Louisiana Creole

Desiree Rogers

Fats Domino

Tina Knowles

Veronica Porsche Ali

Louisiana Creole refers to people of various racial backgrounds who are descended from the colonial French settlers, African-Americans, and Native Americans from the time before the Louisiana territory became a possession of the United States through the Louisiana Purchase(1803).

In present Louisiana, Créole generally means a person or people of mixed colonial French, African American, and Native American ancestry. Some may not have every ethnic heritage and some have additional ancestries. Read more here

Guadeloupean, Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe It is an overseas department of France. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe is also one of the twenty-six regions of France (being an overseas region) and an integral part of the Republic. As part of France, Guadeloupe is part of the European Union; hence, as for most EU countries, its currency is the euro.

Guadeloupe has always had a rich literary production prolonged today by many living writers, poets, novelists, essayists and journalists, among them Mesdames Maryse Condé and Simone Schwartz-Bart, M. Ernest Pépin. read more

Cuban, Cuba

The Republic of Cuba (pronounced /ˈkjuːbə/; Spanish: República de Cuba, pronounced [reˈpuβlika ðe ˈkuβa] is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is the most populousinsular nation in the Caribbean. Its people, culture, and customs draw from diverse sources, including the aboriginal Taíno and Ciboney peoples; the period of Spanish colonialism; the introduction of African slaves; and its proximity to the United States.

The name "Cuba" comes from the Taíno language and though the exact meaning is unclear, it may be translated either as "where fertile land is abundant" (cubao), or as "great place" (coabana). Additionally, there is the claim that native inhabitants called the island "Cubagua" in the Columbus era starting in 1542.

According to a 2001 national census which surveyed 11.2 million Cubans, 1.1 million Cubans described themselves as Black, while 2.8 million considered themselves to be "mulatto" or "mestizo". Thus a significant proportion of those living on the island affirm some African ancestry. The matter is further complicated by the fact that a fair number of people still locate their origins in specific African ethnic groups or regions, particularly Yoruba, Igbo and Congo, but also Arará, Carabalí, Mandingo, Fula, Makua, and others. read more info here

Mexican, Mexico

African Mexicans, now largely assimilated in the general population, have historically been located in certain communities in Mexico. They are currently found in the coastal areas of Guerrero, Oaxaca, Michoacán, Veracruz, Campeche, Quintana Roo, and Yucatán.

When the Spanish first arrived in Mesoamerica, they brought free Africans with them. Among them was Juan Garrido, a conquistador who belonged to Juan Ponce de León's entourage. Garrido was born on the West African coast, the son of an African King. Garrido went on to join Hernando Cortés in the Spanish conquest of Mexico. These African contributed to the conquistadors success in New Spain, but they did not share in the victory because of their status. Read more info here

Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico (pronounced /ˌpwɛrto ˈriːko/ or /ˌpɔrtə ˈriːkoʊ/), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Spanish: "Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico"), is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of theDominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands.

Puerto Ricans often call the island Borinquen, from Borikén, its indigenous Taíno name. The terms boricua and borincano derive fromBorikén and Borinquen respectively, and are commonly used to identify someone of Puerto Rican heritage. The island is also popularly known as "La Isla del Encanto," which translates in English to "The Island of Enchantment." source

The Puerto Rican musical genres of bomba and plena are of African and Caribbean origin respectively and danced to during parties and African-derived festivals. Many Boricuas who claim West/Central African ancestry are descendants of enslaved Congo, Igbo and Yoruba from Africa. After the abolition of slavery in 1873 and the Spanish-American War of 1898 a number of African Americans have also migrated and settled in Puerto Rico.

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African history in Puerto Rico

Brazilian, Brazil

"Brazil (Portuguese: Brasil), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: República Federativa do Brasil), is a country in South America. The country has the largest population of African descent outside of Africa."

"Brazil obtained 37% of all African slaves traded, and close to 4 million slaves were sent to this one country. Starting around 1550, the Portuguese began to trade African slaves to work the sugar plantations once the native Tupi people deteriorated."

"The Africans brought to Brazil belonged to two major groups: the West African and the Bantu people. The West African people (previously known as Sudanese, and without connection with Sudan) were sent in large scale to Bahia. They mostly belong to the Ga, Adangbe, Yoruba, Igbo,Fon, Ashanti, Ewe, Mandinka, and other West African groups native to Guinea, Ghana, Benin, Guinea-Bissau and Nigeria. The Bantus were brought from Angola, Congo region andMozambique and sent in large scale to Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, and the Northeastern Brazil."

"The blacks brought to Brazil were from different ethnicities and from different African regions. Gilberto Freyre noted the major differences between these groups. Some Sudanese peoples, such as Hausa, Fula and others were Islamic, spoke Arabic and many of them could readand write in this language. Freyre noted that many slaves were better educated than their masters, because many Muslim slaves wereliterate in Arabic, while many Portuguese Brazilian masters could not even read or write in Portuguese." Read more here / source

Colombian, Colombia

The Black African presence in Colombia dates back to Colombia's colonial period. Afro Panamanians from the colonial period are also related to many of these Afro Colombians. Black African slaves began being imported by the Spaniards in the first decade of the 16th century. By the 1520s, Blacks were being imported into Colombia steadily to replace the rapidly declining native American population. Blacks were forced to work in gold mines, on sugar cane plantations, cattle ranches, and large haciendas. Black African labor was essential in all the regions of Colombia, even until modern times. continue reading here