1 Afro-Latinos in Mexico When one thinks of the diverse ethnicities found in Mexico, Afro-Mexicans probably come last in mind because of their minority status among the country's population. The AfroMexican population has for many years been overlooked in Mexico. According to the data collected in Mexico’s 2020 census, 2.5 million people in the country identified themselves as Afro-Mexican or of African descent. Despite being widely believed that Veracruz has the largest black population in Mexico because of its history as an instrumental slave port, most AfroMexican populations are found in the Costa Chica region, which entails the Caribbean coastal regions of the southern states of Guerrero and Oaxaca. History of the Afro-Mexicans The Spanish authorities significantly forced the migration of more than 250,000 enslaved Africans during the 30 years of Spanish conquest and rule (Minorityrights.org, 2015). Most of the enslaved Africans died on the way in the ships' holds, while others succumbed to death because of the unfavorable conditions of slave labor. At the start of the 16th century, Mexico had the largest African slave population among the Latin American countries. In fact, the population of the Africans in Mexico was more than that of the Spanish population throughout the colonial period until 1810. Despite a general decrease in the number of slaves imported in Mexico at the start of the 18th century, Spanish authorities never stopped importing slaves from Cuba during the colonial period. The slaves were distributed throughout Mexico, working in various industries, a thing that resulted in them mixing with the indigenous and Spanish populations (Minorityrights.org, 2015). The enslaved Africans were never happy with colonization, and thus they resisted captivity by setting up a fortified place or escaped slave communities in the mountains as well as
2 in other remote locations across the country. The one established in the state of Veracruz by Gaspar Yanga in 1570 was the most significant of these communities. It managed to exist for almost 40 years without being invaded by the Spanish (Minorityrights.org, 2015). The community was originally known as San Lorenzo de los Negros. However, in 1932, it got renamed in honor of Yanga. Furthermore, the Afro-Mexican soldiers also played an instrumental role in overthrowing Spanish rule during the war of independence (Minorityrights.org, 2015). It is widely believed that The Dark Army, popularly known as The Ejercito Moreno of Father Hidalgo, was responsible for the initiation of the independence struggle. General Vicente Guerrero, one of the black revolutionaries, even managed to become the second president of Mexico after it attained its independence. The Afro-Mexican population or the people of African descent in Mexico played a significant role in the country’s early economic growth (Minorityrights.org, 2015). For instance, they worked in urban professions, provided skilled labor in the silver mines, and developed and cultivated farmland. That notwithstanding, the people of African descent also worked on cattle ranches and sugar plantations, thus contributing significantly to the early economic growth of Mexico. Furthermore, a look at the many cultural traditions of Mexico also reveals more of the African’s influence in that country. Much of the Mexican cuisine exhibits rich African influence given the use of peanuts, plantain, and such tropical fruits as sweet potatoes, taro, Malanga, and cassava. However, the most significant African legacy in the country, without a doubt, originates from the music and dance (from Veracruz's son jarocho style of music to the Danza de los Diablos along the Costa Chica, as well as the use of the typically Afro-Mexican musical instruments like bote and
3 guijada). While bote is a friction drum, guijada is a percussive made from a donkey's jawbone. One of the most important ways used by the modern Afro-Mexicans to reclaim their roots is dancing. The Oaxacan Obatal dance troupe mastered the dances of their African ancestors on YouTube and is today performing such dances throughout the country. The Modern-Day Afro-Mexicans Given that most Afro-Mexicans are technically afromestizos (mixed-race) because of centuries of inter-racial marriage, black Mexicans use various terms to define themselves as such. Such terms include afromexicano, afrodescendiente, moreno (dark), and negro (black). In fact, most of the non-mixed-race black Mexicans today tend to be immigrants from Africa or the Caribbean (Vaughn, 2005). International identification struggles aside, Torre-Cantalapiedra, and Sánchez-Soto (2019) pointed out that despite influencing many aspects of the Mexican culture and Yanga being recognized as a national hero, Afro-Mexicans and their contributions in the contribution in the country largely remain invisible. Just like in such other countries as Argentina, African descendants in Mexico are barely conceived of or included in contemporary politics. As this population continues to move from such high concentration areas as Costa Chica to other regions across the country, Afro-Mexicans are normally mistaken for immigrants from Cuba or Belize (Cocking, 2019). According to Ferguson (2019), the government of Mexico, in 2005, initiated the first-ever national survey on discrimination in the country that featured questions on discrimination against eight different groups. However, the existence of or discrimination against Afro-Mexicans was not mentioned anywhere in the study. Further, in cases where the African influence has been acknowledged in government initiatives in the country, it has only been through a historical lens, which has made the contemporary situation of the people of African descent not clearly visible.
4 Most of the people belonging to the Afro-Mexican population still live in poverty. They are often isolated in rural communities that feature negligible education, health, and sanitation services. Inadequate road infrastructure in areas mostly occupied by this population, like Costa Chica, adversely affects the area's economic activities. In addition to the declaration of the Pinotepa region as a national reserve, which resulted in the illegalization of logging activities, the lack of roads has made it difficult for the Afro-Mexican community to build their shelter or sustain themselves economically. The primary sources of income for modern-day Afro-Mexican include domestic work, agriculture (mostly for their own consumption), and fishing (Minorityrights.org, 2015). The fact that most Afro-Mexicans come from the country's poorest regions makes it too difficult for them to get adequate primary and secondary education. Thus, very few of them manage to find their way to the institutions of higher education. The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against, in July 2018, expressed great concern over the ongoing stereotyping and discrimination against groups that included AfroMexican women and in practices that entail forced evictions that affect such women. Furthermore, in her publication Is Mexico beyond mestizaje? Blackness, race mixture, and discrimination, Sue (2021) suggests that the African presence in the country is normally trivialized or denied, and in cases where the popular culture depicts black people, they mostly seem to be ridiculed or caricatured. Among the Latin American countries, Mexico has continued to produce a large percentage of Spanish-language television programs, which have continually presented limiting and one-dimensional stereotypical and sexualized images of women of African descent. For instance, various civil rights groups in the United States raised a lot of criticism in 2005 following the release of the commemorative stamps of the main character of the 1940s Mexican comic book entitled Memin Pinguin (Minorityrights.org, 2015). The
5 character featured a stereotypical black image with exaggerated ‘black’ facial features that resembled some of the racist sambo images that were once well-known in the United States. In their response to the controversy, the Mexican government and the president of the newly established National Council to Prevent Discrimination (CONAPRED) argued that the North Americans had not well-comprehended the Mexican culture and that Memin Pinguin formed a significant part of that culture (Minorityrights.org, 2015). In the issue’s international coverage, minimal references were made to Mexico’s own black populations found along the pacific coast. Nonetheless, the media in Mexico resorted to using interviews with Afro-Mexicans to prove to the whole world that the caricature and stamp were not offensive (Minorityrights.org, 2015). Moreover, President Vicente Fox's 2005 remarks that Mexican immigrants to the U.S took jobs that blacks do not even want really caught the attention of the population of African descent in Mexico, given that the president's remarks reflected a deep prejudice concerning the people of African descent. In the article, The problem of environmental racism in Mexico today is rooted in history, Porter (2021) highlights the modern experience of settler-colonial racism and associated historic groundings in modern-day Mexico. The author manages to bring the much-needed attention to the significantly marginalized Afro-Mexicans who have been suffering from environmental injustice for many years, resulting in detrimental ramifications to the said community. According to Porter (2021), the Afro-Mexican population has continued to be devastated by environmental injustice for years. The black communities occupying the Costa Chica region, especially those living in the east of Acapulco, Guerrero, have experienced displacement and land degradation resulting from generations of tourism, deforestation, as well as agrochemical runoff. He further adds that the continued tourism to Acapulco has significantly increased the Afro-Mexican
6 community’s exposure to the novel coronavirus porter (2021). This has resulted in a strain on the underfunded coastal health services hence signifying adverse health impacts to the Afro-Mexican population. Furthermore, because of the fact that the existence of the Afro-Mexican population is often overlooked or denied out rightly by many people in Mexico, some Afro-Mexicans have always been challenged by the law enforcement officers on their identity (Gregorius, 2016). As a result, the black Mexicans have always been assumed by the authorities to be illegal immigrants and threatened to be deported to Central America despite the fact that they hold Mexican nationality as well as the papers to justify their identity (Gregorius, 2016). Perhaps discrimination against Afro-Mexicans has resulted in some Mexicans with black heritage not readily embracing or admitting their heritage. Despite all these unfavorable conditions facing the Afro-Mexican population in Mexico, the country’s African heritage is steadily emerging as an important issue. As a result, the federal government of Mexico enrolled the Third Root Program, which spearheaded the development of educational television programs in addition to promoting scholarship on Mexico's African heritage (Minorityrights.org, 2015). That notwithstanding, in 2005, the government of Mexico approved of an important anti-discrimination law designed to deal with discrimination against groups, such as the Afro-Mexicans population. Consequently, the state of Oaxaca became the only government entity that acknowledged the Afro-Mexican population as an ethnic group. Furthermore, many organizations have also emerged in the country to reclaim the traditions of the Afro-Mexican population. Examples of such organizations include Encounter of Black Populations and Black Mexico, which are all committed to fighting for the political and cultural rights of the Afro-American population in Mexico. Such organizations have increasingly
7 been working together with other Afro-Latin Americas all over the region (Minorityrights.org, 2015). Since 2005, there have been various film series, photography exhibits, as well as forums on Afro-Mexicans all over the United States. On the other hand, in Veracruz, there has been the emergence of African-influenced Son Jarocho music, which has played an instrumental role in bringing visibility to these issues being experienced by the Afro-Mexican community. Although many people of African descent in many parts of Mexico still do not identify themselves as AfroMexicans, their increased migrations to other regions in the country as well as to the United States have hugely impacted the population's consciousness of its African roots. Afro-Mexicans in California The Afro-Mexican community is not solely found in Mexico; some found their way into the United States. Most Mexicans of African descent came from Sonora and Sinaloa, Mexico, with the Anza Expedition in California. Those who came significantly helped shape the character of California as they greatly took part in building and establishing pueblos and ranches that grew into such present towns as San Jose, Monterey, San Diego, and Los Angeles. Some of the early Afro-Mexican settlers in California became wealthy landowners and politicians. Pio Pico is an example of such politicians, given that he became the last governor of Mexican California. Unlike other states in which people of different ethnic and racial backgrounds were largely segregated, California was a place where different groups of people worked side by side and even intermarried. In addition, the state provided Afro-Mexicans with opportunities for political, social, and economic advancement they would otherwise not find in Mexico, a country in which special rights and privileges were solely reserved to Spaniards of pure blood. Today, the Afro-Mexican community living in California, as presented in the documentary film, Invisible Roots: Afro-Mexicans of Southern California, have pride in who
8 they are and do not seem to be caught up in defining themselves. They are just comfortable with their culture and who they are. The people of this community understand that they are unique, different, and possess a rich culture distinct from other Latinos, Hispanics, Mexican-Americans, and Mexicans living in Mexico. For instance, the Afro-Mexicans’ love for their culture has seen them opening the first Afro-Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles. Tamales Elena y Antojitos originally opened in July 2020 and is currently spicing up the city's Bell Gardens neighborhood with its Mexican and African-inspired cuisine. The menu served was inspired by the southern Mexican state of Guerrero, the owner’s beloved culture. Conclusion The Afro-Mexican population in Mexico has struggled for recognition in the country for many years. For decades, the government failed to recognize Afro-Mexicans as an ethnic group in Mexico. However, the country's 2020 census marked the first time Mexico is counting its Afro-Mexican population marking an official recognition for a population often overlooked in the country’s cultural mosaic. The present statistics currently place the Afro-Mexican population at around 2.5 million people, with most of them living in Veracruz, Guerrero, and Oaxaca. Africans arrived in the country as slaves and intermarried with indigenous, which resulted in the growth of the population of people of African descent in the country. Some Afro-Mexicans have played a significant role in the history of Mexico, including the early president Vicente Guerrero. In recent years, however, the history of the Afro-Mexicans has been characterized by marginalization and neglect in the less developed regions like the Costa Chica, which is a dry tropical zone to Acapulco's south-east. The regions inhabited by the Afro-Mexican community in Mexico are characterized by inadequate road infrastructure, hospitals, schools, as well as recurring blackouts. The socio and economic challenges faced by
9 the Afro-Mexicans in Mexico have left them with nothing to celebrate as their history was erased for many years and was assumed not to exist. However, the recent Mexican government’s act of formally recognizing Afro-Mexicans as a racial and ethnic group has resulted in the sense of relief to them that their existence has been finally acknowledged despite the government taking decades to do so. There is more relief to these people knowing that their impoverished areas will soon start receiving better infrastructure and resources from the government, which has sidelined them for many years in the notion that they never existed. Besides giving them more validation in calling themselves Afro-Mexicans, being formally recognized and acknowledged will provide the Afro-Mexicans in California with more of a place, a reference point for who they are, their people, as well as from where their people might have come from. It will help them understand why they are a distinctive group and the point where that distinction comes from. Having your country of origin accept and validate your own roots definitely means a lot to the community that was once sidelined from political thought. It is important to know about the Afro-Mexican communities in California because it challenges our notions of nationality, ethnicity, and race. It is important to know about this community because being aware of their existence and way of life results in the development of an opportunity to create a dialogue concerning the way we think about social identities and race. Everyone wants to be accepted for their differences. However, it sometimes becomes difficult to embrace our differences. Understanding a community like the Afro-Mexicans and their presence in California is instrumental in developing a culture of acceptance, which does not turn a blind eye to the beautiful ways in which every individual is living his or her own life. Afro-Mexicans in California can help in the expansion of our cultural conversation given that they may look one
10 way but represent themselves in a culturally unique and different way, in a manner not expected by some people.
11 References Cocking, L. (2019). The untold history of afro-Mexicans, Mexico’s forgotten ethnic group. Retrieved from https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/mexico/articles/the-untoldhistory-of-afro-mexicans-mexicos-forgotten-ethnic-group/ Ferguson, D. (2019). Afro-Mexican Constructions of Diaspora, Gender, Identity, and Nation. Afro-Hispanic Review, 38(1), 237-241. Gregorius, A. (2016). The black people ‘erased from history.’ Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35981727 Minorityrights.org, (2015). Mexico – Afro-Mexicans. Retrieved from https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1031486/download Porter, J. M. (February 11, 2021). The problem of environmental racism in Mexico today is rooted in history. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/02/11/problem-environmental-racismmexico-today-is-rooted-history/ Sue, C. A. (2021). Is Mexico beyond mestizaje? Blackness, race mixture, and discrimination. Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies, 1-28. Thompson-Hernandez, W. (2016). Filmmakers behind ‘Invisible Roots’ on finding AfroMexicans living in southern California. Retrieved from https://remezcla.com/features/film/invisible-roots-afro-mexicans-in-southern-californiainterview/ Torre-Cantalapiedra, E., & Sánchez-Soto, G. (2019). Afro-descendants and social stratification in Mexico. New evidence from the 2015 Intercensal Survey. Papeles de población, 25(100), 273-302.
12 Vaughn, B. (2005). Afro-Mexico: Blacks, Indígenas, politics, and the greater diaspora. In Neither enemies nor friends (pp. 117-136). Palgrave Macmillan, New York.