Afro-Mexicans

Afro-Mexicans, also called Black Mexicans, are Mexicans with African ancestry. They come from many backgrounds. Some are descendants of free and enslaved Africans who came to Mexico during the colonial era. Others came from nearby English, French, and Spanish-speaking countries in the Caribbean and Central America. Some also came from the Deep South during Slavery in the United States.

Today, Afro-Mexican communities live mainly in states like Oaxaca, Michoacán, Guerrero, and Veracruz. For a long time, Mexico's identity focused more on its indigenous and Spanish European roots, often ignoring the African part of its history. Recently, there has been more focus on celebrating African culture in Mexico.

Many Mexicans today have small amounts of sub-Saharan African DNA because of the history of enslaved Africans in Mexico. About 2.4-3% of Mexico’s population identifies as Afro-Mexican, though some think the number could be higher because many people may not know or recognize their African ancestry.

History

See also: Slavery in New Spain

Most Africans came to Mexico with traders from Portugal and Britain in the 1500s and 1700s. By the late 1700s, more than 370,000 people in Mexico had African roots, making up about 10% of the population.

Afro-Mexicans worked in many jobs, both as enslaved and free people. Mexico was never a society based on slavery like in the Anglo-American southern colonies or Caribbean islands. At the time, central Mexico had many Indigenous people who provided labor. During the colonial time, Africans mainly worked as domestic workers, artisans, and laborers in cities.

Although Mexico celebrates its mix of Indigenous and European roots, the story of Africans was not always told. Recently, history has been updated to include Afro-Mexicans.

Geographical origins and the Atlantic slave trade

Main article: Atlantic slave trade

Spanish people were not allowed to be part of the Atlantic slave trade, but a special agreement let many Africans come to Spanish America, including Mexico. Over 100,000 African people were brought between 1521 and 1646, with smaller numbers later. The British South Sea Company brought at least 75,000 more Africans to Mexico between 1714 and 1739.

In the 1500s, most Africans came from West Africa, areas now known as Senegal, The Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau. In the 1600s, most enslaved people came from West-Central Africa, mainly Angola.

Conquest and early colonial eras

Africans came to Mexico with Spanish conquerors and were part of the group that conquered the Aztec Empire. One is shown in a picture with the group led by Hernán Cortés. Indigenous people noticed Africans had curly hair, different from the straight hair of the Spaniards. Mexican anthropologist Gonzalo Aguirre Beltrán counted six Black people who helped in the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. One of them was Juan Garrido, a free Black soldier born in Africa, who helped conquer Tenochtitlan and Western Mexico.

After the conquest, Spanish colonists in Puebla de los Ángeles wanted enslaved African women for jobs like cooking and laundry. Owning enslaved people for such work showed status for Spaniards.

Legal status in the colonial era

Blacks were part of the "Republic of Spaniards," which included Europeans, Africans, and mixed-race people. Indigenous people were in the "Republic of Indians" and protected by the Spanish crown. Although being Black often meant being enslaved, some Africans became respected members of society, known as vecino. In Puebla de los Ángeles, some Black men achieved this status. One free Black man, Juan de Montalvo, was well known in Puebla and had links to local Spanish leaders. Others owned land and took part in real estate.

Free Blacks and Mulattoes (people with European and African parents) had to pay taxes like Indigenous people. But unlike Indigenous people, free Blacks and mulattoes were under the Holy Office of the Inquisition. Enslaved people could buy their freedom through manumission. In 1585, a formerly enslaved woman named Juana paid for her freedom with help from her husband Andrés Moreno.

Slave resistance

Enslaved people in Mexico, like in other parts of the Americas, resisted. There were rebellions in Veracruz in 1537 and in Mexico City. Runaway enslaved people, called cimarrones, mostly went to the highlands between Veracruz and Puebla, with some to the Costa Chica region in today’s Guerrero and Oaxaca. In Veracruz, runaways created settlements called palenques to defend against Spanish authorities. The most famous leader was Gaspar Yanga. Yanga escaped a plantation in Orizaba in 1579 and created a palenque in the mountains. With his followers, Yanga fought and defeated Spanish forces. Yanga and his people were granted freedom, and he was given land, creating the municipality of Yanga, Veracruz, the first free Black community in the Americas.

Free Black communities in colonial Mexico

By the 1600s, the number of free Black people already exceeded the number of enslaved people, even though slavery was at its peak. Creoles (people of full African descent born in the Americas) and mulattoes were seen in Mexico by 1600. Most enslaved Africans were said to be "from the land of Angola," and they helped keep African culture alive in colonial Mexico.

Mexico City became a center for many groups, working for wealthy Spaniards as artisans, servants, laborers, and enslaved people. This group included impoverished Spaniards, Indigenous people, enslaved Africans, and new mixed populations.

Afro-Mexicans and the Catholic Church

The Catholic Church was important in the lives of most Africans in colonial society. Enslanced Blacks were part of the Christian community but were also the private property of their owners. The Church did not oppose slavery. However, some church leaders, like Dominican friar Bartolomé de las Casas, spoke out against forced servitude. Church records show the Church’s involvement with Africans. Both enslaved and free Africans were full members of the Church. As more Africans arrived, white leaders worried about controlling enslaved people and keeping Christian practices.

Blacks and mixed-race people formed religious groups watched by the Church. These groups helped build community ties and were supported by Spaniards and Church leaders. Members used these groups to keep their African heritage. One example is the popularity of choosing African saints, like St. Efigenia, as leaders of these groups.

Economic activity

Important jobs like sugar production and mining used enslaved labor during this time. After 1640, slavery became less common, but the reasons are not clear. The Spanish Crown stopped working with Portuguese slave traders after Portugal became independent. Mining used fewer enslaved people because high profits allowed hiring free workers. Also, the Indigenous and mestizo population grew, providing more free labor. Later, most enslaved people still worked in sugar but also in textile mills, which needed steady workers. Slavery stayed important in textile production until the late 1700s when cheaper British textiles arrived.

Afro-Mexicans and race mixture

Main article: Casta

From the start of colonial times, Africans and those with African roots had children with Europeans or Indigenous people. This created many terms for mixed races during the 1700s. The children of mixed couples were in three groups: Mestizo for European/Indigenous, Mulatto for European/Black and Lobo "wolf" or Zambo, sometimes used together; and Zambaigo for Black/Indigenous. These groups sometimes overlapped. Black mestizos make up less than 2.5 percent of Mexico’s population today. Skin tone also split the mestizo and mulatto groups. This system of grouping people is sometimes called the sistema de castas.

Afro-Mexicans and Mexican independence

The fight for independence began in September 1810, led by priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. Hidalgo spoke against slavery and the taxes on Indigenous people, Blacks, mulattoes, and mixed-race people. In November 1810, he ordered slave masters to free their slaves within ten days. Hidalgo was captured and executed in 1811, but his student, priest José María Morelos, kept fighting. Morelos called for ending slavery at the 1813 Congress of Chilpancingo. Morelos was also captured and killed, but the fight went on with Vicente Guerrero, who is seen today as having African roots. Royalist officer Agustín de Iturbide later joined the fight. Together, Guerrero and Iturbide formed the Army of the Three Guarantees. Spanish rule ended, and Mexico gained independence in September 1821. Slavery was not ended until Guerrero became President of Mexico in 1829.

Conflict with the US over the expansion of slavery

Although Mexico did not end slavery right after independence, the arrival of American settlers in Texas with their enslaved people caused tension between the US and Mexico. The northern land was claimed by the Spanish Empire but not settled much. Mexico invited American settlers to live in the north to help with attacks from Indigenous people. Instead, Americans and their enslaved people settled in eastern Texas, near US land in Louisiana. In 1830, Mexican President Anastasio Bustamante tried to stop more American settlers and banned new enslaved people in the area. Texas settler Stephen F. Austin got an exemption. Texas broke away from Mexico in 1836. The Texas Revolution kept slavery going, and when Texas joined the US in 1845, it became a slave state. Mexico did not recognize Texas’ independence until after the Mexican–American War (1846–1848), and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo set the border. After losing to the US, Mexican President José Joaquín de Herrera created the state of Guerrero from parts of Michoacán, Puebla, and Mexico, naming it after the independence hero. Mexico became a safe place for some enslaved people and mixed-race Black Seminoles escaping slavery in the US. They were free once they reached Mexican land.

Afro-Mexican visibility in the 20th century

In the early 1900s, many believed races would mix into one "cosmic race." This idea left out Afro-Mexicans. In the 1940s, Mexican scholars like anthropologist Gonzalo Aguirre Beltrán started recognizing Mexico’s African culture. In 2015, African descent was added to the census to officially recognize Afro-Mexican people.

Demography

In the 2020 census, about 2.5 million Mexicans said they had African ancestry. This is about 2 to 3 percent of the country’s population. Big groups of Afro-Mexicans live in places like Costa Chica of Guerrero, Costa Chica of Oaxaca, and Veracruz. While Northern Mexico has some smaller groups, Afro-Mexicans live all over the country.

The Costa Chica area, from Acapulco to Puerto Ángel in Oaxaca, has strong African traditions. Here, African culture is easy to see in dances, music, and stories. Some towns are called “pueblos negros,” like Cuajinicuilapa in Guerrero, where people celebrate this history.

Veracruz also has many Afro-Mexican people, with towns named after African places. Over time, African traditions mixed with local cultures, especially in music and food. In northern Mexico, in Coahuila, some Afro-Mexicans moved there after leaving the United States. Their families still live near the border with Texas.

Afro-Mexicans by state

Afro-Mexicans speak up

Mexico added a new group to its census to recognize its Black population. Many people asked for this change because they wanted their African roots to be seen. Before this, Mexico often did not talk about its ties to Africa. People with darker skin sometimes faced unfair treatment and did not have the same chances as others.

Even when leaders saw problems in areas with African roots, like poor roads and not enough resources, little was done to help. This shows that some groups in Mexico still do not get the same support as others.

African influence on Mexican culture

Cuisine

Bananas and plantains

Bananas and plantains came from East Asia but were in Africa when Europeans reached the Americas. They came to Mexico in the 1500s. The word "banana" comes from an African language.

Okra

Okra is not very common in Mexico but is eaten in the north, where it is called ocra, and in the south, where it is called quimbombó. Both names are from African languages.

Cowpeas

Cowpeas, like black-eyed peas, are not very common in Mexico but are found in Guanajuato. They are called Vericonas there. They came from West Africa to Mexico during times when people were moved across the Atlantic.

Arts

Early Mexican art sometimes showed Africans as important parts of the community. Later, African influences were often left out of pictures of Mexican identity. Some modern artists, like Fernando Leal, have worked to include Afro-Mexican history and culture in their art.

Music

Son Jarocho

Son Jarocho is a musical style from Veracruz, a state in Mexico. It mixes Spanish and African music.

La Bamba

La Bamba is a famous son jarocho song from Veracruz. It uses special guitars and harps and mixes Spanish, indigenous, and African music. The word bamba comes from an African word meaning "master."

Mexican Cumbia

Cumbia is a popular music style in Mexico that started in Colombia. The word "cumbia" comes from West Africa. Cumbia began as a dance and grew to include traditions from Africa, Colombia, and Europe.

Vocabulary

Here are some Mexican words that come from African languages:

• The word macondo meaning banana, comes from the Kikongo word of the same meaning.
• Mandinga, meaning the devil, comes from Kimbundu ndinga meaning "cruel"
• Macuma, from Kikongo makamba meaning "to help"
• Conga from Kimbundu nkonga meaning "music"
• Marimba from Kikongo madimba for the same instrument
• Cumbia from the West African word "cumbe"

Notable Afro-Mexicans

Most people in Mexico who say they are Afro-Mexican have mixed backgrounds. Only a few are of full Black ancestry, and many are recent immigrants or their children born in Mexico. Mexico allows anyone born in the country to become a citizen, no matter where their parents come from.

Colonial-era figures

• Juan Garrido (1487–1550) – Spanish Black explorer of Mexico, from Congo.
• Juan Valiente (1505–1553) – Spanish Black explorer and resident of Puebla.
• Juan Roque (died 1623) – wealthy and well-known Afro-Mexican of New Spain, known for his will and testament
• Gaspar Yanga (born 1545) – founder of the first free African town in the Americas, in 1609

Politics

• Vicente Guerrero (1782–1831) – Mexican President and freedom fighter
• Joaquín Hendricks Díaz (born 1951) – former governor of Quintana Roo
• Fidel Herrera (born 1949) – former governor of Veracruz
• René Juárez Cisneros (1956–2021) – governor of Guerrero
• Pío Pico (1801–1894) – last Mexican governor of Alta California

Entertainment

• Álvaro Carrillo – composer, songwriter
• Kid Cudi – American rapper (partially Mexican American father)
• Jean Duverger – dancer, singer, and sports announcer of French Haitian descent
• Abraham Laboriel, Sr. – musician of Honduran Garifuna origin; one of the most recorded bass guitarists in popular music
• Johnny Laboriel – 1950s and '60s rock and roll singer of Honduran Garifuna origin and member of Los Rebeldes Del Rock
• Kalimba Marichal – Mexican singer and actor born to Afro-Cuban parents
• Kiana Ledé – singer (Mexican American mother)
• Toña la Negra – singer of partial Haitian origin
• Miguel – American rapper (Mexican father)
• Lupita Nyong'o – actress (Kenyan parents)
• Alejandra Robles – singer and dancer from the Costa Chica of Oaxaca with Afro-Mexican descent via her paternal grandfather
• Kirko Bangz – American rapper (partially Mexican American mother)
• Jacob Perez – member of boy band Mindless Behavior
• Adrián Makala – actor

Visual arts

• Elizabeth Catlett – African American artist (naturalized Mexican)
• Juan Correa – 17th-century Mexican painter who was the son of a dark-skinned Spaniard from Cadiz and an Afro-Mexican woman
• Julia López – painter from the Costa Chica of Guerrero, born to parents of African and Amuzgo backgrounds. Her works include paintings of dark-skinned people in tropical settings
• Leonel Maciel – artist of mixed African, Asian and indigenous roots

Sports

• Mark Aguirre – basketball player
• Randy Arozarena – baseball player (Afro-Cuban defector, naturalized Mexican citizen)
• Prisca Awiti Alcaraz – judoka (Kenyan father)
• Chris Roberson – baseball player (African American, naturalized Mexican citizen)
• Melvin Brown – footballer (Afro-Jamaican paternal grandfather)
• Héctor Camacho Jr. – (Mexican American mother)
• Adrián Chávez – footballer (African American father)
• Michael Davis – American football player (Mexican mother)
• Arian Foster – American football player (Mexican American mother)
• Ozziel Herrera – footballer (Afro-Cuban father)
• Edoardo Isella – footballer (Afro-Honduran father)
• Joao Maleck – footballer (Cameroonian father)
• Roberto Nurse – footballer (Afro-Panamanian father)
• Richard Okunorobo – footballer (Nigerian father)
• Jorge Orta – former baseball player
• Julián Quiñones – footballer (Afro-Colombian, naturalized Mexican citizen)
• James de la Rosa – boxer
• Juan de la Rosa – boxer
• Giovani dos Santos – footballer (Afro-Brazilian father)
• Jonathan dos Santos – footballer (Afro-Brazilian father)
• Juan Toscano-Anderson – basketball player (African American father)
• Taijuan Walker – baseball player (Mexican American mother)
• Jonathan Jones (baseball) – baseball player (African American father)
• Khris Davis – baseball player (African American father)
• Nick Williams (baseball) – (African American father)
• Earl Watson – basketball player (African American father)
• Fred Warner (American football) – American football player (partially Mexican American mother)
• Black Warrior – wrestler
• El Hijo del Fantasma – wrestler
• Rubén Amaro Sr. – former baseball player

Fictional figures

The comic character Memín Pinguín, whose magazine has been sold in Latin America, the Philippines, and the United States for over 60 years, is a Mexican of Afro-Cuban descent. The Mexican government made five stamps in 2005 to honor the Memín comic-book series. The character is liked by many who grew up with the magazine, but some say it uses racial stereotypes.