ChocQuibTown's Goyo Talks Afro-Latinidad And New "Fresa" Video

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-12 00:28

Gloria “Goyo” Martínez from the band ChocQuibTown talked to People CHICA about embracing and proudly representing her Afro-Latina identity. Representation starts with yourself. I was born in El Chocó, Colombia, and I am an Afro woman,”she says. “On a social level there have been many great contributions from people from the African diaspora - our rhythm, our music. I want to talk about that and carry who I am with pride.”

One of the band's missions is to empower Afro-Latinos. “Sometimes you don't achieve so many things being an Afro-Latino because you don't have the same opportunities, the same doors don't open for you,” she says. "But one of the most beautiful messages we try to convey is that in the midst of all the difficulties, you have to keep working hard to achieve your goals, you have to do what you love and do it well."

The band also represents Afro-Latinx culture with their music videos. Their latest, “Strawberry,” released Friday, “looks as if it was filmed in a village in Kenya or Nigeria,” Goyo says. “We wanted to show the connection that Afro-Latinos have with Africa, which is such a great continent that we identify with. We wanted to really focus on the visual part of the video and make it something global that remained true to the identity of the band, to that Afro revindication, because we are part of the African diaspora.”

“Fresa” shows Cupid trying to strike people with his arrow and make three men - who seem to have all the material riches and success in the world - fall in love, but “they never get to really connect with anyone because they are not real, they are too strawberry [shallow or arrogant],”Goyo says.

She is also thrilled about the band's new album, which will be out in March and includes collaborations with Sech, Zion, and Manuel Turizo. "It has a lot of urban sounds from different places, has a lot of Afrobeat sound," she says. "We are really motivated and happy with this album. We made it with a lot of love.”

This year, Amara La Negra nominated Goyo as her ahijada, to be included on People en Español's 25 Most Powerful Women List.

In her social media and through her fashion, she also embraces her Afro culture. "We are human beings and at the end we all come from the same origin," says Goyo. “But we are influenced by where we live and the stories we each carry. Africa is marked by slavery, but also by music, social movements, dance.” She feels empowered by her own reflection and hopes to transmit that confidence to others. "When you look in the mirror and you see your features you know where you come from," she concludes. “That motivates you to see people from la raza be more and more successful.”