing it with a nude lipstick will allow 

the eye to stand out. Wearing a dark 

or bright lipstick with the smokey eye 

could cause the features to compete, 

and that’s ok if that’s the look you are 

going for. Remember makeup is a personal 

expression of your unique style; 

wear it how you feel best. These are 

simply guidelines and suggestions for 

certain trends. 

In true Beauty Express fashion, we 

know that before any application of 

makeup, we must prepare the skin. 

The same goes for lipstick. Before 

applying our lipstick, we must take the 

time to prepare our lips to ensure a 

flawless application. 

Lip Preparation Steps 

Step 1 

-Use a soft baby toothbrush to exfoliate 

your lips. Apply a heavy amount lip balm, 

brush lips gently and wipe. 

Step 2 

Hydrate: Before applying lipstick, lips 

should be lightly moisturized with lip 

balm to maintain smoothness and keep 

your lips comfortably hydrated. 

Now for the nude lipstick: 

What you’ll need: 

Nude lipstick of choice: beige/brown, 

pinks, coral 

Lip liner: Dark Brown - for example, MAC 

lipliner in “Chestnut” for beige and coral 

nudes 

Lip liner: Wine - for example MAC lip liner 

in “Vino” or “Nightmoth” for pink nudes 

Concealer- (option for pigmented lips) a 

concealer that matches your skin tone 

is great for muting out pigmented lips. 

Apply a very light coat of the concealer 

over the lips to neutralize your lip color 

before lining and applying lip color. Be 

sure that it is a very light application of 

concealer, as too much will mix in with 

the lip color and can distort the shade. 

After you hydrate your lips, line your lips 

with your lip liner of choice (dark brown 

for beige or coral nudes and wine for 

pink nudes). Gently press your lips together 

to blend out the lip liner. Next, lightly 

begin to apply your lip shade, pressing 

your lips together to blend the liner and 

lipstick. Make sure you apply in light layers 

until you get the desired intensity 

and result. You can also fill in your entire 

lip with the lip liner and then gently apply 

the lip color in light layers on top, pressing 

or using your fingertip to pat in the 

lipstick. 

Using lip liner is a fool proof way to wear 

nudes and bright toned lipsticks for women 

of color. Be patient as you find your 

right technique. Our personal makeup 

application should be as individual and 

personalized as our skin complexions, 

undertones and textures. There is no 

one-size-fits-all approach to make up. 

We must find and/or customize what 

works for us. 

Exfoliate: Removes dead and dry skin 

from lips. You don’t want to apply lipstick 

on dry or peeling lips. Not cute! 

-Use a lip scrub, you can buy these in 

your local beauty supply store. 

Happy Makeup! 

ETHNICITIES 

31 

32

WHAT IS TO BE SPIRITUAL? 

A STEP TO INNER 

EVOLUTION 

se or elevate their spiritual “gifts” granted 

by God and the Universe. By gifts, we are 

referring to our sixth sense to our connection 

to our extra sensorial perception 

and abilities such as premonitions, visions 

and elevated wisdom, that in many 

occasions we do not understand where 

they come from. 

From these skills, various Holistic Practices 

(medicine in the form of healing, 

which involves the body, mind, spirit and 

emotions) or a New Era, such as, Angelology 

(communication with angels), reiki 

(healing with energy), Yoga, Acupuncture, 

Homeopathy (a remedy that involves 

ingesting natural substances to stimulate 

the defenses of the human body, contra 

symptoms and imbalances) among 

others. 

ETHNICITIES 

information and try that the customs the 

norms established by society do not prevent 

you from undertaking your journey 

towards your true happiness. 

Remember, spirituality goes deep inside 

you. Let the Supreme Being and the 

Universe guide your path of well-being 

towards an evolution of full consciousness 

and full happiness. Love, live and never 

be embarrassed to express your spiritual 

in the way that makes you HAPPY! 

33 

BY: JESSICA BERNARD 

ANGELOLOGIST 

infojessicab@gmail.com 

www.jessicambernard.org 

Been spiritual is a question that many 

ask themselves, but let’s understand 

the definition of spirituality: It is a set 

of principles or attitudes that shape the 

spiritual life of a person or in a collective 

form. A set of principles or attitudes ... 

one could say that are inner values or logical 

reasoning in order to become more 

in tune with their inner selves. 

Spirituality for some can be a lifestyle, 

as for others, it can be circumstantial. It 

is the conviction that something beyond 

us exists; the conviction that something 

“supreme” guides us, listens to us and 

transmits peace and wisdom. 

Spirituality it is not only bound to weekly 

religious beliefs or ceremonies, rather it 

conscientious decision to incorporate in 

one’s life right attitudes towards self and 

others. It is to create an attitude of awareness, 

of importance and sensitivity to 

the environment that surrounds us, from 

our family, friends, nature and our environment. 

It also represents that the practices we 

are going to implement in our lives, helps 

of be the best human beings we can ever 

be and to elevate ourselves to a vibration 

of inner peace and harmony, in order to 

offer those the best that we can be to 

others. 

Today there are many practices called 

“The New Era Practices”, which are practices 

that helps people nowadays to rai- 

For some, religion or the practice of specific 

theologies, will continue to be the 

pillar of the conviction of a “belief system” 

that provides that openness to the 

mind, body and spirit. The truth is, that 

no matter what practice you decided to 

embark on, the important thing is to implement 

them effectively, so it will not 

intervene with your process of personal 

improvement, self-awareness and interaction 

between one and other. 

Being spiritual is a choice, it is wanting 

to understand our environment, it is to 

try to understand others in other to love 

and respect them for who they are. It is 

knowing that no matter of what practice 

you decide to incorporate in your life, 

will be for better tomorrow, but mostly 

to have a positive attitude towards 

others. This all will help in the path of a 

more friendly and loving interaction with 

others. 

Being spiritual is your personal choice, 

it is letting yourself be carried away by 

the divine, by your intuition towards what 

your soul knows for sure, it is the most 

beneficial for you. It is to flow with this 

34

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT 

ETHNICITIES 

Tinga Mandinga, un espacio de diálogo creado por la Universidad Especializada de las 

Américas -UDELAS- tendrá una Edición Especial Mayo. Sintonícenos cada martes, a 

las 8:00 a.m. en Facebook, Twitter, Instagram y Youtube Tinga Mandinga. Programas 

pregrabados. 

Iniciarán conmemoración del centenario del 

fallecimiento de Gaspar Octavio Hernández 

1918-2018 

Con una conferencia magistral de José Carr, 

tres veces ganador del Premio Ricardo Miró, se 

dará inicio a un conjunto de actividades conmemorativas 

del centenario del fallecimiento del 

bardo panameño Gaspar Octavio Hernández, 

uno de los más eximios del siglo XX. 

En el marco del AfroFestival 2018 se dará el 

acto de Lanzamiento de la Escuela de Liderazgo 

Juvenil Afro “Aminta Núñez”. El evento se 

desarrollará el viernes 18 de mayo en el Hotel 

Panamá auspiciado por la Coordinadora Nacional 

de Organizaciones Negras Panameñas 

-CONEGPA- Entrada libre. 

La conferencia magistral se desarrollará el jueves 

17 de mayo, en la Biblioteca Nacional, a las 

7:00 p.m. El evento es parte del programa de 

actividades del Mes de la Etnia Negra 2018, y 

es auspiciado por el Observatorio Panamá Afro, 

con apoyo de Cultura en Movimiento. 

35 

36

ETHNICITIES 

3 RD ENCOUNTER OF THE 

AFRO-PANAMANIAN YOUTH 

ETHNICITIES 

In recent days, the 3rd Encounter of the 

AfroPanameños Youth Network focused 

primarily on sustainable development 

issues, ODS (Sustainable Development 

Objective), alternative economies focusing 

on the problems of the environment, 

2020 census, gender violence, culture 

and dignity as a right and current opportunities 

for development was successfully 

held in the community of Cacique in 

the province of Colón. 

What is sought now is that more than 

good jobs, our young African descent 

people concentrate their energies and 

thoughts on founding sustainable business 

models. 

Here we share some images of what this 

great event. 

41 38

ETHNICITIES 

4TH POLLERA CONGA 

FESTIVAL 

In the past days the 4th Festival of La Pollera Conga was held 

in Portobelo of the province of Colón. The community and its 

people were decked out full of splendor with the different typical 

Congo outfits. 

It was also carried out the boat parade, the parade of the polleras 

and the event had a stage with participations of the different 

Congo groups and more. 

Here we leave the photographs of the event, courtesy of Cris 

Lombana of Café10 Radio show, a cultural program that is 

broadcasted on Radio10. 

31 

32

Ethnicities Magazine_Abril-Mayo 2018_Volumen_22_English

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