BLACK HISTORY MONTH:
Everyone is familiar with the Mexican song La Bamba that Ritchie Valens made famous, but do you know the songs’ origin? The song was sung as early as 1683 by Congolese and Angolan slaves brought to Mexico by way of Vera Cruz. More slaves were brought to Mexico and Peru than all of the slaves brought into the United States in all of the history of the US.
The Port of Vera Cruz was one of the main points of entry for African slavery into Latin America. Today, many of us Mexicans can thank our African ancestors for food, customs, traditions and folklore, attire, music, musical instruments, dance and dialect, as well as physical traits.
ARTWORK:
Gaspar Yanga, “San Lazaro de los Negros”, from part of a mural at the Palacio Municipal de Xalapa, in Vera Cruz. Yanga is a known African hero in Mexico, as he led a revolt and fought against the Spanish for 30 years until they succumbed and gave him and his followers their own town IN MEXICO. Yanga is the very first town founded by free blacks in all of the Americas. Monuments, murals, and sculptures in his honor are found in Mexico
