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An amazingly talented Afro-Latina singer named Sarah Palafox went viral after she posted a video on Instagram belting it out alongside a mariachi band to “Que Me Vas A Dar.” Palafox stage name is Sarah La Morena.
Palafox’s fluent voice is powerful and controlling and the mariachi members had a huge smile during her performance. She captioned the photo, “It’s the chamoy for me.. y arriba las tóxicas!” It has nearly half a million views on Instagram. She also uploaded the video onto Twitter where it has 4.4 million views and counting. Palafox’s bio says, “Con Dios, todo🙏🏾Afrolatina👸🏿 Zacatecas🌵”
According to The Shade Room, Palofox was born in southern California and was given up by her birth mother. She was adopted by a loving Mexican couple and they moved back to their native home of Zacatecas, Mexico. She grew up there in her early years and worked with her family on a ranch. She told Buzzfeed, Black and Latino people in the community questioned why they took her in, but all her parents “saw was a baby girl who needed a home and needed love.”
Naturally, growing up in Mexico influenced her taste in music. Palafox owes everything to her Mexican parents.
As amazing as her parents were, there was just some things they weren’t experienced with. Palafox told TSR her parents needed some help getting her ready for school. “I showed up to school a mess,” Sarah joked. “But one of the African-American moms would braid my hair, and when my mom asked for help, a Black teacher at school put together care packages with lotions and hair products.” By her senior year, She had joined a local group that played Cumbia and Norteño music. She still performs with the group.
Palafox told TSR,“It takes many people by surprise to see a Black woman singing Spanish music, let alone regional Mexican,” Unfortunately being an Afro Mexican woman has affected her everyday life negatively.
She told Buzzfeed, “In general, and in life, I know that I haven’t been considered for a lot of opportunities because of my skin color. People look at me and think that I don’t speak Spanish until I hear them say hurtful or racist things in Spanish. It really does hurt me, because I understand what they‘re saying, and it’s just sad to hear what people truly think and what they say when they don’t think that you understand.” There were several racist remarks left under Palafox’s video.
But Palafox isn’t letting the haters get to her. She knows that her voice and story is stronger than they can ever be. Sarah La Morena is wrapping up her first EP in regional Mexican music and eventually wants to venture out into English and other genres.
