Where Afro-Ecuadorian Stars are Made

DREAMTOWN

 

Dreamtown, Ecuador, generally known as Juncal, 
in the region of Valle de Chota (Chota Valley)

Have you seen the film Hoop Dreams about African-American basketball talent being created in the hood, aspiring to be stars in the NBA? Well, similar dreams are occurring communities around the world, such as Juncal in Ecuador's Valle de Chota (or Chota Valley) region where international soccer stars are made. After Ecuador's impressive performance in the 2002 and 2006 World Cup games, tourists from around the world, including I, wanted to visit the very town that gave Ecuador a respectable name in international soccer. However, my motives were somewhat different.

As a hobby, I get hands on experience developing my Spanish by traveling, primarily to black communities. in Latin-America. Juncal, in Ecuador's Chota Valley joined my list of places to visit, and I finally arrived in December of 2009. I saw the soccer field where these young aspiring stars are trained and was given the full scoop on the community and their stars by three teens who were fascinated by the presence of an African-American wanting to learn about their community. I left Juncal feeling exhilarated after having met and chatted with several members of the community. Even police officers who questioned my presence in their town were flattered and pleased. I gave everyone I met a post card of my home city, Oakland, and post card of the Obama family. A gesture very much appreciated in my travels.

Augustin Delgado, all-time top scorer for the Ecuadorian National Team, 

who played professionally in Ecuador, Mexico and England.

As of this writing , the dreams of soccer stardom and wealth by young men in this town are being made into a documentary called Dreamtown--the HOOP DREAMS of Ecuadorian Soccer. The producer Betty Bastidas puts it this way, it is an underdog story with a universal theme that will move and inspire every person to keep striving for their dreams no matter the odds or the obstacles! DreamTown is about the thrilling victories and tragic challenges that three young athletes face to secure their dreams as they start out playing barefoot in their impoverished town, and eventually to wealth and stardom in international stadiums. Betty goes on to explain how these players' hunger and passion about soccer, a source of Ecuador's greatest pride, and the great sacrifices they make for themselves, their families, and their community! 

Excited young boys on the very soccer field that produced 

international soccer legend Augustín Delgado

It's been estimated that only 5% of Ecuador is of African descent and the racism is rampant and glaring from my own observation during my visits to this country on the Pacific coast. Yet over half of Ecuador's national team that scored impressive victories in World Cup competitions were Afro-Ecuadorians straight out of Chota Valley. One of these players who rose from the impoverished dirt fields of Chota Valley to the ranks of world class stardom was Ulises De La Cruz who donated much of his earnings to promote land development of his hometown, which had been neglected by the Ecuadorian government. Today, his donations and promotional campaigns has resulted in new schools, hospitals, running water, and paved roads. He is inspiring others who come behind him to do the same.

Young men who gave me the lowdown on 
their community and their soccer stars.

Ecuadorian-American filmmaker and photographer Betty Bastidas holds a Master of Arts Degree from University of California at Berkeley's School of Journalism, and a degree in Documentary Photography from Salt Institute of Documentary Studies in Maine.  Her work has been exhibited internationally and she herself has been the recipient of numerous awards including the 2010 NALIP/HBO Documentary Award for DreamTown, 2008 NALAC Fund for the Arts, the 2006 NYFA Photography Fellowship, among others. Betty was recently selected to attend the 2011 NALIP Producer’s Academy with the DreamTown documentary.

 If you want to host a screening or get involved, e-mail Betty... betty.alexandra@gmail.com

The Voices of Dreamtown--Trailer

 

The World's Salsa Music Capital

Cali,
Colombia

After having grown up in New York City where salsa music was born right after the beginning of U.S. trade embargo against Cuba, Puerto Rican New Yorkers like Tito Puente, Willie Colón, and Ray Barretto  continued the legacy of Cuban music, called “Latin” by many, and improvised using Puerto Rican bomba and plena music, jazz, and even some R&B to create what we know today as salsa music.

Salsa is Spanish for “sauce,” and the improvisations by Puerto Rican musicians was like putting sauce on an original dish. Of course, New York City has been the capital of salsa music for decades. 

Then other genres of Latin music gained in popularity in New York, such as merengue and bachata with the influx of immigrants from the Dominica Republic, and of course, reggaetón; very popular among young Latinos. 

New York City has been described by a friend as a melting pot for musical styles. In the film Cantante, meaning singer, which is about the late salsa music megastar Hector Lavoe, there was a scene when Lavoe was told by maestro Willie Colón that he needs to show the world that salsa music still rules, despite the influx of other Latin music genres, and it turned out that his concerts were not filled to capacity as before. 

I've heard people claim Los Angeles and Miami as salsa music capitals. Even several publications like Latin Beat Magazine was published in Los Angeles. 

When I went to Havana, Cuba, I was in salsa music heaven, but timba music reigned supreme. I was so surprised that Havana didn't even have a salsa music radio station. Recently, I was reading an article in a black Colombian magazine called Ébano, Spanish for Ebony, stating that Cali is the salsa music capital, and it makes perfect sense. 

My former supervisor at work, who is Colombian, knew that I was planning a trip to Colombia and that I love salsa, highly recommended that I visit Cali. Considering that three of my favorite salsa bands, Grupo Niche, Grupo Caneo, and Sonora Carruseles are from Cali, my supervisor hit a hot button with me.

In Cali, these days, people assert that salsa music moves millions as it is Cali's greatest tourist product and is an integral part of the city’s cultural fabric.  A New York journalist visiting Cali says salsa music is a way of life, a day hardly went by without her hearing it. The owner of one of the most reputable dance schools in the city, Rucafé, has been involved in 33 international salsa congresses, and has seen Cali evolve into a world power of salsa music. 

Below, salsa music megastar Oscar De Leon, of Venezuela, sung one of his biggest hits... Yo “Me Voy Pa' Cali (I'M GOING TO CALI).”

How Color and Race are Viewed in Latin America

Filmed by Dash Harris

Creative Director, Journalist, Multi-Media Artist at In.A.Dash.Media

Color and African descendant identity is examined in Latin America. How are color and 'race' viewed in Latin America? What connections do African-descendants and in Latin America share with African-descendants in the U.S.? Latinos and Afro-Americans share their stories.

The Fight Against Racism In Cuba

by Marlie Hall

 

Rosa Parks refused to stand. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream. Barack Obama won the presidential election. America’ s plight for racial equality has had its struggles, its heroes and its progress. But on the nearby island of Cuba, some say modern-day racism against blacks is blatant, and fighting it isn’t as simple as public protest.

According to Afro-Cuban activists, racism against blacks in Cuba is systemic and institutional. They say, to this day, blacks are excluded from tourism related jobs, relegated to poor housing, have poor access to health care, are excluded from managerial positions and are more likely to be imprisoned.

Carlos Moore is an Afro-Cuban activist who has spent his life writing about racial injustice in Cuba and says race is the country’s most pressing issue. In 2008, he sent a scathing letter to Cuban leader Raul Castro demanding racial reform. In it, he states: “You are a descendant of Europeans born in Spain; I am a descendant of Africans born in the Caribbean. We are both Cubans. However, being Cuban confers no specific privilege on either of us as human beings”.

It was a luxury of civil protest he could only afford to write while exiled in Brazil. According to Moore, “There is an unstated threat. Blacks in Cuba know that whenever you raise race in Cuba, you go to jail. Therefore, the struggle in Cuba is different. There cannot be a civil rights movement. You will have instantly 10,000 black people dead”. He says a new generation of Cubans are looking at politics in another way.
That new generation is going the way of the world wide web. Henry Gomez, a White Cuban living in Florida, noticed that some of the most outspoken voices against racism in Cuba are bloggers. So he founded Bloggers United for Cuban Liberty (BUCL).

“We basically organize events, distribute press releases and try to obtain coverage to counter the official propaganda coming from the Cuban Government” states Gomez, a writer for Babalu, a website that he says is the most widely read English language blog about Cuba.

Cuba was a former Spanish colony and the destination of hundreds of African slaves. According to Gomez, the Cuban Revolution of 1959 did little to liberate blacks. Since then, he says, former Dictator Fidel Castro has been successful in portraying Cuba as a post-racial egalitarian utopia. For example, Gomez says “Cuba began to develop the tourist sector of the economy in the mid-90’s and blacks were kept out of many positions that interfaced directly with foreign visitors. Also, blacks are extremely underrepresented in the higher echelons of the Cuban government bureaucracy.”

Countless blogs by Cuban writers seek to disprove so-called propaganda authored by the Cuban government. The U.S. State Department estimates Afro-Cubans make up 62 percent of the Cuban population. However, the Cuban census registers that 65 percent of the population is White.

Gomez says the Cuban government pays lip service to the issue of race. “It’s frankly the government that is the biggest perpetrator of racism in Cuba. As for Afro-Cuban opposition leaders, many of them are in jail such as Dr. Darsi Ferrer and Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet. Both are Afro-Cuban medical doctors who are rotting in Cuban prisons for their political beliefs.” Recently, an Afro-Cuban political prisoner, Orlando Zapata Tamayo, died in prison after a lengthy hunger strike. “Remember, this is a totalitarian dictatorship that has essentially remained unchanged for 51 years,” added Gomez.

Last November, sixty African-American scholars and professionals condemned the Cuban regime’s apparent crackdown on the country’s budding civil-rights movement. They issued a statement called “Acting on Our Conscience” which also called for the immediate release of imprisoned Afro-Cuban civil rights leaders. Traditionally, many African-Americans leaders sided with the Castro regime and condemned the United States, which in the past, sought to topple the Cuban government. The public rebuke of Castro’s racial policies signed by prominent African-Americans like Cornell West, Ruby Dee and Mario Van Peebles just to name a few, may indicate a changing of the tide. However, pro-government Cubans rejected allegations of racism and repression on the island, calling the charges “delusional” and part of “an anti-Cuban campaign.” They went on to point out that Cuba outlawed discrimination in 1959 and promotes Afro-Cuban culture through museums, music, dance and other institutions.

But the lack of acknowledgment by Cuba’s government does little to contain the movement of racial equality that is gaining momentum among Cuban human rights activists who are using their computers as their main weapon in the fight against racism. With each blog entry or letter, they expose what they call one the most blatantly racist places in the world.

But at the same time they remain hopeful that some of the racial progress seen in America can take root in Cuba as well. “I have no doubt that when Cuba joins the world democracies that it will have many Afro-Cuban leaders and presidents,” says Gomez, who is leading the new voice of Cuban Activists online. While Moore, who has spent the last forty years in exile and published dozens of books and articles about race relations in Cuba believes it threatens the Castro regime, as more blacks in the country feel empowered by an Obama presidency in America. He says, “Something is happening in Cuba, making them more paranoid than usual on the race subject.”

 

Mexican Music with African Roots

Undercover Afro-Latinos

Any one or more of these young men could be Latino, but how would you know if they keep their heritage private while assimilating into the African-American community?

Antonio, a long time friend from Central America is of African heritage, and of course, speaks fluent Spanish. He blends well with African-Americans; after all, he was married to one, and his children are totally assimilated into the African-American community. However, with my being an admirer of Afro-Latino cultures, it's quite evident to me how Antonio tends to minimize his Latino heritage in his communication with others, and even with other Latinos. 

One evening, for my birthday, he took me to see an Afro-Peruvian dance performance, and I, not him, was the one engaging with the Peruvians who were present. For this event, I was wearing a t-shirt reflecting Afro-Peruvian culture as a conversation piece while circulating among the crowd. It worked as Antonio simply observed me with fascination as I answered people's questions in Spanish who thought I myself might be Afro-Peruvian. He showed no interest in engaging with others, besides eavesdropping. 

I've always been outspoken about the African presence in Latin America at local black heritage events and in my Toastmasters meetings. I feel that a lot of African-Americans, and surprisingly many Latinos, need to be educated to the fact that we African-Americans are not the only black population in the western world. In fact, we are indeed a minority because an overwhelming majority of the slaves ships went to Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries almost 100 years before they started coming the U.S.

When Antonio and I first met, I asked him why he is so reluctant to assert the Latino side of his heritage. Antonio only gave me a vague answer, and to this day, I still do not understand. He is not the only person of Latin-American heritage who tries to keep it on the down-low. I've seen Latinos of all colors do it, and I'm wondering why. I brought this topic up in a forum of which I'm a member, and here are are some of their comments: 

Dora: Sometimes you just don't want to be the representative educator. It's exhausting, and other times, it still doesn't matter. Adults with narrow minds will continue to have it.  I don't always broadcast my background unless I need to. My mother does the same. I usually lay low in Spanish speaking establishments to see if they'd talk !@#$ about me.

Rob: It could be that she identifies more with just being “black” due to discrimination she may have experienced in her country. I've had Afro-Latinos friends who  say that they were treated as second class citizens and not welcomed as fellow Hispanics, so they just align more with being “black.” 

Carlos: In America, so-called Black Latinos have to assimilate. We don't have a choice. Like my man Laz Alonso said, he is Cuban inside his house and African American outside. Its just the way it is in the US. 

Ayana: My dad is from Dominica, and my mother from St. Lucia,raised in French Guiana. When I started grade school I went to a school where the kids were mostly South American and Eastern European. My best friend was Colombian and I do have distant Colombian heritage as well. I speak Spanish fluently. I was always treated equally among my peers. 

In the 5th grade I went to a different school that was predominantly African American, West Indian, and Puerto Rican. I was treated horribly by the African Americans for being "an Oreo," a "Spanish girl wannabe," and other interesting things. One time, I got kicked in the head and blacked out.

I was very sorry to hear about Latinos who were severely persecuted in their youth by their African-Americans peers who resented their being different. That brings to mind of a black Panamanian who grew up in the hood in West Oakland. He told me that keeping his Latino heritage on the down-low was about survival and fitting in. 

Rob's comment about Afro-Latinos not being welcomed by fellow Hispanics suddenly triggered my memory of Juan, from Venezuela, who could not get a job in Venezuela after finishing journalism school because of his color. He then told me how Spanish-speakers in the U.S. would often answer him in English because they could not relate to a black guy speaking Spanish. This, of course, drove him closer to African-Americans.

I've known Antonio for over 10 years, and he never mentioned any of the abuses, mistreatment, or discrimination stated above. In fact, he seldom discusses his experience as an Afro-Latino, although at times, I've heard him talk about his background as Garífuna, a descendant of escaped African slaves who assimilated with indigenous people of Central America. Even then, he keeps such discussions to a minimum, even with me knowing that I'm planning trips to a couple of Garífuna villages. 

As one member of the forum puts it, there are many things out there that influence people's decisions to downplay an aspect of their heritage. My feeling is that people need to be made aware of the diversity in the “black” community. Right here in the U.S., I've met blacks who speak English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Dutch; not to mention the various languages and dialects from the Caribbean and the African continent. My blog, African-American-Latino World, is only a minor contribution to promote this awareness.

     

Using Facebook for Latin-American Travel

As of this writing, I've traveled to nine Latin American countries, and before my trips, I try to network on Facebook, and establish rapport with the people who live in the countries I plan on visiting. Naturally, this makes my travel experience a lot warmer and more welcoming. And like anywhere, some people are more open to meeting new people than others. However, it was the friendlier ones who perceived my genuine spirit who were very good about helping me get connected and acclimated when I arrived in their countries. 

At the Jose Martí International Airport in Havana, Cuba

In the Spring of 2009, I opened a Spanish-speaking Facebook account, separate from my English-speaking account making more than 200 friends throughout Latin America. Because I'm a sentimental fan of Ecuador's International Soccer team, I posted a message on the Ecuadorian board stating that I wanted to visit the black community up in the Andes Mountains that produced their soccer all-star Augustin Delgado, whom I refer to as the Magic Johnson of Ecuador. Within a couple of days, I got a response from Alexandra, an Ecuadorian woman living in Germany with her husband. After months of Facebook communication, she introduced me to her mother, Gloria, who lives in Quito, Ecuador's capital. When I arrived, Gloria showed me around, gave me plenty of advice, and sheltered me from the gringo tax, i.e., being taken advantage of by merchants and cab drivers because I'm a foreigner (a gringo).

One of the things I notice about people in Latin-America using Facebook is that they seldom turn down a “Friend” request, even from a stranger. At least that's been my experience. However, to break the ice, I try to engage them by clicking “Like” on posts that I genuinely like, and make comments when appropriate. I frequently click “Share” and post messages of my own. Likewise, they click “Like” or “Share,” and make comments of their own. And, as on my English-speaking account, I keep track of birthdays. This, over time, helps me to make myself known and eventually establish the rapport that I seek.

For example, I befriended Maritza, an reserved Peruvian woman living in Toronto who, after about one year of Facebook friendship, introduced me to members of her family in Lima, Perú, and those members of her family, to date, are still introducing me to other members of the family being that I visit Perú almost every year. A couple of her family members arranged for me to get a nice clean room to rent during my stay in Lima for as little as $4.00 per night.

It was refreshing how Yolanda, from Ecuador's Pacific Coast, started a live chat discussion with me by asking where I am from because the Facebook name for my Spanish account, Guillermo William Smith, sounds so Un-Spanish. Today, she is one of my closes friends on Facebook, and I love how she corrects my Spanish, grammatically speaking. Per her request, I will return to Ecuador and pay her a visit.in the province of Esmeraldas where it has a history of escaped African slaves rising up to defeat the Spanish to earn their freedom before the rest of Ecuador earned theirs.

The Getsamane District of Cartegena, Colombia where I stayed

For me, having a Spanish-speaking Facebook account is an excellent way to practice my Spanish, considering all the room that I have for improvement. Increasingly, I've been sharing some Spanish-speaking posts, on my English-speaking account, and some of the English-speaking posts on my Spanish-speaking account, and translating those posts from English to Spanish, and vice-versa. I've even gotten into live, extensive Spanish discussions with people from Venezuela, Perú, Ecuador, Chile, Spain, and Colombia.

Before my 2010 trip to Colombia, I made plans to visit the landmark town of San Basilio de Palenque where African slaves won their freedom from the Spanish 216 years before the rest of Colombia and other South American countries won their freedom. I went on one of the Colombian message boards publicizing my plans to visit Palenque, as the Colombians call it, and within 24 hours, I got messages from five or six people giving me directions from the City of Cartagena where I was going to be staying, and even offered me personal assistance. 

Currently, I'm planning trips to Honduras, Guatemala, and Chile, and have already made my share of friends from those countries on Facebook..