Shades of Beauty: A conversation on intersectionality with Leslie Lluvet and Dayme Arocena

On the latest episode of ‘Shades of Beauty’ we talked about the intersectionality of race, gender, and other identities within the context of beauty and entertainment. Hosted by Najah Elisse and Zashia Santiago, this eye-opening episode also features special guests Leslie Lluvet and Dayme Arocena, who both shared their experiences navigating complex identities in their respective industries.

Shades of Beauty – New episode!

Before welcoming our guests in, Najah opened up with Zashia, kickstarting the conversation on the pressure to conform to a specific identity in a particular place: “When you are put in a space when you either have to be a woman, a boss woman, or you have to be soft, or you have to be Dominican, or you have to be African, sometimes you are forced to pick an identity in these spaces.”

The hosts then dived deep into the societal implications of showing off their bodies on social media and the importance of sharing authentic stories. Zashia Santiago revealed, “At the end of the day, I care a little, I do care about the image that my children see. But at the same time, I am a woman. I am allowed to be and feel sexy. I want to work out and feel like I look good and I want to be looked at.” She continued by giving a powerful message to all Afro-Latinas, women of color, and women in general: “Let this be a message to all of you, be unapologetically you. You can do it, just speak your mind and people that love you will love you.”

Najah added her perspective as well, encouraging everyone to embrace their unique stories: “Even though we are both Afro-Latinas, we have different experiences and stories. Your story doesn’t have to be everybody else’s. You have your own upbringing, your own things that you heal from, your own things that you have to learn. It’s very important to be able to tell our own stories in the spaces that we are in, authentically.”

Our Special Guests: Leslie Lluvet and Dayme Arocena

Actor and Director Leslie Lluvet

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A post shared by Leslie Lluvet (@leslielluvet)

Actor and director Leslie Lluvet, was born in Havana, Cuba. She and her family escaped the island in 1994, seeking freedom and a fresh start in Miami. Despite facing many challenges, Leslie’s unwavering passion for authenticity led her to write, direct, and star in the short film “90 Miles,” which later became a mini-series. She has also been in shows like “Ice” and “Work/Friends”, as well as provided vocals for shows like “We Are Alive: Lockdown” and “Far Cry 6.”

In our exclusive interview, Leslie opened up about the difficulties of being an actor and director:

“If I wanna be stressed out, I’ll be a director and that is what I’ll just do. I’ll never do acting and directing unless I have a co-director. I wanna be really creative and really out there and not stressed out. Believe it or not, acting is an escape. It makes me feel like a little kid on the playground, it makes me so happy. And those kinda coexist with each other. But directing is a lot more stressful because you have to have this huge ship and you’re the captain, and everyone is relying on you to answer all the questions. And you have to have the answers because if you don’t, everyone’s gonna freak out.“

She also shared the creative process behind her acclaimed short film: “I woke up one day and I was so tired of looking for money for the feature that I decided ‘I’m just gonna do the short film’. I’m gonna show people what I can do with a little bit of money and submit it to film festivals. So that’s what I did and it turned out really good.”

Afro-Cuban jazz singer Dayme Arocena

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A post shared by Daymé Arocena (@daymearocena)

Our second guest, Afro-Cuban jazz singer Dayme Arocena, just released her new album “Alkemi.” Described as Cuba’s “finest young female singer,” she began performing semi-professionally at eight years old and became the lead singer of the band Los Primos at 14. She is considered a musical prodigy, and is a trained composer, arranger, choir director, and band leader, in addition to being a singer.

In a conversation with Najah and Zashia, Dayme discussed her musical journey: “I was born a musician. My parents saw that in me and they took me to piano lessons and music classes until I got into the music conservatory. I haven’t done anything else but music in my life.” She then opened up about the challenges she faces in the industry: “My biggest challenge is to be a Black Cuban person in the Latin industry. Unfortunately, we don’t have big pop stars that look like me in Latin culture.”

Often compared to being a mix of both Celia Cruz and Aretha Franklin, Dayme revealed her recent shift to pop music: “I toured around 25 countries as a jazz performer until I realized the pop scene needed a person like me. I understood why I stepped away and tried to keep myself from the pop world.”

You can catch the full episode of Shades of Beauty on the LATV+ app to learn more about authenticity, diversity, and the fearless individuals navigating the intersections of identity in the beauty and entertainment world!