African Influence on Mexican Culture

 One day, in my San Francisco office, there was Mexican couple seeking assistance in their job search. In my usual attempt to establish rapport with clients, I learned that they were from Mexico's Port of Vera Cruz. This really piqued my interest because there is a town in the province of Vera Cruz that I want to visit that was created by a Black runaway slave named Gaspar Yanga. This couple not only never heard of Yanga, but never knew that the Port of Vera Crux was an entry port for more than 500,000 African slaves who were scattered throughout Mexico and Central America between 1519, the invasion of Cortez. and 1810, the year of Mexico's independence from Spain..

Writer Jameelah S Muhammad in the book, “No Longer Invisible: Afro Latin Americans Today” by Minority Rights Press, the African presence in Mexico is a subject often denied, but people of African descent have influenced every aspect of Mexican life, culture, and history. They participated in the discovery and conquest, exploring unknown territories, and establishing communication between the indigenous peoples and the Spanish. Jameelah also added that Black people were not only crucial to colonial Mexico's economy (then known as New Spain), but made it the most successful in colonial Spanish America. Even during the Mexican revolution, Blacks maintained a high-profile in the ranks of Mexico's revolutionary forces.

This reminds me of the day I struck up a conversation with a Mexican woman in a restaurant. When she told me that she was from Mexico's state of Guerrero, my heart went out to her because I'm an admirer of Mexico's first Black president and liberator Vicente Guerrero for whom her home state was named. I was so surprised that she never heard of Vicente Guerrero who was born to an African slave mother and a peasant Mestizo father.

In fact, many Mexican-Americans and Mexican nationals I talk to are not aware of the heavy Black presence during Mexico's early years. According to anthropologist and professor at Mexico's University of Vera Cruz, Gonzalo Aguirre Beltran, Black Mexicans made up 71% of the non-Indigenous population while the Spanish represented the remainder. Unlike the USA, where interracial marriage was illegal, Blacks over the centuries intermarried, shacked, and made love with the Spanish and the Indigenous population, which explains the considerably diminished Black population.

Leading Black Ecuadorian Poet

Antonio Preciado Bedoya, born in Esmeraldas, Ecuador in 1941, is the leading black Ecuadorian poet. He is currently Ecuador's Minister of Culture, and is a politically committed contributor to multiculturalism in Ecuadorian literature. His work reinvents the heritage of poor, oral black poets and contributes a sympathetic view to further support the ideas of Franz Fanon, Malcom X, and Martin Luther King.

Barrio de los negros de calles oscuras     

Black ghetto of dark streets bursting with spooks
preñadas de espantos que llevan, que asustan que paran los pelos

that carry, that frighten that make hairs stand

en noches sin luna          

on moonless nights

Barrio encendido de noche y de día           

Inflamed ghetto by night and day
infierno moreno envuelto en las llamas          

black hell enveloped in the flames
de son y alegría
 of rhythm and happiness 

~~Antonio Preciado Bedoya

Spanish-Speakers and Smarty-Pants

I've been told many times by friends and relatives that I can practice my Spanish in Oakland's Spanish-speaking Fruitvale District or in San Francisco's Mission District. Not true! Although I've made it my business to shop and dine in these areas, I often run into bilingual smarty-pants who want to answer me in English, such as in the Mexican restaurant that I frequent where the cashier, who sounds American born but speaks very good Spanish. She appears more comfortable speaking to me in English, and Spanish to those who fit the stereotypical Latino profile. I say stereotypical because real Latinos come in many colors, including Black, and not just Brown. I think she got the message, when I simply addressed her co-workers in Spanish when placing my order instead of talking to her.

However, I found myself being as smart alecky as this cashier when I'm traveling to Spanish-speaking countries because my primary motive for being in those countries in the first place is to be totally immersed in the Spanish language. I'll never forget my first day in Havana, Cuba when I was on a bicycle tour of the city with a group of Americans. A Black Cuban rode up beside me and struck up a conversation in English. I felt so indignant that I made it my business to be the all-too-familiar smart-ass by consistently responding in Spanish. Finally, out of frustration, he asked me to stop responding in Spanish because he is trying to practice his English. Feeling compassion from being in similar situations myself, I complied with his request. Fortunately, I run into very few people whose English is better than my Spanish during my Latin-American travels. 

Here in the US, many Latinos (and African-Americans) think it is odd to hear a Black person speak Spanish. Little do they know that in the Western world, there are more Black Spanish-speakers than English-speakers. I've observed African-Americans and US Latinos reacting humorously when they hear me speak Spanish. A Black co-worker of mine accused me of wanting to be Mexican. On the other hand, there was an incident in Ecuador where I was on an intercity bus with a lot of Black Ecuadorian passengers with whom I struck up a conversation. A Mestizo woman overheard me telling them that I grew up in New York City, and asked me a question in English. When I responded in English just to entertain the Black Ecuadorians, they roared with laughter like they never heard a Black person speak English before. The need for cultural enlightenment goes both ways!

Avoiding American Culture While Traveling

A page from Colombia's version of Ebony Magazine, which 

I picked up from in a Black owned shop in Cartagena.

REVISTA ÉBANO (Ebony Magazine)

 One evening, about 11 P.M. in Cancún, México, a cab driver dropped a group us African-Americans and one Latina at a hotel as we were spending the night before catching our flight to Havana, Cuba the next day.  As we were entering the hotel, we heard loud rap music coming from a restaurant inside. I thought this gesture by the restaurant management was so stereotypical. If I wanted to hear African-American music, I could have stayed in Oakland where I live. My purpose for travel, especially to a Spanish-speaking country, is to learn the culture of the country I'm visiting.

However, I notice during my discussion with other travelers, many prefer to go to beaches, tourist attractions, visit night clubs to hear American music, and meet other Americans. Although I respect their interests and personal preferences, I'm always quick to assert the fact that I generally avoid tourist areas and anything American. In fact, I generally avoid other English speakers, like I did in Cuba, even though I went with a group. Every chance I got, I ventured away from the group and entered deep into the Havana community. Being able to speak, read, and write enough Spanish to get around and mix with the locals made all of my Latin-American trips that much more interesting and enjoyable.

Is It Just My Imagination?

When I first met my goddaughter Daniela during my first trip to Perú, she was only 3 years old. It seemed to be an instant connection between the two of us. I will always remember the exhilarating wave of goodbye and the smile that she gave me as I headed back to the US. It would be another four years before I'd see her again, but I never forgot her. While back in the US, I've called from time to time to say hello and hear her voice. By the time she turned five, she would always ask when I was coming. She even asked if she could be my daughter, which to me was very fulfilling. From that day forth, I referred to her as my goddaughter, but in Perú, I refer to her as mi niña (my child). Her family gets a good laugh when I say that because they, not Daniela, know who her real father is. I generally wire money to her family with my motive being to benefiting Daniela. She was always excited and uplifted when I'd call.

I will never forget my first return to Perú when Daniela was seven, and the loving, ecstatic greeting she gave me. We used to go places holding hands like father and daughter, along with her friends and members of her family.

Today, the rapport that I have with Daniela is not as close as before. On my last trip, the excitement was no longer there, although I could still see it in her eyes. I don't know if she is just getting older (10) and more reserved, like her older sister (17), or is her family planting seeds reminding her that I am not family, only a gringo from America with a pocket full of money. It was strikingly strange for Daniela to hustle me into buying gifts for family members that they don't plan to use, like the bicycle I bought, per her request that ended up being sold by a family member. I was already warned by a Peruvian-American whose exact words were, those people are living in abject poverty and are strictly about the benjamins, moron! Time will tell! Meanwhile, I still feel unconditional love for Daniela, and hopefully, this is just my imagination.

Black Argentine Tango Composer

 

Enrique Maciel
 Guitarist and Tango composer 

Enrique Maciel born  to an Afro Argentine family in Buenos Aires, July 13, 1897 was a versatile and sensitive composer, lyricist, pianist, and guitarist, which identified him permanently in the memory of tango listeners. Maciel received his early musical instruction in a local parochial school, and his first public performance was in 1915. His first tango, "Presentación," remains unpublished. He joined small groups acting in houses and dance halls, touring the provinces.

In 1920, he along with a poet, released their collaboration with the tango "La Tipa." Enrique became a contractual guitarist with RCA-Victor. Maciel's skill as a pianist earned him the tripling of an otherwise modest salary. His first new tango under this arrangement was “Grief.”

In 1925, Macial with other musicians formed a popular group, which received a lot of airplay on Argentine radio, particularly on Radio Buenos Aires. The group gradually fell out of favor with listeners, and the group disbanded during the 1950s.

The Greatest Exponent of Peru's Black Culture

Nicomedes Santa Cruz 

 Born June 4, 1925 

to 

February 5, 1992

 Born in Lima, Peru's, rough La Victoria District, Nicomedes Santa Cruz, the ninth of ten siblings, was the greatest exponent of black culture in Peru. He was the first poet to treat black issues highlighting the important and unequivocal contribution of Blacks to Peruvian society. Santa Cruz was an Afro-Peruvian musician who, in the 1950s, began helping to raise public awareness of Afro-Peruvian culture.


After finishing school he decided to work as a blacksmith, which he did until 1956 when he began his calling of reviving Afro-Peruvian folklore through a theater company that he and his wife, Victoria, organized, and through radio broadcasts and collaborations with Peruvian daily newspapers Expreso and El Comercio as well as other publications.

Santa Cruz made his theater debut in 1957 in a show called Black Rhythms of Peru. During his travels, he continued to participate in events promoting Afro-Peruvian folklore, notably his address at the first Black Arts Festival, held in Cañete, a heavily populated black area in Southern Lima, in August 1971. In 1974 he traveled for the first time to the African continent, specifically Dakar, Senegal, where  he lectured in the Afro-Latino symposium on Black Peruvian folklore. He later traveled to Cuba and México, participating in a series of television programs, as well as later trips to Japan, Colombia, Cuba, and Panamá.

In 1980 he moved to Madrid, where he lived until his death, working as a radio journalist. He died of lung cancer on February 5, 1992. His birthday, June 4, has since 2006 been celebrated as a Day of Afro-Peruvian Culture. The Peruvian hip-hop group Comité Pokoflo released a tribute song to Nicomedes in their mixtape El Grito.

Is it Un-American to Speak Another Language?

 What is so UN-American about

speaking two, four or six languages?

Years ago, I went to a language-learning workshop in San Francisco, California and the instructor shared a joke he heard while in Europe. He asked, what do you call a person who speaks several languages? We answered multilingual. He then asked, what do you call a person who speaks two languages? We answered, bilingual. Finally he asked, what do you call a person who speaks only one language? We answered, monolingual. He said no, an American!

Yes, I had a good laugh, but what is even more interesting is the number of children of immigrants from Latin America, Europe, and Africa that I've met personally whose parents did not permit their children to learn their native tongue because they wanted their children to be real Americans. What the hell have these people been smoking?

What is so UN-American about the ability to speak two, four, or six languages? I myself was born and raised in the USA to African-American parents. My father and I both served this country in foreign wars. Yet, I have been knocking myself out for years trying to master a second language, Spanish, and am also able to greet and meet in more than six other languages. Does this make me any less American? I don't think so!

One day, I went to a dry cleaners where the owner, an elderly woman of Mexican-American ancestry, told me that she didn't learn to speak Spanish until she was in her 40s. Her motive was to get reconnected with her original culture. Unfortunately, her parents didn't want her speaking Spanish in the home. They insisted on English-only so she can be a fully indoctrinated American. 

One of my fellow church members of Castillian Spanish ancestry asked me why I was learning Spanish. His tone of voice indicated to me that there is something wrong with the language. To date, I've traveled to nine Spanish-speaking countries being totally immersed in the language and still don't see any reason why Spanish has such a bad rap among so many native speakers here in the US.

I strongly believe that mastery of more than one language helps us to expands our consciousness, awareness, and compassion in many ways. Here are the Top 10 reasons of Learning a Foreign Language. 

Let's remember from our history books, Spanish was spoken in what is now known as the United States of America long before the United States of America was born. This precious language stuck with our nation through the centuries, which means Spanish is as American as cherry pie.

Who's Planting the Racial Seeds?

While waiting at the checkout line in a store one evening, I engaged in a conversation with an El Salvadorean woman, and her child who could not have been more the 6 years old. The little girl asked me, what is a black guy doing speaking Spanish? I can tell by her warm demeanor that she did not mean any harm. In fact, the minute she saw me, she gave me a friendly, but curious gaze. Although, her mother calmly scolded her for making that comment, I high-fived the child wondering who planted the racial seed in her heart. In any event, I would love for this little girl to meet my goddaughter Daniela who is Black and speaks Spanish only!

On another occasion when I used to do recruiting for a federally sponsored job-training program for youth,  a young Latina came into my office with her mother who did not speak any English. Out of fearful concern for her daughter, she asked me if there were a lot of Blacks in this institution. I just bit my lip to keep from laughing. The mother must have thought I was “different” because we were speaking Spanish (LOL).

Fortunately, her daughter was not concerned and obviously did not buy into the racial prejudice of her mother. She went into the training program and got along well with everyone, regardless of color.

 

 

Ebonics in Latin America

About a week before my last South American trip, I got into a discussion with a co-worker telling her how well I function in a Spanish-only environment but found Latin-American Ebonics to be a major challenge. Surprised, she remarked that she didn't know they speak Ebonics in Spanish-speaking countries? I explained to her that wherever there was a slave trade, there was a reflective dialect among the Blacks living in those respective countries, be it in English, French, Dutch, or Portuguese. In the USA, we call it Ebonics.

One of my Black Facebook friends in the Dominican Republic posted a message, which I knew was not standard Spanish. It reminded me of the Spanish I heard growing up near Spanish Harlem and the South Bronx of New York City, where she too once lived. Facetiously, I posted in response, ¿Ebónicos (Ebonics)? She clicked “Like” and responded, yes, it's Dominican Ebonics?

My brother and I, who have travel experience in Spanish-speaking countries, got into a conversation about being able to communicate with upper and lower class people, and in my case, the Black people in the countries I've visited. My brother speaks just enough Spanish to squeeze by in a Spanish-speaking country whereas I'm more functional. He tells me that the impoverished people can understand him but the upper class people cannot.

In my case, I can understand the upper class, educated people much better than I can understand the everyday working people of the Spanish-speaking countries I've visited. However, because I make it a point to be around Blacks to immerse myself in Afro-Latino cultures, I find myself struggling to understand because they speak so fast and chop their words into itsy-bitsy pieces. However, I  find that they can understand me pretty well. They never ask me to repeat as much as I ask them to repeat.

Imagine someone who is learning English and can comprehend a statement like, I want some eggs, but can they understand the Ebonic translation of  Ah wont me som' ayggs? This is what I deal with when I'm listening to Spanish Ebonics, or what my brother calls poverty Spanish.

Ecuadorian Woman Proposes to Me

I'll call her Yola (not her real name). She's an attractive woman who lives in Ecuador's predominately Black City of Esmeraldas, a city on my list of places to visit and experience the Black heritage, and learn more about their Black writers and poets llike Nelson Estumpiñan Bass and Antonio Preciado Bedoya. Yola often posts gorgeous pictures of herself on Facebook with her blackberry, and I would often flirt because of it. I heard through the grapevine that she liked me, and I even toyed with the idea of bringing her back to the US or even staying with her in Ecuador where the cost of living is so cheap that you can live comfortably off a social security check. In fact, Ecuador is considered one of the best places in the world to retire.

Well, after more than three years of Facebook friendship, Yola pops the expected proposal, telling me that she wants me to bring her to the US. I've always been suspicious of foreign women when it comes to relationships as I've been approached by women from 10 different countries, including India, of all places, who wanted to marry me for a green card. In fact, I have developed a special line for foreign women who express a serious interest in me. If they are up front telling me they just want a green card, I charge $100K. No one is going to pay me that kind of money so the conversation ends. In Yola's case, I told her that I would like to stay in Ecuador with her so she can be with her family, and I too will be a part of her family. She became very quiet. What else is new...?

I Miss the Music of Salsa Romántica

Wilmer Cartagena of Perú sings Un Amor Como el Tuyo 
(A Love Like Yours)

 

For about 15 or 20 years, salsa music went through an age of mellow, sensual, and romantic style for broader commercial appeal to a Latin music audience. This took away emphasis from the hard-hitting orchestrations of Salsa, to which I was accustomed. It's called Salsa Romántica or Salsa Sensual because it heightened, sensual feelings. The big megastars in those days were Luis Enrique, Eddie Santiago, and Lalo Rodriguez, among many, many others. I have to admit that at first, I was totally turned off and disgusted as I was used to Salsa Dura (hardcore Salsa music); like that of Eddie Palmieri, Ray Barretto, and Willie Colón. However, as I continued to go to the clubs, I fell equally in love with Salsa Romántica or Sensual, as it's sometimes called.

I found Salsa Dura to be nice to listen to long before I learned how to dance to Salsa music, but I found Salsa Romóntica to be nicer to dance to after I learned how to dance. Salsa Sensual made me feel more connected with the woman with whom I was dancing. It had a nice, steady beat where you can get all of your slick dance moves and patterns in without rushing and running out of breath, and at the same time, romance my female dance partner. My favorite Salsa Romántica artists were Gilberto Santa Rosa, Hector Tricoche, and Rey Ruiz. A close friend of mine, Ricardo, a fellow salsero (salsa dancer) and I earned some extra money making and selling Salsa Romántica t-shirts illustrate dwith a sketch of a dancing couple.

Today, salsa clubs, bands, and DJs have gone back to the traditional Salsa Dura, per demand of an overwhelming number of Salsa purist, which I once was. These purists gave Salsa Romántica all kinds of bad names, like bubblegum, lollypop, pussy-whipped ballads accompanied by Afro-Cuban rhythms —leaving no room for classic salsa's brilliant musical improvisation, or for classic salsa lyrics that tell stories of daily life or provide social and political commentary. Although I still love and appreciate Salsa Dura, I do miss Salsa Romántica.

So Upset I Forgot My Spanish (Almost)

The Plaza de Armas 
(Main Square) 
Barranco District of Lima, Perú

One of my blog subscribers chided me because some of my posts deal with occurrences in the past. Bloggers have varying reasons for posting their thoughts and feelings. I, for one, like to post thoughts and feelings that may happen today, yesterday, or about something anticipated in the future. It all depends on how I feel. For example, this particular incident happened in Lima, Perú in , and it's about how I almost forgot my Spanish.

Every year, I make it a point to travel to a Spanish-speaking country, mostly Perú, because of my family-like connections. October 2005, was my first time in that country. My purpose was to be totally immersed in the Spanish language as I've been teaching myself out of books for a good number of years. In fact, I'm still teaching myself out of books and CDs.

I was staying in the Barranco District of Lima, which is considered to be the city's most romantic and bohemian. It's the home and working place of many of Peru's leading artists, musicians, designers and photographers. One day, I went into a restaurant serving criollo food, which is food with an Afro-Peruvian influence. I felt slighted by the waitress so I demanded to speak with the manager. My true language challenge arose when the manager came to my table. I was so upset, I almost forgot every Spanish word I learned. I managed to eek out a question, asking if he speaks English. I was so disappointed when he said no because I had to register my complaint in Spanish. Although, I struggled though it, I made my point, and the service made a complete turnaround for the better.

The moral of my personal story is that total immersion is the way to go if you really want to learn to speak another language. This frustrating restaurant experience was really a growth opportunity in disguise.

The Underground Black Bolivian Kingdom

In a patch of rainforest in the Andes Mountains, three-hours from the nation's capital of La Paz, there is a hidden kingdom of Afro-Bolivians called Los Yungas. Julio Bonifaz Pinedo was two years ago crowned as the first Afro-Bolivian king, a move intended to further Afro-Bolivian cause of gaining recognition in Bolivia's new constitution. King Pinedo, owner of a humble grocery store,  is a direct descendant of Bonifaz, a tribal king from central Africa. The original Bonifaz was brought to Bolivia as a slave in the 16th Century to work in the silver mines.. Like most slaves who survived the mines, Bonifaz was later traded to estate owners in the plantations of Los Yungas, where the climate is more like that of sub-Saharan Africa. King Julio Bonifaz Pinedo is one of the 35, 000 poverty-stricken Afro-Bolivians who continue to feel overlooked even though Bolivia recently approved its first multi-ethnic and multi-cultural constitution.

The Andean Foothills of Los Yungas

Afro-Bolivians traditionally grow citrus, coffee, and banana trees, but have recently adopted the growing of coca, cocaine's raw material legally in limited amounts. Bolivians have been growing coca since the time of the Inca empire. The Afro-Bolivian, who have always been discriminated against, have no other choice for survival.

But today, for the first time since slavery in Bolivia, racist attitudes seem to be slowly changing.being that Black Bolivia is mentioned in the new constitution as one of the 36 Bolivian nationalities, and that radio talk-show host Jorge Medina is the first Afro-Bolivian to win election for national political office. He is the Black deputy in Bolivia's parliament giving voice to a people who historically having no voice. There are people in Bolivia who have no idea that there are Blacks in their country, and there are others who do not want to know. Afro-Bolivians already started to develop links with other black communities South America to get international recognition. 

Watching My Own Prejudice!

When non-African Americans approach me speaking Ebonics, knowing that is not their normal mode of communication, I immediately respond with standard American English to bust the stereotype; the pre-judgment, because that's what prejudice is, pre-judging. When I, as a non-Latino, approach an olive-skinned person who fits the stereotypical profile of a Latino, and speak to him/her in Spanish, that is also prejudice because I'm pre-judging that person as a Spanish-speaker, perhaps one with limited English skills. Why aren't I making the same assumption of Whites, Blacks, and Asians who speak Spanish as a first language? It's prejudice, of course. Someone, a long time ago, warned me that assuming someone is a Spanish-speaker simply because of appearance is a form of racism.

Here is a comment one of my blog readers posted: I have to say not every Hispanic or Latino speak Spanish. Some people never learned it because they were trying to assimilate more into an English speaking society. They went to school and English is what they spoke. They may have been born to people who have been living in the United States longer than 3 generations and started to lose their Spanish dialect.

Over the years, I've learned the hard way that many Latinos in the US don't speak Spanish. I once got into work-related argument with a supervisor who happened to be an English-only Latino. I took my work-related frustration out on him by speaking to him in Spanish just to irritate him, and that did irritate him.

Because of my exuberance in speaking a second language, in this case Spanish, I find it hard to resist the temptation to initiate a conversation in Spanish if I happen to prejudge someone as being Latino. Truly, I need the practice, which is why I travel to Spanish-speaking countries every chance I get, or at least do my shopping in areas where Spanish is heavily spoken. I'm making an effort to avoid prejudging people and at least get familiar with people first and not assume.

A Chilly Reception in Ecuador's Black Community

Valle de Chota, Ecuador, more commonly known as “Chota.”


Why Communication is So Important!

Valle de Chota, or Chota, as it's commonly called in Ecuador had been on my list of places to visit since Team Ecuador's soccer team made it's impressive showing in the 2006 World Cub games. Over half the players from this highly touted team were from Chota, Ecuador's Black community up in the Andes Mountains with a population of about 2000 residents. It was not until three years later when I arrived in this community by bus, and encountered a rather chilly reception.

The fact that I was a total stranger entering a town cold; a town where everyone knew each other, and the fact that I was speaking Spanish with a funny accent made a lot people nervous. One shop owner went to get the police. I wished I could have taken her picture of the way she wagged her finger and shook her head as if to say, “don’t be bringing your touristy ass up in here!” Instead, I ended up taking pictures of the police officers at the police station as I explained to them that I'm from the US and that I'm a hearty fan of Ecuador's international soccer team. The officers must have felt my positive energy because they became cheerful and flattered. As a peace offering, I gave them each one of my Barack Obama post cards and an Oakland post card. I found this gesture to be very much appreciated by people I connected with throughout my Latin American travels.

As I walked around, I could see people eyeballing me and cutting their eyes at me wondering who I was and what the hell I wanted in this town. There is nothing for tourist here, and that is exactly why I came. I'm a cultural explorer, not a tourist. The only touristy thing I've done in my visits to nine Latin American countries was visit the equator, which by the way, is how Ecuador got it's name; it's Spanish for equator, and the equator runs right through Ecuador. I got my picture taken with one foot in the northern hemisphere and one foot in the southern. That's it!

I did manage to meet a couple of friendly families, answering their questions and explaining that I wanted to see the very soccer field that produced so many Afro-Ecuadorian stars, such as Augustín Delgado, who before his retirement was revered in Ecuador the way Shaquille O'Neitl was revered in the US before his retirement. As I continued to walk around and take pictures, I came across a group of youth, future soccer stars, honing their soccer skills in the middle of the street the way New Yorkers play stickball, a makeshift version of baseball, in the middle of the street.

 

Future world class soccer stars in a pick-up game.

Finally, I stopped at a local shop to buy a beer. The woman behind the counter seemed frightened and intimidated the minute she heard my foreign accent. However, there were three young men hanging around the shop who engaged me in conversation. They explained to me that since the World Cup games, there have been other tourist passing through. That gave me the impression that this quiet, peaceful little town did not care for strangers from strange lands dropping in. They simply were not used to it, nor were they prepared for it. These young men felt better about my presence as we continued our chat. They asked me questions about the US and the African-American community. They answered my questions on their community and their soccer stars. Even the woman who nervously served me the beer was not so spooked after all; she too became relaxed and welcoming.

When I left Chota, I felt so exhilarated to have to met and chatted with friendly men, women, and children as they expounded on  information that had been intriguing me for the last three years. They invited me to hang out with them that evening when people would begin partying, and that way, I can get a better feel for their culture. This is a solid example of how communication with an open mind can go a long way in breaking down barriers among people who are different. It makes no difference who we are or where we are. Toastmasters International tells us that communication skills are not negotiable. Let me take it a step further; communication, period,  is not negotiable.

Traveling While Ill

In the hospital, I got plenty of practice on my 

Spanish because no one spoke any English

It was only within a week when I arrived in Lima, Perú from Mexico City where I went into a restaurant called Sandwich.com in the ritzy, touristy section of Lima, the nations capital. There was something strange about the beverage I drank that put me in the hospital. Fortunately, I had travel insurance to cover all medical bills. Even if I had to be evacuated and carried back to the US, my travel insurance would have covered the expense. It was good that didn't happen, however, I remained hospitalized for six days where I got plenty of practice on my Spanish because no one spoke any English. Zilch! It was also good that I had family-like friends in Lima, whom I met on prior trips, came to visit me almost every day. They didn't speak English either. Finally, on my sixth day, I finagled with the doctor to release me. Against doctor's orders, I chose to continue my vacation, which was to last another 24 days in Perú, Colombia, Ecuador, and Panamá. 

Upon release from the hospital, I took the bus for a three-hour ride to Chincha, Perú, the hub of Afro-Peruvian culture, where my extended family nursed me back to about 70% of my health.  After celebrating the birthday of the mother in the family home, I went back to Lima to catch my flight to Cartegena, Colombia where I got to 80% of my full strength. Even in Cartagena, I slept a lot, didn't party at all, just made my way about town for a few days before heading towards an African village about two hours south of Cartagena. This village called Palenque (or San Basilio de Palenque) won their freedom from slavery and Spanish rule over 200 years before the rest of Colombia and other South American countries won their freedom.  By this time, I must have been at 90% of my full strength as I was given a walking tour for about an hour around the village. I was bone tired by the time I returned to my hotel and crash until morning.

On that day, I flew to Quito, Ecuador where I stayed for a couple of days and hung out with Gloria whom I met on my first trip to Quito. My strength was about 95% before finally flying to Panamá City where I hung out for about six hours. By the time I made it back to the San Francisco airport and headed back to Oakland where I live, I was fully recovered... I think!

Nope, I Am “Not” Latino!

One Friday evening, while vacationing in Quito, Ecuador, I jumped into a cab for a 30 minute ride back to my hotel on the other side of town. The cab driver asked me if I was from a Spanish-speaking country in the Caribbean. I simply said no, I'm from the United States of America. He never suspected as such listening to my Spanish, which he felt has a Caribbean accent.

While most people look at me and simply assume that I'm African-American (and I am), I often get questioned about my ethnicity. Co-workers thought I was Cuban just because I interpreted for a couple of Spanish speakers, and went to Cuba (legally) on vacation. One day, at a bus stop in the Spanish-speaking Fruitvale District of Oakland, I casually struck up a Spanish-speaking conversation with a woman also waiting for a bus. Her immediate response was, ¡ayyy Cubano (oh, you're Cuban)! Many Latin-American people, who hear me speak Spanish, ask me if I'm from Puerto Rico or Cuba (two Caribbean countries).

It never seems to occur to anyone that I'm taking the time and the energy to learn to learn to speak the language. People feel that I must be a native speaker. The truth of the matter is that my Spanish is far from perfect; I'm still learning, which is one of the reasons I travel to countries where I'm forced to speak Spanish only and can't fall back on my English, even if I wanted to. Like the evening I was in a restaurant, and was so upset at the service that I almost forgot my Spanish as I demanded to speak with the manager. I was disappointed when the manager told me that he didn't speak English. I had no other choice but to calm down and register my complaint in Spanish, and the service immediately got better.

One of my former supervisors at work stated on my performance evaluation that I'm bi-cultural because of the way I interact with Spanish-speaking immigrants, travel to Latin-American countries, and listen to various genres of Latin-American music. In sports, I was a sentimental fan of Ecuador's predominately Black 2006 Word Cup soccer team, and a fan of the historically Black “Alianza Lima” soccer team in Lima, Perú.

One day in Lima, I was walking down the street wearing a t-shirt representing Chincha, a province in Southern Perú with a large Black population. A Black security officer came over to me excited, shaking my hand, smiling, and telling me that he too is from Chincha. I didn't get past two words before he burst out laughing, shook his head, and told me, dude, you're not from Chincha, you're from another country! My foreign accent gave me away. However, he was so surprised when I told him that I'm African-American. A lot of Peruvians I met thought that I was either from Brazil or Panamá, two nearby countries, or from Puerto Rico or Cuba, two Caribbean countries.

When I was in Cuba, almost everyone assumed that I too am Cuban until I opened my mouth. Again, my foreign accent was a dead giveaway. As much as I wanted to fake a Cuban accent to try to fit in, that was way over my head. One day, I was walking through a housing project in Havana, and as I passed by a guy, I greeted him with, Qué Bolá, Asere, a Cuban equivalent of what's up, bro. His eyes got big, indicating that he knew I was not from around there. Many Latinos I talk to here in the US tell me that my Spanish sounds Puerto Rican. A woman directly from the island of Puerto Rico told me that I sound more like a Nuyorican, ie., a New York Puerto Rican. Now, that makes sense because I grew up very close to Spanish Harlem in New York City, which was predominately Puerto Rican.  I'm now a transplanted New Yorker living in Oakland, CA..

Chile's Black Pride Organization

"We stand up and tell the whole world that those of us who descend from slavery have looked for a gathering concept called Oro Negro, which allows us to live our way, making a song out of each letter, a joy out of pain, a dance out of each noise, a friendship out of each smile, and transforming our hands in lots of hands willing to help".

 

 Sonia Salgado

 President of Oro Negro-Chilean Foundation

"Oro Negro” (Black gold) is the first Afrodescendants Foundation in Chile. Its operational center is located in the city of Arica, basically because this city has the largest concentration of African descendanst in the country. “Oro Negro”carries out cultural courses and workshops (music, dances, arts, sports, etc...) and counts on a team of professionals in charge who work to solve social problems of Chile's African descendants.

Sonia Salgado, the foundation's president, says that Oro Negros objectives include the political and social recognition of Afro-Chileans, and the rescue and promotion of their cultural roots, as well as helping them participate in society's diverse areas. According to Sonia, Chile's African descendants have learned how to face racial discrimination with wisdom.

Salsa Music on the African Continent

Our mission is to bring salsa music back to its African roots.
---Grupo Africando, Senegal--West Africa

I was first introduced to Grupo Africando salsa band by an Afro-Colombian DJ at Kimballs Carnival night club in Emeryville, CA. As I was looking over their CD's liner notes, I saw their mission statement: our mission is to bring salsa music back to its African roots. I thought that statement was on point, considering how the roots of salsa music began with African slaves of the Spanish on the islands of Cuba and Puerto Rico. I became a fan of Africando ever since. On the other hand, I'm also a fan of African pop music such as soukous in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and have always marveled at some of the similarities between popular African music and salsa.

Cuban music has been popular in sub-Saharan Africa since the 1940s as Afro-Cuban groups began performing in the Congo area as a result of a renown radio station based in Kinshasa, then known as Léopoldville, the capital. As time passed, Congolese bands started creating their own original Cuban-like compositions with lyrics sung in French or Lingala, a tribal language of the western Congo region. The Congolese called this new music rumba.. African musicians in various parts of the continent used electric guitars to improvise and gave Cuban music its own regional flavor, gradually spreading out from the Congo resulting in the establishment of several different distinct regional genres, such as soukous. The re-working of Afro-Cuban rhythmic patterns by Africans brings the rhythms full circle, i.e, back to its African roots.

Joys and Frustrations of Travel Networking

What I call travel networking is when you are getting advice and referrals from people you come in contact with, either in person or on line, regarding a place you are going to visit. This contact could be from someone who is from that country or has visited that country. For example, before my first trip to Ecuador, I went to an Afro-Ecuadorian site on Facebook, explaining why I wanted to visit a certain black community there. Alexandra, an Afro-Ecuadorian woman living in Germany responded to my post and befriended me. She then introduced me to her mother Gloria who lives in Ecuador's capital--Quito. This turned out to be a very warm contact, which made a big difference in my trip. Gloria not only showed me around and give me advice, but introduced me to her family. To this day, Gloria and Alexandra are still my friends, and to this day, I express my gratitude in more ways than one.

Besides Facebook, I belong to three travel networks. They are www.couchsurfing.com, Facebook's Nomadness Travel Tribe, and of course my blog. Every so often, people read my blog about the places I've traveled or have established warm contacts with local citizens. They contact me for advice about the country of interest. After referring them to my contacts in those respective countries, some express their gratitude through friendship, and others move on seeming to forget that I was of any help to them, and I never hear from them again. The latter is just plain self-centered and selfish.

I love it when people get back to me and tell me how things went. I often follow-up with the local citizen of the country to get their input on the individual I referred. This is not only because my reputation is on the line, but because I do care about the people I connect and strongly believe that anyone who is involved in any travel network should have the common decency to at least say “thank you” and share their experience.

Peruvian Imitation of Mr. Jim Crow

El Negro Mamá 
(Dumb Black guy)

A White comedian by the name of T.D Rice in the 1820s wore a black face dancing and grinning, and masqueraded as a happy sambo making mockery of African-Americans in theaters by behaving in the stereotypical coon fashion. TD Rice became known as Jim Crow, setting off the rave of the times--the black face minstrel shows.

Thanks to Afro-Peruvian human rights activist Mónica Carrillo, a similar racist TV show was taken off the Peruvian airwaves, which promoted negative stereotypes of Afro-Peruvians. Mónica's organization, LUNDU, has received insults and even bomb threats for their role in eliminating this show. And to this day, I'm baffled why so many Peruvians insist that there is no racism in their country. The same day El Negro Mamá was taken off the air, LUNDU was celebrating the Day Against Racism by denouncing over 1000 racist news reports in the Peruvian media attacking Afro Peruvians with slurs such as "monkeys, gorillas, and baby maker stallions.

Comedian Jorge Benavides

The popular TV show El Negro Mamá was played by Peruvian comedian Jorge Benavides (above), who like T.D. Rice, donned black on his face playing the role of a mentally retarded, dingy thief, reinforcing stereotypes against Blacks. Benavides, a mestizo actor wearing a rubber mask playing the wild-haired character, sports silly clothes and speaks slowly with an exaggereated accent and bulging eyes. El Negro Mamá is not only portrayed as lazy and stupid but simmering with criminal intent. He is often involved in thievery, drug dealing and common thuggery and even occasionally a rape.

Mónica Carrillo, founder and leader of LUNDU, 
an Afro-Peruvian civil rights organization

 

So, what attracted me to Perú? As one who loves to explore the Black experience in Latin-American countries, while working to improve my Spanish; Perú was at the top of my list because of singers like Susana Baca and drummer/choreographer Rinaldo Campos who is the late founder of the internationally acclaimed dance troupe Perú Negro, Perú's answer to the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater of Harlem, not to mention the famous family of Amador Ballumbrosio, with whom I stayed on two of my trips. It was Afro-Peruvian singers, poets, and writers like Nicomedes Santa Cruz) who inspired my first trip to Perú.

Related Posts on Black Perú

Peruvians in the Hood

Perú: Black Heritage Month

El Carmen, Perú: A Home Away from Home

The Joy of Giving

A Question About Susana Baca

My Valued Souvenir from Perú

Afro-Peruvian Heritage Month

They Consider Me Family