Interview, Justin Delinois

November 7, 2013
Audio

Justin Delinois (b. 1996) was born in Miami, Florida, to a Puerto Rican mother and a Haitian father. He moved to Rochester, New York, with his family when he was nine months old. As a teen, Delinois became involved with the local Hispanic community, performing with the Rochester Latino Theater Company and taking salsa dance lessons. In the 2010s, he attended McQuaid Jesuit High School, where he found that his fellow classmates were not as connected to their families and heritage as he was.

In this interview, Delinois expresses pride in being a Latino in Rochester and explains that in addition to speaking Spanish, he embraces his roots through Hispanic food and dance. He notes his work with the Rochester Latino Theater Company and the fact that his grandfather was a founder of the Ibero-American Action League. He also discusses the significance of family ties. Delinois elaborates on the topic of ethnicity, noting that his Puerto Rican identity was called into question when he visited the island. He ponders what it means to be American and what it means to be Afro-Latino.

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Decades

  • 1990s
  • 2000s