Juan Carlos Obando has always dressed women the way he knows best: cross-culturally. He jokingly calls himself the “ultimate immigrant” because of the multiple points of reference he culls from the many places he’s called home. He also has what he refers to as a perpetual Spanglish accent — though his design language is decidedly universal.

Born in Barranquilla, Colombia, Obando’s upbringing was informed by the geographical intersections of the port city on the Caribbean Sea. This unique city is not only known for its import and export of material goods, but also the living, colorful cultures introduced by those who dock from around the world.

In the 1970s, big giant ships anchored in Barranquilla from Africa, and sailors brought music from the Congo and all of Western Africa that eventually flourished and merged with local sounds – providing the rhythm to Obando’s upbringing.

The LA-based designer fondly recalls growing up with his single father who took the young designer to dance halls where Afro-Caribbean music played all night. It’s here where his fascination with body language started. Witnessing in awe from the waysides, he studied the way in which two people physically connected through dance.

“I find body language extremely evocative because I think it expresses the ultimate desire of how something is being communicated,” Obando said. “Any capacity that you want to communicate desire using your body without words transcends any culture or socioeconomic background. Body language is so exquisite and a huge equalizer for all of us because it’s genderless and colorless.”

The proof is in Obando’s ethereal designs which exude Latin flair. His career in fashion is rather specific: he aims to see and share his immigrant voice in the dialogue of American fashion. His goal is to build a fashion house with the ethos of a perfumery, using intimacy and person-to-person conversation to communicate an everlasting narrative.

As he put it, “Some people develop cultural brands, and I think I have developed an emotional brand.”

With that same emotion, he also disbanded the misconceptions around Latin designers whose contributions are often pigeonholed into stereotypical themes like resort wear, ruffles and colorful prints. Fashion’s spectrum has been extremely myopic with regards to the definition of who a beautiful woman or person is, but Obando is leading by example.

“When you hear of Latinxs and attach the word immigrants, there’s a lot of sadness that comes with it,” he said. “It’s important to me to bring both sides of the story.”

For the designer, the recent resurgence of Latin music by artists including Daddy Yankee, J Balvin, Ozuna and Maluma are a great example of this because it has reminded the new generation of Latinxs their roots.

“These artists aren’t doing it in an old-fashioned, colonial way. They are doing it through an entire mash-up of the entire world using today’s happenings, making it extremely relevant to what you want to hear and what your life is surrounded by.”

For Obando, Latin Heritage Month is an extremely important reminder of the values and things that make us so interesting as people. Technology, tools and platforms at our disposal provide a modern-day advantage to story-tell the trajectories on behalf of our gente.

“There’s a new oral history that is happening right now because some of the new generation are in many ways not immigrants, but still immigrants,” said Obando before closing with a word of advice for me. “You have a voice that nobody had before, so continue to document our immigrant and American-born stories.”

Editor’s Note: This feature is part of an ongoing editorial series celebrating Latinxs in fashion during National Latin Heritage Month.  Click here to access the series.