“Contemporary Latino culture is underrepresented and consistently confused with cliches that haunt more commercial representations,” says Helado Negro. “My interest in creating this song was always a private one, a possible dialogue between me and a very young me. Singing me to sleep after a long day, letting me know that it's okay to be young, Latin and proud.”

The son of Ecuadorean immigrants, Brooklyn-based Helado Negro (aka Roberto Carlos Lange) was born and raised in South Florida. His new single, the understated cri de coeur “Young, Latin and Proud,” speaks optimistically about the future to America’s diverse Latin diaspora.

Lange, who recently toured with Sufjan Stevens and indie rockers Beirut, asked his brother to do the cover art for the single, which pays homage to the type of lettering he remembers seeing on airbrushed jean jackets while growing up in the small city of Lauderhill in the 1980s. “The personal, handmade style we crafted reflects the song's raw tone,” he says. “The vibrant colors drawn from the flags of Latin American countries are layered on dark undertones to communicate both Latino pride and struggle.”

Ananda Pellerin is a London-based writer and editor