It’s in the heart of Bushwick that I meet Dominican-American model Dilone at María Hernandez Park, on the corner of Suydam Street and Knickerbocker Avenue, a neighborhood with undeniable Latin roots.

Men play court volleyball while boleros and rancheras blast from a wireless boombox. Across the park, El Salvadoran hole-in-the-wall Las Pupusas de Amanda is setting up shop for the dinner rush, and right next to it, neighborhood-famous Doña Gloria serves Ecuadorian morocho from her cart she wheels about.

Dilone’s walking her part-husky dog Jim with her effortlessly cool and androgynous style. She’s wearing a Y/Project blazer with Monse jeans and mentions her close relationship with creative director Fernando García, who is also Dominican.

She tells me that it’s serendipitous that I’ve reached out. The conversation of Latinidad has been brewing within her as of recently, triggered off a couple conversations she’s had with her good friend Jackie Cruz who plays Flaca on Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black.

Dilone is first-generation American, born to Dominican parents who settled in Long Island, New York to raise their family: a total of 10 children under one roof.

“I’ve been working since I was 12 years old. My parents instilled hard work ethics in me and all my brothers and sisters, but mostly the women,” she said. “Nothing is going to come easy to you. We’re going to have to work twice as hard to get these opportunities and keep them.”

Both her parents worked three jobs each, and for the most part, she was under the care of her sisters who helped raise her. We both take a moment to revel in awe of the power of Latin women, who many times assume the role of caretaker and raise children.

As the only Afro-Latina going to a private school with mostly children of Irish descent, for many of her peers, she was the reference point of non-white culture, although she never sought out to be. This responsibility was felt heavily at times like Black History Month, and made her feel uncomfortable to the point she remembers wishing she were white so the unwarranted spotlight of being an other would go away. She laughs about that memory now, knowing now she’d never wish such a thing.

“If you understand the history of Dominicans, our ancestry, and where we came from, we are black and Latin. But what did I know about America’s Black history growing up with immigrant parents? They didn’t teach me that,” she said. “I grew up in Dominican culture, where my parents raised me with the loud Latin music, the dancing bachata, habichuelas con dulce, mad avocado, and mangú.”

Since then, she learned about Black history in America in school, but she found it confusing that Latinxs were never talked about or included in her textbooks.

It wasn’t until her parents could no longer afford private education and started public high school that she met Sra. Almanzár, the person she credits for putting her rebellious nature in check and helping her graduate. She also opened Dilone’s eyes to the Latin culture in ways she hadn’t known before.

Almanzár organized Spanish Club, which put on a Latin Heritage Night for the school and community. Dancing has always been a part of Dilone’s life, and the showcase provided an outlet while celebrating Latinidad through salsa, merengue, bachata, mambo and samba dance.

Dilone goes back to her alma mater to this day to watch the students and mentor them to continue the legacy she left behind, and is grateful that she found the space to discover her culture that she didn’t have in Catholic school. “I grew into liking Dominican, but I didn’t always feel that way.”

Representation in the modeling industry was small. For Dilone, it was pioneered by Joan Smalls whose face she saw for the first time in high school. Besides her, the only place Dilone saw people like Smalls was on Univisión or on telenovelas.

Now, there’s a presence and rise of Dominican models like Lineisy Montero, Ysaunny Brito, Hiandra Martinez, and newcomer Ámbar Cristal, who made her debut opening the Louis Vuitton show earlier this month.

But, beyond that, Dilone hopes for this to keep snowballing into a larger effect. On top of being a representative for Afro-Latinas, she’s also queer. She remembers going back and forth about her feelings for women because of the fear or judgment, and putting herself at risk for losing opportunities as a result.

Dilone thanks her older intersex cousin, Dominican-American filmmaker Arisleyda, who paved the way for her in her own family to accept her sexuality, and prove that there are successful Latinxs doing amazing things. Because lots of our traditions and history aren’t written and passed orally, she plans to take a trip with Arisleyda back to the DR to get closer to her roots and learn more about her heritage.

“Being Afro-Latina, being queer as f*ck, and being a woman – I didn’t have that representation growing up,” she noted. “These last few years, I’ve come to accept myself: who I am, where I’m from and where I want to go while still being true to myself.”

Now, engaging with the Latinos in the fashion community and at large is one of Dilone’s main priorities.

She’s married her passions to volunteer with at-risk Black and Latin youth teaching dance in Bed-Stuy, and although her Spanish is a little rusty, a recent encounter with Mexican-American actress Eva Longoria, who learned to speak it later in life, gave her hope of picking up the language.

“It’s so important to celebrate this month because our parents work hard,” she said. “Our ancestors laid the groundwork for us to be able to be here today so I can be as successful as I am as a model.”

For Dilone, this month also serves as a reminder to her that these opportunities weren’t here for us yesterday, and there’s still a long way to go.

“As a community, we can do it faster and brighter, and show the youth that there is a place for them in this world and they can find representation. The sky’s the limit.”

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