R29 Somos

Where la comunidad Latinx is seen, heard, and accurately represented. ✨

257 Pins

·4d

Young Latines Are Mad About Unanswered Ceasefire Calls. Will This Impact the Way They Vote?

Fatima Nieves is a self-described “Lebtina.” With a Lebanese mother and a Mexican father, the 26-year-old nurse was raised at the intersection of both cultures and, as a result, finds herself deeply invested in Latin American and Arab current events. So Nieves has been emotionally distraught since October 7, 2023, when the militant Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise assault on Israel at the Supernova music festival near kibbutz Re’im, killing approximately 1,200 people and t...

a woman sitting on top of a white couch holding her hands up to her face

With Gap Year, Laila! Is More Than a Viral Moment — She’s Here to Stay

There is nothing average about Laila! — at only 18, the singer, songwriter, rapper, and producer is working toward becoming one of Generation Z’s next influential artists. Even at 4, the Brooklynite knew her purpose was to create music and become an entertainer. She vividly remembers around her second birthday, her father, Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def), gifted her a Yamaha drum pad set. While maybe not the most practical gift, it was an apt one. “He always knew from the begin...

a woman in a brown bodysuit posing for the camera with her hand on her hip

Lupita Nyong’o’s Roz Teaches Us the Power of Kindness in The Wild Robot

When you think of robots, what comes to mind? You might see flashy images of high-tech helpers programmed to tackle just about any task imaginable, whether it’s vacuuming floors, driving cars, or translating languages in real time. Whatever it is they’re working on, they’re focused on the job at hand and don’t get sidetracked by all the messiness that comes with being human. The Wild Robot, arriving in theaters on September 27, is turning those perceptions upside down. An adaptati...

a man wearing sunglasses and a red hat stands at a podium in front of an american flag

Latino Rappers Endorsing Trump Is Dangerous — but It’s Not Surprising

Celebrity endorsements have taken over the 2024 presidential election, and in the last month, reggaeton artists like Anuel AA, Nicky Jam, and Justin Quiles have joined the legions of rappers, wrestlers, and comedians who have endorsed Donald Trump. On August 30, Puerto Rican rappers Anuel and Quiles joined the Republican nominee onstage during a rally in Johnstown, PA, with the presidential candidate describing both musicians as “two amazing Puerto Rican musical legends.” Despite Trump...

Midnight Family Tells The True Story of Family-Run Ambulances in Mexico & It’s My Fave Medical Dr...

Marigaby Tamayo (Renata Vaca) is a paramedic, as is older brother Marcus (Diego Calva) and their father, Ramón (Joaquin Cosío). Marigaby’s younger brother, Julío (Sergio Bautista), also aspires to be a paramedic. Every night in Mexico City, the family of four embarks on a new adventure in their private ambulance, looking for emergencies where hurt people need urgent care and transportation to the hospital. Every episode of the Spanish-language Apple TV series Midnight Family is a thrilling un...

an old photo of two people dancing in front of a curtained background with one person holding his hands up

Vedettes Were the It Girls of Latin American Entertainment. Then the Industry Dumped Them

Rossy Mendoza did it all. Onstage at the cabaret clubs where she performed in Mexico City, starting in the 1960s, she danced several rhythms and styles, she acted, and she sang. Like all the showgirls before and after her, Mendoza was multiply talented, using her energy and artistic vision to deliver awe-inspiring performances for her audience. At the height of Mendoza’s career, she performed in cabaret, theater, film, and television, working tirelessly to entertain and showcase her irresisti...

a woman kneeling down with flowers in her hand and heels on the ground next to her

Tokischa Is a Rebel With a Cause

It was a quiet summer evening in Washington Heights when suddenly an excited crowd gathered in front of a bodega on Juan Pablo Duarte Boulevard and 163 Street. Dembow blasted out of a couple of chucheros (giant custom speaker boxes installed in cars) as Dominican rapper Tokischa and American A$AP Rocky shot a new music video, attracting a growing group of onlookers-turned-partygoers. When Tokischa wrapped up her evening of twerking on a crosswalk signal pole and lip-syncing to their unrelease...

There’s a Crisis of Missing Latinas. But the U.S. Refuses to Acknowledge It

On electrical poles, crosswalks, and the windows of small businesses throughout East Orlando are wilted posters of the same person: a petite woman with wavy, maroon hair and a bashful smile. Above her head reads in red: Missing Person. The public signs are tattered and smeared from Florida’s harsh sun rays and relentless thunderstorms, but the posters remain, a reminder that my sweet friend Paola Miranda-Rosa is still missing nearly three years after she disappeared. Like the street pl...

It’s Another Election Year & Presidential Candidates Are Still Dehumanizing Immigrants

During Tuesday night’s presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, immigration predictably showed up as a talking point. Among the breakout moments included Trump amplifying false rumors that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were abducting and eating pets — a statement city officials say there is no evidence to support. “They’re eating the dogs. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there,” Trump said of ...

a woman with long blonde hair is standing in front of a microphone and smiling at the camera

I’m in My Demure Era. Here’s How I Achieve the Look & Lifestyle

The word “demure” will never be the same now that Jools Lebron has alchemized it into something distinctly defined, yet deeply personal and dependent on the user. The Puerto Rican beauty influencer broke the Internet with her iconic video, “You see how I do my makeup for work? Very demure, very mindful. I don’t come to work with a green cut-crease.” Since then, “demure” has come to represent being mindful of your surroundings, looking cutesy, and being considerate of others, and for Latin...

a drawing of a woman sitting at a table with a cup and plant in front of her

I’m La Tía Loca & I Won’t Be Shamed Into Submission

The following is an excerpt from author Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez’s new book, Tías and Primas: On Knowing and Loving the Women Who Raise Us, out on September 10. Calling people crazy is not acceptable as we move toward destigmatizing mental health struggles. To pejoratively call someone crazy is to ignore very real systemic problems and further stigmatize real mental illnesses. I will use this word in that awful context to frame this tía’s reality among her family because as much...

two women dressed in black and red, one wearing a dress with lace on it

Why Do Some Of Us Still Not Feel Latina “Enough?”

During a Buzzfeed Pero Like interview, journalist Carolina Reynoso went off-script and told actor Jenna Ortega that she is Latina enough, prompting the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice star to hug the journalist and thank her for her words. “Jenna, I just wanted to say from one Latina to another, you’re Latina enough,” Reynoso said in the now-viral video. “I don’t care what anyone else says, especially, like, as someone in the industry. Like, you’ve opened so many doors for people like me, so ...

Why the Children of Immigrants Tend to Be More Anxious Than Their Parents

As a teenager working as a cashier at Target during rush hour, Cindy Portillo would struggle to catch her breath as her palms became sweaty and her heart raced. At the time, she could not name what was happening: an anxiety-induced panic attack. It was only at 21, after years of feeling this way and doing her own research that a doctor diagnosed her with anxiety disorder. “I feel like I’m the only one in my family who has ever experienced anxiety,” Portillo tells Refinery29 Somos. “Within...

a woman sitting on top of a window sill next to a window pane

Real Women Have Curves

Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants

Central American Authors Are Finally Having Their Moment — & I’m Thrilled

Growing up, I had no idea how much I craved to see myself and my culture in stories — on the big and little screens, in novels, and even in history books. Everything changed for me, though, in my early teen years when I discovered Honduran-American actress America Ferrera in Real Women Have Curves. It felt like a lightbulb had gone off in my brain where endless possibilities started to take shape. And as Ferrera’s star power grew with The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and later Ugly Betty...