Rebel Artist in Panama Launches Talent Agency Promoting Afro-Latinos
Posted on VidaAfroLatina.com on September 30, 2008

Although Panama is known for its diversity and is often referred to as a “melting pot” of ethnicity and culture, you wouldn’t know it by looking at our billboards, ads and commercials. Kari Coley Brown identifies this discrepancy as one impetus for launching Tal Como Soy (Just As I Am), a new Panamanian talent agency that promotes afro-latino artists and models of all shapes, shades, ages and sizes. 

Rebelling against eurocentrism, Tal Como Soy presents collaborative shows, creating spaces to share Afro-culture beyond fashion.  Her shows often include musical performances, art exhibits, dance and poetry readings. 

At the center of each presentation are women and men whose existence and creativity are reaffirmed by Tal Como Soy’s mission: “to promote pride in the roots and culture of the Afro-Panamanian community; to celebrate and increase the visibility of Panama’s vast ethnic diversity; and to advocate for a society that welcomes us to live freely and proudly just as we are.”

These artists, musicians, dancers, designers and real women-turned-models, proudly represent an unseen majority of our population.  Often brown and curvy, they boast a range of hair textures (locked, curly, straight, afro).  Many of these women had never even considered modeling before the agency started.  “You can see the boost in confidence some of them experience, as they realize they don’t have to fit into the mold that society creates for them,” says Coley Brown.

The agency hopes to bring about a three-fold transformation: to provide models with the positive affirmation they fail to receive from the images that surround them, to inspire greater consciousness about the importance of images that accurately reflect Panamanian ethnic diversity and to provide a platform for artists. 

It is from this Tal Como Soy platform that Coley Brown’s work has taken off, gaining both positive media attention and gracious community encouragement. She creates from the basic belief that “we are all kindred of the same mother—earth—and as such, we should embrace our oneness and the social responsibility that goes along with it, while paying respect to our vast cultural diversity.” 

In addition to being the founder and manager of Tal Como Soy, Coley Brown is the owner and designer of Kindred, a socially-conscious line of “artwear.” Kindred’s first line, Fusion, intricately blends culture through a variety of ethnic fabrics, symbols, styles and designs, often inspired by different time periods. While most of the items are African or of African influence, the designs integrate many influences, including elements like the Panamanian Mola.  Coley Brown explains, “The message is to promote cultural diversity at the same time as promoting harmony.”

In part, through Kindred, Coley Brown embraces and honors the diversity she finds within her own cultural heritage and background.  She says, “Within my family, we have Asian influence, we have family from Holland, and my dad’s side of the family has Cherokee roots.” From an equally diverse background, Coley Brown’s mother is an Afro-latina who grew up in the U.S. Her family had migrated from Jamaica, to Panama, to the U.S. 

As a result, Coley Brown resonates with those of us who fall outside the boxes, for whom even the term Afro-Latino does not capture it all.  In essence, she says, “The idea behind the name Kindred is to affirm that we are all family regardless of culture.”

By embracing unity beyond boundaries, Kindred has projected its future beyond this continent.  Of her future plans, states Coley Brown, “Very soon I want to launch two more lines within Kindred. Heritage, a line of traditional cultural garb, will help promote other craftswomen and men, who are also artists who are trying to provide for their family while preserving their cultural heritage. The Conscious line will introduce chic, enviro-friendly shopping bags and T-shirts with positive messages for social change. 

She doesn’t just talk about her basic belief in our oneness and inherent social responsibility. She lives it.  Says Coley Brown, “I donate a portion of all my profits to organizations [in Panama] that are close to my heart, including the Arnold Walters Foundation, Cuidad del Nino, PROBIDSIDA and Hogar Divino Nino.”

To learn more about Kindred artwear, visit www.1kindred.com.  To learn more about Tal Como Soy, visit their soon-to-be-launched website at www.talcomosoypanama.com

Marta L. Sanchez is an artist, poet and activist based in Panama City, Panama. Visit www.poetryandart.org for more information. She can be reached at  marta@poetryandart.org.