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==Cape Verde==
==Cape Verde==


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{{CPV}}


Though not actually in the Americas, Cape Verde has mouch in common with Latin America and the Caribbean.
Though not actually in the Americas, Cape Verde has mouch in common with Latin America and the Caribbean.

Revision as of 08:17, 10 February 2007

The term Afro-Latin American, also, Afro-Latino[1], refers to Latin American people of sub-Saharan African ancestry, and to historical or cultural elements in Latin America thought to emanate from this community. The term can refer to the combining of African and other cultural elements found in Latin American society such as religion, music, language, the arts, and class culture.

Latin America is home to more than 100 million Afro-Latin Americans

Afro-Latin American is considered by many to be a politically correct term which refers specifically to black African ancestry, not, for example, to European colonial or Arab African ancestry, such as Arab Moroccan or white South African ancestry. When referring to something of African origin from a specific country within Latin America, the term would be "Afro-XXXX" where the "XXXX" is replaced by the adjective which describes the country in mind, for example, Afro-Cuban.

The accuracy of statistics which report on Afro-Latin Americans has been questioned, especially where they are derived from census reports in which the subjects choose their own designation, due to the fact that in all countries the concept of black ancestry is viewed with differing attitudes.

Of a total population of 549,549,000, about a quarter could be considered to be Afro-Latin American, this figure being the sum of the black, mulatto, and zambo populations of the region per each country's census data. [2] Another fairly large minority of the population most likely has at least some black African ancestry.

History

People of African origin probably first arrived in the Americas with the Spanish and Portuguese in the 15th and 16th centuries. For example, Pedro Alonso Niño was a navigator in the 1492 Columbus expedition. Those who were directly from Africa mostly arrived in Latin America as part of the Atlantic slave trade, as agricultural, domestic and menial laborers, and as mineworkers. They were also employed in mapping and exploration (for example, Estevanico) and were even involved in conquest (for example, Juan Garrido and Juan Valiente). They were mostly brought from West Africa and Central Africa in what are now the nations of Nigeria, Benin, Angola, and Congo. Most of the slaves were sent to Brazil, Peru and the Caribbean, but lesser numbers went to Colombia, and Venezuela. Countries with significant black, mulatto, or zambo populations today include Brazil (75 million), Haiti (>95%), Nicaragua, Honduras, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Traditional terms for Afro-Latin Americans with their own developed culture include Miskito and Garifuna (in Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and Belize), cafuzo or mameluco (in Brazil), and zambo in the Andes and Central America.

The mix of these African cultures with the Spanish, Portuguese and indigenous cultures of Latin America has produced many unique forms of language (e.g., Palenquero and Garífuna), religions (e.g., Candomblé, Santería, Lucumi and Vodun), music (e.g., salsa, bachata, cumbia, plena), samba, tango, martial arts (capoeira) and dance (rumba, merengue). Many of these cultural expressions have become pervasive in Latin America.

Contentious issues

Several issues arise from the theme of Afro Latin American. One is based on the selection of countries which is normally included in the definition of Latin America which, being based on the language spoken, excludes all countries in the same geographical area, such as Belize, Surinam, Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica, where the people do not speak a Latin-based language. As a result several countries which have significant Black heritage are excluded from study.

From a strictly statistical point of view, it is perfectly valid to collect data concerning a group defined by one criterion (Blackness) within another group defined by other factors (Language), however, if you change the definition of either group, then the results obtained will also be subject to change.

Another issue is the validity of the numbers of people who are classified as Black. In many countries, the people who are counted as "black" or some mixture is based on choices made by individuals in responding to census questionaires who may, or may not, define themselves as black based on their own ideas or specific cultural biases concerning blackness. In the late 1990's it has become possible to determine racial origin by studying certain DNA factors in individuals, however, this practice is not widely used, to date.

A further issue is that of the validity of racial identity. In some countries, it is believed that there has been an almost universal homogenization of the races and there have been attempts in other countries, such as Colombia, to elimininate racial differences by encouraging inter-racial marriages[citation needed]. Depending on one's viewpoint this may be seen as a positive, or a negative objective.

Racial and ethnic distinctions

Terms used within Latin America which pertain to black heritage include mulato (black - white mixture), and zambo (indigenous - black mixture). Mestizo refers to an indigenous - white mixture. The term mestizaje refers to the intermixing or fusing of races, whether by mere custom or deliberate policy. In Latin America this happened extensively between all the racial groups and cultures, but usually involved European men and indigenous and African women. Unions of white females and non-white males were almost taboo.

These distinctive terms were used in part to distinguish between different social strata in which the Europeans and criollos (people of pure European heritage born in the Americas) who generally were the ruling and admistrative parties were at the top and the African and Indian races who were the laboring class were at the bottom. The offspring of mixed marriages generally occupied a stratus closer to that of the father's, thereby putting children with a black or Indian father at a disadvantage.[3]

IDB population estimates

NOTE All the information in this section was extracted from the 1996 IDB report:

"Poverty Alleviation Program for Minority Communities in Latin America--Communities of African Ancestry in Latin America: History, Population, Contributions, & Social Attitudes (Social and Economic Conditions with Partial Bibliography)"

any errors or ommisions are shown here as they occurred in the original report.

In general, government statistical data does not include ethnicity as a desegregating factor and therefore primary statistical information is not available accurate study of the Black population in these countries The exact number of slaves brought to Spanish-speaking countries is unknown. Estimates vary between Philip Curtin’s 925,000 and Arthur Helps’ 6,000,000.[4]

1996 Black Population Estimates of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
Country % Black Lower % Black Upper Total Pop Total black lower Total Black Upper Comments
Argentina NFA NFA NFA NFA NFA Caucasians make up the majority, especially in the principal cities. Non-white “morochos” and “cabecitas negras” are a significant minority and display African and Indigenous features. African ancestry is denied.
Bolivia 2 % 7. 9 million 158000 158000 Predominantly Indigenous, with some African and white ancestry.
Brazil 46 % 70 % 158 million 111 million 73 million Predominantly Africoid with important white and Indigenous elements.
Chile NFA NFA NFA Predominantly mestizo, with more important white elements.
Colombia 30 % +50 % 33 million 17 million 10 million The majority are of African, Indigenous and lesser white ancestry. Bogotá is mestizo. The CIA estimates the Black population at 21 percent.
Costa Rica 2 % undet. 3. 3 million NFA 66000 Predominantly mestizo with more important white elements, and some black contributions going back to colonial days. There are 66,000 people of Jamaican ancestry.
Cuba 34 % 65 % 10. 5 million 6. 8 million N/A Afro-European, heavily Africoid, but with an important white element
Dominican Republic 90 % 7. 7 million 7 million N/A Afro-European(Spaniard) Amerindian, heavily Africoid.
Ecuador undet. 1. 1 million 11. 6 million (10 %) 550000 The Black population of Ecuador in the mid-1800s was 29 %. Today, the population is predominantly Indigenous with a significant zambo, African and mestizo element. There are few real whites. Britannica Yearbook puts an upper estimate of Blacks at 10 percent.
El Salvador NFA NFA NFA Predominantly Indigenous and zambo, there are some important mestizo elements. African ancestry is denied.
Guatemala NFA NFA NFA Predominantly Indigenous, some mestizos. African ancestry is present but of little importance.
Honduras* 2 % >50 % 5. 6 million 2. 8 million 112000 Predominantly Indigenous or zambo with a small white strain. More Indigenous looking in Tegucigalpa than in San Pedro Sula and the Atlantic coast in general.
Mexico .5 % 10 % 90 million 450000 9 million The colonial population was always predominantly Indigenous with an important zambo/African strain. Black genetic contributions are probably equal to or greater than white.
Nicaragua 10 % 50 % 4. 6 million 599000 2. 3 million Significantly mestizo and some zambo with important white contributions in many.
Panama 14 % 77 % 2. 5 million 350000 1. 9 million Predominantly African, zambo or "pardo" with a white strain. 14 percent relates to the Antillanos.
Paraguay 3. 5 % 4. 6 million 162000 162000 Predominantly Indigenous with an important zambo and mestizo strain. Some zambos.
Peru 5 % undet. 23 million 2. 3 million(10 %) 1. 1 million Predominantly Indigenous, with much greater African than white contributions to the genetic pool. Britannica Yearbook puts an upper estimate of 10 percent on Blacks.
Puerto Rico 23 % 70 % 3. 5 million 2. 4 million N/A Afro-European with important Indigenous elements.
Uruguay 3 % 6 % 3. 1 million 96000 192000 Predominantly white with significant Black and Indigenous ancestry going back to colonial days.
Venezuela 15 % 70 % 21 million 14 million 3. 1 million Predominantly "pardo," African ancestry being the most significant element followed by the Indigenous and white.

Total Estimated population of African descent in Latin America: approximately 150,000,000 Total Estimated target group for poverty alleviation: approximately 90,000,000 (excludes Argentina, El Salvador, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.

Key: Pardo - Colonial description of people of predominantly African ancestry mixed with Europeans and Indigenous people, Mestizo - mixed White/ Indigenous ancestry, Zambo - mixed Indigenous / African ancestry. NFA - No Figures Available, Undert. - Authors were unable to satisfactorily determine high estimate, and they do not regard current estimates as realistic, N/A - Not Applicable[4]

Argentina

 Argentina

By 1970 Afro-Argentines were less than 1% of the population since most of the black men had died in continuous wars, and a large number of Afro-Argentine women married European immigrants, thereby losing their official ethnic identity. (There were only about 4000 blacks in Buenos Aires, population of 8 million.)

The tango was developed from dual African ancestry. One source was the Spanish fandango, which in turn was originally Moorish. The other source was a black dance called the candombe.[5]

Bolivia

 Bolivia

Brazil

 Brazil

Around 46% of Brazil's 180 million people are Afro-Brazilians (39% either African and European ancestry and African, European and Amerindian ancestry, 7% African ancestry). Around 80% of the northeast state of Bahia is of African descent.

Brazil experienced a long internal struggle over abolition of slavery and was the last Latin American country to adopt it. In 1850 it finally banned the importation of new slaves from overseas, after two decades since the first official attempts to outlaw the human traffic (in spite of illegal parties of African slaves that kept arriving till 1855). In 1864 Brazil emancipated the slaves and in September 28th 1871 the Brazilian Congress approved the Rio Branco Law of Free Birth, which conditionally freed the children of slaves born from that day to then. In 1887 army officers refused to order their troops to hunt runaway slaves, and in 1888 the Senate passed a law establishing immediate, unqualified emancipation. This law, know as "Lei Aurea" ("Golden Law") was sanctioned by the regent Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil, daughter of the emperor Pedro II in May, 13th, 1888[5]

One of the most famous Afro-Latin Americans is the Brazilian footballer Pelé.

Central America

The Afro-Latin Americans of Central America mostly live in or near Caribbean coast. The blacks of Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and Nicaragua, are both of Garífuna, Afro-Caribbean, Mestizo, and/or Miskito heritage whereas those of Costa Rica and Panamá are mostly of African-Caribbean heritage. Recent studies show that most people from El Salvador have at least one African ancestor in their family tree because it is said that African slaves working for the Spanish mixed blood with locals thus, leading to modern Salvadorean mestizos. Many Afro-Caribbean islanders came to Panamá to help build the Panama Canal and to Honduras to get work in the banana plantations.

El Salvador

 El Salvador

Guatemala

 Guatemala

Guatemalan culture is a mix of European, Mayan Indian, and African, but only 1-2% of the population is considered black or mulatto. The main community of African descent are the Garifuna, concentrated in the Livingston and Puerto Barrios. The rest of the community is of Afro-Caribbean stock and mulattos. Izabal, on the Caribbean coast is the center of African culture in Guatemala, with its population being of mixed African, Mayan Indian, and European. The closer to the Caribbean, the stronger the African presence.

Honduras

 Honduras

There is a strong presence of Afro-Hondurans on the north coast and to a lesser extent in San Pedro Sula. There are several Garífunas in the National Congress of Honduras.

Nicaragua

 Nicaragua

Mainly found on the mostly undeveloped Caribbean coast.

Chile

 Chile

Chile imported about 6000 blacks, about one-third of whom arrived before 1615; most were utilized in agriculture around Santiago. [5] Today there are very few Afro-Chileans, at the most, fewer than 1% can be estimated from the 2006 population.[3]

Mario Rojas, a Chilean musician dedicated to reviving the traditional cueca in Chile believes that this traditional dance has its roots in Africa in part for the 6/8 rhythm which passed from Arabia through to Nigeria, and also its syncopated lyrics.[6]

Colombia

 Colombia

Afro-Colombians make up approximately 21% (9,154,537) of the population according to projection of the National Administration Department of Statistics (DANE)[3], most of whom are concentrated on the northwest Caribbean coast and the Pacific coast in such departments as Chocó, although considerable numbers are also in Cali, Cartagena, and Barranquilla. Colombia is considered to have the third largest Black/African-descent population in the western hemisphere, following Brazil and the USA. As of 2005 more than 11 million Afro-Colombians are estimated in the country.

Many Afro Latin Americans in Colombia do not define themselves by their ethnic and racial origins, though many may be beginning to do so[citation needed]. It has been argued by some that Afro-Colombians may often encounter a noticeable degree of passive racial discrimination and prejudice, as a socio-cultural leftover from colonial times. Many of their long-established settlements around the Pacific coast have remained underdeveloped. In Colombia's ongoing internal conflict, Afro-Colombians are both victims of violence and displacement and also participate as members of armed factions, such as the FARC and the AUC. Afro-Colombians have played a role in contributing to the development of certain aspects of Colombian culture. For example, several of Colombia's musical genres, such as cumbia, have African origins or influences.

  • The World Bank's Sector Report "The Gap Matters: poverty and well-being of Afro-Colombians and indigenous peoples" Click here for the report

Costa Rica

 Costa Rica

Mainly found on the largely undeveloped northern Caribbean coast.

Cuba

 Cuba

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 "mulato" or "mestizo".[7] Many Cubans still locate their origins in specific African ethnic groups or regions, particularly Yoruba and Congo, but also Arará, Carabalí, Mandingo, Fula and others. In contrast, between 85-95 percent of Cuban-Americans, classify themselves as white. [citation needed]

The government of Cuba has declared Cubans an Afro-Latin American people and has formed close ties with Angola, Ethiopia, and other African states.[5]

Dominican Republic

 Dominican Republic

76% are mulatto, 11% are Black, and around 13% White, with the rest being Chinese, Arab, or belonging to the "other" category[8], although the actual ethnic composition is much more complex, with no fewer than nine ethnic mixes including: mestizos, mulattoes, sambos, grifos, quadroon indians, quadroon mulattoes, puchelas, saltaras, and cabras.

There is also a significant presence of black Haitian immigrants in the country. There are also immigrants from other Latin American countries including Cuba, Venezuela, and Colombia.

Dominican culture is a mixture of African, Taino amerindian, and European origins. While Taino influences are present in many Dominican traditions, the African and European influences are the most noticeable.

Ecuador

 Ecuador

In 2006 Ecuador had a population of 13,547,510 with 8%, or 1,083,801 descendant from Spanish and African people. [3] The Afro-Ecuadorian culture is found in the northwest coastal region of Ecuador and make up the majority (70%) in the province of Esmeraldas and the Valle de Chota in the Imbabura Province. They can be also found in Guayaquil. The best known cultural influence known outside of Ecuador is a distinctive kind of marimba music.

Notable Afro-Ecuadorians

  • Monica Chala, in 1996, was the first Afro-Ecuadorian to win the Miss Ecuador beauty pageant.
  • Augustin Delgado, Born in the Juncal village became the top futbol player to hail from Ecuador. in November 2001 he signed a $3.5 million deal with the team from Southampton, England.
  • Luz Del Alba Born in San Lorenzo, Esmeraldas, coordinates the ecological community project in Olmedo Village let by the Japanese NGO "ACTMANG" (Action for Mangrove Reforestation).
  • Afrikáns Homo Sapiens is a musical group that performs "Bao" music. Bao is a fusion of native rhythms and Caribbean rhythms including candombe, salsa, merengue, reggae and calypso.
  • Jaime Hurtado, from Guayaquil, was notorious for figthing for the rights of the working people of Ecuador and the founder and leader of the Democratic Popular Party (MPD). He was assassinated in the winter of 1999.[9]

Haiti

 Haiti

Though 90% of Haitians are categorically classified as being predominantly of African extract, these same 90% possess European, Levantine, and in some cases Taino genes. The remainder of the population are considered Mulatto (grimel/grimos) and its derivatives.

As in the cases of Cuba and the Dominican Republic, Haiti is a Afro-Latin nation with strong African contributions to the culture as well as its language, music and religion. To a lesser degree French, Spaniard, and in rare occasions (food, art, and folk religion) Taino and Arab customs are present in the society.

Mexico

 Mexico

The vast majority of Afro-Mexicans inhabit the southern region of Mexico and very few have migrated to the north making their existence in the country less evident than other groups. Some Afro-Mexican facts:

  • the city of Cibola was founded by a Black man named Esteban el Negro (Steven the Black), a Moor from Spain.
  • the song 'La Bamba', a traditional folk song and dance, was originally a song sung by African slaves as they worked in Veracruz. Bamba is the name of an African tribe in Angola.
  • Veracruz, Campeche, Pánuco and Acapulco were the main ports for the entrance of African slaves.
  • The offspring of African/AmerIndian integration was called jarocho (wild pig), chino or lobo (wolf).

Panama

 Panama

Black laborers from the British West Indies, mainly Jamaica, came to Panama by the tens of thousands in the first half of the twentieth century. While most were involved in the effort to build the canal, many also came to work on Panama's banana plantations. By 1910, the Panama Canal Company had employed more than 50,000 workers, three-quarters of whom were Antillean blacks. They formed the nucleus of a community separated from the larger society by race, language, religion, and culture.

Paraguay

 Paraguay

Peru

 Peru

Afro-Peruvians make up about 4-5% of the population (2-3 million people).

Afro-Peruvian music was little known even in Peru until the 1950's, when it was popularized by the performer Nicomedes Santa Cruz.[10]

Puerto Rico

 Puerto Rico

According to the 2000 U.S. Census taken in Puerto Rico, 8% of the population is black and 10.9% is of mixed or other race. [11] However, an island-wide DNA study conducted by the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez revealed Puerto Ricans to have 61% Native Amerindian (Taino) ancestry, 27% West/Central (Sub-Saharan) African blood and only 12% European blood. [12]

Certain critics [citation needed], consider census figures to be skewed since they are based on self-definition and acute physical observation of census-takers. These critics maintain that although the majority of Puerto Ricans are mixed, they do not feel the need to identify as so. Even the term "mixed" was not added to the Puerto Rican census until the late 20th century. They state that Puerto Ricans automatically assume they are of African, Indian, and European ancestry, and only identify themselves as mixed if having parents "appearing" to be of separate "races". It should also be noted that Puerto Rico underwent a "whitening" process while under U.S. rule. The census-takers at the turn of the 2oth Century recorded a huge disparity in the number of "black" and "white" Puerto Ricans between the 1910 and 1920 censuses. "Black" suddenly began to disappear from one census to another (within 10 years time), possibly due to redefinition of the term as Puerto Rico was being "whitened" before a possible annexation. It also appears that the "black" element within the culture was simply disappearing possibly due to the popular idea that in the U.S. one could only advance economically and socially if one were to pass for "white". [13]

Misinformation of ethnic populations within Puerto Rico also existed under Spanish rule when the Native Amerindian (Taino) populations were recorded as being "extinct". Biological science has now rewritten their history books. In all, about 31 African tribes have been recorded in Puerto Rico [citation needed]. These tribes were not voluntary travellers, but have since blended into the mainstream Puerto Rican population (as all the others have been) with Taino ancestry being the common thread that binds.

Many so-called "pure" blacks in Puerto Rico are found in the coastal areas, areas traditionally associated with sugar cane plantations (especially in the towns Loiza, Guayama, Ponce, and Carolina). Although, due to the DNA evidence that is being presented by UPR at Mayaguez, many African bloodlines have been recorded in the central mountains of the island, though not written in the Spanish history books of the time. Consequently, Taino bloodlines have begun appearing in the coastal towns. All this suggesting that escaped Africans ran off to the mountains to escape the slaveowners, while some Tainos remained close to their main staple food, fish.

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 and Yoruba tribes from Africa. After the abolition of slavery in 1873 and the invasion of the United States, a number of African Americans have also migrated and settled in Puerto Rico. It has been noted that the Puerto Ricans that typically identify as black, make up the majority of Puerto Ricans immigrating to the U.S.(([citation needed]

Roberto Clemente was a Puerto Rican baseball player of African descent.

Uruguay

 Uruguay

Venezuela

 Venezuela

Black Venezuelans, descendants from African slaves, make up approximately 10% of the population. The majority of these Venezuelans live in small coastal towns in the region called Barlovento. They have kept their traditions and culture alive especially through music.

Cape Verde

 Cape Verde

Though not actually in the Americas, Cape Verde has mouch in common with Latin America and the Caribbean. Most inhabitants of Cape Verde are mestiços, descendants of enslaved Africans and white Portuguese settlers. MestiçosEuropean ancestors also include Spanish and Italian seamen who were granted land by Portuguese Empire and followed by Portuguese settlers and exiles and Portuguese Jews who were victims of the Inquisition. The remainder includes mostly black Africans or Europeans (most Portuguese left the country after independence). Many foreigners from other parts of the world settled Cape Verde as their permanent country. Most of them were Dutch, French, British (English), Arabs and Jews (from Lebanon and Morocco), Chinese (especially from Macau), Americans, and Brazilians (including people of Portuguese and African descent) settlers. All of these have been absorbed into the mestiço population.

More Cape Verdeans live abroad than in Cape Verde, with significant emigrant Cape Verdean communities in the United States (500,000 Cape Verdians), Portugal (80,000) and Angola (45,000). There are also significant number of Cape Verdeans in São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, France, Brazil and the Netherlands. Cape Verdean populations also settled Spain, Germany, and other CPLP countries (Brazil and Guinea-Bissau).

Famous Afro-Latin American

These are some famous Afro-Latin Americans.

See also

References

  1. ^ The American Heritage® Book of English Usage. A Practical and Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English. 1996.
  2. ^ Latin America#Racial Origins
  3. ^ a b c d Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2007 Cite error: The named reference "encarta" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b [http://idbdocs.iadb.org/wsdocs/getdocument.aspx?docnum=479869 Inter-American Development Bank](1996) for the titled: "Poverty Alleviation Program for Minority Communities in Latin America--Communities of African Ancestry in Latin America: History, Population, Contributions, & Social Attitudes (Social and Economic Conditions with Partial Bibliography)"
  5. ^ a b c d Cruz,Shamil.African Americans in the Caribbean and Latin America Cite error: The named reference "cruz" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  6. ^ 'La cueca es un arte de elite' 9/18/2001 Interview in Spanish with Mario Rojas
  7. ^ Cuba census 2001
  8. ^ [citation needed]
  9. ^ Black Latin America
  10. ^ Nicomedes Santa Cruz
  11. ^ https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/rq.html
  12. ^ *http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/2003/10/07/dna.htm
  13. ^ http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/cde/demsem/loveman-muniz.pdf#search='race%20classification%20Puerto%20Rico'

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