The African Presence in Latin America
Description:
For each of the 90 million people of African heritage now living in Latin America, there is a story going back generations. These stories form a rich legacy of struggle and survival. Each is different, but all have their beginning in Africa.
They are stories that have been ignored by official national histories and omitted from the textbooks. Indeed, this history is not commonly known by many Latin Americans, and most North Americans are unaware of the African contributions to Latin American culture and history.
This brief study guide contains a few of these stories. The focus is on the maroons, Africans who bravely threw off the chains of slavery and established independent communities within colonial Latin America.
Particular attention is paid to the history and culture of Esmeraldas, a province in northwestern Ecuador that is home to one of the most interesting maroon communities, and where African traditions can still be seen and felt.