African Roots Stretch Deep into Mexico
http://www.gbmnews.com/articles/1790/1/African-Roots-Stretch-Deep-into-Mexico/Page1.html
News Hound
Your servent relentlessly hunting for interesting news stories around the world. By News Hound
Published on 10/27/2007
By Roberto Rodriguez and Patrisia Gonzales
In Mexico, various Indian peoples still play ancient instruments. And their songs and dances -- which tell of uprisings against their masters -- pay tribute to their ancestors.
These Mexicans play African "hand pianos" and perform "the dance of the black people." Mexican "corridos" -- or song-stories -- tell of slave uprisings. And the marimbas of Mexico, as well as those of Central America and Ecuador, all have their origins in Africa.
All are examples of the still thriving African legacy in Mexico.
Since 1492, the history of the Americas has been forged by three cultures: indigenous, European, and African - the third root of the Americas, according to the late University of Veracruz professor, Gonzalo Aguirre Beltrán, who was considered Mexico's foremost expert on the African influence on Mexican culture.
The early African presence in the Americas is normally associated with the slave trade in the United States, the Caribbean, Brazil, Central America, Colombia and Peru. Not generally taught in history textbooks is that Mexico was also a key port of entry for slave ships and consequently had a large African population.
In fact, during the colonial era, there were more Africans than Europeans in Mexico, according to Aguirre Beltrán's pioneering 1946 book, "The Black Population in Mexico." And he said they didn't disappear, but in fact took part in forging the great racial mixture that is today Mexico.
"Because of race mixture, much of the African presence is no longer discernible except in a few places such as Veracruz and the Costa Chica in Guerrero and Oaxaca," wrote Aguirre Beltrán.
In Mexico, various Indian peoples still play ancient instruments. And their songs and dances -- which tell of uprisings against their masters -- pay tribute to their ancestors.
These Mexicans play African "hand pianos" and perform "the dance of the black people." Mexican "corridos" -- or song-stories -- tell of slave uprisings. And the marimbas of Mexico, as well as those of Central America and Ecuador, all have their origins in Africa.
All are examples of the still thriving African legacy in Mexico.
Since 1492, the history of the Americas has been forged by three cultures: indigenous, European, and African - the third root of the Americas, according to the late University of Veracruz professor, Gonzalo Aguirre Beltrán, who was considered Mexico's foremost expert on the African influence on Mexican culture.
The early African presence in the Americas is normally associated with the slave trade in the United States, the Caribbean, Brazil, Central America, Colombia and Peru. Not generally taught in history textbooks is that Mexico was also a key port of entry for slave ships and consequently had a large African population.
In fact, during the colonial era, there were more Africans than Europeans in Mexico, according to Aguirre Beltrán's pioneering 1946 book, "The Black Population in Mexico." And he said they didn't disappear, but in fact took part in forging the great racial mixture that is today Mexico.
"Because of race mixture, much of the African presence is no longer discernible except in a few places such as Veracruz and the Costa Chica in Guerrero and Oaxaca," wrote Aguirre Beltrán.