Afro-Mexican
From Freepedia
Afro-Mexican is one of the terms used to identify black Mexicans of African descent. Most Afro-Mexicans (also known as "Afromestizos") live in the coastal states of Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Veracruz.
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History
When the Spanish first arrived in Mesoamerica, they brought slaves with them. African slaves acted as partners with their Spanish masters in the conquest of New Spain, but they did not share in the spoils of victory with the Europeans because of their slave status (Carroll, 2001). African presence in the New World was strictly for labor. The decline of the Amerindian population, the dificulty of making Native Americans into slaves and later the prohibition of the Pope against making them into slaves, caused the Spanish to import large numbers of slaves from Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Senegal, Gambia, Nigeria, the Congo, and Angola. Some priests, like Bartolome de las Casas actually invoked humanitarian reasons to replace the native labor force with black slaves. Bartolome later retracted of his earlier opinions, after he saw how black slaves were treated. (Note: the slave system for the Native American population was replaced by other forms of forced labor.)
During the colonial period in Veracruz, Spaniards placed restrictions on contact between Africans and Indians to discourage the formation of alliances (Carroll, 2001). Intermarriage between the races, whose descendants were called Lobos in the caste system of New Spain and Zambos in other parts of Spanish America, was heavily discouraged by the Catholic clergy. Africans soon outnumbered Europeans, and the Spanish implemented many tactics to ensure that they remained the dominant racial group in Mesoamerica.
Spain was multiracial country, but with deep roots in the medieval concepts that put individuals in a strict order in the social system. When Spaniards came, they were tolerant about sexual relations with native or black women, but not about marriage with them. Since most of the arriving white and black people were male, most of them had to take Indian women, so there were mixes from the beginning of the colonial period. Blacks also encountered resistance from the indigenous people who did not want their communities to be permeated by those they considered outsiders, so sometimes blacks took Indian women by force, a fact that did not contribute to the establishment of good relations. Even so, the black population actually had a higher status than the Indian, who had the status of minors. Spanish autorities thus created a set of rules, so each mix had his place in the colonial society. From this era, there exists a series of paintings known as pinturas de castas that tried to classify and categorize each mix. Each mix had a set of rights and prohibitions. For example, mulatto women could not use silver jewelery, while mestizo women could, and so on. Eventually this system became too complex, and skin color became the standard of measurement of social level. Mexicans to date are still very sensitive to skin color, but not in racial terms, but as a sign of social status. In this system, the black population had some rights: Since 1527 married black slaves could buy their liberty at twenty pieces of gold and own lands, also they could have no public positions and black women could use no jewels.
Black population grow rapidly, By 1608 most white homes had at least one black slave.
In the early days of the colonial period, slavery was very harsh, and lead to rebellions. In 1609 there was a black rebellion in Veracruz, lead by Yanga and Francisco de la Matosa. After fierce battles, Yanga came to negociate a peace with the viceroy Luis de Velazco. A black comunity, called "San lorenzo" (Later renamed as Yanga) was founded and still exists, it would be the first of several. But this would not stop the hostilities. Spanish autorities supected a new rebellion, in 1612, they imprisoned, torture and execute 33 slaves (twenty nine males and four women). Their heads were cut and remained in the main square of Mexico City for a long time as an example.
Palenques
To escape the oppressiveness of slavery, some African Maroons escaped to the mountains and formed their own settlements. These settlements, called palenques, were comprised of mostly African males. The men in these settlements would periodically raid Indian villages and plantations for women and bring them back to their settlements (Carroll, 2001). One of these palenques is Cuajinicuilapa in the state of Guerrero, home to a small enclave of Afro-Mexicans whose ancestors were slaves who escaped from the sugar and coffee plantations along the coast and settled into the mountainous regions of Guerrero (Hamilton, 2002). Today the black residents of this town have a museum that displays the history and culture of their ancestors. They honor their African heritage through traditional dance and music.
The end of slavery
In 1810, the declaration of Independence of Mexico, called for the ban of slavery and the caste system, although this could not be done until the end of the independence war in 1821. This ban called for the death penalty for those who opposed the ban, so it was adopted. Even so, some forms of slavery like the tienda de raya (workers under perpetual debt) remained until the early 20th century, but this slavery was more oriented to indigeous population.
Current situation
Many Afro-Mexicans make their homes along the Costa Chica, a 200-mile long coastal region beginning just southeast of Acapulco, Guerrero, and ending at Huatulco in the state of Oaxaca (Vaughn, 2004). Most of the occupants of the Costa Chica derive their income from agriculture and fishing. The Costa Chica is also occupied by many indigenous groups, and Bobby Vaughn, creator of the website "Black Mexico," describes the relationship between the Afromestizos and the Indians as strained ([1], 2004).
In the last few years, more discourse has been taking place about why so little is known about the black population in Mexico. Since the nationalistic movement of the 1940s, the Mexican government states there is no distinction made between white, mestizo, mulatto, black, or Amerindian, so the population is classified on cultural bases rather than racial. As a result, most of the population is classified as mestizo, which is defined as someone who does not belong to an indigenous group (participate in their customs or speak their language). This criteria results in a much lower number of black and Amerindian population. Charles Henry Rowell, the editor of the Callaloo Journal, believes that the majority of the descendants of African slaves have disappeared through assimilation and miscegenation (2004). In the eyes of Mexican population, only people with very dark skin are actually called "negro", so the black population is not perceived as a community.
Lack of acknowledgement sometimes makes it difficult for Afromestizos to take pride in their African heritage. Many, like some blacks in the United States, have chosen to assimilate completely into Mexican society. A recent survey (2005) by some new media found that most of the people who show obvious black ancestry prefer to be considered [mestizo]s. There is also outside pressure from other Mexicans that causes them to assimilate. Because their existence is not widely known throughout Mexico and the rest of the world, they are often assumed to be illegal immigrants from elsewhere in Latin America (Sailer, 2002). There have been many accounts of Afromestizos being pulled over by the police and being forced to sing the Mexican national anthem to prove they are Mexican (Graves, 2004). This discrimination causes many Afro-Mexicans, if they are able, to conceal their African lineage.
Despite being faced with discrimination and poverty, there are some Afro-Mexicans who openly embrace their African heritage and want it to be recognized. In Coyolillo, located in Veracruz, they celebrate Carnival, which has its roots in African culture. In the village of El Ciruelo, there is a small group of blacks who have organized as Mexico Negro, and they are fighting to have a racial breakdown added to the census before the 2010 count (Graves, 2004), but INEGI, the response of the census does not record race. It is based only in socioeconomic criteria. More than 200,000 Africans were brought to Mexico during the time of the Spanish Empire (Sailer, 2002). Although it is not common knowledge, and they make up less than one percent of the population, the descendants of these slaves still live in Mexico today. They have been called "The third root" by anthropologist Gonzalo Aguirre Beltrán.
Famous Afro-Mexicans
Fiction
The comic character Memín Pinguín, whose magazine has been available in Latin America, the Philippines, and the United States newsstands for more than 60 years, is an Afro-Mexican. The Mexican Government issued a series of five stamps in 2005 honoring the Memín comic book series. The issue of these stamps was considered racist by some groups in the United States and praised by the Mexican audience who remember growing up with the magazine.
Artists
Actor Zamorita and singers Kalimba Marichal, Johnny Laboriel, and María del Sol are famous Mexican singers with African heritage.
Politicians
Heroes of the Mexican War of Independence José María Morelos y Pavón and Vicente Guerrero were both mulattos. Also, former governor of Quintana Roo Joaquín Hendricks.
See also
External links
- Africa's Legacy (with photos).
- The Black Mexico homepage
- Mexico's forgotten race steps into spotlight
- Black seminoles in Mexico
- Blacks in Mexico - A Brief Overview
Bibliography
- Carroll, P.J. (2001). Blacks in Colonial Veracruz. Austin: University of Texas Press.
- Graves, Rachel. (2004, July 3). "Ignored by society, black Mexicans deny their history". Houston Chronicle.
- Hamilton, K. (2002, May). "The Afro-Mestizo connection: Scholars team up to study Southern Mexico’s African roots". Black Issues in Higher Education, 19, pp. 44.
- Howells, C.H. (2004). Todos somos primos. Callaloo, 27, 11-14.
- Sailer, S. (2002, May), "Analysis: Mexico’s missing Blacks- Part 3". United Press International, available at the Shwing site.
- Vaughn, B. (2004), Black Mexico. Summary available at the Mexico Connect site.
