Afro-Mexicans

Afro-Mexicans, also known as Black Mexicans, are Mexicans with total or mostly African ancestry. They come from many different backgrounds, including descendants of free and enslaved Africans who came to Mexico during the colonial era. There are also Afro-Mexicans from neighboring English, French, and Spanish-speaking countries of the Caribbean and Central America, as well as from the Deep South during Slavery in the United States.

Today, Afro-Mexican communities are mostly found in certain states such as Oaxaca, Michoacán, Guerrero, and Veracruz. For a long time, Mexico's national identity focused more on its indigenous Amerindians and Spanish European heritage, often leaving out the African part of its history. But in recent years, more attention has been given to recognizing and celebrating African culture in Mexico.

In fact, many Mexicans today have small amounts of sub-Saharan African DNA due to the history of enslaved Africans in Mexico. About 2.4-3% of Mexico's population today identifies as Afro-Mexican, though some believe the actual number may be higher because many people might not recognize or acknowledge their African ancestry.

History

See also: Slavery in New Spain

Most Africans were brought to Mexico by Portuguese and British traders in the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries. The Afro-Mexican population grew through intermarriage and relationships, so that by the end of the eighteenth century, there were more than 370,000 people of African descent in Mexico, about 10% of the whole population.

Afro-Mexicans took part in many economic activities, both as enslaved and free people. Mexico never became a society based on slavery, as happened in the Anglo-American southern colonies or Caribbean islands, where large numbers of field slaves were used on plantations. At the time of conquest, central Mexico had a large, organized Indigenous population that provided labor. Mexico's economy used African slave labor during the colonial period, mainly in Spanish cities as domestic workers, artisans, and laborers in textile workshops.

Although Mexico celebrates its mixed Indigenous and European roots, the presence and contributions of Africans were not always part of the national story. Recently, the historical record has been updated to include Afro-Mexicans' long presence in Mexico.

Geographical origins and the Atlantic slave trade

Main article: Atlantic slave trade

Although Spanish subjects were not allowed to take part in the Atlantic slave trade, a contract called the asiento de negros ensured a significant Black presence in Spanish America, including Mexico. Over 100,000 African captives were brought between 1521 and 1646, with smaller numbers arriving later. The British South Sea Company brought at least 75,000 additional African captives to Mexico between 1714 and 1739.

During the 16th century, most African captives in New Spain came from West Africa, in areas of modern-day Senegal, The Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau. In the 17th century, most enslaved people likely came from West-Central Africa, mainly from modern-day Angola.

Conquest and early colonial eras

Africans were brought to Mexico by Spanish conquerors and were part of the group that conquered the Aztec Empire. One is shown in a historical picture as part of the group led by conqueror Hernán Cortés. In accounts of the conquest, Indigenous people noted the presence of Africans with curly hair, different from the straight hair of the Spaniards. Mexican anthropologist Gonzalo Aguirre Beltrán counted six Blacks who took part in the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. Notable among them was Juan Garrido, a free Black soldier born in Africa, who participated in the conquest of Tenochtitlan and Western Mexico.

Once the military conquest was completed, Spanish colonists in Puebla de los Ángeles sought enslaved African women for domestic work, such as cooking and laundry. Ownership of domestic slaves was a symbol of 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, while Indigenous people were members of the "Republic of Indians" and under the protection of the Spanish crown. Although there was an association between Blackness and enslavement, some Africans achieved the status of vecino (resident, citizen), which was important in colonial society. In Puebla de los Ángeles, a few Black men achieved this status. One free Black, the town crier Juan de Montalvo, was well established in Puebla, with connections to local Spanish elites. Others were known to own land and engage in the local real estate market.

Free Blacks and Mulattoes (descendants of Europeans and Africans) had to pay tribute to the crown, like Indigenous people. However, unlike Indigenous people, free Blacks as Spaniards and mulattoes were under the jurisdiction of the Holy Office of the Inquisition. Legal freedom could be achieved by manumission, where the enslaved person bought their freedom. A 1585 deed of emancipation in Mexico City shows that a formerly enslaved woman, Juana, paid her owner for her freedom with the help of her husband Andrés Moreno.

Slave resistance

Black slave rebellions happened in Mexico as in other parts of the Americas, with one in Veracruz in 1537 and another in Mexico City. Runaway slaves were called cimarrones, who mostly fled to the highlands between Veracruz and Puebla, with some making their way to the Costa Chica region in what are now Guerrero and Oaxaca. Runaways in Veracruz formed settlements called palenques to fight off Spanish authorities. The most famous of these was led by Gaspar Yanga. Yanga escaped a plantation in Orizaba in 1579 and founded a palenque in the mountains. With his followers, Yanga robbed Spanish goods and eventually defeated the Spanish in battle. Freedom was granted to Yanga and his army, and he was able to demand land from Spanish authorities, creating the municipality of Yanga, Veracruz, the first community of free Blacks in the Americas.

Free Black communities in colonial Mexico

By the 17th century, the free Black population already outnumbered the enslaved population, even though slavery was at its greatest extent in the colony during this time. Creoles and mulattoes had a visible social presence in Mexico by 1600. Most enslaved Africans were reportedly "from the land of Angola," who reconfigured African culture in colonial Mexico.

Mexico City became a center for diverse communities, serving the wealthy Spaniards as artisans, domestic servants, day laborers, and slaves. This population included impoverished Spaniards, conquered but differentiated Indigenous people, enslaved Africans, and new hybrid populations.

Afro-Mexicans and the Catholic Church

Catholicism shaped life among most Africans in colonial society. Enslaved Blacks were members of the Christian community and private property of their owners. The church did not take a stance against African slavery as an institution. However, some church leaders, like Dominican friar Bartolomé de las Casas, campaigned against forced servitude. Church records show the church's formal engagement with Africans. Enslaved and free Africans were full members of the church. As the African population grew with the importation of unacculturated slaves, white elites became concerned with controlling slaves' behavior and maintaining Christian orthodoxy.

Blacks and mixed-race people formed and joined religious groups supervised by the church, which became social spaces to strengthen community ties. These groups were supported by Spaniards and the church hierarchy. Members used these groups to maintain their African identities. A notable example is the popularity of choosing African saints, such as St. Efigenia, as patrons of these groups.

Economic activity

Important economic sectors such as sugar production and mining relied on slave labor during that time. After 1640, slave labor became less important, but the reasons are not clear. The Spanish Crown cut off contacts with Portuguese slave traders after Portugal gained independence. Slave labor declined in mining as high profit margins allowed the recruitment of wage labor. In addition, the Indigenous and mestizo population increased, providing a larger free labor force. In the later colonial period, most slaves continued to work in sugar production but also in textile mills, which needed a large, stable workforce. Slave labor remained important to textile production until the later 18th century when cheaper British textiles were imported.

Afro-Mexicans and race mixture

Main article: Casta

From early in the colonial period, African and African-descended people had children with Europeans or Indigenous people. This led to an elaborate set of racial terms for mixtures which appeared during the 18th century. The offspring of mixed-race couples was divided into three general groups: Mestizo for (Spanish) White/Indigenous, Mulatto for (Spanish) White/Black and Lobo "wolf" or Zambo, sometimes used as a synonym; and Zambaigo for Black/Indigenous. However, there was overlap in these categories which recognized Black mestizos. Black mestizos account for less than 2.5 percent of the Mexican population today. In addition, skin tone further divided the mestizo and mulatto categories. This loose hierarchical system of classification is sometimes called the sistema de castas.

Afro-Mexicans and Mexican independence

The armed struggle for independence began in September 1810, led by the American Spanish priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. Hidalgo condemned slavery and the slave trade in an early proclamation and called for the abolition of tributes paid by Indigenous people, Blacks, mulattoes, and mixed-race people. He mandated in November 1810 that slave masters give their slaves freedom within ten days, on pain of death. Hidalgo was captured and executed in 1811, but his former student, priest José María Morelos, continued the fight for independence. Morelos called for the abolition of slavery in the Sentimientos de la Nación at the 1813 Congress of Chilpancingo. Morelos was also captured and killed, but the struggle continued under Vicente Guerrero, who is portrayed as having African roots in modern Mexico. Royalist officer Agustín de Iturbide later fought for independence. The alliance between Guerrero and Iturbide led to the formation of the Army of the Three Guarantees. Spanish rule ended, and Mexico gained independence in September 1821. Despite political independence, abolition of slavery did not happen until Guerrero became President of Mexico in 1829.

Conflict with the US over the expansion of slavery

Although Mexico did not abolish slavery immediately after independence, the expansion of American settlement in Texas with their Black slaves became a point of contention between the US and Mexico. The northern territory had been claimed by the Spanish Empire but not settled beyond a few missions. The Mexican government invited American immigrants to settle in the north to solve the problem of Indigenous attacks. Rather than settling in the contested territory, Americans and their Black slaves established farming in eastern Texas, contiguous to US territory in Louisiana. Mexican President Anastasio Bustamante sought to limit American immigration in 1830 and mandated no new slaves in the territory. Texas settler Stephen F. Austin managed to get an exemption from the law. Texas rebelled against the central Mexican government of Antonio López de Santa Anna, gaining de facto independence in 1836. The Texas Revolution meant the continuation of Black slavery, and when Texas was annexed to the US in 1845, it entered the Union as a slave state. However, Mexico refused to recognize Texas' independence until after the Mexican–American War (1846–1848), and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo drew the border between the two countries. After the defeat by the US, Mexican President José Joaquín de Herrera sent a bill to congress to create the state of Guerrero from parts of Michoacán, Puebla, and Mexico, named after the mixed-race hero of independence. Mexico became a destination for some Black slaves and mixed-race Black Seminoles fleeing enslavement in the US. They were free once they crossed into Mexican territory.

Afro-Mexican visibility in the 20th century

Many views in the early 20th century held that races would eventually combine into a "cosmic race." This belief excluded Afro-Mexicans from the national narrative. In the 1940s, Mexican scholars like anthropologist Gonzalo Aguirre Beltrán began recognizing Mexico's African cultural influences. In 2015, African descent was added as a census category for official government recognition of Afro-Mexican populations.

Demography

According to the 2020 INEGI census, there were 2,576,213 Mexicans who identified as having African ancestry, making up about 2.04-3% of the country's population. Large communities 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 can be found all over the country, though they are a small part of the population in some areas. There are also newer immigrants from Africa and the Afro-Caribbean regions.

The Costa Chica area, stretching from Acapulco to Puerto Ángel in Oaxaca, has strong African traditions. Here, African features and culture are more noticeable than in other parts of Mexico. The region has special dances, music, and stories that reflect African heritage. There are also towns known as "pueblos negros," like Cuajinicuilapa in Guerrero, which celebrate this history.

Veracruz is another area with notable Afro-Mexican communities, with towns named after African places. Over time, many African traditions mixed with local cultures, especially in music and food. In northern Mexico, particularly in Coahuila, some Afro-Mexicans settled there after escaping from enslavement in the United States. Their descendants still live in areas near the border with Texas.

Afro-Mexicans by state

Afro-Mexicans speak up

Recently, Mexico added a new category to its census to recognize its Black population. This change came after many people asked for it, showing that they wanted their African roots to be acknowledged. Before this, Mexico had often ignored its ties to Africa, and people with darker skin faced unfair treatment and fewer opportunities.

Even when leaders noticed problems in areas with African roots, like poor roads and lack of resources, little was done to improve things. This shows how 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 originally came from East Asia but were common in Africa by the time Europeans arrived in the Americas. They appeared in Mexico as early as 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 come from African languages.

Cowpeas

Cowpeas, especially black-eyed peas, are another uncommon food in Mexico but are found in the state of Guanajuato, where they are called Vericonas. They originated in West Africa and came to Mexico during the history of forced movements of people across the Atlantic.

Arts

Early Mexican art sometimes showed Africans as important parts of the community. As Mexico grew and changed, 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, that 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 many 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, in reference to 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 in reference to the same instrument
• Cumbia from West African word "cumbe"

Notable Afro-Mexicans

The majority of the 2.04% of the total Mexican population that identifies as Afro-Mexican are native Afromestizos, i.e. "mixed-race". Individuals of exclusively Black ancestry are a small minority in the Afro-Mexican population, being recent immigrants or their Mexican-born children. The following list is of notable Afro-Mexicans, a noteworthy portion of which are the descendants of recent Black immigrants to Mexico from Africa, the Caribbean, and elsewhere in the Americas. Mexico employs jus soli when granting citizenship, meaning that any individual born on Mexican territory will be granted citizenship regardless of his or her parents' immigration status.

Colonial-era figures

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

Politics

• Vicente Guerrero (1782–1831) – Mexican President and abolitionist
• 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 sportscaster 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 (possibly Mulato) 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 primarily include the depictions of dark-skinned figures within tropical environments nostalgically inspired by her youth and the people who surrounded her
• 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 available in Latin America, the Philippines, and the United States newsstands for more than 60 years, is a Mexican of Afro-Cuban descent. The Mexican government issued a series of five stamps in 2005 honoring the Memín comic-book series. The character has been praised by the Mexican audience, who remember growing up with the magazine, but has also been criticized for employing racial stereotypes.