New Brand VELA NEGRA Honors Afro Cuban Culture Through Luxe Candles

Aisha Cort is a force who has spent her career sharing Afro Cuban culture and the Spanish language with her students, clients and colleagues. With Aisha, we’ve been lucky to help facilitate exchanges in Havana, at Howard University in Washington, DC, and virtual visits in between. Today, Aisha launches VELA NEGRA, a sustainable candle line honoring her Afro Cuban and Guyanese roots. Through the look, feel, name, and scent of the candles, she elicits Afro Cuba places and people close to her and her roots.

Afro cubanidad, like afro latinidad, is under celebrated and oversimplified part of Cuban culture. We are so thrilled to support the launch of VELA NEGRA, and you can check out scents like Ashé, Morena, Azúcar at thevelanegra.com.

CET: Tell us about your background and connection to Cuba.

AC: I am a first generation Cuban and Guyanese American, born and raised in an Afro-Latino community of Cubans, Hondureños, Costa Ricans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans and Guatemaltecans in Boston, Ma. My mother and uncle came to the US in 1963 via Operation Peter Pan. My grandmother arrived a few years earlier in 1959. By day I am a full-time Lecturer of Spanish at Howard University and I run the Spanish language coaching business, Hey Dr. Cort, as well as the candle line, VELA NEGRA. (I'm also the co-host of the forthcoming podcast, Negrometraje)

CET: How have you fostered your connection with Cuba throughout your life? 

AC: I've been traveling back to Cuba regularly since the age of 13 to spend summers with family in Havana with my grandmother. Now as an adult, I return 3-4 times a year to visit family and friends, as well as bring groups of language learners down for cultural immersion experiences. Away from the island, I stay engaged via various redes sociales and social and academic projects/initiatives that keep me connected to the island. 

CET: What do you wish more people knew about Afro Cubans?

AC: That the culture, heritage and legacy of Afro-Cubans is rich and multidimensional and NOT a monolith. 

CET: How did VELA NEGRA come to life? 

AC: I’ve had VELA NEGRA written down in my notebook for 5 or 6 years. I was getting sick of just picking up what was available at Marshall’s, instead of being intentional about what I bring into my home to bring peace and calm. And now with everything going on in the world, home is sanctuary more than ever and I wanted to help create that peace, but centered on what has peace into my home -- that's heritage. 

CET: What made you decide to celebrate and honor your Afro Cuban heritage through candles?  

AC: My heritage plays a major role in my day to day life and scent is such a powerful tool to invoke memory and connection. So candles were the perfect vehicle to honor my roots. I find that a lot of the things marketed toward us are not really for us or about us. They are empty products and there’s a disconnect that people feel. VELA NEGRA is deeply personal without being alienating. You don’t have to be Cuban or Guyanese to appreciate. I make them with my hands. Every step is deliberate and people can see and appreciate the quality and care that goes into each candle, and they really connect with that. 

CET: The names of the candles, like Ashé, allude to Yoruba influences. Can you tell us about the importance of the names of the candles? 

AC: The unique fragrances of VELA NEGRA (Ashé, Azúcar, Coquí, Morena, Rico, Wepa, Juana, Mima, and Papi) are inspired by various elements of my Afro-Cuban and Guyanese heritage. For example, our best seller Ashé, is deeply tied to Ifá (Regla de Ocha), but it is also a greeting and a blessing. You don't have to be part of the religion to understand that concept or receive ashé. It’s universal, but also deeply African and Afro-Cuban. My personal favorite, Morena, is a term of affection/ endearment that I've been called my whole life. The fragrance smells like a brown skinned girl - a blend of chocolate, vanilla, and almonds, but it's also infused with love and comfort. Each of the fragrances and their namesakes remind me of my heritage and places like, Cuba, Puerto Rico, that I have been lucky enough to call home.

CET: Who do you hope to inspire through your Afro Cuban candle business? 

AC: VELA NEGRA's ideal customer is universal. S/he/they are a youthful, environmentally conscious lover of home and luxury. They may be Black or Latino with regards to heritage, but they may also just have a genuine appreciation for handcrafted luxury and elegance, but that is what I want to share with my community. That embrace of family, that love, via scent. 

CET: You’re launching in what will be a historic summer in America. Why now? 

AC: VELA NEGRA launches at a time of intense uncertainties when home has been catapulted to the center of our lives for work, play, and communion. Also a time where we are questioning and renegotiating our understanding of heritage and identity and how those are reflected and celebrated in our daily lives. With these realities in mind, VELA NEGRA highlights and celebrates Afro-Carribean/Latinx identity in the Spanish-Speaking Caribbean and the English-Speaking Caribbean while standing on 3 core values: Quality, Subtle Luxury, and Sustainability.