| Total population |
|---|
| Estimated at 1% (whether full blooded or visibly significantly black)[1] |
| Regions with significant populations |
| Costa Chica of Guerrero, Costa Chica of Oaxaca, and small communities in Veracruz |
| Languages |
| Religion |
|
Christianity (predominantly Roman Catholic, with a minority of Protestants or and African tribal religions) |
| Related ethnic groups |
|
African people, Afro-Latin American, Afro-Brazilian and Mexican people |
People of African descent in Mexico is a term mainly used outside of Mexico to identify Mexicans of predominantly African ancestry. Now largely assimilated into the general population, Afro Mexicans historically have been located in certain communities, most notably in two coastal areas of Guerrero and Oaxaca (called Costa Chica), and in parts of Veracruz, Colima, Campeche, and Quintana Roo.
The term is not widely used by Mexicans or within Mexico itself because in Mexico, it is not customary to use adjuncts to one's nationality as is common in the English-speaking world. In other words, Mexicans do not use adjunct phrases such as African Mexicans, White Mexicans, etc. in their common speech; each group is respectively named by their race, ethnicity, nationality, or phenotype alone. Afro-Mexicans are usually just called "Negros" or "Morenos" (Spanish for Black).
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When the Spanish first arrived in Mesoamerica, they brought with them a small number Africans as servants. One of these was Juan Cortés, a slave who accompanied the conquistador Hernán Cortés in 1519. Mexican anthropologist Gonzalo Aguirre Beltrán estimates there were about six Africans who took part in the conquest of Mexico. They contributed to the conquistadors' success in New Spain, but they did not share in the spoils.
The Spanish restricted contact between the slaves and the Indians to discourage them from joining forces against them. Intermarriage between them was also discouraged by the Roman Catholic clergy. Those children born of mixed African and Indian parentage were called Lobos in the caste system of New Spain; they were known as Zambos in other parts of Spanish America.
Slavery in the early colonial period was often harsh and led to occasional resistance. In 1609 Gaspar Yanga and Francisco de la Matosa led an African revolt in Veracruz. After several fierce battles, Yanga succeeded in negotiating peace with the Spanish viceroy, Luis de Velasco. A black community of "San Lorenzo" (later renamed Yanga) was founded and still exists. However, this did not end all hostilities. The Spanish crown sent a mixed force of Indians, Creoles (Mexican-born Spanish), and Mestizos (mixed race Spanish and Indian) to pacify the area to end to the actions of the fugitive slaves.
Jesuit priest Juan Florencio Laurencio recorded the events. He said the Spanish troops who left Puebla to put down the rebellions in January 1609 numbered around 550, of which some 100 were Spanish soldiers and the rest recruits and adventurers.[2] In 1612 Spanish authorities feared a new rebellion was about to begin. They imprisoned, tortured and eventually executed 33 slaves (twenty-nine men and four women). Their heads were cut off and placed on display in the main square of Mexico City as an example.[3]
Some of the Afro Mexicans in Yucatán relocated to Belize, where there is an African presence. In recent years, Afro Mexican numbers been have increased by immigrants from Caribbean countries and even Africans who came as contract workers. Many Afro Mexicans have migrated elsewhere to improve themselves economically. Most went to the United States, where they are simply included in the general category of Hispanic Americans.
The black population of New Spain in the very early sixteenth century constituted only about one percent of the total.[4] However, by 1646 their number had grown to 35,089 due to the importation of many African slaves. The number declined in later years, and by 1742 only 15,980 remained.[5]
To escape the oppression of slavery, some African cimarrón slaves fled to the mountains and formed their own settlements. These were called palenques throughout the Spanish colonies in North and South America. The palenque in Veracruz was composed of mostly Afro Mexican males. The cimarrónes in the Veracruz region were a force of 100 fighters with firearms, plus 400 more armed with clubs, machetes, and bows and arrows; they would periodically raid Indian villages or rob merchants. They were led by an Angolan runaway slave named Francisco de la Matosa. Gaspar Yanga, who was already old, showed them how to use their superior knowledge of the ground to cause the Spanish enough casualties that they were willing to negotiate.[2]
Another palenque was Cuajinicuilapa in the state of Guerrero. It was home to Afro Mexicans descended from slaves who escaped from the sugar and coffee plantations along the coast and settled in the mountains of Guerrero. The villagers today maintain a museum that displays their history. They continue their African heritage by preserving traditional dances and music.
The 1810 declaration of Independence of Mexico called for the banning of slavery and the caste system. This was not accomplished until independence was accomplished in 1821. The ban called for the death penalty for those who violated it. Nevertheless, some forms of virtual slavery", such as the tienda de raya (workers under perpetual debt), continued until the early 20th century; the victims of this type of slavery were usually American Indians.
In recent years, discourse has taken place over why so little is known about the African-origin population of Mexico. During the nationalistic movement in the 1940s, the Mexican government argued that there is no distinction made between white, mestizo, mulatto, black, or Amerindian. Thus the population is classified on cultural bases instead of racial. Most of the population is classified as mestizo, a term used in Mexico only for those of just European and American Indian ancestry. Charles Henry Rowell, editor of the Callaloo Journal, believes the majority of the descendants of African slaves have become indistinuishable through assimilation and miscegenation (2004). In Mexico, only those with very dark skin and obvious African features are called "negros", and the Afro Mexican population is not viewed as a community.
Lack of acknowledgment makes it difficult for Afro Mexicans to take pride in their African heritage. Many have chosen to assimilate completely into Mexican society, and a survey in 2005 found that most who show obvious African ancestry prefer to be considered mestizos. There is also outside pressure from other Mexicans that causes them to assimilate. Because their existence is not widely known, they are often mistaken for illegal immigrants from Belize, Cuba, or elsewhere in Latin America (Sailer, 2002). There have been many reports of Afro Mexicans being stopped by the police and being forced to sing the Mexican national anthem (Graves, 2004). This discrimination [1] causes many Afro-Mexicans to try to conceal their African ancestry.
Despite being faced with discrimination and poverty, some Afro Mexicans openly embrace their African heritage and want it to be recognized. Afro Mexicans in Coyolillo, in Veracruz, celebrate Carnival, which has its roots in Africa. In the village of El Ciruelo, a small number of Afro-Mexicans have organized as Mexico Negro and are fighting to have racial categories added to the census (Graves, 2004). The National Institute of Statistics, Geography, and Data Processing (INEGI) [2] census does not record race. It is based only on socio-economic criteria.
Most homes in the region traditionally are round mud huts, whose form has been traced to what is now Ghana and the Ivory Coast. Nowadays, however, more popular is a one-room or two-room house with wall of either adobe or cement cinder block.
The economic base of the Costa Chica, like most of the rest of the countryside, is agricultural. These campesinos (peasant farmers) concentrate on cultivating corn, used mainy to make tortillas for their own consumption. Other crops are coconut, mango, sesame, and some watermelon.
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-Cuban. 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.
<ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named INMAGEN; see Help:Cite errors/Cite error references no text
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