This Latine Heritage month, our “MI History” series -headlights Latin celebrities when they share how their families’ immigration stories shaped who they are -and why telling these stories is crucial to strengthening immigrant societies.
When Yendry First broke out in 2019, she made a name for herself by mixing genres – from Dembow and R&B an español to experimental pop and bachata – everything delivered with raw emotions.
But from the beginning, the identity was central to her artists as well. Often wrong to be half Dominican and half Italian because she was raised in Italy and bears the surname Fiorentino, Yendry has always made it clear that she was born in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, to Dominican parents. Her Italian surname comes from her stepfather, who came into her life when she was 4 years old and raised her as her own.
“When I was growing up, I was annoyed by my story. You know you want to be cool and you are a teenager and I didn’t fit into Italy,” Yendry tells Popsugar. (Once) I started talking about it in my art, it was when I was, okay, this is a plus. I have much more life experience than maybe someone else who has just lived in one place all my life. “
Yendry embraces both cultures – the Dominican she was born into and the Italian who woke her up. It shaped who she is today; Immigrating to a new country at a young age meant having to learn a new language and a whole new culture while growing up surrounded by people who did not look like her. This made appropriate in a constant challenge. Now she reflects not only the beauty of being an immigrant but also on the urgent need for immigrants to be treated with more humanity and empathy today.
Yendry was only two years old when her mother left the Dominican Republic to start a new life in Italy. At that time, her mother was 26 and no longer with Yendry’s father, who had migrated to New York City with hope of making enough money to eventually reunite the family. For about a year, Yendry stayed in the Dominican Republic, cared for by her grandmother, aunt and uncles until her mother was stable enough to bring her to Italy. Her aunt – her mother’s sister – had already migrated with some friends in search of better opportunities and encouraged Yendry’s mother to do the same. When he came from a poor family who barely returned home, the move was a leap of faith against survival and the chance for something more.
“I think they were just trying to survive at that time. They didn’t really have a clear picture of the future,” says singer Popsugar. “My family is a very humble family. My mother had 13 siblings. No father. And so, my grandmother had to raise them all on her own. Some of them even went to other families. It was really hard and tough for them.”
While Yendry does not have lively memories from her move to Italy, she sometimes experiences flashbacks from the time-volatile moments from her early days when he participated in pre-K who has stayed with her.
“I have flashbacks of feeling” what the hell is this? “Why are all whites?” She shares. “I remember it. I was like,” Everyone looks different. “I remember having a feeling of being different and the look that people would give me.
When Yendry was 15 years old, she had completely assimilated in Italian culture and was completely fluent in the language. Even her mother had become fluid then, as they eventually began to speak mainly Italian at home to make their skills perfect. However, it was also during this period that Yendry began to feel a growing distance from her Dominican roots, especially because economic fighters prevented her and her mother from visiting the island as often as they would have liked. However, a telephone call from his biological father in New York was enough to get a reconciliation with his Dominican identity.
“I was about 15 years old when my father handed out and was like,” Hi, I want to get to know you. “I was like hell, now I have to learn Spanish.
The Dominican-Italian singer welcomed the chance to reconnect with her biological father and said she had no Harsel against him. She is deep empathy with the circumstances that had made both her parents immigrate to different countries in search of a better life, even though she was still very in love.
“Basically, they shared a little. It was just life. My mother told me he was also really poor. He was only 19 years old when I was born,” she says. “They were so young, and they both worked hard for their families to give. His mother, my grandmother, was in a wheelchair and his father left. He had four brothers – four siblings. They both tried to stress.”
Both Yendry’s parents had once dreamed of making enough money in the countries they had immigrated to, hoping that one day was reunited as a family. But the fight was real – especially for her father in New York City, where the cost of living was too high for him to support his family. Eventually, the two accepted that their roads had to share, and Yendry’s mother became a single mother full time. Over time, she found love again in Italy, where she built a new life and had two more children with Yendry’s stepfather.
Her parents’ story, combined with her own immigration journey, is therefore Yendry believes that there must be much more empathy and understanding of the reality of immigration.
“I just feel that it’s a little ignorant how people don’t like to go deeper into things. The most annoying question I am asked in Italy is:” Why did you come here? Why did you choose Italy? “And I am first and foremost I didn’t choose, she says.” Do you think that if I really had a choice I would go to another country? Do you think that if my mother had a choice, she would have given up her friends, family, country, culture, language, way of being, just to explore another country, just because she wanted to? I just understand how sometimes people don’t get that part. ”
Since the re -connection with his father, it has become central to Yendry’s life to immerse itself in its Dominican culture. When she was financially capable, she made it a priority to visit her family in the Dominican Republic at least once a year. She also travels to New York as often as she can to see her father and his side of the family – another place she admits feels at home.
Although it is fluid in Italian, Yendry’s Dominican Spanish is unthinkable. As her first language, it has always felt the most natural, which is why she chooses to make the most of her music in Spanish. Her Dominican heritage is not only woven in her sound but also in her style and music. She embraces her long curls and natural curves – features that she once struggled to appreciate when she grew up in Italy, where European beauty is not just the standard – that’s the norm. Today, her culture shines through in her artistry, with songs like “Ki-Ki”, a lively Dembåge and “Herrera”, a soulful Bachata, both of which have strong Dominican influence.
Two years ago, Yendry was once again in survival mode and immigrated from Italy to Los Angeles for his music career. While the adjustment was originally quite challenging, the experience has served her well. She also found love in LA.
“I’ve been here for two years, but a year properly with a visa. Before I was back and forth,” she says. “I was like,” Damn, I have to start from the beginning again. “It was traumatic.
Living as an immigrant in the United States has been given much the focus for Yendry. She has accepted that although she does not fully belong to any place – not Italy, the Dominican Republic, New York or Los Angeles – she is finally in peace with it. Instead, she has come to see that each of these places has a home for her.
“You have to accept like an immigrant that all your life will be looking for a home. And I feel that my entire life never felt that I belonged to Italy, but when I go to DR, sometimes I do not feel that I belong either because I grew up with another way of thinking, with another language and different music too,” she says. “I am constantly trying to feel at home, and as an immigrant I am always in search of it, and I am always longed for home. At first I struggled with it, and now I have just made peace with the fact that I will move a lot, and I am probably not meant to be in one place.”
Yendry’s experience has even influenced a new song she recently recorded, which she plans to include in her upcoming album, scheduled to be released sometime in 2026.
“When I became willing to share my story and willing to open up, it was when music worked for me. I feel people connect to real things,” she says. “I think my immigration story really worked as a fuel to write and start writing, and then from there I obviously want to grow more, and hopefully I get much more experience in life to be able to tell more stories and maybe even start telling other people’s stories.”
In fact, she believes that positive immigration stories are more important than ever – especially in the times we live in.
“They always felt super important to me, but today I feel we need these stories. I feel we are getting farther and farther from what makes us human in general,” she says. “I feel that we are not as empathetic as we used to be as human beings. I don’t know if it is the technology or the isolation that the technology takes us to, I do not know … but immigration has always happened.”
Johanna Ferreira is the content director of PS Juntos. With more than ten years of experience, Johanna focuses on how intersectional identities are a central part of Latin culture. Previously, she spent close to three years as vice editor at Hiplatina, and she has freelanced for many stores including Refinery29, Oprah Magazine, Allure, Instyle and Well+Good. She has also moderated and spoken in many panels about Latin identity.
