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September 17, 2009

Blacks in Mexico Seek Government Recognition

The first town of freed African slaves in the Americas is not exactly where you would expect to find it - and it isn't exactly what you'd expect to find either. First, it's not in the United States. Yanga, on Mexico's Gulf Coast, is a sleepy pueblito founded by its namesake, Gaspar Yanga, an African slave who led a rebellion against his Spanish colonial masters in the late 16th century and fought off attempts to retake the settlement. The second thing that is immediately evident to vistors who reach the town's rustic central plaza: there are virtually no blacks among the few hundred residents milling around the center of town. Continue reading here.

1 comment:

Fly Girl said...

Mexico, like most of Latin America is very conflicted about it's African heritage. President Fox has acknowledged African ancestry as part of the national Mexican make-up but treatment of Afro-Mexicans is horrible and they remain invisible and powerless. It's the same in Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica and Dominican Republic. There needs to be an Afro/Latin unbrella organization to address this issue.

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