Mexico's lost culture: With little knowledge of the history of slavery in the region, Afro-Mexican

[pampango]

slips away.

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/mexico/100727/oaxaca-africa-culture

The common story goes that somewhere off Mexico's southwest coast, a Spanish slave ship crashed in the 1600s. Its human cargo fled to shore, adapting to a new life of freedom. Hundreds of years later, descendants of these ships are the reason for the distinctly African features of villagers living throughout what today is known as the Costa Chica.

Though Oaxaca is highly arable and rich in resources, the heat, insects and disease made it an undesirable place to live for Spanish conquistadores. Thus, as early as 1519, they moved slaves from Veracruz — Mexico’s primary port on the Caribbean coast — to labor on the haciendas and plantations on the lush lands slightly inland from the coast. Meanwhile owners opted to live in more hospitable regions.

American anthropology professor Bobby Vaughn, who runs the website Afro Mexico, says research shows that Afro-Mexicans outnumbered those of European descent up until 1810 and by a factor of roughly 2:1 until the 1700s. As Spanish rule in the region weakened and eventually fell with Mexico’s War of Independence (1810-1821), the former slaves slowly established their own settlements near their former estates, some of which remain today.

Despite lack of formal support, traces of African culture remain in pockets along the coast. Ties to food and language seem to have largely disappeared. But the presence of musical instruments such as the bote and cultural events such as the Baile de Diablo trace back to traditions brought from Africa. Yet, overall, residents know little about the unique heritage of their region. Many rural areas offer little to no education about black history in Mexico, despite its visible presence.

“I’ve never thought that much about it,” said David Perez, a student near San Jose del Progreso. “It's true, a lot of us are blacks near here, but we don’t know why. It's not something that we talk about.”

“No one has the mentality that they are black here,” said Norga, “they don’t celebrate it … There is no one on this coast who knows anything about the history of it.”

[hobbit709]

1. Interesting.

[lunatica]

2. This isn't unknown in Mexico

When I studied Mexican history 40 years ago the fact that the Spanish imported African slave labor was covered. They did mix with the indigenous people, and their contribution to music is known. That's as far as my knowledge goes because the history course was about all of Mexico's history.

[Scurrilous]

3. Thanks.

K & R :thumbsup: