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Joan Small wants to be clear about her identity as a model. The Afro-Latina cover girl opened up about her introduction to the modeling world – and the trouble that came with it. “I came to an industry that immediately pigeonholed me. They saw me as the Afro-descendant model - not even as a mix- they saw me as the black girl,” she told Vogue Mexico. “They didn't see my different layers; That of being Latina or that of being of African descent, they only saw me from the outside. At the time there was no inclusion, I had to push myself to make a change and say, 'I am much more than just this.’”
She continued: “Whenever they referred to Latin, I was last seen by my skin tone . I was always caught up in the specter that my skin was too light to be black but too dark to be Latina. Now, everyone uses the term 'Afro-Latin' but when I started that it didn't exist.”
After years navigating the industry, the supermodel shared that although there were some bumps, she wouldn’t change her experience. "I don't think I necessarily would have done something different at the beginning of my career because I think that made me what I am now,” she said.
“However, I think the only thing that might change is trust in my instincts. In that process I was a little iffy because I was younger and surrounded by many adults who I thought knew more than I did.” As she graces the cover of the magazine with fellow Boricua Bad Bunny and Colombian superstar J Balvin, the 31-year-old realizes the beauty in those opportunities. "I think when you think about different industries - music, film, fashion - you realize that when you come from a different context, everything is possible."