AfroSpanish identity from an ‘experiential’ perspective: Desirée Bela-Lobedde in conversation with Dosinda García-Alvite

Abstract

In this interview Desirée Bela-Lobedde talks about some of the themes she examines in her book Ser mujer negra en España (2018) [Being a Black Woman in Spain], where she writes about growing up as a racialized child in Spain, the erasure of African subjects’ presence in Spanish national history and how structural racism still exists in Spain, affecting all institutions, including the school system. The interview took place in New York on March 7, 2024. It was conducted in Spanish and subsequently translated into English by the interviewer.

Keywords:

• Afro-descendants
• aesthetic activism
• racism
• intersectionality

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Dosinda García-Alvite

Dosinda García-Alvite (Ph.D., University of Michigan) is Associate Professor of Spanish at Denison University. Her research and teaching interest focus on representations of migration, historical memory and gender issues in contemporary Spain, with special attention to Spain-Africa connections. She has published over thirty articles and book chapters on these topics.

Desirée Bela-Lobedde (Barcelona, 1978) is a Spanish writer, communicator, and anti-racist feminist activist of Equatorial Guinean descent. She writes for Público.es and authored several books detailing her life as a Black woman in Spain. Bela-Lobedde promotes Afro identity from a personal perspective and empowers Afro women through personal image. Since 2011, she has engaged in aesthetic activism via her blog, YouTube channel, and workshops on skin and hair care, aiming to normalize perceptions of racialized women. Her work addresses systemic racism, white privilege, and intersectionality in feminist movements.