Why We Need Afro-Latin@ Theatre

HowlRound: When my play The Stories of Us was chosen for the Teatro Vivo's annual Austin Latino Play Festival 2015, I was shocked to say the least. My play was Black—Blacker than Black. It called out African Americans, Latin@s, and Afro-Latin@s for the broken bonds between us, racism, and many things that we fail to say in normal conversations. I confided in a colleague about my nervousness about work being in that space and he told me, "It's needed there." Although I am not Afro-Latin@, I identify with Afro-Latin@ experiences. Being a Black American and speaking Spanish in Texas, I am often met with the question "You know Spanish?" or "How did you learn Spanish?" These questions reflect the lack of exposure to Afro-Latinidad and the hidden erasure of these stories. Why is my language ability even a question?