9 Boricua Instagram Creatives Whose Feeds You’ll Want to Scroll All Day

Puerto Rico, an island gem in the Caribbean, was one of the first to be colonized by the Spanish and one of the stops along the slavery train of the 16th-19th centuries. This unfortunate history has yielded a blended culture that includes diverse races and at least two languages spoken on the island, Spanish and English. Puerto Rico’s uncomfortable position as a demi-state of the USA has not stopped a generation of impressive artists and creatives who use their straddle-position between two places to enhance their work. Las boricuas, whose name alludes to the aboriginal name for the island, Borinquén, are especially interested in preserving the color and sound of their homeland, even as their creations travel the world. For those of us not able to chase them down in person, we can follow their work through their fascinating IG accounts.

5Valerie Moreno

Valerie Moreno is not interested in leaving the island just yet. Instead, her vision is to capture as many afros in Puerto Rico as she can. @afrosinsanjuan is a tribute to the curls and waves of African hair, an ongoing roundup of the beauty of natural hair.