Never forget where you came from.
Amara La Negra is the ultimate multi-hyphenate, and even as the 31-year-old artist continues to make a name for herself as a singer, performer, podcast host, model and reality TV personality, she remains most proud of her roots—more specifically, her Afro-Latina heritage.
As Amara exclusively shared during E! News' Ones to Watch video series in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, "I am proud of being Afro-Latina, Latina, Dominicana, Black…as a matter of fact, I'm just proud of being myself."
"To check-mark all those boxes, it means sound, it means rhythm, it means flavor…It means culture," Amara continued, noting that the words "family" and "unity," along with the idea of resiliency, also come to mind. "It means so many things to me… I'm just proud of who we are and I'm proud that I am part of that category of that family of the meaning of Hispanic Heritage Month. I'm just honored to be able to embrace it."
And embrace it she does—even in the face of colorism and racism, which she encountered on season one of VH1's Love & Hip Hop Miami during a conversation with co-star and record producer Young Hollywood. Criticizing Amara's appearance—specifically, her afro—Young Hollywood told her that she should look "a little bit more Beyoncé, a little less Macy Gray."
"So, I can't be elegant if I have a 'fro? Is that what you're saying?" Amara asked the producer, to which he replied, "Yeah, I guess so."
Young Hollywood has since apologized and "educated himself," Amara revealed during the Oct. 6 interview. Looking back, she's glad the conversation aired.
"I'm grateful for that moment because that moment gave me the possibilities of starting the conversation for the Afro-Latino community for those who didn't know about us, for those that didn't know that we exist, for those that didn't know that there was Black people that spoke Spanish," Amara explained. "Thanks to that moment, a lot of people became inspired, motivated to get to know about their backgrounds, to get to know about their race, to get to know about their culture, and now they feel proud of it."
Amara still stars on Love & Hip Hop Miami, which is currently in its fourth season and "definitely different from anything else that I've ever done," she teased before making the exciting announcement that she's getting her own TV show.
"I've been working on it for like the past two years, on the low," Amara told E!. "And it's finally coming true."
There's no slowing down in the meantime, though. Whether Amara's running the real estate investment company she started in 2020 or hosting her Exactly Amara podcast from iHeartMedia's My Cultura network, she definitely remains one to watch.
Watch her complete interview in the above clip!