August

AFROCOLOMBIANS

AFROCOLOMBIANOS

BEAUTIFUL

AFRICAN

DESCENDANTS

WHO

ARE

CULTURAL

KEEPERS

OF

DIVERSE

AFRICAN

CULTURE

AND

BLACK

STRUGGLES

IN

LATIN

AMERICA

AfroColombians

are

Colombians

of

African

ancestry

They

constitute

about

of

the

Colombian

population

today

about

million

people

However

of

the

AfroColombian

population

selfidentifies

as

having

African

descendants

according

to

the

PERLA

Project

on

Ethnicity

and

Race

in

Latin

America

study

They

make

up

the

second

largest

African

descendant

population

in

Latin

America

after

Brazil

AfroColombians

have

impacted

immensely

on

Colombian

culture

and

the

general

socioeconomic

milieu

The

largest

populations

of

AfroColombians

live

in

the

departments

on

the

Atlantic

and

Pacific

coasts

where

they

constitute

as

much

as

of

the

populace

DANE

Colombia

una

nación

multicultural

AfroColombians

are

the

African

descendants

whose

diverse

culture

reflect

almost

every

black

African

ethnic

group

Nevertheless

as

anthropologist

Nina

de

Friedemann

argues

AfroColombians

remain

invisible

in

national

public

life

their

selfaffirmation

as

a

group

complicated

by

numerous

longterm

historical

cultural

and

geographic

factors

This

invisibility

also

extends

to

spheres

of

cultural

production

and

selfrepresentation

where

AfroColombians

have

either

occupied

reified

positions

or

lived

an

absence

as

presence

in

the

national

cultural

imaginaryNotable

AfroColombians

include

Colombian

scientists

like

Raul

Cuero

writers

like

Manuel

Zapata

Olivella

and

politicians

Piedad

Córdoba

Paula

Marcela

Moreno

Zapata

and

Luis

Gilberto

Murillo

Miss

Colombia

winner

and

fashion

model

Vanessa

Alexandra

Mendoza

Bustos

first

Olympic

gold

medal

winner

for

the

country

AfroColombian

dance

troupe

from

Bogota

Despite

their

significant

contributions

and

population

numbers

it

was

not

until

that

AfroColombians

were

for

the

first

time

recognized

as

an

ethnic

group

by

the

Colombian

Constitution

through

Transitory

Article

of

Afrodescendants

can

be

found

in

regions

such

as

Choco

Buenaventura

Cali

Cartegena

San

Andres

Island

and

throughout

the

country

AfroColombian

scientist

Dr

Raul

Cuero

PhD

in

Microbiology

President

and

Research

Director

of

international

Park

Of

Creativity

International

Consultant

on

Sciense

and

Biotechnology

From

through

he

was

a

professor

at

Prairie

View

AM

University

researching

biological

resistance

to

ultraviolet

light

The

work

was

supported

in

part

by

NASA

and

led

to

at

least

one

publication

and

patent

During

this

period

Colombian

media

portrayed

Cuero

as

one

of

the

greatest

scientists

in

the

world

who

was

internationally

acknowledged

as

one

of

the

greatest

Colombian

inventors

stated

he

had

over

publications

in

scientific

journals

AfroColombian

Edgar

Enrique

Rentería

Herazo

nicknamed

The

Barranquilla

Baby

is

a

Colombian

former

professional

baseball

shortstop

He

threw

and

batted

righthanded

Black

people

in

Colombia

are

difficult

to

define

Colombians

do

not

define

race

as

black

or

white

but

degrees

of

Black

White

and

Indian

with

numerous

constructs

in

between

Blacks

in

the

island

of

San

Andres

Providencis

Santa

Catalina

are

oriented

to

Caribbean

cultures

The

term

negro

is

rarely

used

in

Colombia

and

can

be

taken

as

disparaging

Moreno

brown

gente

de

color

people

of

color

libres

free

people

costeno

coastal

dwellers

are

terms

used

to

describe

AfroColombians

After

increased

political

gains

in

the

the

terms

AfroColombiano

La

Comuniado

Negras

black

community

are

used

by

the

government

of

The

countrys

African

diaspora

is

descended

from

slaves

that

began

to

be

brought

to

what

was

then

called

Nueva

Granada

in

the

early

sixteenth

century

Enslaved

Africans

were

made

to

toil

in

industrial

sectors

ranging

from

plantations

and

ranches

to

gold

mines

and

commercial

fishing

boats

The

Colombian

government

through

its

National

Department

of

Statistics

DANE

has

identified

four

representative

groups

of

Afrodescendants

in

the

country

AfroColombians

from

the

Pacific

who

mainly

are

peasants

fishermen

and

traditional

miners

mainly

located

on

collectively

owned

territories

Raizal

communities

from

the

Caribbean

Islands

of

San

Andres

and

Providence

AfroColombians

from

the

palenque

of

Historically

AfroColombians

have

been

socially

marginalized

and

politically

excluded

Beginning

in

the

early

African

slave

labor

was

applied

to

cattle

raising

transportation

construction

and

domestic

service

Arocha

p

with

a

later

a

focus

on

gold

and

platinum

mining

Due

to

the

scattering

of

slave

concentrations

throughout

the

country

ethnic

reconstruction

was

limited

until

the

early

when

the

rise

of

sugar

plantations

sparked

consolidation

efforts

for

enslaved

Afrodescended

populations

though

it

is

still

difficult

to

trace

ethnic

identity

formations

Arocha

notes

that

AfroColombians

were

made

invisible

by

the

Christianization

of

African

slaves

wherein

names

were

altered

or

The

Pacific

coastal

region

of

Colombia

covers

ten

million

hectares

eighty

percent

of

which

is

still

covered

by

tropical

rainforests

The

region

is

isolated

from

the

rest

of

the

country

by

the

Western

Andean

mountain

chain

with

little

more

than

three

roads

leading

to

the

area

In

the

early

paramilitaries

had

yet

to

infiltrate

the

Pacific

coast

Asher

p

In

fact

the

government

had

considered

AfroColombians

and

indigenous

groups

on

the

coast

to

be

guardians

of

the

rainforests

However

the

idea

of

protection

that

was

prominent

in

the

early

was

soon

transformed

by

the

intrusion

of

The

Evidence

of

Africa

in

AfroColombian

culture

can

be

visibly

seen

in

their

music

In

Colombian

music

there

are

many

evidences

of

African

heritage

It

is

understood

that

currulao

abosao

champeta

bullerengue

and

mapale

are

Africanbased

musical

genres

but

there

is

evidence

of

Africa

in

other

music

genres

The

word

cumbia

comes

from

the

Bantu

word

nkumbi

which

means

drums

Porro

comes

from

a

secret

society

in

western

Africa

Bambuco

has

a

format

that

resembles

music

from

the

Bambuko

region

in

Senegal

Villancicos

are

musical

adaptations

of

African

chants

In

vallenato

two

of

the

rhythms

have

pronounced

African

influences

Merengue

Palenquera

in

Cartagena

Colombia

Language

All

Black

people

in

Colombia

speak

Colombian

Spanish

Others

speak

San

Andres

Creole

and

Caribbean

English

In

certain

areas

such

as

the

Pacific

region

there

are

specific

features

of

accent

vocabulary

and

syntax

that

make

the

Spanish

spoken

there

distinctive

Celebrated

AfroColombian

doctor

anthropologist

folklorist

diplomat

and

gifted

writer

Manuel

Zapata

Olivella

Santa

Cruz

de

Lorica

Córdoba

de

marzo

de

Bogotá

de

noviembre

de

In

Palenque

de

San

Basilio

a

single

village

in

the

Caribbean

region

palenquero

is

also

spoken

often

as

a

first

language

migrants

from

this

village

to

other

areas

may

also

speak

it

It

is

a

Spanishbased

creole

language

with

African

and

Portuguese

elements

in

the

early

the

Ministry

of

Education

began

to

finance

an

ethnoeducation

program

aimed

at

reversing

the

apparent

trend

toward

the

loss

of

palenquero

Female

stylists

from

across

Colombia

celebrated

the

annual

AfroColombian

hair

contest

on

Monday

May

to

commemorate

black

culture

Photo

Chinanewscom

History

The

origin

of

the

slaves

brought

to

the

Virreinato

de

Nueva

Granada

Panama

Colombia

Venezuela

and

Ecuador

is

hard

to

determine

as

no

records

were

kept

to

identify

African

slaves

origins

For

colonial

authorities

keeping

records

of

Africans

origin

was

irrelevant

as

they

were

mainly

considered

objects

tools

for

physical

work

and

noncarriers

of

culture

Nina

Friedemann

citing

Roger

Bastide

However

historical

analyses

of

colonial

slave

trade

documents

show

that

the

slaves

brought

to

Cartagena

to

be

distributed

among

the

Virreinato

de

Nueva

Granada

came

from

every

zone

involved

in

the

African

slaves

trade

Guinea

Sierra

Leone

Congo

Carabali

EfikAnnangIbibioNigeria

Arara

derived

from

Allada

city

in

dahomey

includes

Ewe

Fon

Mahi

Mina

ElminaFantesGhana

and

Angola

and

belonged

to

several

African

ethnicities

such

as

Angol

Kingdom

of

Kongo

ethnic

groups

Carabalies

EfikIgboIbibioAnnang

Congo

Bambaras

Minas

Akans

Mandigas

MandingaMandinka

Yolofos

Wolofs

Luangos

Ambundu

Ovimbundu

Umbundu

among

many

others

Friedemanns

review

from

wellknown

works

of

historians

and

linguists

observes

Africans

brought

to

Colombia

came

from

seven

regions

in

Africa

Senegambia

Pepper

Coast

Gold

Coast

Benin

Gulf

Biafra

Gulf

Central

Africa

and

West

Africa

and

belong

to

more

than

twenty

different

African

ethnicities

Enslaved

Africans

first

began

being

imported

into

Colombia

by

the

Spaniards

in

the

first

decade

of

the

century

By

the

Africans

were

being

imported

into

Colombia

steadily

to

replace

the

rapidly

declining

native

American

population

However

Afro

descendants

not

only

arrived

to

the

colonies

as

a

result

of

slave

trading

and

illegal

trafficking

through

the

Colombian

Atlantic

and

Pacific

coasts

they

also

came

as

part

of

the

Spanish

conquers

expeditions

to

the

New

World

These

Africans

known

as

negros

ladinos

were

born

under

Christian

Spanish

and

Portuguese

owners

and

were

familiar

with

the

conquers

culture

and

language

The

negros

ladinos

who

were

a

combination

of

free

blacks

and

slaves

were

the

only

people

apart

from

the

conquers

allowed

to

enter

the

colonies

For

instance

in

the

instructions

from

the

Crown

to

Nicolas

de

Ovando

Governor

of

the

Indias

the

colonies

were

forbidden

to

bring

moros

Jews

heretics

and

the

recently

converted

It

is

unknown

how

many

negros

ladinos

arriving

to

the

colonies

were

slaves

and

how

many

were

free

blacks

Friedemann

By

number

of

about

slaves

were

imported

to

Colombia

It

did

not

take

long

before

this

slaves

began

bloody

uprisings

against

their

masters

for

wrongful

treatment

The

first

slave

revolt

in

Colombia

occurred

in

Santa

Marta

in

The

town

was

completely

burned

down

by

the

slaves

Rebuilt

in

it

was

burnt

down

again

in

another

revolt

in

In

a

group

of

mining

slaves

in

present

day

Popayán

escaped

from

the

mines

and

took

over

the

town

of

Tofeme

They

killed

twenty

whites

and

carried

off

Indian

hostages

to

the

mountains

In

and

In

the

seventeenth

century

due

to

the

expansion

of

mines

and

haciendas

and

once

the

indigenous

population

had

considerably

diminished

due

to

harsh

treatment

extermination

or

fallen

victims

of

Europeans

diseases

slaves

replaced

indigenous

workforce

in

livestock

and

farming

haciendas

and

mining

During

this

century

the

demand

for

African

slaves

increased

and

became

critical

to

support

new

forms

of

social

and

economic

organization

in

the

colonies

This

shift

from

indigenous

work

force

to

African

slaves

work

force

marked

at

the

same

time

the

end

of

a

colonial

socioeconomic

system

supported

by

indigenous

societies

and

the

beginning

of

a

new

colonial

system

supported

almost

exclusively

by

slavery

Author

Anthony

McFarlane

explains

this

transition

as

follows

the

decimation

and

destruction

of

indigenous

societies

was

paralleled

by

the

emergence

of

new

forms

of

social

and

economic

organization

designed

to

meet

Spanish

needs

and

aspirations

Two

basic

patters

emerged

One

was

a

rural

economy

in

which

arable

farming

combining

with

cattle

raising

to

meet

the

basic

needs

of

Spanish

settlers

the

other

was

a

mining

economy

that

extracted

gold

essential

for

trade

with

Europe

MacFarlane

In

Colombia

the

pacific

rural

regions

of

Cauca

Bolivar

Valle

del

Cauca

Antioquia

and

Chocó

had

the

greatest

concentration

of

slaves

Mining

sugar

production

cattle

among

others

economic

activities

were

concentrated

in

the

region

where

economy

heavily

depended

upon

exploitation

of

African

slaves

the

slaves

arriving

to

Cartagena

who

were

fit

to

work

in

the

mines

were

taken

in

small

groups

throughout

the

Magdalena

and

Cauca

rivers

to

their

destinations

in

Santa

Fe

Antioquia

Cali

Popayan

y

Chocó

Thus

colonial

economy

relied

almost

exclusively

on

slave

work

force

Slave

work

force

was

present

in

both

the

rural

and

the

urban

sectors

However

their

presence

was

heavily

concentrated

on

the

rural

areas

working

primarily

on

mining

agriculture

and

livestock

In

the

seventeenth

century

the

economy

in

the

Nueva

Granada

was

unthinkable

without

the

blacks

Over

their

shoulders

rest

the

development

of

mining

agriculture

livestock

crafts

commerce

domestic

work

and

pearls

extraction

in

the

Caribbean

Friedemann

citing

Jaramillo

Uribe

Between

and

the

first

gold

explorations

took

place

in

the

Pacific

coast

Groups

formed

by

African

slaves

and

Indians

under

the

command

of

a

Spanish

conquer

cuadrillas

went

in

search

of

gold

along

the

rivers

in

the

region

The

cuadrillas

were

usually

formed

by

a

group

of

up

to

men

living

in

camps

along

the

rivers

Leal

Friedemann

Miners

camps

were

established

along

the

rivers

due

to

easy

access

to

food

fish

mollusks

manatees

veal

and

wild

boars

Thus

the

miners

camps

were

built

along

the

following

rivers

Santa

Maria

del

Puerto

that

later

would

By

the

eighteenth

century

mining

became

the

most

profitable

colonial

activity

African

slaves

from

the

Pacific

region

became

the

major

labor

force

for

developing

not

only

the

mining

but

also

the

agricultural

sector

In

the

urban

areas

African

slaves

were

also

an

essential

part

of

the

economy

as

they

supplied

the

labor

in

micro

economic

niches

in

cities

such

as

Cartagena

African

slaves

performed

a

wide

range

of

occupations

from

artisans

to

street

vendors

fruit

food

and

sweets

transported

goods

along

the

Cauca

and

Magdalena

rivers

worked

in

port

and

cargo

activities

and

were

also

commonly

found

as

household

servants

Despite

their

importance

to

colonial

economy

African

slaves

at

the

time

had

fewer

rights

than

indigenous

who

enjoyed

some

legal

protections

The

colonial

black

codes

from

the

Spanish

Crown

apparently

written

to

protect

slaves

were

a

legal

framework

to

institutionalize

slavery

as

a

socioeconomic

system

and

served

as

a

legal

tool

to

segregate

Afro

population

As

a

result

of

these

colonial

laws

African

slaves

were

segregated

and

relegated

to

agricultural

labor

and

other

rural

activities

The

codes

also

prohibited

the

access

of

blacks

and

pardos

until

the

fifth

generation

to

the

sciences

African

slaves

were

legally

banned

from

education

further

The

Pacific

coast

mining

economy

stimulated

haciendas

economic

expansion

where

large

scale

production

of

sugar

cane

plantain

tobacco

and

cattle

became

the

norm

Gonzalez

Sevillana

The

need

to

haciendas

became

a

repository

of

African

labor

for

sustaining

mining

activities

Gonzalez

Sevillana

explains

that

mine

owners

were

dependent

on

slaves

as

their

workforce

and

some

large

mines

exploited

up

to

five

hundred

slaves

at

the

time

to

meet

production

targets

In

addition

mine

owners

foods

demands

to

feed

the

slaves

increased

and

the

platanares

which

were

small

portions

of

land

around

the

mine

for

slaves

food

production

became

insufficient

Mine

As

a

consequence

it

was

common

to

find

mine

owners

in

the

Valle

region

who

were

also

hacienda

owners

in

the

eighteenth

century

the

development

of

gold

mining

on

the

Pacific

lowlands

injected

a

new

dynamism

into

Caucas

economy

Sugar

cultivation

using

slave

labor

and

often

organized

by

hacendados

who

were

also

involved

in

mining

and

who

transferred

their

slaves

between

agricultural

and

mining

activities

now

became

the

most

profitable

aspect

of

agrarian

economy

The

Path

to

Emancipation

During

the

fifteenth

sixteenth

and

seventeenth

centuries

slaves

had

few

opportunities

to

escape

to

freedom

As

slaves

were

the

core

of

the

colonial

economic

system

slavery

was

aggressively

enforced

by

the

Spanish

Crown

and

harsh

punishments

were

in

place

to

suppress

slaves

intent

to

seek

emancipation

However

at

the

same

time

the

Crown

over

the

centuries

and

with

the

support

of

the

Catholic

Church

issued

a

series

of

mandates

known

as

ordenanzas

to

protect

slaves

Although

mainly

directed

to

fiercely

and

legally

enforced

slavery

the

ordenanzas

included

articles

to

protect

slaves

from

excessive

punishment

and

to

secure

slaves

proper

alimentation

Contrary

to

what

one

might

think

the

mandates

issued

by

the

Spanish

Crown

as

early

as

PUND

were

never

an

intent

to

humanize

the

practice

of

slavery

These

primarily

were

a

legal

instrument

to

regulate

control

and

protect

slavery

workforce

which

was

essential

to

colonial

economy

However

in

many

instances

African

slaves

used

the

mandates

to

negotiate

better

conditions

moved

from

abusive

owners

and

even

to

obtain

freedom

Despite

the

challenges

imposed

by

the

colonial

system

some

slaves

were

able

to

gain

freedom

before

slavery

was

formally

abolished

by

either

escaping

to

palenques

which

were

black

independent

communities

In

the

Colombian

Pacific

and

thanks

to

the

mining

economy

more

slaves

were

able

to

exercise

the

right

to

buy

their

freedom

by

paying

their

owners

with

gold

powder

extracted

from

the

mines

where

slaves

were

allowed

to

work

on

their

free

day

which

was

usually

Sundays

Leal

Contrary

to

other

colonial

territories

such

as

the

Colombian

Atlantic

or

the

Caribbean

coast

where

African

slaves

seeking

freedom

would

usually

ran

away

to

the

Palenques

as

it

was

the

only

option

in

the

Colombian

Pacific

once

slavery

was

abolished

only

of

the

regions

black

population

remained

slaves

Leal

Everbeautiful

AfroColombian

ironlady

Piedad

Esneda

Córdoba

Ruiz

a

Colombian

lawyer

and

politician

who

served

as

Senator

of

Colombia

from

to

A

Liberal

party

politician

she

also

served

as

Member

of

the

Chamber

of

Representatives

of

Colombia

for

Antioquia

from

to

Palenques

The

first

palenques

for

slave

colonies

were

established

in

the

sixteenth

century

along

the

Atlantic

coast

close

to

northern

Caribbean

city

of

Cartagena

Tofeme

La

Ramada

Malambo

and

Ure

In

the

seventeenth

eighteenth

nineteenth

and

twentieth

centuries

the

numbers

of

palenques

multiplied

extending

along

the

Atlantic

through

the

Pacific

coast

from

Cartagena

to

the

Patia

river

However

very

little

is

known

about

the

lives

of

the

cimarrones

as

African

runaway

slaves

were

known

in

the

palenques

there

is

a

deep

lack

of

data

about

the

daily

lives

of

the

peoples

in

the

palenques

According

to

McFarlanes

article

cited

by

Gonzalez

Sevillana

Cimarrones

y

Palenques

en

Colombia

Siglo

XVIII

en

Revista

Historia

y

Espacio

No

the

first

runaways

slaves

were

from

the

Atlantic

region

and

the

palenques

were

formed

directly

by

African

slaves

as

autonomous

societies

with

African

traditions

After

the

seventeenth

century

other

palenques

spread

to

other

regions

that

became

more

easily

integrated

with

other

colonial

populations

Gonzalez

Sevillana

citing

McFarlane

Among

other

contributions

palenques

played

an

important

role

in

the

conservation

of

African

traditions

and

culture

For

instance

the

San

Basilio

Palenque

in

the

Atlantic

coast

has

survived

for

centuries

The

Carolinian

Code

The

Carolinian

Codes

or

Black

Spanish

Code

of

Codigo

Negro

Carolino

were

one

of

the

most

significant

and

comprehensive

mandates

dealing

with

slaves

produced

by

the

Crown

As

previous

mandates

the

Carolinian

codes

were

focused

on

prohibitions

directed

to

strictly

control

slaves

but

they

also

contained

provisions

to

regulate

owners

treatment

of

their

slaves

from

food

and

clothing

to

type

of

acceptable

punishments

African

slaves

in

the

colonies

used

this

particular

code

to

buy

their

freedom

negotiate

with

their

owners

to

gain

better

conditions

and

to

benefit

from

their

owners

merci

who

in

exchange

for

loyalty

or

a

lifelong

The

Republic

Abolition

of

Slavery

In

the

nineteenth

century

the

crisis

of

the

slavery

system

in

Europe

and

frictions

in

the

colonies

between

the

colonial

dominant

elites

Spaniards

and

the

criollos

as

were

known

the

Spaniards

descendants

born

in

the

colonies

also

influenced

the

African

slaves

path

to

emancipation

The

independence

wars

of

the

nineteenth

century

became

an

opportunity

for

the

slaves

to

achieve

freedom

African

slaves

were

actively

involved

during

colonies

battles

fighting

on

one

side

or

the

other

pursing

their

only

interest

freedom

Spanish

and

Republicans

leaders

desperate

to

enlist

as

many

slaves

as

possible

into

their

armies

offered

slaves

freedom

Furthermore

the

Spanish

even

offered

land

and

official

titles

The

Republicans

in

response

offered

absolute

freedom

LievanoAguirre

cited

by

PNUD

In

Símon

Bolívar

began

recruiting

slaves

in

Colombia

Five

thousand

were

recruited

for

battle

Símon

Bolívar

initially

refused

to

allow

blacks

mulattos

and

zambos

into

the

independence

army

but

seeing

that

he

could

not

win

without

those

population

he

conceded

To

Bolívar

the

slave

was

a

child

In

addition

because

of

the

high

white

casuality

in

the

Venezuelan

war

he

wanted

to

reduce

the

latter

casualty

count

so

more

whites

would

enjoy

the

fruitage

of

independence

and

diminish

the

black

population

The

white

elite

was

in

constant

fear

of

a

large

black

population

taking

over

or

pardocracia

Bolívar

harbored

On

August

the

independence

army

defeated

the

Spanish

army

in

New

Granada

Colombia

in

what

is

known

as

the

Boyacá

Battle

fought

near

Bogota

for

the

final

battle

of

independence

Once

freed

from

the

Spanish

rule

the

Republicans

also

known

as

criollos

established

a

provisional

government

headed

by

Independence

army

general

Simon

Bolivar

as

President

and

Francisco

de

Paula

Santander

as

a

vicepresident

In

the

Republican

congress

dominated

by

the

liberal

party

lead

by

Francisco

de

Paula

Santander

initiated

talks

regarding

slaves

freedom

This

discussion

produced

the

Wombs

Freedom

Law

Ley

de

Libertad

de

Vientres

which

was

a

law

that

would

gradually

provide

children

of

slaves

freedom

A

junta

de

manumisión

was

formed

to

enforce

this

law

and

collect

taxes

to

purchase

the

freedom

of

slaves

born

before

July

This

action

was

the

process

of

gradual

emancipation

favored

by

the

elites

rather

than

outright

freedom

since

the

economy

of

Gran

Colombia

was

overly

reliant

on

slavery

Unfortunately

the

law

was

In

the

Republic

of

Gran

Colombia

broke

into

civil

war

After

the

war

in

the

slave

plantation

class

held

the

upper

hand

and

proceed

to

exclude

all

laws

of

manumission

from

Colombias

constitution

In

another

civil

war

broke

out

This

war

plus

slaves

rebelling

in

the

goldmines

of

Cauca

and

wreaking

havoc

and

destroying

the

mindfields

caused

many

of

the

slaveholders

to

request

permission

to

sell

their

slaves

to

Peru

for

a

profit

Eight

hundred

slaves

were

sold

to

Peru

In

after

the

liberal

government

lost

the

power

to

the

conservative

party

slaves

trafficking

and

export

was

again

legalized

The

meteoric

rise

of

antislavery

politician

Jose

Hilario

Lopez

influenced

by

the

revolutionary

thoughts

and

ideals

of

Europe

and

contributed

in

hastening

of

an

end

to

slavery

in

Colombia

The

liberal

party

headed

by

Lopez

regained

governments

control

in

Lopez

as

a

president

immediately

pushed

for

emancipation

by

compensating

slave

owner

for

manumission

Some

slaver

owners

began

to

release

their

slaves

in

On

May

all

slaves

were

ordered

freed

AfroColombian

actress

Indhira

Rosa

Serrano

Redondo

She

was

born

in

in

Barranquilla

Colombia

and

is

a

well

known

Colombian

actress

and

model

She

participated

in

grand

telenovelas

such

as

La

Traición

and

El

Clon

of

Telemundo

The

congress

hammered

the

nail

to

slavery

by

declaring

on

January

all

servitude

in

Colombia

abolished

This

change

in

status

among

others

socioeconomic

and

political

aspects

triggered

a

relocation

of

mine

and

slave

owners

from

the

Pacific

coast

to

the

closest

urban

areas

in

the

region

the

large

slave

owners

of

the

Pacific

coast

experienced

a

crisis

due

to

loss

of

workers

and

a

subsequently

critical

situation

from

a

depression

of

the

mine

industry

along

with

the

outbreak

of

political

conflicts

provoking

the

civil

wars

at

the

beginning

of

the

nineteenth

century

These

negative

factors

finally

compelled

former

After

the

independence

wars

peasant

families

and

free

slaves

settled

in

vast

unoccupied

state

lands

Cauca

valley

practicing

subsistence

agricultural

production

with

some

cash

sale

for

markets

This

new

economic

practice

gave

rise

to

a

new

rural

social

class

Within

this

new

social

sector

land

was

communal

and

farmers

had

right

to

farm

hunt

gather

forest

products

and

pan

for

gold

This

economic

strategy

has

been

practiced

over

generations

for

AfroColombians

in

the

Cauca

Valley

Another

sector

of

ex

slaves

left

behind

the

haciendas

and

the

mines

and

made

their

way

to

the

Pacific

coastal

jungle

and

to

the

lands

Todos

Somos

Pacífico

a

beginners

guide

to

Colombian

music

from

the

Pacific

Coast

As

observed

by

Friedemann

terraje

had

elements

common

to

the

slavery

system

Free

blacks

had

no

freedom

of

movement

and

the

workers

had

to

request

authorization

to

be

absent

for

a

short

period

of

time

In

addition

celebrations

were

restricted

by

hacendados

and

the

free

slaves

were

required

to

submit

expenditures

Friedemann

Furthermore

Friedemann

states

that

during

that

period

labor

shortages

generated

the

creation

of

coercive

measures

such

as

laws

authorizing

bosses

to

use

physical

punishment

via

lashing

and

withholding

basic

foods

from

their

rebellious

workers

all

this

happening

in

twenty

five

years

after

black

were

declared

Abolition

however

did

not

change

Afrodescendants

colonial

conditions

in

the

Republics

society

In

fact

the

Republic

model

reproduced

many

colonial

policies

where

Afrodescendents

were

marginalized

and

grossly

exploited

lacking

economic

means

of

subsistence

outside

of

haciendas

owners

or

any

other

white

patron

willing

to

take

them

as

servants

or

peons

Afrodescents

during

the

Republic

wound

up

being

dependent

and

controlled

by

the

dominant

usually

white

elites

for

subsistence

Republicans

were

unable

to

fulfill

the

promises

made

to

slaves

during

the

independence

wars

mainly

because

laws

ending

slavery

were

seen

as

a

direct

threat

to

propertys

right

which

was

ultimately

recognized

In

this

respect

Friedemann

also

adds

that

in

rural

areas

lack

of

land

reform

measures

andor

any

other

stipulations

to

provide

free

slaves

with

means

of

subsistence

and

work

once

slavery

was

abolished

contributed

to

the

continuation

of

the

slavery

system

in

post

colonial

period

During

the

Republic

free

blacks

subsistence

conditions

were

very

poor

and

dependent

In

rural

and

urban

areas

they

struggled

in

poverty

unable

to

cover

their

main

needs

and

lacked

any

real

possibilities

for

social

and

economical

mobility

within

the

postcolonial

system

Thus

it

was

left

a

big

human

group

with

absolute

freedom

but

without

resources

such

as

land

means

of

production

rents

literacy

and

without

any

other

option

that

passing

from

being

slave

to

be

day

laborer

lessee

peon

or

household

servant

in

other

words

the

liberto

free

black

continued

to

occupy

the

lowest

social

status

in

society

It

went

Celebrated

woman

weightlifter

MariaIsabelUrrutia

Maria

Isabel

Urrutia

Maria

Isabel

Urrutia

is

an

AfroColombian

Olympic

goldmedal

winner

in

weightlifting

and

a

Colombian

politician

Modern

History

Beginning

in

the

the

government

of

Colombia

pursued

a

policy

of

whitening

Like

most

of

Latin

America

this

was

viewed

in

economicbiological

terms

In

Law

was

passed

banning

immigration

of

peopled

deemed

inconvenient

for

the

development

of

the

Colombian

race

and

nation

This

law

encouraged

white

immigration

Law

was

the

manifest

of

ideas

and

sentiments

expressed

by

later

president

Laureano

Gomez

in

who

stated

The

black

is

a

plague

In

the

countries

where

he

has

disappeared

as

in

Argentina

Chile

and

Paraguay

it

has

been

possible

to

establish

an

economic

and

political

organization

on

a

AfroColombian

superbeauty

Vanessa

Alexandra

Mendoza

Bustos

born

better

known

simply

as

Vanessa

Mendoza

is

a

Colombian

fashion

model

who

held

the

Miss

Colombia

title

in

being

the

first

AfroColombian

to

win

that

contest

During

the

black

Colombian

political

organization

gained

ground

with

a

strong

emphasis

on

black

identity

In

Law

was

passed

barring

discrimination

against

blacks

and

bringing

about

a

mandate

promoting

black

representation

in

government

and

industry

The

law

also

gave

collective

land

rights

to

AfroColombians

Even

with

the

passing

of

Law

it

has

been

unraveled

by

the

conflict

on

the

Pacific

coast

mainly

the

Choco

region

where

conflict

between

guerrila

groups

rightwing

paramilitary

and

army

have

cause

widespread

death

and

displacement

of

AfroColombians

Those

regions

are

remote

with

very

little

government

control

Escaping

the

Republican

System

In

rural

areas

some

free

blacks

used

the

strategy

of

settling

on

wastelands

along

the

rivers

escaping

from

the

place

of

poverty

dependence

and

marginalization

reserved

to

them

within

postcolonial

system

This

strategy

resulted

in

the

formation

of

a

socioeconomic

and

cultural

structure

organized

around

family

ties

and

communities

This

socioeconomic

model

known

as

troncos

limited

land

access

to

parentage

and

at

the

same

time

established

rules

to

lands

access

Rodriguez

Troncos

also

comprised

socioeconomic

units

Minas

common

in

mining

areas

of

the

community

Minas

territory

had

four

distinct

areas

of

organization

the

residential

area

for

the

nuclear

family

María

Elcina

Valencia

Córdoba

AfroColombian

poet

and

singer

This

socioeconomic

organization

remains

in

place

today

within

AfroColombian

rural

territories

of

the

South

Pacific

coast

representing

the

socioeconomic

model

in

which

this

particular

group

of

Afro

Colombians

has

maintained

their

subsistence

and

production

for

centuries

Thus

the

tronco

as

a

social

and

cultural

reality

have

shaped

the

subsistence

of

black

groups

Furthermore

the

tronco

as

observed

by

Friedemann

became

for

AfroColombians

in

rural

areas

of

the

south

Pacific

region

a

response

to

discrimination

from

the

dominant

society

the

tronco

continues

to

function

for

blacks

contemporary

groups

as

a

response

to

socioethnic

and

economic

discrimination

In

addition

to

troncos

AfroColombian

communities

in

the

Pacific

have

established

two

traditional

forms

to

access

land

that

were

equally

structure

around

family

and

communities

the

inheritance

system

and

the

selling

buying

land

system

among

the

members

from

the

same

community

Under

the

inheritance

system

children

received

land

to

work

from

their

parents

known

as

plante

once

the

children

had

formed

their

own

nuclear

families

Also

the

rights

over

land

inherited

were

never

lost

by

the

descendants

even

if

the

family

leaves

the

territory

Therefore

children

and

grandchildren

from

those

families

retained

the

right

to

claim

inherited

territory

upon

their

return

The

second

system

allows

to

only

members

from

the

same

community

to

buy

land

from

another

member

to

assist

the

fellow

seller

to

overcome

any

kind

of

financial

hardship

It

is

important

to

note

that

this

practice

is

viewed

as

a

favor

to

another

member

of

the

community

and

it

is

not

practiced

to

accumulate

land

by

one

member

of

the

community

or

his

family

AfroColombian

Luis

Gilberto

Murillo

Urrutia

is

the

former

Governor

of

the

predominantly

AfroColombian

Department

of

Chocó

in

Colombia

He

is

now

the

Vice

President

for

Programs

and

Strategy

at

Phelps

Stokes

in

Washington

The

Constitution

of

Ethnic

Rights

and

IDPs

During

the

Colombia

was

undergoing

profound

economic

social

and

political

transformations

In

this

decade

Colombias

agroindustrial

economy

was

strengthened

thanks

to

the

creation

of

state

policies

to

promote

economic

liberalization

decentralization

and

democratization

In

the

Pacific

region

economic

liberalization

policies

resulted

in

increasing

pressure

on

land

and

resources

Barbary

and

Urrea

Giraldo

In

addition

mass

cultivation

of

African

Palm

spread

among

the

regions

of

Uraba

and

the

South

Pacific

and

companies

were

established

in

Tumaco

to

cultivate

shrimp

AfroColombians

lost

territorial

control

to

private

companies

becoming

workers

with

little

labor

guarantees

due

to

companies

proliferation

of

the

At

the

same

time

black

social

movements

within

the

region

seeking

sociopolitical

ethnical

recognition

started

to

surge

On

the

national

level

Colombia

had

formed

a

National

Constitutional

Assembly

charged

with

the

task

to

produce

the

countrys

new

constitution

The

were

marked

by

large

migrations

of

AfroColombians

from

the

rural

areas

to

the

cities

During

this

decade

Buenaventura

Tumaco

and

Cali

received

large

numbers

of

AfroColombians

peasants

who

ended

up

settling

in

the

poorest

parts

of

these

cities

PNUD

citing

Escobar

Economic

policies

and

violence

resulted

in

a

massive

rural

exodus

of

AfroColombians

to

urban

areas

The

port

city

In

September

the

Colombian

Government

started

to

recognize

the

need

to

address

the

issue

of

displacement

and

its

responsibility

to

care

for

persons

displaced

by

the

violence

This

prompted

the

government

to

adopt

the

National

Program

of

Comprehensive

Care

for

People

Displaced

by

the

Violence

Although

economic

dynamics

in

Colombia

as

shown

in

this

chapter

in

the

case

of

the

Colombian

south

Pacific

region

were

clearly

causing

AfroColombians

displacement

in

the

region

the

Colombian

government

failed

to

recognize

this

issue

as

a

direct

cause

of

internal

displacement

In

the

particular

case

of

the

south

Pacific

region

large

agro

industrial

plantations

of

African

Palm

and

shrimp

business

have

been

cited

as

causing

displacement

among

rural

AfroColombians

The

Colombian

Constitution

of

recognized

for

the

first

time

in

Colombias

history

the

rights

and

cultural

importance

of

the

countrys

ethnic

minorities

as

well

as

the

right

of

these

minorities

to

collectively

own

and

live

in

their

ancestral

territories

Law

of

for

Afrodescendants

and

Law

for

indigenous

legally

provided

them

with

this

right

However

providing

ethnical

groups

with

the

right

to

territories

without

other

government

guarantees

eg

security

to

exert

this

right

proved

to

be

detrimental

to

these

minorities

Within

a

country

with

a

long

history

of

economic

disparity

affecting

ethnic

minorities

and

deeply

involved

in

a

long

internal

armed

conflict

the

result

of

these

very

progressive

laws

were

and

still

are

devastating

for

these

groups

As

territorial

control

in

Colombia

represents

the

key

to

gain

economic

and

political

power

highly

valued

by

legal

and

illegal

actors

in

the

country

Colombias

long

lasting

armed

conflict

started

particularly

affecting

ethnical

territories

The

actors

involved

for

decades

in

the

conflict

including

the

State

fought

to

exert

territorial

control

the

ethnic

space

is

now

coveted

and

fought

for

while

the

geographical

space

is

the

object

of

large

financial

investments

from

foreign

actors

to

the

region

The

spaces

control

and

appropriation

is

the

object

of

negotiations

and

competition

accords

and

actions

conducted

by

actors

whose

means

are

disproportioned

among

them

AfroColombian

woman

Paula

Marcela

Moreno

Zapata

with

Colombian

President

Álvaro

Uribe

Vélez

at

the

National

Grand

Concert

on

July

Moreno

who

was

born

in

is

a

Colombian

engineer

and

professor

She

served

as

the

Minister

of

Culture

of

Colombia

and

was

the

third

person

to

hold

that

office

in

the

administration

of

President

Álvaro

Uribe

Vélez

Moreno

was

the

first

AfroColombian

woman

as

well

as

the

youngest

person

to

ever

hold

a

cabinetlevel

ministry

in

Colombia

She

is

currently

a

Hubert

H

Humphrey

Fellow

in

the

Special

Program

for

Urban

and

Regional

Studies

at

Massachusetts

Institute

At

the

same

time

economic

disparity

within

the

region

reached

high

levels

Large

capitals

from

agroindustrial

projects

created

an

even

deeper

economic

disparity

within

the

south

Pacific

region

For

instance

ethnical

projects

with

minimal

or

capitals

were

forced

to

compete

with

wellfinanced

large

projects

Urrea

and

Barbary

observe

that

not

only

the

large

difference

between

capitals

contributed

to

economic

marginalization

of

ethnical

projects

but

the

national

favoritism

for

one

agroindustrial

projects

over

the

other

ethnical

projects

further

influenced

this

disparity

Under

these

economic

and

political

conditions

ethnical

projects

hardly

made

it

while

the

agroindustrial

machinery

flourished

Furthermore

economic

disparity

also

was

present

within

the

realm

of

illegal

economy

There

ethnical

groups

were

not

only

subject

to

violence

from

illegal

groups

but

were

unable

to

compete

with

the

illegal

economic

resources

produced

by

narcotrafficking

New

economic

dynamics

that

produced

a

bigger

economic

gap

within

the

countrys

minorities

the

intensification

of

the

conflict

in

the

Pacific

region

and

the

Constitutional

ethnic

and

territorial

rights

negatively

impacted

AfroColombians

during

the

Lack

of

proper

guarantees

from

the

Colombian

government

to

allow

Afro

descendants

to

exercise

their

rights

was

equivalent

to

the

conditions

in

which

their

afro

slaves

ancestors

endured

once

slavery

was

abolished

in

On

both

occasions

in

and

then

AfroColombians

were

left

totally

unprotected

by

a

State

that

one

more

time

ignored

its

responsibility

to

care

and

protect

Afrodescendants

rights

Thus

within

the

complex

Colombian

context

during

the

last

decade

of

the

twentieth

century

AfroColombians

were

left

without

the

States

adequate

protection

against

legal

and

illegal

groups

and

their

interests

over

ethnical

territories

As

a

result

AfroColombians

were

caught

in

the

crossfire

and

were

also

victims

of

legal

maneuvers

to

size

their

territories

Settlement

In

the

Pacific

region

settlement

is

mostly

riverine

lacustrine

or

coastal

and

is

often

quite

dispersed

Houses

are

generally

rectangular

wooden

constructions

built

on

stilts

and

with

palmthatch

or

sheetmetal

roofing

There

are

also

some

larger

villages

and

towns

such

as

Quibdó

and

Tumaco

about

inhabitants

each

in

The

international

port

of

Buenaventura

population

about

in

is

constantly

expanding

because

of

immigration

from

the

rural

areas

Access

to

space

is

so

constrained

that

some

residents

live

in

houses

on

stilts

in

neighborhoods

that

stretch

onto

the

tidal

mud

flats

In

the

Cauca

region

settlement

is

on

small

peasant

farms

and

in

villages

and

towns

all

these

feed

the

sugarcane

industrys

demand

for

labor

Many

Blacks

from

the

Cauca

and

the

Pacific

regions

have

migrated

to

cities

such

as

Cali

and

Medellín

where

they

often

live

in

selfbuilt

neighborhoods

In

the

Caribbean

region

the

most

obvious

concentrations

of

Black

people

are

in

settlements

along

the

beaches

often

dispersed

occasionally

nucleated

Houses

are

generally

of

the

common

rectangular

wooden

design

but

are

not

on

stilts

In

the

hinterland

settlement

is

in

villages

and

towns

with

a

more

mixed

population

Houses

are

President

Barack

Obama

and

Sebastian

Salgado

a

leader

of

San

Bacilio

de

Palenque

AfroColombian

Economy

In

the

Pacific

region

economic

activities

are

varied

and

include

agriculture

principally

cultivation

of

plantains

and

maize

the

raising

of

pigs

fishing

hunting

and

in

suitable

areas

mining

Contract

logging

has

been

of

growing

importance

since

about

the

independent

cutters

sell

their

produce

to

intermediaries

on

whom

they

depend

for

credit

Some

large

national

and

transnational

timber

companies

also

employ

local

labor

directly

Since

the

mining

has

become

increasingly

mechanized

with

small

gasolinedriven

pumps

and

minidredgers

widely

available

on

credit

Multinationals

have

used

largescale

dredging

techniques

in

very

specific

zones

since

the

In

the

southern

Pacific

region

Festival

de

Música

del

Pacífico

Petronio

Álvarez

Landholding

in

this

region

is

often

not

legally

regulated

Where

individual

private

property

titles

do

not

exist

Black

communities

are

held

by

the

state

to

be

squatters

on

public

lands

this

makes

their

displacement

by

capitalist

entrepreneurs

all

the

easier

A

collective

system

of

ownership

has

been

documented

for

the

southern

part

of

the

regionand

seems

more

widespreadin

which

a

consanguineal

kinship

group

tracing

ancestry

to

a

common

ancestor

exploits

a

given

territory

that

has

a

communally

worked

mine

plus

family

mines

and

agricultural

plots

People

can

move

from

one

territory

to

another

by

activating

kinship

links

Men

and

women

In

the

Cauca

region

the

growth

of

the

sugarcane

industry

from

the

has

meant

intense

pressure

on

peasant

landholding

which

here

is

by

legal

title

Smallholders

who

may

be

women

still

cultivate

cocoa

and

coffee

for

regular

cash

income

alongside

subsistence

crops

Labor

is

organized

along

kinship

lines

within

a

broadly

defined

kindred

There

is

no

sharply

defined

sexual

division

of

labor

Peasants

also

work

in

the

sugarcane

industry

for

cash

wages

and

increasing

pressure

on

land

has

intensified

this

and

migration

to

the

cities

In

Cali

Medellín

and

Bogotá

they

join

many

Black

migrants

from

the

Pacific

region

In

the

Caribbean

region

landextensive

cattle

ranches

have

dominated

since

colonial

times

and

have

employed

Blacks

and

mestizos

as

sharecroppers

and

laborers

Families

may

combine

agriculture

on

privately

held

land

with

sharecropping

and

wage

labor

in

rural

areas

andor

the

cities

For

maritime

Black

settlements

fishing

is

an

important

source

of

subsistence

and

cash

income

In

certain

areas

tourism

also

generates

incomenot

only

in

cities

where

Black

people

may

work

as

boatmen

for

example

or

selling

food

but

in

more

rural

areas

where

tourists

from

the

interior

of

the

country

come

to

rent

beach

houses

From

until

World

War

According

to

governments

data

for

the

elaboration

of

CORPES

almost

of

the

Pacifics

population

lives

in

poverty

are

illiterate

educations

quality

is

at

and

malnutrition

reaches

compared

to

in

poverty

at

the

national

level

in

education

quality

and

in

malnutrition

Colombia

National

Planning

Department

In

addressing

the

issue

the

government

sought

investment

in

five

areas

education

health

promotion

of

childrens

well

being

and

protection

of

seniors

food

security

and

access

to

government

programs

for

people

in

conditions

of

extreme

poverty

Familias

en

Accion

and

Red

Juntos

To

improve

living

conditions

in

the

Pacific

coastal

region

the

government

planned

to

improve

access

to

potable

water

and

sewage

systems

According

to

the

Colombian

National

Administrative

Department

of

Statics

DANE

in

the

Pacific

region

only

of

the

population

has

access

to

potable

water

and

have

sewage

system

compared

to

and

at

the

national

Kinship

Marriage

and

Family

Characteristic

of

Black

people

all

over

Colombia

and

not

unique

to

them

is

a

flexible

kinship

network

in

which

individuals

and

families

activate

links

within

a

loosely

defined

kindred

often

simply

termed

familia

in

order

to

get

access

to

goods

and

services

and

to

facilitate

migration

see

Economy

Classificatory

categories

such

as

primo

cousin

or

tía

aunt

group

together

a

large

number

of

relatives

An

individual

may

have

more

than

one

partner

often

in

unión

libre

informal

union

during

the

course

of

his

or

her

life

giving

rise

to

many

halfsibling

relations

In

the

Pacific

region

this

has

been

characterized

as

serial

polygyny

as

a

man

contracts

temporally

overlapping

relations

with

successive

women

Some

men

have

simultaneous

polygynous

relations

in

which

the

women

have

roughly

equal

social

status

In

the

Caribbean

region

it

is

not

unusual

for

a

man

to

have

a

mujer

de

asiento

principal

wife

perhaps

legally

married

and

a

querida

or

lover

These

patterns

may

give

rise

to

matrifocal

households

because

women

retain

children

in

a

household

with

which

successive

male

partners

form

links

her

female

children

may

then

have

children

but

remain

in

their

mothers

house

In

census

material

these

patterns

are

reflected

in

high

rates

of

unión

libre

single

motherhood

and

illegitimacy

for

areas

where

Black

populations

are

concentrated

The

interpretation

of

these

forms

is

subject

to

debate

with

some

scholars

adducing

African

influences

others

the

destructive

effects

of

slavery

and

still

others

the

impact

of

economic

marginality

over

centuries

leading

to

constant

male

mobility

for

example

Ritual

kinship

is

also

important

with

individuals

forming

ties

of

compadrazgo

both

with

relatives

of

equal

status

to

themselves

and

more

rarely

with

people

of

higher

status

The

latter

form

is

more

common

in

the

Caribbean

region

In

the

Pacific

region

inheritance

is

from

one

spouse

to

the

other

and

then

to

their

children

Houses

and

personal

possessions

are

passed

on

at

death

but

land

or

at

least

the

right

to

work

land

is

passed

on

when

children

reach

puberty

Data

on

inheritance

in

other

regions

are

unfortunately

very

scarce

Children

in

Palenque

de

San

Basilio

in

July

Colombia

Children

in

Palenque

de

San

Basilio

in

July

Political

Organization

Positions

of

informal

status

and

authority

are

achieved

through

seniority

and

personal

attributes

eg

strength

of

character

breadth

of

experience

success

in

providing

material

goods

and

skill

in

storytelling

Some

decision

making

and

conflict

management

is

handled

at

this

level

In

Palenque

de

San

Basilio

there

are

also

cuagros

or

age

groups

into

which

people

are

recruited

informally

in

infancy

and

formally

initiated

at

puberty

when

male

and

female

leaders

are

chosen

Intracuagro

relations

are

of

mutual

aid

and

solidarity

and

malefemale

relations

are

often

formed

within

the

cuagro

intercuagro

relations

are

competitive

at

times

expressed

through

boxing

matches

In

formal

terms

regions

where

Black

people

live

in

Colombia

come

under

the

umbrella

of

national

administrative

and

political

structures

of

the

departamento

a

province

headed

by

a

governor

and

the

municipio

and

corregimiento

a

municipality

and

its

districts

headed

by

a

mayor

The

staffing

of

bureaucratic

posts

is

managed

through

a

system

of

patronclient

relations

in

which

votes

are

exchanged

for

goods

and

services

mostly

channeled

through

the

traditional

Liberal

and

Conservative

parties

The

Liberal

party

has

a

longstanding

advantage

in

many

Black

areas

purportedly

because

it

was

in

power

when

slavery

was

abolished

but

also

because

its

more

From

the

however

a

small

educated

minority

of

urban

Blacks

spurred

mainly

by

the

Black

Power

movement

tried

to

create

organizations

that

encourage

Black

identity

these

had

a

marginal

existence

In

the

late

several

selfhelp

Black

peasant

organizations

often

sponsored

by

the

church

began

to

emerge

in

rural

areas

of

the

Pacific

region

In

the

early

both

types

of

organization

strengthened

when

constitutional

reform

opened

an

arena

for

issues

of

ethnic

identity

and

multiculturality

to

be

voiced

mainly

by

more

experienced

Indian

organizations

AfroColombian

Diana

Mina

a

student

from

the

Caribbean

coast

was

crowned

as

the

first

AfroColombian

Miss

Bogota

The

constitution

of

included

a

clause

promising

collective

land

rights

for

rural

Black

communities

in

the

Pacific

region

After

two

years

of

negotiation

in

which

representatives

of

Black

organizations

were

involved

Law

of

was

passed

which

enshrined

these

rights

in

legislation

Black

organization

thus

reached

a

new

stage

of

intensity

identifiable

as

a

social

movement

issues

of

the

specific

conditions

of

life

in

the

Pacific

region

and

generally

of

the

status

of

blackness

in

national

society

and

culture

became

more

public

than

ever

before

Black

people

in

the

Caribbean

and

Cauca

regions

however

tended

to

have

a

This

Black

social

movement

is

related

to

government

plans

to

open

up

the

Pacific

region

to

development

Since

the

there

have

been

grandiose

plans

to

finish

the

PanAmerican

Highway

which

runs

through

the

region

build

more

deepwater

ports

on

the

coast

and

build

an

interoceanic

canal

More

prosaically

road

building

has

progressed

apace

since

Immigration

by

nonBlacks

into

the

region

increased

and

pressure

on

land

and

natural

resources

grew

prejudicing

many

Black

communities

This

pressure

was

also

transmitted

to

IndianBlack

relations

in

the

area

as

Black

people

involved

in

logging

and

mining

began

to

encroach

on

Indian

lands

AfroColombian

woman

Religion

Black

people

in

Colombia

are

Catholics

As

among

many

people

in

Latin

America

they

tend

to

practice

a

popular

Catholicism

that

the

clergy

considers

more

or

less

unorthodox

In

the

past

and

still

in

the

the

clergy

tended

to

disapprove

of

practices

in

Black

regions

but

with

the

emergence

of

a

stronger

Black

identity

some

priests

are

willing

to

include

traditional

elements

in

church

ceremonies

In

the

Pacific

region

the

presence

of

the

church

was

rather

weak

and

many

religious

rites

are

practiced

outside

the

direct

control

of

the

clergy

There

are

festivals

to

venerate

a

saint

or

the

Virgin

Mary

an

image

of

whom

is

processed

through

a

settlement

and

often

down

a

riverin

a

town

such

as

Quibdó

capital

of

the

department

of

Chocó

the

Fiestas

de

San

Pacho

Saint

Francis

of

Assisi

have

the

aspect

of

a

carnival

as

different

barrios

compete

to

present

the

best

procession

and

float

over

twelve

days

Velorios

or

wakes

to

propitiate

a

saint

are

usually

sponsored

Less

research

has

been

conducted

in

the

Caribbean

coastal

region

but

one

study

shows

extensive

similarities

between

this

region

and

the

Pacific

coast

although

perhaps

greater

attention

is

accorded

to

spirits

than

to

saints

In

Palenque

de

San

Basilio

the

cabildo

lumbalú

consists

of

elders

who

officiate

at

velorios

with

drumming

singing

and

dancing

to

help

the

deceaseds

departure

Spirits

of

the

deceased

are

called

upon

to

aid

the

living

and

must

therefore

be

propitiated

and

managed

carefully

through

ritual

means

for

example

during

the

velorio

when

many

precautions

are

taken

to

prevent

the

spirits

return

or

anger

Ritual

specialists

Work

in

the

Cauca

region

has

focused

on

elements

that

are

in

fact

common

in

other

Black

and

indeed

nonBlack

regions

the

use

of

magic

and

sorcery

to

attack

ones

enemies

bring

good

fortune

influence

ones

sexual

partners

and

defend

oneself

against

the

machinations

of

others

Sorcery

is

often

used

where

envidia

envy

is

rife

and

this

in

turn

may

be

the

result

of

perceived

transgressions

against

norms

of

reciprocity

which

occur

when

a

person

enjoys

some

material

success

and

is

thought

to

forget

his

or

her

obligations

as

a

friend

or

relative

In

this

area

too

the

pact

made

There

is

very

little

information

available

on

medical

practices

among

Black

Colombians

In

general

terms

as

among

many

peoples

all

over

Latin

America

health

is

considered

to

be

a

balance

between

hot

and

cold

forces

and

elements

that

affect

the

body

the

cold

of

a

corpse

can

be

threatening

for

example

and

is

combated

by

the

heat

of

rum

Also

health

and

welfare

are

affected

by

the

machinations

of

others

through

sorcery

and

recourse

can

be

made

to

healers

to

defend

against

these

threats

whether

to

person

or

property

AfroColombian

José

Antonio

Torres

Gualajo

xylophone

maestro

and

champion

of

Marimba

songs

in

Colombia

and

the

Pacific

In

the

Pacific

region

Indian

shamans

called

jaibanas

in

the

department

of

Chocó

are

considered

the

most

powerful

healers

they

and

their

patients

may

use

pildé

a

relative

of

the

hallucinogenic

Banisteriopsis

caapi

vine

ayahuasca

to

induce

visions

In

the

Chocó

Black

curers

are

called

raicilleros

raicilla

means

rootlet

but

also

refers

to

the

ipecac

root

they

diagnose

illness

by

examining

urine

samples

When

they

are

given

a

sign

that

healing

is

their

vocation

raicilleros

begin

a

sevenyear

training

with

various

teachers

Less

specialized

healers

are

called

yerbateros

herbalists

Alfonso

Mosquera

Cordoba

dubbed

as

The

Sorcerer

was

born

on

August

of

in

Pretoria

the

capital

of

Chocó

in

Colombia

and

died

in

the

same

city

on

June

of

at

the

age

of

years

old

He

was

one

of

the

most

celebrated

artists

from

Colombia

and

one

of

the

most

renowned

in

the

Pacific

coast

He

was

also

called

the

black

DaVinci

as

a

result

of

creative

qualities

and

enormous

work

He

was

a

composer

performer

goldsmith

carver

costume

designer

builder

of

instruments

researcher

of

Pacific

rhythms

and

formed

seven

orchestras

worked

with

the

Guayacan

Music

in

Black

regions

of

Colombia

is

varied

and

rich

In

the

department

of

Chocó

the

chirimía

bandbased

on

clarinets

drums

and

cymbalsplays

versions

of

Europeanderived

dances

eg

mazurka

polka

there

are

also

alabaos

religious

songs

romances

ballads

and

décimas

tenline

stanzas

Further

south

in

the

Pacific

region

currulao

played

with

marimba

drums

and

voices

is

a

central

genre

generally

thought

to

have

a

more

African

derivation

In

the

northern

Cauca

region

fugas

fugues

and

coplas

rhyming

couplets

are

Europeanderived

forms

that

are

widely

played

and

sung

among

Black

people

In

the

Caribbean

coast

region

there

is

a

huge

variety

of

styles

including

the

cumbia

which

exists

in

both

folkloric

and

commercialized

forms

Music

there

is

often

held

to

be

of

triethnic

origin

but

the

major

inputs

have

come

from

European

and

African

traditions

in

a

complex

cultural

interchange

During

the

twentieth

century

genres

from

this

region

have

become

commercialized

often

crossing

over

with

AfroCuban

styles

and

have

become

popular

nationwide

and

abroad

under

the

generic

umbrella

of

cumbia

An

accordionbased

style

vallenato

which

interprets

what

were

once

traditional

Caribbean

Colombian

airs

has

also

become

nationally

commercialized

and

is

especially

popular

among

Black

people

in

other

regions

of

the

country

All

over

Colombia

but

especially

popular

in

Black

regions

is

found

salsa

a

genre

based

on

AfroCuban

and

other

Caribbean

styles

which

became

commercialized

in

New

York

in

the

and

spread

over

the

entire

Latin

American

region

read

further

here

httpwebwlucasoundeffectsresearchlibraryDiana_MRP_2010pdf

source

httpwwwsolasunmorgresearchafrocolombiansandtheencroachmentofparamilitariesontheafricanpalmoilsectorstaciehecht

AfroColombian

funeral

songs

officially

become

national

treasures

AfroColombian

dirges

and

funeral

rites

from

the

Pacific

Choco

state

have

been

added

to

the

official

list

that

recognizes

Colombias

cultural

heritage

the

Ministry

of

Culture

announced

Tuesday

Gualies

alabaos

and

levantamientos

de

tumba

or

tombraising

are

rituals

performed

at

funerals

in

AfroColombian

communities

of

Colombias

Pacific

region

that

ensure

the

safe

passage

of

a

soul

into

eternity

according

to

the

Ministry

of

Culture

In

the

town

of

Medio

San

Juan

Choco

the

ritual

performed

depends

upon

who

has

died

For

childrens

funerals

gualies

are

performed

whereas

alabaos

assist

an

adult

souls

journey

into

the

afterlife

during

the

levantamientos

de

tumba

or

tombraising

Colombias

Ministry

of

Culture

announced

that

these

funeral

rituals

are

to

be

safeguarded

among

the

nations

representative

list

of

Intangible

Cultural

Heritage

which

seeks

among

other

things

to

strengthen

and

maintain

living

traditions

and

values

as

well

as

to

protect

the

valuable

knowledge

inherited

from

past

generations

Guali

The

guali

is

a

joyous

ceremony

that

includes

lullabies

ballads

dances

games

rhymes

jokes

and

stories

to

farewell

children

from

this

world

It

is

also

said

that

ancestors

of

Chocos

AfroColombian

communities

celebrated

the

death

of

a

child

because

they

were

happy

that

they

would

not

be

living

the

cruelty

suffered

during

slavery

Alabao

The

late

Colombian

musicologist

Luis

Antonio

Escobar

likened

the

alabaos

to

Gregorian

and

Catholic

chants

that

originated

in

Medieval

times

and

also

sung

without

accompanying

instruments

according

to

Colombias

El

Tiempo

newspaper

The

tombraising

The

tombraising

begins

on

the

day

of

burial

and

lasts

nine

days

For

first

eight

days

family

and

friends

gather

every

evening

at

for

special

prayers

This

tradition

is

still

widely

practised

in

rural

areas

yet

is

becoming

less

common

in

urban

areas

The

tombraising

involves

much

crying

and

screaming

by

the

family

of

the

deceased

as

this

is

the

very

painful

final

farewell

httpcolombiareportscoafrocolombianfuneralsongsofficiallybecomenationaltreasures

Carnival

of

Barranquilla

the

traditional

festival

with

street

dance

music

full

of

Caribbean

rhythm

San

Basilio

de

Palenque

African

Tradition

in

Colombia

On

the

Colombian

Caribbean

Coast

at

a

distance

of

one

hour

from

the

city

of

Cartagena

between

mountains

and

swamps

there

is

a

place

where

in

spite

of

the

passage

of

time

its

inhabitants

live

guided

by

African

customs

traditions

and

rites

just

as

their

ancestors

did

several

centuries

ago

This

place

known

as

San

Basilio

de

Palenque

is

famous

for

its

symbol

the

palenqueras

darkskinned

women

who

dressed

in

multicolored

dresses

and

swaying

their

hips

walk

while

they

balance

bowls

of

fresh

fruit

on

their

heads

Its

inhabitants

prefer

to

have

their

community

called

San

Basilio

de

Palenque

not

Palenque

de

San

Basilio

with

the

argument

that

the

village

does

not

belong

to

the

saint

rather

it

is

the

other

way

around

The

palenqueras

are

the

image

representing

the

difficult

complicated

history

of

their

ancestors

They

symbolize

the

struggles

of

the

black

cimarrones

slaves

who

courageously

escaped

from

their

owners

in

search

of

a

better

future

San

Basilio

de

Palenque

tradición

africana

en

la

tierra

de

Colombia

Since

the

century

San

Basilio

de

Palenque

is

considered

the

first

village

of

free

slaves

in

South

America

as

well

as

the

birthplace

of

the

African

cultural

wealth

of

Colombia

The

palenqueras

preserve

the

African

traditions

brought

by

the

slaves

who

disembarked

on

these

regions

of

the

South

American

continent

during

the

Spanish

Conquesti

Soon

after

in

colonial

times

palenques

began

to

appear

on

the

mountains

These

were

settlements

of

rebellious

cimarrones

The

term

palenque

turned

into

a

symbol

of

freedom

because

anyone

who

became

a

member

of

one

was

automatically

free

Social

Organization

The

palenqueros

live

by

the

norms

of

the

social

organization

inherited

from

their

African

ancestors

the

makuagro

according

to

which

every

society

is

divided

into

age

groups

to

allow

the

division

of

labor

the

protection

of

the

territory

and

the

preservation

of

traditions

based

on

honesty

solidarity

and

a

collective

spirit

Another

form

of

social

organization

in

San

Basilio

de

Palenque

is

the

junta

a

committee

of

sorts

that

is

formed

for

a

specific

purpose

an

illness

for

example

and

disappears

once

its

purpose

has

been

fulfilled

Language

The

Palenque

language

is

the

only

Creole

language

used

in

the

world

that

is

based

on

Spanish

and

African

elements

The

Palenque

language

is

a

Creole

language

based

on

Spanish

lexicon

but

with

the

morphosyntactical

characteristics

of

the

African

continents

autochthonous

languages

especially

Bantu

Researchers

have

also

detected

that

the

Palenquero

lexicon

includes

words

from

the

Kikongo

and

Kimbundo

languages

The

statue

of

Benko

Bioho

of

Senegal

in

the

town

Square

of

San

Basilio

de

Palenque

in

Colombia

Bioho

led

a

successful

slave

revolt

in

the

Century

making

it

the

first

free

black

town

in

the

Americas

which

maintained

its

African

cultural

tradition

This

type

of

Creole

language

originated

as

a

response

to

difficulties

in

communication

between

Europeans

and

the

various

representatives

of

different

linguistic

families

who

arrived

in

South

America

Music

In

addition

to

the

language

the

palenque

preserved

African

music

and

the

traditional

way

of

manufacturing

instruments

for

its

interpretation

the

main

ones

being

drums

the

most

widelyknown

of

which

are

pechiche

bongó

timba

bombo

llamador

and

alegre

and

marimbulas

and

maracas

The

following

rhythms

are

played

on

these

instruments

Bullerengue

sentado

a

womens

song

originally

associated

to

pregnant

women

Nowadays

it

is

sung

by

a

feminine

voice

that

interprets

the

verses

that

are

responded

to

by

a

womens

chorus

Chalupa

the

merriest

rhythm

in

palenque

music

Son

de

negros

a

dance

where

a

man

and

a

women

court

each

other

Chalusonga

a

mixture

of

African

and

Caribbean

island

music

the

latter

imitated

with

palenque

instruments

Son

palenquero

which

follows

the

format

of

the

Cuban

son

brought

by

Cuban

workers

in

the

century

to

the

sugar

mills

of

the

Colombian

Caribbean

and

then

fused

with

the

regions

music

Cartagena

Colombia

These

brightly

colored

women

are

Palenqueras

reigning

from

the

mysterious

and

unique

town

of

Palenque

Most

of

the

residents

of

Palenque

are

descendents

of

African

slaves

and

they

still

use

their

own

language

maintain

their

own

style

of

music

and

dance

and

are

known

to

practice

a

sort

of

voodoo

according

to

local

legend

In

Cartagena

they

make

a

living

taking

photos

with

tourists

in

their

brilliant

dresses

and

selling

tropical

fruits

and

candies

source

httpwwwcolombiatraveleninternationaltouristsightseeingwhattodorecommendedtouristattractionsspecialreportssanbasiliodepalenque

Raizal

people

of

San

Andrés

The

Raizals

are

a

Protestant

AfroCaribbean

ethnic

group

speaking

the

San

AndrésProvidencia

Creole

an

English

Creole

living

in

the

Archipelago

of

San

Andrés

Providencia

and

Santa

Catalina

presently

the

Colombian

San

Andrés

y

Providencia

Department

off

the

Nicaraguan

Miskito

Coast

They

are

recognized

by

the

Colombian

authorities

as

one

of

the

AfroColombian

ethnic

groups

under

the

multicultural

policy

pursued

since

Raizals

call

themselves

SIFAPARANS

In

their

petition

letter

to

THE

WORLD

CONFERENCE

AGAINST

RACISM

RACIAL

DISCRIMINATION

XENOPHOBIA

AND

RELATED

INTOLERANCE

DURBAN

SOUTH

AFRICA

Raizals

posited

We

the

undersigned

members

of

the

Sovereign

Indigenous

Families

of

Afrodescendant

Peoples

of

the

Archipelago

of

St

Andrew

Providence

and

Kathleena

located

miles

east

of

the

Nicaraguan

Coast

and

miles

northwest

of

the

Colombian

mainland

which

territory

granted

in

accordance

with

the

Real

Orden

of

ratified

in

by

Charles

IV

King

of

Spain

to

the

native

inhabitants

SIFAPARAN

People

on

their

petition

to

him

of

which

territory

formerly

comprised

what

was

so

determined

by

said

King

as

the

islands

of

San

Andres

and

that

portion

of

the

Moskito

Coast

from

the

Cabo

Gracias

a

Dios

The

word

Raizal

was

born

after

and

was

coined

in

order

to

differentiate

the

original

population

of

the

islands

and

the

groups

from

the

twentieth

century

immigration

from

mainland

Colombia

However

some

scholars

conclude

that

the

term

is

an

unknown

mixture

and

excludes

the

other

islanders

The

Raizal

people

of

San

Andres

are

closely

linked

with

indigenous

peoples

of

the

eastern

Mosquito

Coast

of

Nicaragua

Raizal

fisherman

from

San

Andres

in

Colombia

The

term

Raizal

is

the

way

in

which

the

culture

is

defined

characteristic

of

the

Archipelago

of

San

Andrés

Providencia

and

Santa

Catalina

While

these

people

are

also

known

as

San

Andreans

the

fact

is

that

the

adjective

corresponds

broadly

to

a

more

diverse

group

that

includes

immigrants

to

the

islands

during

the

twentieth

century

The

Raizales

are

meant

to

have

a

distinct

identity

based

on

their

history

their

culture

their

language

San

Andrés

and

their

identity

The

Raizales

are

strongly

related

to

among

others

the

cultural

Antillean

peoples

from

Jamaica

and

Haiti

According

to

data

from

the

National

Bureau

of

Statistics

of

Colombia

of

Raizal

people

form

of

the

total

population

According

to

studies

by

sociologist

Adelaide

Cano

Schütz

Raizal

culture

is

a

term

created

in

when

the

Colombian

government

recognized

the

existence

and

identity

of

this

group

of

people

In

recent

times

they

have

defended

their

identity

as

indigenous

people

a

category

that

allowed

greater

possibilities

of

cultural

defense

against

the

State

and

against

the

international

community

The

Raizal

community

in

the

mainland

is

represented

by

the

Organización

de

la

comunidad

raizal

con

residencia

fuera

del

archipiélago

The

history

of

the

native

islander

population

of

San

Andres

Archipelago

Providencia

and

Santa

Catalina

was

started

in

the

early

eighteenth

century

Prior

to

that

there

had

been

some

attempts

at

colonization

by

the

British

and

the

Spanish

but

it

is

only

until

this

century

that

one

can

speak

of

the

beginnings

of

this

society

this

century

Settlers

began

to

arrive

from

Ireland

and

Scotland

other

Caribbean

islands

such

as

Jamaica

Trinidad

and

Tobago

and

as

African

slaves

The

island

society

began

as

a

slave

society

producing

cotton

and

equally

smugglers

Crab

cay

In

the

late

eighteenth

century

due

to

the

smuggling

and

the

growing

strategic

position

the

English

from

Providence

and

the

Spanish

Crown

decided

to

use

the

Spanish

Fleet

to

help

reconquer

the

island

territory

At

this

point

Spain

approved

the

continuing

migration

of

the

Jamaican

English

which

allowed

them

to

constitute

a

society

with

the

same

cultural

characteristics

as

the

rest

of

the

Anglophone

Caribbean

where

large

areas

prevailed

for

cultivation

Vollemer

Similarly

the

people

of

the

island

at

this

time

held

as

they

do

today

strong

ties

to

the

community

of

the

Mosquito

Indians

on

the

Caribbean

coast

In

the

local

Raizal

population

rejected

an

offer

from

the

USA

to

separate

from

Colombia

as

Panama

had

done

However

the

policy

followed

by

successive

Colombian

governments

of

trying

to

modify

the

ethnic

composition

by

promoting

extensive

migration

of

Spanishspeaking

mainland

Colombians

resulted

in

increasing

discontent

especially

when

in

the

assimilation

policy

was

led

by

Catholic

missions

Towards

the

end

of

the

separatist

movements

began

to

be

active

in

the

archipelago

The

first

separatists

an

underground

movement

were

led

by

Marcos

Archbold

Britton

who

addressed

a

memorandum

to

the

United

Nations

asking

for

the

inclusion

of

the

archipelago

in

the

list

of

colonized

territories

The

UN

High

Commissioner

for

Refugees

UNHCR

paid

a

private

visit

to

the

archipelago

shortly

afterwards

arousing

suspicions

in

Colombia

The

second

movement

born

at

the

end

of

the

seventies

grew

stronger

in

the

following

decade

and

culminated

in

the

creation

in

March

of

the

Sons

of

the

Soil

Movement

SOS

openly

claiming

the

right

to

selfdetermination

Since

another

organization

the

Archipelago

Movement

for

Ethnic

Native

SelfDetermination

for

the

Archipelago

of

San

Andrés

Providence

and

Kethlena

a

radical

separatist

movement

led

by

Rev

Raymond

Howard

Britton

has

demanded

the

creation

of

an

associated

state

There

are

nowadays

according

to

a

document

from

the

Colombian

government

two

trends

among

the

Raizals

a

radical

one

the

Pueblo

Indígena

Raizal

represented

by

the

Indigenous

Native

Organizations

among

whom

Amen

Barraca

New

Face

Infaunas

a

Rastafarianinspired

group

of

farmers

and

fishermen

Ketna

Ketlënan

National

Association

and

the

SOS

Foundation

and

a

more

moderate

one

Comunidad

Raizal

Native

Foundation

and

Integración

Básica

led

by

former

governors

who

are

friends

of

the

Colombian

establishment

mainly

Felix

Palacios

Carlos

Archbold

and

Alvaro

Archbold

N

This

latter

group

is

understandably

more

ready

to

participate

in

bipartite

institutions

set

up

by

the

Colombian

Architecture

The

buildings

of

San

Andres

and

Providence

are

all

built

with

the

facades

on

the

northsouth

axis

of

the

land

with

windows

on

each

side

to

carry

the

light

and

breezes

throughout

the

year

The

modular

construction

is

done

in

order

to

grow

with

the

same

family

under

one

roof

There

are

several

secrets

that

still

exist

with

island

home

construction

today

One

is

that

they

are

meant

to

be

havens

of

peace

where

life

unfolds

and

which

constitutes

the

main

island

heritage

of

their

ancestors

Originally

the

facade

was

supposed

to

be

sobering

as

ordered

by

the

Puritan

church

Greens

and

oranges

are

the

predominant

colors

that

still

remain

The

homes

of

the

islands

exude

an

air

of

welcoming

at

first

sight

with

their

windows

wide

open

to

let

in

the

music

of

the

birds

Over

the

years

both

in

San

Andrés

and

Providencia

the

typical

Caribbean

structure

of

the

homes

has

faded

with

the

introduction

of

concrete

which

has

become

the

favored

construction

material

Although

most

of

the

original

structures

are

gone

there

are

still

some

surviving

specimens

of

old

architecture

in

San

Andres

The

Free

Port

area

which

began

in

has

been

declared

as

a

national

architectural

reserve

as

is

the

House

of

the

Downs

in

the

traditional

neighborhood

of

The

Barrick

The

First

Baptist

Church

in

the

traditional

sector

is

as

well

in

Loma

As

for

Providence

the

City

Hall

building

is

one

that

has

remained

as

an

architectural

model

Island

food

Due

to

the

varying

background

of

this

group

of

people

it

is

easy

to

understand

why

there

are

so

many

different

preparations

of

fish

and

seafood

which

are

the

specialty

of

this

colorful

island

Snails

lobsters

shrimp

snapper

and

red

pen

black

crabs

and

trout

are

among

the

delicious

dishes

that

can

be

tasted

during

your

visit

To

season

recipes

coconut

and

its

derivatives

are

the

stars

of

the

culinary

world

here

English

ancestors

left

the

island

herbs

like

cloves

cinnamon

and

ginger

which

left

the

island

cuisine

bursting

with

flavor

Accompanying

dishes

coconut

rice

fried

plantains

fried

green

bananas

cassava

and

yam

RAIZAL

INDIGENOUS

PEOPLE

AND

WCAR

FROM

AN

INDIGENOUS

CARIBBEAN

PEOPLE

OF

AFRICAN

DESCENT

TO

THE

WORLD

CONFERENCE

AGAINST

RACISM

RACIAL

DISCRIMINATION

XENOPHOBIA

AND

RELATED

INTOLERANCE

DURBAN

SOUTH

AFRICA

WE

the

indigenous

Raizal

people

of

St

Andrew

Providence

and

Ketlena

Islands

Considering

that

we

are

the

original

and

hence

the

indigenous

people

of

our

Caribbean

islands

descendants

of

the

Africans

Caribbean

peoples

and

British

who

first

settled

our

territory

in

the

and

centuries

and

created

our

society

Bearing

in

mind

that

our

origins

history

cultural

identity

language

traditions

customs

religious

beliefs

institutions

and

social

organizations

differentiate

us

from

other

peoples

Noting

that

our

islands

by

accidents

of

history

became

a

possession

of

Colombia

in

the

early

s

despite

the

cultural

linguistic

and

ethnic

differences

between

us

and

the

people

of

that

South

American

nation

Recalling

that

in

our

forefathers

signed

a

treaty

with

Colombia

under

which

terms

our

islands

were

annexed

to

said

republic

but

we

were

to

be

protected

as

a

people

and

our

cultural

identity

territory

and

autonomy

respected

Denouncing

that

the

government

of

Colombia

contrary

to

the

terms

of

the

treaty

and

in

violation

of

our

human

and

collective

rights

has

implemented

a

policy

of

colonialism

and

discrimination

against

us

with

the

intention

of

erasing

our

cultural

identity

rendering

us

a

minority

in

our

own

land

usurping

our

ancestral

territory

and

territorial

sea

exploiting

our

natural

resources

and

destroying

our

traditional

means

of

sustenance

Denouncing

furthermore

that

among

the

disastrous

results

of

the

aforementioned

colonialism

more

than

Colombians

and

other

foreigners

have

invaded

San

Andres

overpopulating

the

island

crowding

out

the

Raizal

inhabitants

making

us

a

displaced

minority

in

our

own

territory

and

setting

us

on

the

road

to

extinction

as

a

people

our

Native

culture

and

language

have

been

eliminated

from

our

islands

education

system

and

public

institutions

most

of

the

teachers

judges

and

policemen

are

Colombians

unable

to

communicate

with

us

in

our

language

because

they

only

speak

Spanish

our

traditional

artisanal

economy

has

been

replaced

Emphasizing

that

the

deliberate

invasion

of

our

territory

to

populate

and

overrun

it

with

Colombians

and

other

foreigners

and

stamp

out

our

cultural

identity

is

a

form

of

discrimination

racism

racial

discrimination

and

xenophobia

Stressing

that

the

implementation

of

colonialist

policies

such

as

those

imposed

in

our

islands

has

depleted

or

destroyed

our

natural

resources

battered

our

culture

hindered

our

development

caused

us

great

economic

social

and

political

harm

and

violated

our

right

to

selfpreservation

Troubled

that

the

Colombian

authorities

have

ignored

or

rejected

our

many

petitions

and

attempts

to

persuade

them

to

end

their

colonialist

policies

and

practices

in

our

islands

and

to

respect

our

collective

rights

as

an

indigenous

people

and

as

a

Caribbean

people

of

African

descent

especially

our

cultural

and

territorial

rights

and

our

right

to

free

determination

Aware

that

there

are

communities

in

Central

America

and

the

Caribbean

who

share

our

language

and

culture

but

are

nevertheless

isolated

from

us

by

design

of

the

Colombian

state

We

therefore

respectfully

request

that

the

World

Conference

Against

Racism

Racial

Discrimination

Xenophobia

and

Related

Intolerance

Call

upon

the

Republic

of

Colombia

a

to

honor

the

treaty

agreed

to

with

us

upon

the

annexation

of

our

islands

b

to

comply

with

all

national

and

international

legislation

protecting

us

as

an

indigenous

people

and

as

a

Caribbean

people

of

African

descent

especially

its

own

Law

of

which

ratifies

International

Labor

Organization

ILO

Covenant

of

and

c

to

take

all

other

necessary

steps

to

bring

an

end

to

its

colonialist

policies

and

practices

in

our

islands

Press

the

government

of

Colombia

to

recognize

and

respect

our

collective

rights

as

an

indigenous

people

and

as

a

Caribbean

people

of

African

descent

especially

our

right

to

free

determination

our

right

to

maintain

or

regain

possession

of

our

territory

and

our

right

to

live

and

develop

ourselves

in

accordance

with

our

own

cultural

identity

traditions

and

vision

of

the

world

Urge

the

government

of

Colombia

to

adopt

measures

not

only

to

stop

the

invasion

of

our

territory

but

also

to

reduce

its

population

to

a

sustainable

level

by

repatriating

most

of

the

Colombian

and

other

foreign

settlers

Call

upon

the

government

of

Colombia

to

stop

its

practice

of

negotiating

and

signing

with

other

countries

treaties

and

agreements

involving

our

territory

or

territorial

sea

without

even

consulting

us

also

that

the

government

of

Colombia

seek

ways

to

abrogate

such

existing

treaties

involving

us

fully

in

the

renegotiation

processes

and

that

all

future

international

treaties

and

agreements

involving

our

islands

especially

those

which

would

mean

loss

of

portions

of

our

territory

or

territorial

sea

be

conditioned

on

our

free

and

informed

consent

Prevail

upon

the

Colombian

authorities

to

enact

laws

to

stop

its

citizens

from

acquiring

more

land

in

our

territory

and

to

restitute

to

us

as

collective

property

the

land

already

acquired

Urge

the

government

of

Colombia

to

concert

with

us

a

plan

to

make

our

islands

a

selfgoverning

territory

with

its

own

constitution

branches

of

government

and

taxation

system

Appeal

to

the

countries

of

the

world

as

well

as

to

the

pertinent

agencies

of

the

United

Nations

and

the

Organization

of

American

States

international

financial

and

cooperation

institutions

international

nongovernmental

organizations

indigenous

peoples

organizations

and

organizations

of

peoples

of

African

descent

to

assist

us

in

our

efforts

to

rebuild

our

devastated

islands

develop

our

own

economy

and

political

and

social

institutions

and

assume

selfgovernment

of

our

territory

Bring

pressure

to

bear

on

Colombia

to

pay

us

reparations

for

subjecting

us

to

colonialism

discrimination

and

cultural

oppression

for

flooding

our

islands

with

its

people

and

other

foreigners

for

dispossessing

us

of

our

lands

and

territorial

sea

for

partitioning

our

territory

and

granting

parts

thereof

and

of

our

territorial

sea

to

other

nations

without

our

consent

for

irreversibly

damaging

many

of

our

natural

resources

and

for

the

great

economic

environmental

social

political

and

cultural

harm

such

acts

have

caused

us

Urge

the

Government

of

Colombia

to

apply

standards

of

the

international

legal

and

justice

system

to

protect

our

rights

as

the

indigenous

people

of

our

islands

as

a

people

of

African

descent

and

as

a

displaced

people

in

our

own

territory

Urge

the

countries

of

Central

America

and

the

Caribbean

region

to

which

our

islands

belong

including

Colombia

to

guarantee

free

movement

of

indigenous

peoples

who

have

been

artificially

divided

by

international

frontiers

Take

steps

to

facilitate

the

participation

of

delegates

of

our

people

in

the

discussions

currently

taking

place

of

the

Draft

Declaration

of

the

United

Nations

on

the

Rights

of

Indigenous

Peoples

and

the

Draft

Declaration

of

the

Organization

of

American

States

on

the

Rights

of

Indigenous

Peoples

and

the

adoption

of

these

Declarations

before

the

end

of

the

International

Decade

of

Indigenous

Peoples

Declare

that

the

settling

of

the

territory

of

an

indigenous

people

with

the

intention

of

stamping

out

its

cultural

identity

or

exploiting

the

territory

s

natural

resources

is

a

form

of

discrimination

racism

and

racial

discrimination

as

well

as

ethnocide

and

a

crime

against

humanity

Incorporate

in

its

final

declaration

the

Action

Plan

adopted

by

the

Forum

of

the

Americas

for

Diversity

and

Plurality

in

Quito

Ecuador

March

to

AfroColombian

Raizal

rastafarian

from

San

Andre

archipelago

THE

ABOVE

REQUEST

IS

SUBMITTED

BY

THE

KETLËNAN

NATIONAL

ASSOCIATION

KETNA

ON

BEHALF

OF

THE

INDIGENOUS

RAIZAL

PEOPLE

OF

THE

COLOMBIAN

ISLANDS

OF

ST

ANDREW

PROVIDENCE

AND

KETLENA

Of

the

Sovereign

Indigenous

Families

of

Afrodescendant

Peoples

of

the

Archipelago

of

St

Andrew

Providence

and

Kathleena

currently

known

as

San

Andres

St

Andrew

Providencia

Providencey

Santa

Catalina

Kathleena

Colombia

for

the

World

Conference

Against

Racism

Racial

Discrimination

Xenophobia

and

Related

Intolerance

to

be

held

in

Durban

South

Africa

from

the

August

to

September

AfroColombians

Raizals

from

San

Andres

archipelago

dancing

at

the

beach

AfroColombian

Social

Movements

Peter

Wade

By

some

estimates

Colombia

has

the

second

largest

population

of

Afrodescendants

in

Latin

America

after

Brazil

Sanchez

and

Bryan

It

also

arguably

has

the

most

comprehensive

array

of

legislation

aimed

at

Afrodescendant

people

covering

special

land

titles

for

black

communities

as

defined

by

the

law

ethnoeducation

programs

in

schools

university

places

reserved

for

candidates

from

black

communities

representation

on

committees

and

decisionmaking

bodies

at

various

levels

of

the

local

regional

and

national

state

a

special

Directorate

of

Black

Community

Affairs

and

two

seats

in

the

Chamber

of

Representatives

of

the

Congress

reserved

for

candidates

representing

black

communities

Yet

before

the

when

these

laws

came

onto

the

statute

books

AfroColombian

social

mobilization

was

not

very

well

developed

and

indeed

many

academics

and

activists

bemoaned

the

fact

that

AfroColombians

were

invisible

in

the

eyes

of

the

state

and

in

the

nation

more

generally

Even

academic

disciplines

such

as

history

anthropology

and

sociology

were

said

to

ignore

AfroColombians

preferring

to

concentrate

on

slavery

indigenous

peoples

and

the

poor

defined

in

terms

of

class

rather

than

ethnic

identity

In

this

chapter

I

will

outline

the

background

and

current

situation

of

AfroColombians

and

try

to

explain

how

the

changes

in

their

My

own

experience

of

Colombia

and

AfroColombian

people

began

informally

in

when

I

spent

some

time

in

the

city

of

Cartagena

on

the

Caribbean

coast

of

Colombia

where

there

is

a

substantial

AfroColombian

population

Between

and

I

carried

out

a

series

of

projects

in

rural

and

urban

areas

using

techniques

of

ethnographic

enquiry

and

interviews

to

explore

issues

of

identity

discrimination

political

mobilization

and

the

intersection

between

culture

and

politics

I

also

used

the

analysis

of

documents

especially

in

a

study

on

the

social

history

of

music

from

the

Caribbean

coastal

region

but

my

methodology

has

been

Background

and

Context

Africans

were

imported

into

Colombia

from

the

and

concentrated

first

in

and

around

Cartagena

a

port

on

the

Caribbean

coast

where

they

did

domestic

and

agricultural

labor

The

main

occupation

of

slaves

however

was

gold

mining

and

this

was

focused

on

the

Pacific

coastal

region

and

in

valley

zones

of

the

provinces

of

Cauca

and

Antioquia

The

Pacific

coastal

region

was

particular

for

having

a

population

composed

mainly

of

slaves

free

blacks

and

indigenous

people

with

a

tiny

minority

of

whites

Interbreeding

was

limited

and

the

emergence

of

mestizos

mixed

people

was

thus

also

restricted

in

comparison

to

many

other

areas

of

Colombia

where

they

became

a

majority

by

the

end

of

the

eighteenth

century

Slavery

was

abolished

in

and

the

Pacific

coastal

region

remained

a

poor

underdeveloped

area

with

little

infrastructure

This

history

helped

constitute

the

Pacific

region

as

a

particularly

black

region

in

a

regionally

diverse

country

Colombia

is

often

represented

as

a

country

of

regions

Typically

four

main

regions

are

said

to

exist

The

central

Andean

region

with

three

mountainous

cordilleras

running

north

to

south

separated

by

two

impressive

river

valleys

encompasses

the

biggest

cities

and

is

the

seat

of

political

power

and

economic

wealth

It

is

predominantly

white

and

mestizo

with

small

groups

of

indigenous

peoples

especially

in

the

higher

areas

The

Pacific

coastal

region

to

the

west

is

damp

poor

heavily

forested

sparsely

populated

and

with

rather

little

infrastructure

it

is

often

seen

as

the

black

region

of

the

country

with

a

population

that

llanos

and

indigenous

peoples

in

forests

This

racialized

geography

where

regions

have

stereotypical

associations

with

certain

racial

identities

is

important

in

understanding

the

situation

of

AfroColombians

and

their

processes

of

political

mobilization

It

is

similar

to

some

other

Latin

American

countries

such

as

Peru

where

the

image

of

the

highlands

is

indio

and

the

coastal

plains

are

white

and

mestizo

or

Ecuador

where

the

Pacific

coastal

region

is

the

black

region

Often

the

regions

associated

with

black

and

indigenous

peoples

are

marginalized

in

terms

of

socioeconomic

development

and

political

power

Thus

racial

inequality

becomes

entwined

with

overall

processes

of

national

development

and

the

mechanisms

that

disadvantage

these

peoples

appear

as

matters

of

underdevelopment

distance

from

the

centers

of

wealth

lack

of

influence

in

politics

and

so

on

This

masks

the

fact

these

mechanisms

continue

to

marginalize

not

just

certain

regions

but

certain

categories

of

people

At

the

same

time

the

status

of

However

it

is

also

important

to

realize

that

whatever

the

broad

images

associated

with

particular

regions

the

Pacific

coastal

region

is

not

home

to

the

majority

of

AfroColombians

due

to

its

low

density

of

population

Counting

Afrodescendants

in

Colombia

has

been

a

difficult

matter

as

in

Latin

America

generally

due

to

the

lack

of

a

widespread

consensus

about

who

counts

as

black

or

AfroColombian

or

whatever

other

terms

are

used

Censuses

early

in

the

twentieth

century

when

enumerators

decided

who

was

who

classed

about

per

cent

of

the

national

population

as

negro

Smith

Later

estimates

varied

from

per

cent

to

per

cent

the

latter

figure

produced

by

the

National

Planning

Department

in

Wade

In

the

state

carried

out

a

census

with

a

new

ethnic

question

that

asked

people

to

selfidentify

as

one

of

a

number

of

ethnic

categories

which

I

discuss

in

more

detail

later

On

the

basis

of

this

about

million

people

or

per

cent

of

the

national

total

were

categorized

by

the

census

department

as

población

afrocolombiana

DANE

What

the

results

of

the

census

also

make

clear

is

only

about

per

cent

of

these

AfroColombians

live

in

the

Pacific

coastal

region

In

fact

nearly

of

the

selfidentified

AfroColombians

in

the

census

live

in

the

province

of

Antioquia

generally

famed

for

being

one

of

the

whitest

in

the

country

In

addition

the

census

reinforced

what

had

already

been

demonstrated

Barbary

and

Urrea

that

per

cent

of

AfroColombians

lived

in

the

large

cities

of

the

interior

of

the

country

Cali

Medellín

and

Bogotá

and

the

medium

cities

of

the

Caribbean

coast

Barranquilla

and

Cartagena

DANE

There

are

further

important

aspects

of

the

geography

of

blackness

in

Colombia

The

first

concerns

the

socalled

raizales

a

word

derived

from

raíz

meaning

root

black

people

who

live

on

the

Colombian

island

territories

of

San

Andrés

Providencia

and

Santa

Catalina

off

the

Caribbean

coast

of

Nicaragua

These

people

are

of

AngloAntillean

origins

speak

a

creole

English

as

well

as

Spanish

and

are

mainly

Protestant

according

to

the

census

they

form

per

cent

of

the

island

population

the

rest

being

mostly

mainland

Colombians

Raizales

have

been

part

of

AfroColombian

mobilizations

although

their

concerns

are

not

necessarily

the

same

as

those

of

mainland

AfroColombians

and

tend

to

concern

the

defense

of

their

culture

in

the

face

of

Colombianization

and

the

onslaught

of

tourist

development

The

second

aspect

concerns

the

special

character

of

the

village

of

Palenque

de

San

Basilio

about

kilometers

from

Cartagena

Palenque

was

the

name

given

to

colonial

settlements

formed

by

runaway

slaves

or

cimarrones

maroons

although

such

villages

sometimes

became

ethnically

mixed

even

in

colonial

times

They

formed

in

many

areas

of

Colombia

and

elsewhere

Price

but

generally

lost

their

identity

as

palenques

after

abolition

Palenque

de

San

Basilio

however

retained

that

identity

along

with

a

unique

creole

language

and

palenqueros

have

been

important

figures

in

AfroColombian

political

movements

particularly

in

the

Caribbean

coastal

region

but

also

more

widely

Cunin

Overall

this

uneven

distribution

of

blackness

which

nuances

the

stereotypical

image

of

black

coasts

versus

a

whitemestizo

interior

is

important

when

it

comes

to

understanding

the

significance

of

the

legislation

about

AfroColombians

and

the

nature

of

AfroColombian

political

mobilization

The

socioeconomic

conditions

of

AfroColombians

present

contradictory

features

For

example

census

data

showed

that

life

expectancy

for

AfroColombian

men

was

lower

than

the

national

average

by

years

for

men

and

nearly

years

for

women

Infant

mortality

for

AfroColombian

girls

was

deaths

per

thousand

births

compared

to

the

national

average

of

AfroColombians

suffered

much

higher

percentages

of

major

health

problems

than

the

overall

population

while

nearly

per

cent

of

AfroColombians

changed

residence

due

to

a

threat

to

their

life

compared

to

a

national

average

of

per

cent

The

census

also

revealed

that

per

Comparing

AfroColombians

with

nonAfroColombians

unemployment

was

higher

per

cent

versus

per

cent

and

poverty

greater

per

cent

versus

per

cent

Survey

data

for

indicate

that

the

provision

of

secondary

and

higher

educational

facilities

was

also

worse

for

AfroColombians

On

the

other

hand

the

census

showed

that

literacy

rates

for

AfroColombians

were

only

marginally

lower

than

for

the

nation

per

cent

versus

per

cent

and

educational

levels

were

not

markedly

different

overall

This

suggests

that

AfroColombians

work

hard

to

gain

an

education

despite

lack

of

facilities

and

services

but

that

their

education

does

not

benefit

them

as

much

as

it

does

other

people

in

terms

of

employment

and

income

Early

AfroColombian

Mobilizations

Colombia

did

not

see

the

kind

of

early

Afrodescendant

mobilizations

that

occurred

in

Cuba

with

the

formation

of

the

Partido

Independiente

de

Color

in

Helg

or

in

Brazil

with

the

emergence

of

a

black

press

Mitchell

and

the

formation

of

the

Frente

Negra

Brasileira

in

Andrews

However

Colombia

did

experience

its

own

form

of

negrismo

or

aesthetic

attention

to

black

creativity

and

culture

this

occurred

to

a

limited

extent

in

literature

and

painting

but

mostly

in

relation

to

music

Genres

from

the

Caribbean

coastal

region

generally

identified

as

black

such

as

cumbia

became

popular

nationally

from

the

Wade

just

as

AfroCuban

and

AfroBrazilian

music

had

also

become

national

icons

Black

political

mobilization

started

in

the

with

the

formation

of

small

urban

groups

often

led

by

university

students

and

graduates

influenced

by

indigenous

mobilizations

and

more

powerfully

by

overseas

black

movements

Figures

such

as

Martin

Luther

King

Malcolm

X

and

Nelson

Mandela

were

inspirations

a

group

formed

in

in

the

city

of

Pereira

was

called

Soweto

and

in

the

reading

group

they

formed

they

tackled

Frantz

Fanon

and

Amílcar

Cabral

in

addition

to

US

black

leaders

In

Soweto

changed

its

name

to

Cimarrón

subtitled

The

National

Movement

for

the

Human

Rights

of

Black

Communities

in

Colombia

invoking

At

the

same

time

and

linked

to

such

movements

academic

interest

in

AfroColombians

began

to

increase

led

by

anthropologist

Nina

de

Friedemann

who

started

publishing

on

AfroColombian

culture

in

the

Pacific

coastal

region

in

the

late

although

there

had

been

some

predecessors

in

the

field

A

key

concern

of

Friedemann

and

these

early

groups

was

with

the

invisibility

of

black

people

in

Colombia

In

fact

AfroColombians

were

not

quite

so

invisible

as

reference

to

black

people

or

rather

slaves

was

routine

in

school

text

books

a

form

of

stylized

blackness

had

carved

out

space

of

a

limited

kind

in

music

and

the

term

negro

was

used

widely

in

Colombia

to

refer

to

people

perceived

as

black

Wade

ch

Wade

But

blackness

was

certainly

marginalized

trivialized

and

folklorized

it

was

also

pretty

much

invisible

in

terms

of

the

mass

print

media

and

public

representations

of

the

Colombian

nation

Friedemanns

project

was

to

display

the

historical

and

contemporary

presence

of

Africanness

in

Colombian

culture

via

the

notion

of

huellas

de

africanía

traces

of

Africanness

which

she

developed

with

fellow

anthropologist

Jaime

Arocha

and

highlight

the

distinctiveness

of

AfroColombian

cultural

forms

in

the

context

of

Colombian

popular

culture

She

was

also

concerned

with

racism

principally

in

terms

of

the

denial

and

marginalization

of

blackness

but

also

in

terms

of

discrimination

against

AfroColombian

communities

Friedemann

Friedemann

and

Arocha

AfroColombian

organizations

at

this

time

such

as

the

Centre

for

the

Investigation

and

Development

of

Black

Culture

led

by

Amir

Smith

Córdoba

and

Cimarrón

led

by

Juan

de

Dios

Mosquera

both

men

based

in

cities

of

the

interior

of

the

country

having

migrated

from

the

Pacific

coastal

region

shared

these

concerns

and

also

spearheaded

a

consciousnessraising

movement

which

aimed

to

confront

a

number

of

problems

As

these

leaders

saw

it

too

many

black

people

denied

their

own

blackness

perhaps

preferring

not

to

identify

in

relation

to

ethnicity

or

race

perhaps

trying

to

avoid

the

perceived

stigma

of

blackness

and

of

Africa

too

many

refused

to

recognize

that

they

were

black

claiming

they

were

mestizos

perhaps

brownskinned

but

not

black

too

many

were

ignorant

of

black

history

and

even

denied

that

racism

affected

AfroColombians

These

movements

thus

addressed

invisibility

and

denial

by

publishing

and

disseminating

information

about

AfroColombians

role

in

history

and

society

but

they

also

had

a

perspective

that

included

racism

in

urban

life

In

Other

organizations

existed

at

this

time

and

their

varied

nature

can

be

illustrated

by

two

examples

The

Corporación

de

Negritudes

in

Medellín

mainly

provided

services

and

education

for

female

domestic

service

workers

from

the

Pacific

coastal

region

but

also

aimed

to

foster

black

identity

by

holding

classes

on

black

history

and

culture

for

the

young

women

The

Chocoano

Action

Committee

also

in

Medellín

was

an

association

of

more

middleclass

migrants

from

Chocó

who

participated

in

the

party

political

networks

of

their

home

province

They

pursued

a

regionalist

project

that

sought

to

enhance

the

political

influence

of

Chocó

the

only

departamento

province

with

a

majority

black

population

that

since

when

it

gained

departmental

status

had

been

able

to

elect

a

senator

to

Congress

as

well

as

their

own

political

ambitions

Although

blackness

was

a

central

aspect

of

Chocoano

identity

this

Committee

was

only

tangentially

concerned

with

promoting

something

called

black

identity

Wade

Reform

the

AfroColombian

Movement

and

Multiculturalism

In

the

Colombia

like

many

other

countries

in

Latin

America

around

this

time

underwent

a

constitutional

reform

which

included

an

apparently

dramatic

shift

towards

official

multiculturalism

Van

Cott

Sieder

The

new

Constitution

declared

it

would

recognize

and

protect

the

ethnic

and

cultural

diversity

of

the

nation

Article

The

reasons

behind

this

regionwide

shift

are

varied

and

include

a

desire

by

the

state

to

appear

more

in

line

with

international

criteria

of

modern

liberal

democracies

the

growing

power

of

indigenous

and

ethnic

rights

movements

worldwide

and

in

the

Colombian

case

an

attempt

to

address

issue

of

violence

This

process

of

change

had

a

key

feature

The

Constituent

Assembly

had

no

AfroColombian

elected

representative

despite

several

candidates

having

stood

for

election

In

the

Pacific

coastal

region

a

number

of

organizations

had

emerged

in

the

often

initiated

by

the

Catholic

Church

and

usually

directed

towards

helping

peasant

farmers

for

example

ACIA

the

Integral

Peasant

Association

of

the

Atrato

River

formed

in

Some

of

these

organizations

had

allied

with

local

indigenous

groups

also

supported

by

the

Church

which

had

much

more

experience

in

dealing

with

indigenous

matters

and

thus

began

to

fit

themselves

into

a

mold

shaped

by

indígena

Indigenous

people

already

had

land

reserves

some

of

them

of

colonial

antiquity

others

a

result

of

more

recent

negotiations

with

the

state

AfroColombian

politician

and

famous

weightlifter

María

Isabel

Urrutia

OCORÓ

Indigenous

peoples

had

a

particular

status

visàvis

the

state

that

of

small

vulnerable

and

protected

ethnic

minority

living

mainly

in

rather

peripheral

zones

of

the

country

In

the

Constituent

Assembly

it

was

no

accident

that

an

Emberá

indigenous

leader

Francisco

Rojas

Birry

represented

an

alliance

of

Afroindigenous

interests

linked

to

the

Pacific

coastal

region

Any

consideration

of

AfroColombian

matters

was

a

struggle

in

the

Assembly

most

representatives

initially

rejected

the

idea

that

black

people

in

Colombia

could

be

considered

an

ethnic

group

Faced

with

the

possibility

that

petitions

to

recognize

AfroColombians

might

go

unheeded

there

was

lobbying

by

Rojas

Birry

At

the

last

minute

the

Transitory

Article

was

included

Señoras

de

San

Basilio

de

Palenque

conversando

Law

when

it

emerged

not

surprisingly

reflected

this

regional

and

ethnic

bias

It

indigenized

regionalized

and

ruralized

the

question

of

blackness

in

Colombia

Although

it

included

a

host

of

measures

and

also

defined

black

communities

in

Colombia

as

an

ethnic

group

the

law

was

essentially

about

the

provision

of

land

titles

to

rural

riverine

black

communities

in

the

Pacific

coastal

region

communities

defined

in

terms

of

their

kinship

links

their

rootedness

in

the

land

and

their

traditional

production

practices

This

definition

fitted

an

indigenist

mold

After

the

reform

the

initial

impetus

was

to

make

sure

the

Transitory

Article

became

law

and

AfroColombian

organizations

multiplied

particularly

in

the

Pacific

region

but

also

elsewhere

Leaders

from

Palenque

de

San

Basilio

for

example

were

influential

in

negotiations

leading

up

to

Law

but

perhaps

because

of

the

status

of

Palenque

as

an

old

welldelimited

and

rural

community

albeit

having

community

members

who

had

migrated

to

cities

all

over

the

Caribbean

coastal

region

this

did

not

move

Law

away

from

the

figure

of

the

black

community

The

most

influential

and

durable

organization

to

emerge

the

Proceso

de

By

the

mid

blackness

in

Colombia

had

a

profile

that

privileged

the

ethnic

and

distinctiveness

of

a

specific

region

The

juridical

and

conceptual

construct

of

the

comunidad

negra

implied

the

abandonment

of

the

sociopolitical

specificities

of

actual

black

communities

in

the

Pacific

region

Hoffmann

for

example

the

variety

of

economic

activities

which

included

fishing

mining

logging

hunting

agriculture

trading

all

with

more

or

less

use

of

modern

technologies

was

hidden

in

the

blanket

reference

to

traditional

production

practices

If

this

was

true

for

the

Pacific

region

it

was

even

more

the

case

for

Colombia

generally

the

huge

variety

of

contexts

in

which

AfroColombians

lived

was

masked

in

the

name

of

a

more

singular

and

homogeneous

black

ethnic

identity

The

emergence

of

Law

and

its

particular

ethnocultural

character

were

the

outcome

of

a

complex

set

of

interactions

between

academics

and

AfroColombian

organizations

and

the

state

not

to

mention

the

Church

and

indigenous

organizations

Wade

Colombian

academics

such

as

Arocha

and

Friedemann

had

established

AfroColombian

anthropology

and

defined

it

as

the

study

of

cultural

difference

above

all

in

the

Pacific

region

they

both

participated

in

discussions

in

the

Constituent

Assembly

AfroColombian

organizations

were

already

burgeoning

in

the

Pacific

region

fighting

for

land

rights

in

alliance

with

indigenous

groups

and

supported

by

the

Church

with

its

Liberation

Theologyinspired

concern

For

its

part

the

state

was

not

necessarily

rigidly

opposed

to

either

AfroColombian

or

indigenous

rights

as

long

as

these

could

be

controlled

A

number

of

authors

argue

that

Law

and

multiculturalist

policies

more

generally

actually

fit

with

neoliberalizing

projects

that

seek

to

create

effective

governance

and

the

free

circulation

of

goods

and

people

while

still

cutting

back

on

direct

state

investment

Such

policies

bring

actors

in

previously

marginal

areas

into

a

direct

relationship

with

the

state

in

this

case

as

landholders

while

also

making

them

responsible

for

their

own

management

community

members

have

to

organize

their

land

claim

Meanwhile

capitalist

development

of

the

area

can

continue

outside

the

collectively

titled

areas

and

can

even

access

community

labor

and

resources

more

freely

For

example

Oslender

gives

the

example

of

a

commercial

firm

exporting

palmitos

edible

palm

hearts

to

Europe

which

sponsored

a

collective

land

title

claim

in

the

southern

Pacific

region

and

continued

its

operations

using

local

community

labour

In

addition

attention

was

suddenly

paid

to

the

immense

biodiversity

of

the

Pacific

region

this

was

a

resource

to

be

protected

for

posterity

but

also

for

future

exploitation

by

a

conservationist

form

of

development

and

the

state

AfroColombian

communities

and

international

development

agencies

agreed

on

the

importance

of

sustaining

biodiversity

Although

this

apparent

consensus

did

not

mean

they

necessarily

understood

this

agenda

in

the

same

way

eg

biodiversity

as

a

development

resource

versus

biodiversity

as

the

basis

for

a

local

lifestyle

comunidades

negras

could

figure

alongside

indigenous

communities

as

guardians

of

the

environment

Escobar

Escobar

Thus

the

state

could

see

advantages

in

Law

and

the

recognition

of

regional

blackness

it

helped

open

up

the

resourcerich

but

isolated

Pacific

region

to

development

while

creating

mechanisms

that

could

enhance

governance

of

the

region

and

its

communities

The

Law

also

reinforced

the

liberal

democratic

credentials

of

the

Colombian

state

in

the

international

arena

The

state

was

however

predisposed

to

assimilate

the

new

political

presence

of

blackness

to

the

more

familiar

figure

of

ethnic

indigenousness

when

considering

matters

of

governance

Hooker

This

meant

that

small

bounded

rural

black

communities

fitted

into

an

existing

mold

of

stateminority

relations

In

this

overall

scenario

the

issue

of

racism

while

it

by

no

means

disappeared

became

more

muted

Indeed

the

PCN

argued

that

presenting

the

situation

of

AfroColombian

communities

in

terms

of

racial

discrimination

has

little

audience

Pedrosa

my

translation

The

struggle

was

to

protect

a

vulnerable

poor

minority

by

giving

its

people

land

rights

that

recognized

their

historical

cultural

difference

eg

their

collective

production

practices

The

reason

for

their

poverty

was

neglect

and

indifference

and

while

these

could

be

linked

to

racism

this

did

not

occupy

center

stage

Many

black

people

in

Colombia

as

elsewhere

in

Latin

America

AfroColombian

organization

was

not

however

entirely

limited

to

the

Pacific

coastal

region

In

for

example

I

carried

out

a

study

in

the

city

of

Cali

that

focused

on

the

intersection

of

politics

and

musical

expression

Situated

only

a

couple

of

hours

on

todays

roads

from

the

Pacific

coast

and

located

near

areas

of

historically

dense

AfroColombian

population

such

as

Puerto

Tejada

and

the

towns

of

the

northern

Cauca

province

Cali

has

long

had

a

substantial

black

presence

reinforced

in

the

last

two

decades

by

large

migrations

from

the

Pacific

coastal

region

According

to

census

figures

AfroColombians

were

I

found

that

there

were

a

number

of

different

AfroColombian

organizations

in

operation

Wade

Some

of

them

were

basically

groups

of

dancers

and

rap

musicians

but

many

of

the

young

people

in

them

showed

an

awareness

of

issues

of

black

identity

and

racism

that

made

it

impossible

to

ignore

the

political

dimensions

of

these

organizations

A

local

black

barbershop

for

example

was

an

enterprise

linked

to

fashion

and

consumption

but

it

also

acted

as

a

public

expression

of

AfroColombian

identity

with

Rastafarian

colors

a

map

of

Africa

and

posters

of

Michael

Jordan

and

Bob

Marley

on

display

and

a

Other

organizations

were

formal

NGOs

usually

with

development

and

consciousnessraising

agendas

for

AfroColombians

similar

to

Cimarrón

or

PCN

albeit

often

smaller

and

more

ephemeral

And

there

also

existed

a

local

branch

of

a

national

political

party

called

Movimiento

Nacional

de

Comunidades

Negras

which

sought

to

get

AfroColombian

candidates

elected

to

government

office

Complex

networks

ran

through

this

diversity

and

into

the

Church

and

local

state

For

example

Ashanty

negotiated

for

funding

with

the

recently

formed

Negritudes

division

of

Calis

city

council

with

the

Catholic

Church

with

an

international

aid

NGO

and

also

with

a

national

beer

company

which

helped

fund

a

hiphop

event

Another

group

focusing

more

on

folkloric

dance

from

the

Pacific

region

and

calling

itself

a

cultural

youth

association

was

led

by

an

AfroColombian

man

who

had

close

links

to

politicians

in

the

Movimiento

Nacional

In

the

Caribbean

coastal

region

there

were

also

significant

processes

of

organizing

that

nuanced

the

association

between

blackness

and

the

Pacific

coast

even

if

AfroColombian

organizations

centered

on

Cartagena

and

to

some

extent

in

the

Caribbean

coastal

region

as

a

whole

have

been

dominated

by

leaders

from

Palenque

de

San

Basilio

a

village

that

fits

well

the

image

of

a

comunidad

negra

Cunin

Cunin

In

one

case

Cimarrón

started

a

legal

campaign

to

have

a

black

community

as

defined

by

the

law

recognized

in

the

city

of

Santa

Marta

allowing

its

representatives

to

sit

on

city

council

committees

After

a

long

judicial

battle

in

which

the

presence

of

a

black

community

was

denied

it

was

recognized

by

a

decision

of

the

Constitutional

Court

Wade

This

was

significant

because

it

broke

with

the

association

between

the

legal

category

comunidad

negra

and

the

Pacific

region

a

possibility

foreseen

in

Transitory

Article

which

said

its

provisions

could

apply

to

other

regions

of

the

country

with

similar

conditions

to

those

of

the

Pacific

region

In

short

while

the

Pacific

coastal

region

and

issues

of

cultural

difference

associated

with

AfroColombians

as

an

ethnic

group

dominated

the

panorama

of

AfroColombian

social

movements

in

the

wake

of

Law

muting

questions

of

racism

by

the

late

there

were

already

some

departures

from

this

scenario

which

drew

both

on

AfroColombian

organization

and

on

the

fact

that

Law

despite

its

focus

on

the

Pacific

coastal

region

had

opened

up

a

more

public

space

for

blackness

than

had

existed

previously

Violence

Displacement

and

Race

The

gains

of

the

whatever

their

limits

have

been

put

at

severe

risk

by

the

waves

of

violence

that

have

shattered

the

social

fabric

of

the

Pacific

coastal

region

From

the

late

conflicts

between

guerrilla

forces

the

army

and

rightwing

paramilitaries

often

colluding

with

the

army

have

dominated

the

area

moving

from

Chocó

province

in

the

north

towards

the

south

Wouters

These

complex

conflicts

which

affect

large

areas

of

Colombia

are

driven

by

many

forces

A

key

factor

is

the

relative

weakness

of

the

Colombian

state

which

is

unable

to

control

portions

of

the

national

territory

and

Another

factor

is

the

convenience

for

the

state

of

the

existence

of

paramilitaries

who

carry

out

state

violence

by

proxy

Sanford

Also

vital

are

the

pervasive

effects

of

the

drug

trade

which

helps

fund

guerrillas

paramilitaries

and

indirectly

the

state

and

sustains

the

selfpropelling

character

of

the

violence

Lastly

the

violence

especially

by

paramilitaries

cleanses

tracts

of

land

of

people

and

communities

leaving

them

open

for

further

capitalist

developments

especially

African

palm

oil

plantations

but

also

industrial

shrimp

farming

and

mining

Escobar

Oslender

Escobar

Restrepo

and

Rojas

Violence

has

undermined

the

regions

collective

land

titles

agendas

of

sustaining

biodiversity

and

diverse

local

projects

from

womens

shellfishcollecting

cooperatives

to

small

enterprises

for

marketing

forest

products

Huge

numbers

of

AfroColombians

and

indigenous

people

have

been

displaced

into

first

the

local

cities

of

Buenaventura

Tumaco

and

Quibdó

and

then

into

cities

of

the

interior

According

to

the

Colombian

NGO

CODHES

Human

Rights

and

Displacement

Consultancy

million

Colombians

were

forced

from

their

homes

between

and

with

high

points

of

about

individuals

a

year

in

and

Of

these

people

it

is

estimated

by

CODHES

that

about

per

cent

are

AfroColombians

more

than

double

their

proportion

in

the

total

population

in

the

census

About

per

cent

of

all

AfroColombians

are

classified

as

displaced

persons

The

state

estimates

that

in

the

rate

of

displacement

of

AfroColombians

was

nearly

twice

that

of

nonAfroColombians

In

the

port

of

Buenaventura

inundated

with

AfroColombian

desplazados

displaced

people

CODHES

states

that

there

is

effectively

an

ethnocide

of

young

AfroColombians

with

murders

in

giving

a

rate

of

murders

per

compared

to

for

Colombia

as

a

whole

AfroColombian

organization

in

the

Pacific

region

continues

despite

these

fearful

setbacks

and

much

of

the

emphasis

is

now

on

human

rights

violence

and

displacement

with

a

corresponding

focus

on

youth

who

figure

largely

among

the

displaced

and

those

killed

by

violence

The

scenario

is

diverse

and

complex

with

organizations

ranging

from

small

incomegenerating

cooperatives

to

the

PCN

which

continues

to

be

one

of

the

most

influential

AfroColombian

organizations

with

leaders

of

international

stature

such

as

Carlos

Rosero

who

ran

unsuccessfully

for

the

Constituent

Assembly

in

became

a

lynchpin

for

the

PCN

and

now

participates

in

a

number

of

transnational

Meanwhile

horizons

of

AfroColombian

movements

have

broadened

a

little

more

since

the

late

W

hile

the

vast

majority

of

the

collective

land

titles

handed

out

to

black

communities

by

were

in

the

Pacific

coastal

region

a

few

small

territories

have

been

titled

in

riverine

areas

of

Antioquia

province

Land

is

a

major

concern

for

many

AfroColombians

outside

the

Pacific

coastal

region

activists

from

around

Cartagena

for

example

are

concerned

about

the

security

of

their

land

ownership

often

not

fully

legalized

despite

a

long

history

of

privatization

of

land

and

they

face

gradual

dislocation

by

tourist

and

other

capitalist

ventures

While

AfroColombian

organizations

in

the

area

work

to

promote

black

consciousness

and

culture

they

also

seek

to

protect

human

rights

for

AfroColombians

including

rights

to

land

Organizations

put

varying

emphases

on

issues

of

identity

and

matters

of

material

livelihood

but

as

in

Cali

the

two

aspects

tend

to

intertwine

Another

example

of

geographical

expansion

beyond

the

Pacific

region

is

education

Provisions

heralded

in

Law

were

followed

up

by

Decree

of

which

created

mechanisms

for

university

fee

exemptions

for

students

from

AfroColombian

communities

The

Ministry

of

the

Interior

signed

agreements

with

a

number

of

universities

which

gave

about

feeexempt

places

nationwide

to

such

students

between

and

The

government

entity

that

helps

Colombian

students

study

abroad

reportedly

helped

AfroColombian

students

between

and

DNP

Such

initiatives

have

been

spreading

without

getting

close

to

the

quota

systems

in

place

in

some

Brazilian

San

Buenaventura

de

Cartagena

signed

an

agreement

with

the

Ministry

of

the

Interior

to

provide

fee

discounts

to

AfroColombian

students

These

small

measures

indicate

an

openness

to

thinking

about

blackness

on

a

national

rather

than

a

purely

regional

level

This

incipient

shift

is

also

evident

in

the

census

An

ethnic

question

was

first

tried

in

the

census

and

was

a

dismal

failure

It

asked

people

to

identify

as

a

member

of

a

black

community

and

then

name

the

community

the

question

was

based

on

the

very

recent

concept

of

the

comunidad

negra

as

a

bounded

entity

in

the

Pacific

region

Only

per

cent

of

people

identified

as

such

Prior

to

the

census

there

were

intensive

discussions

some

of

them

in

conferences

funded

by

the

World

Bank

about

how

to

improve

the

question

with

participation

from

government

census

officials

academics

and

black

organizations

The

ethnic

question

asked

people

to

identify

as

a

raizal

b

palenquero

or

c

negroa

mulatoa

afrocolombianoa

o

afrodescendiente

or

indigenous

or

Rom

or

of

the

above

Results

were

reported

in

a

way

that

lumped

the

three

black

categories

into

a

single

AfroColombian

one

The

figure

of

per

cent

was

criticized

as

an

undercount

by

AfroColombian

organizations

which

had

lobbied

unsuccessfully

for

the

inclusion

in

the

above

list

of

the

category

moreno

brown

a

term

widely

used

to

describe

self

and

others

across

a

broad

range

of

racialized

phenotypes

Negro

still

carries

a

stigma

for

some

people

and

may

be

thought

to

signify

a

person

who

is

very

Africanlooking

Mulato

is

not

a

term

commonly

heard

in

Colombia

while

afrocolombiano

and

afrodescendiente

although

increasingly

apparent

are

still

linked

to

an

intellectual

and

activist

discourse

Actual

numbers

aside

the

significant

thing

was

the

institutionalization

by

the

state

of

a

category

of

blackness

that

ran

counter

to

the

category

of

the

comunidad

negra

based

in

the

Pacific

coastal

region

which

the

state

had

worked

hard

to

construct

and

confine

within

a

region

At

this

stage

it

is

difficult

to

say

what

impact

such

an

institutional

shift

has

on

everyday

identifications

but

censuses

are

important

tools

and

the

categories

they

deploy

get

used

extensively

in

the

public

domain

where

they

become

more

consolidated

Nobles

Changes

are

also

evident

in

the

arena

of

electoral

politics

There

has

long

been

a

handful

of

AfroColombian

members

of

congress

partly

because

Chocó

was

granted

the

status

of

departamento

in

and

Law

provided

for

two

Representatives

to

be

elected

to

the

Chamber

of

Deputies

by

a

special

electoral

constituency

of

black

communities

In

these

two

one

an

exsporting

champion

with

electoral

support

from

the

Pacific

coast

the

other

a

career

politician

elected

by

voters

in

the

Caribbean

coastal

province

of

Bolívar

made

up

part

of

a

shortlived

Bancada

Parlamentaria

Afrocolombiana

a

black

caucus

with

seven

other

politicians

including

Piedad

Córdoba

known

to

support

the

social

inclusion

of

minorities

including

AfroColombians

Congress

has

more

AfroColombian

members

than

ever

over

the

congressional

period

although

they

vary

in

their

explicit

support

of

AfroColombian

rights

However

several

of

these

politicians

have

been

plagued

by

charges

of

corruption

and

it

is

difficult

to

detect

a

real

driver

for

change

from

this

direction

AfroColombian

electoral

politics

is

also

beset

by

fragmentation

In

the

Congressional

elections

held

in

March

there

were

a

total

of

candidates

allied

to

separate

political

parties

competing

for

the

two

Representatives

seats

reserved

for

AfroColombian

communities

in

the

Chamber

of

Deputies

In

contrast

the

total

number

of

candidates

for

the

special

electoral

constituency

seats

for

indigenous

communities

in

both

Senate

and

Chamber

was

only

allied

to

only

parties

Agudelo

argues

that

electoral

politics

in

the

Pacific

region

may

trade

on

ideas

of

black

identity

but

it

continues

to

thrive

on

oldstyle

clientelism

and

porkbarrel

politics

Meanwhile

President

Uribe

appointed

AfroColombian

academic

Paula

Moreno

who

had

researched

biodiversity

management

in

the

Pacific

coastal

region

as

Minister

of

Culture

in

until

in

a

move

that

was

seen

by

some

as

a

bid

to

gain

the

support

of

the

US

Congressional

Black

Caucus

for

the

USColombia

Free

Trade

Agreement

Finally

there

appears

to

be

a

slightly

greater

interest

in

questions

of

racism

partly

in

the

wake

of

the

Durban

conference

on

racism

The

PCN

which

in

saw

racism

as

theme

with

little

audience

now

has

as

one

of

its

aims

the

struggle

against

racism

and

has

a

link

to

the

Racial

Discrimination

Observatory

established

at

a

private

university

in

to

monitor

racism

mainly

by

publishing

statistical

information

on

racial

inequality

and

publicizing

incidents

of

racism

Hoffmann

also

notes

a

reorientation

of

the

ethnic

debate

towards

the

antidiscrimination

struggle

In

May

there

was

the

first

National

Campaign

Against

Racism

supported

by

the

VicePresident

who

presented

the

recommendations

of

the

InterSectoral

Commission

for

the

Advancement

of

the

AfroColombian

Palenquero

and

Raizal

Population

that

he

had

been

heading

up

the

first

recommendation

was

to

combat

racism

at

a

national

level

One

may

doubt

the

efficacy

of

such

government

pronouncements

but

they

do

indicate

a

shift

in

focus

Interestingly

Meertens

looks

at

cases

of

tutelas

legal

actions

brought

by

citizens

in

defense

of

their

constitutional

rights

which

have

challenged

everyday

racial

discrimination

For

example

a

young

woman

alleged

she

was

denied

entry

to

a

music

club

because

she

was

black

the

Constitutional

Court

found

in

her

favor

The

reasons

for

this

recent

shift

are

linked

to

various

factors

a

growing

transnational

interest

in

AfroLatins

and

Afrodescendants

eg

from

the

World

Bank

the

United

Nations

and

the

US

Congressional

Black

Caucus

the

increasing

organization

of

AfroColombians

outside

the

Pacific

region

spurred

by

Law

the

use

by

activists

of

judicial

instruments

such

as

Law

to

push

the

boundaries

of

the

law

itself

for

example

by

claiming

the

existence

of

a

black

community

in

Santa

Marta

the

gradual

consolidation

of

legislation

that

developed

aspects

of

Law

such

as

educational

opportunities

for

AfroColombians

in

a

way

that

extends

Conclusion

Colombia

was

dominated

by

the

ideology

of

mestizaje

it

was

a

mestizo

country

with

black

and

indigenous

populations

that

were

supposedly

on

the

road

to

a

mixed

integrated

modernity

Black

and

indigenous

people

were

not

invisible

indeed

their

presence

especially

in

underdeveloped

areas

was

necessary

to

confirm

the

supposed

superiority

and

modernity

of

the

central

image

of

the

whitened

mestizo

nation

But

they

certainly

occupied

a

lowly

place

in

the

nations

social

and

cultural

hierarchies

albeit

certain

powers

were

attributed

to

them

with

regard

to

music

dance

magic

healing

and

physical

prowess

Ideologies

and

practices

of

mestizaje

allowed

the

simultaneous

existence

of

racism

and

nonracism

AfroColombians

could

be

both

excluded

and

included

interracial

unions

for

example

could

both

undo

racial

hierarchy

by

crossing

racial

difference

and

producing

more

mixed

children

and

express

it

through

observers

assumptions

that

the

darker

partner

was

motivated

by

a

desire

to

whiten

This

simultaneity

of

inclusion

and

exclusion

generated

ambiguity

that

masked

racism

Since

black

and

indigenous

peoples

have

been

assigned

and

have

fought

for

a

place

in

the

legislation

Affirmative

actions

of

various

kinds

have

been

designed

to

right

previous

wrongs

This

does

not

mean

that

mestizaje

and

all

it

implies

has

disappeared

far

from

it

it

is

still

a

powerful

force

in

everyday

life

But

the

differences

of

race

and

ethnicity

usually

glossed

as

ethnicity

alone

by

the

state

which

prefers

to

avoid

reference

to

race

are

now

much

clearer

and

more

public

Mestizaje

is

about

the

integration

and

modernization

of

the

nation

but

it

also

relies

on

a

discourse

about

private

domestic

matters

sexual

relationships

between

men

and

women

Multiculturalist

policies

place

racial

and

ethnic

difference

more

firmly

in

the

public

domain

and

challenge

the

ambiguities

and

masking

that

mestizaje

generates

What

we

see

however

is

that

alongside

the

inclusions

of

multiculturalism

some

of

them

more

apparent

than

real

exclusions

continue

They

persist

in

familiar

ways

but

also

now

in

much

more

violent

forms

murder

displacement

terror

It

seems

that

the

making

public

of

difference

and

its

inscription

in

the

law

has

brought

with

it

more

drastic

and

violent

forms

of

disciplining

difference

In

this

light

it

is

unclear

what

the

implications

will

be

of

the

incipient

shift

from

the

almost

exclusive

focus

on

the

Pacific

coastal

region

towards

a

more

encompassing

notion

of

AfroColombianness

in

which

blackness

begins

to

have

a

higher

profile

in

civic

life

in

general

The

Pacific

coastal

has

suffered

terrible

violence

and

it

continues

to

be

a

place

where

radical

forms

of

cultural

difference

and

alternative

notions

of

development

and

modernity

are

being

elaborated

Escobar

It

is

also

a

place

where

black

and

indigenous

social

movements

overlap

in

ways

that

challenge

the

divide

of

colonial

origin

between

Paula

Marcela

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American

Anthropology

The

Cultural

Politics

of

Blackness

in

Colombia

American

Ethnologist

Defining

Blackness

in

Colombia

Journal

de

la

Société

des

Américanistes

Music

Race

and

Nation

Música

Tropical

in

Colombia

Chicago

University

of

Chicago

Press

Rethinking

Mestizaje

Ideology

and

Lived

Experience

Journal

of

Latin

American

Studies

Working

Culture

Making

Cultural

Identities

in

Cali

Colombia

Current

Anthropology

Wouters

Mieke

Ethnic

Rights

under

Threat

The

Black

Peasant

Movement

against

Armed

Groups

Pressure

in

the

Chocó

Colombia

Bulletin

of

Latin

American

Research

Notes

Representatives

of

black

communities

are

included

in

the

INCODER

Colombian

Institute

of

Rural

Development

the

Ministry

of

Mines

the

Ministry

of

the

Environment

and

the

Ministry

of

Education

among

others

The

Dirección

de

Asuntos

para

Comunidades

Negras

Afrocolombianas

Raizales

y

Palenqueras

Directorate

of

Affairs

for

Black

Afrocolombian

Raizal

and

Palenque

Communities

is

a

dependency

of

the

Ministry

of

the

Interior

and

Justice

See

the

Excel

file

at

httpwwwdanegovcofilesetnicostallerterri_colectivos_cnegrasxls

accessed

September

This

is

partly

because

Antioquia

has

a

Caribbean

coastline

but

even

so

there

are

more

blacks

in

Antioquia

than

in

the

province

of

Bolívar

generally

considered

by

Colombians

as

one

of

the

blacker

provinces

and

the

capital

city

of

which

is

Cartagena

also

usually

seen

as

quite

a

black

city

AfroColombians

with

no

education

per

cent

cf

per

cent

nationally

with

basic

secondary

per

cent

cf

per

cent

nationally

with

professional

qualifications

per

cent

cf

per

cent

nationally

AfroColombians

have

years

of

schooling

on

average

cf

for

nonAfroColombians

This

picture

varies

a

bit

if

one

looks

at

specific

municipalities

in

the

Pacific

coastal

region

Thus

for

Tumaco

AfroColombians

with

no

education

per

cent

with

basic

secondary

per

cent

with

professional

qualifications

per

cent

For

the

census

data

see

DANE

Nda

Ndb

Vicepresidencia

for

the

survey

data

see

Departamento

Nacional

de

Planeación

DNP

The

municipal

education

data

cited

in

note

come

from

the

Excel

file

at

accessed

September

See

also

the

website

of

the

Observatorio

de

Discriminación

Racial

which

has

useful

data

on

racial

inequality

httpodruniandeseducocifrascifraspphtml

accessed

September

A

handful

of

writers

including

students

of

Melville

Herskovits

and

some

folklorists

had

published

studies

see

Wade

Cimarróns

full

title

is

now

Movimiento

Nacional

Cimarrón

see

httpwwwcimarronracismoorg

See

Centro

del

Pastoral

Afrocolombiana

See

Gros

Hale

and

Speed

for

general

arguments

about

what

Hale

calls

multicultural

neoliberalism

See

Wade

on

the

Pacific

coastal

region

See

httpodruniandeseducopdfsCifrascomposicionmunicipalpdf

accessed

September

Plan

Colombia

was

initiated

in

with

US

backing

as

broad

development

package

but

centered

on

an

antinarcotics

project

seeking

to

eliminate

and

replace

the

cultivation

and

production

of

narcotics

which

often

took

place

in

areas

where

state

presence

was

weak

The

Pacific

coastal

region

has

felt

the

effects

of

Plan

Colombia

both

in

terms

of

the

expansion

of

African

palm

oil

plantations

and

because

both

guerrilla

and

paramilitary

forces

have

imposed

the

cultivation

of

coca

leaf

in

the

area

See

CODHES

bulletin

Víctimas

emergentes

April

accessed

September

See

CODHES

Afrocolombianos

desplazados

un

drama

sin

tregua

accessed

September

See

also

Vicepresidencia

Vanessa

Mendoza

former

Miss

Colombia

is

an

AfrpColombian

See

the

Excel

document

cited

in

note

and

the

map

Resguardos

Indígenas

y

Títulos

Colectivos

de

Comunidades

Negras

at

httpsigotnigacgovcosigotnPDFSIGOT_SocResguardos_Nalpdf

accessed

September

These

territories

are

on

the

borders

of

Zaragoza

Anorí

and

Segovia

municipalities

on

the

River

Porce

in

Yondó

municipality

near

the

River

Magdalena

and

in

Sopetrán

municipality

on

the

River

Cauca

all

a

long

way

from

the

Pacific

coastal

region

See

also

DANE

Reported

at

Formed

in

about

by

the

Bancada

Afrocolombiana

was

under

investigation

for

irregularities

Sólo

dos

congresistas

afros

son

considerados

Visibles

by

Luis

Bravo

accessed

September

For

the

list

of

candiates

see

httpwwwregistraduriagovcoInformacionelec_2010_candhtm

For

the

voting

results

see

both

accessed

September

See

the

PCN

website

httpwwwrenacientesorg

accessed

September

See

also

the

Observatory

site

httpodruniandeseduco

accessed

September

See

accessed

September

COLOMBIAS

PROMOTION

OF

NEOLIBERAL

POLICIES

AND

AFROCOLOMBIANS

IN

THE

PACIFIC

COASTAL

REGION

In

keeping

up

with

a

globalized

world

and

its

economy

during

the

past

years

Colombia

has

adopted

and

vigorously

promoted

the

Neo

Liberal

economic

model

This

model

based

upon

creating

economic

policies

favoring

private

property

rights

free

market

and

free

trade

has

been

promoted

in

Latin

America

and

other

underdeveloped

countries

by

the

worlds

economic

powers

eg

the

US

and

has

been

supported

by

international

financial

institutions

such

as

the

International

Monetary

Fund

IMF

and

the

World

Bank

Implementation

of

these

policies

has

exacerbated

inequality

issues

in

Colombia

and

has

increased

the

countrys

socioeconomic

gap

among

Colombias

population

For

instance

the

entrance

of

injections

of

foreign

capital

has

made

it

impossible

for

ethnic

minorities

and

peasants

who

traditionally

engage

in

the

subsistence

economic

model

to

compete

with

big

international

enterprises

has

hurt

labor

rights

and

peoples

living

standards

as

promotion

of

privatization

has

lowered

wages

and

workers

rights

and

concentrated

wealth

within

a

few

hands

and

has

hurt

the

environment

as

policies

seeking

to

deregulate

preservation

and

conservation

for

the

sake

of

profit

have

taken

precedence

Additionally

these

polices

have

particularly

impacted

Colombias

minorities

in

regions

like

the

Colombian

Pacific

where

an

ethnic

majority

Afro

Colombians

represents

the

populations

majority

In

this

region

neo

liberal

policies

have

further

pushed

AfroColombians

to

socioeconomic

marginalization

and

extreme

poverty

All

while

the

dominant

minority

monopolizes

capital

and

resources

accumulates

wealth

and

enjoys

positions

of

power

Andrews

observes

that

the

transition

from

subsistence

to

market

economies

was

detrimental

not

only

to

Afrodescendants

in

Colombia

but

to

Afrodescendants

in

Latin

America

He

describes

the

economic

impact

of

the

twentyfirst

centurys

policies

for

AfroLatin

Americans

as

follows

throughout

capitalisms

long

history

the

process

of

transition

from

subsistence

to

market

economics

has

been

a

wrenching

and

painful

experience

Most

AfroLatin

Americans

have

already

made

that

transition

but

many

still

remain

in

the

subsistence

sector

and

now

stand

on

the

threshold

of

being

abruptly

catapulted

into

the

wagelabor

market

Once

in

the

market

they

are

likely

to

remain

at

the

For

AfroColombians

the

expansion

of

the

neo

liberal

model

during

the

twentyfirst

century

was

not

the

only

responsible

for

their

precarious

socioeconomic

conditions

historic

racial

barriers

deeply

rooted

in

Colombias

society

further

pushed

AfroColombians

into

a

subclass

underpaid

when

working

and

usually

living

in

poverty

or

extremepoverty

conditions

On

this

particular

aspect

Andrews

states

that

neoliberal

policies

with

its

acute

maldistribution

of

the

regions

wealth

severely

limits

opportunities

for

people

of

color

who

are

disproportionally

concentrated

among

poor

and

working

class

Further

reducing

their

ability

to

profit

from

economic

growth

are

the

longstanding

racial

barriers

that

continue

to

channel

black

workers

into

the

least

remunerative

lowestpaying

areas

of

the

economy

Andrews

State

Policies

for

the

Colombian

Pacific

The

Twenty

first

century

saw

the

Colombias

Pacific

coastal

region

rise

at

the

center

of

Colombias

economy

as

the

region

economic

potential

and

strategic

geographical

position

was

ruled

critical

to

Colombias

economic

future

The

country

following

the

Western

global

trend

of

implementing

the

neoliberal

economic

model

started

to

focus

specially

on

promotion

of

international

trade

and

investment

as

well

as

deregulation

for

the

sake

of

profit

and

privatization

as

the

center

of

the

countrys

new

economic

policy

in

the

Pacific

coastal

region

Consequently

Colombia

issued

a

set

of

socioeconomic

policies

for

the

region

with

the

objective

of

advancing

Colombias

economic

agenda

for

the

new

century

XXI

and

securing

a

place

for

the

country

in

the

global

economy

From

to

the

Colombian

National

Planning

Department

Departamento

de

Planeacion

Nacional

throughout

its

National

Council

of

Social

and

Economic

Policies

CONPES

initiated

the

process

to

develop

a

set

of

policies

to

assist

the

state

to

comply

with

its

short

medium

and

long

term

economic

objectives

However

the

task

would

not

be

an

easy

one

In

addition

to

Colombias

long

armed

conflict

drugtrafficking

and

lack

of

State

control

over

rural

areas

the

State

had

to

face

another

socioeconomic

reality

in

the

Pacific

the

historical

lag

of

this

region

and

its

inhabitants

compare

to

the

countrys

national

level

For

instance

as

June

of

of

people

in

the

Pacific

coastal

region

were

poor

compared

to

at

the

national

level

were

extremely

poor

vs

at

the

national

level

In

addition

only

homes

in

the

Pacific

coastal

region

had

aqueduct

vs

at

the

national

level

and

of

homes

in

the

Pacific

Thus

the

State

came

to

the

realization

that

in

order

to

address

economic

social

cultural

and

environmental

issues

in

the

Pacific

coastal

region

it

needed

to

create

policies

to

address

the

particularities

of

this

area

In

addition

as

a

region

with

a

majority

Afrodescendant

population

the

policies

should

include

the

ethnic

factor

which

was

recognized

by

the

Colombian

Constitution

of

and

how

to

deal

with

collectively

owned

territories

From

to

the

state

issued

a

number

of

policies

to

address

those

issues

Pacific

Agenda

Century

Agenda

Pacifico

Siglo

XXI

Colombias

Vision

Vision

Colombia

Internal

Agenda

for

Competitiveness

and

Productivity

Agenda

Interna

para

la

Competitividad

y

la

Productividad

The

Integral

Program

for

Development

and

Sustainable

Reconstruction

of

Antioquias

and

Chocos

Uraba

and

Low

and

Medium

Atrato

El

Plan

Integral

para

el

Desarrollo

y

la

Reconstruccion

Sostenible

de

Uraba

Antioqueno

y

Chocoano

y

el

Bajo

y

Medio

Atrato

and

the

Proposal

for

the

Long

Term

Integral

Plan

for

AfroColombian

Population

La

Propuesta

Integral

de

Largo

Plazo

Although

developed

to

address

AfroColombians

and

the

Pacifics

coastal

region

special

conditions

these

polices

mainly

focused

on

the

advancement

of

the

states

economic

policies

while

ignoring

for

the

most

part

AfroColombians

particular

needs

and

socioeconomic

conditions

as

well

as

their

status

as

a

constitutionally

recognized

ethnic

minority

This

miscalculation

on

the

part

of

the

Colombian

state

may

be

the

result

of

Colombias

traditional

views

of

the

region

In

its

article

Buenaventura

y

Tumaco

los

Puertos

del

Olvido

published

in

Colombias

main

newspaper

El

Tiempo

Antonio

Caballero

describes

the

historical

dynamic

between

the

Colombian

state

and

the

Pacific

region

as

a

From

to

the

state

produced

two

new

important

policies

for

the

region

and

its

people

State

Policies

for

the

Colombian

Pacific

Politicas

de

Estado

para

el

Pacifico

Colombiano

CORNPES

and

Policy

to

Promote

Equal

Opportunities

to

Black

Population

AfroColombians

Palenques

and

Raizal

Population

CONPES

Politica

para

Promover

la

Igualdad

de

Oportunidades

para

la

Poblacion

Negra

AfroColombiana

Palenquera

y

Raizal

The

first

document

CONPES

is

a

compilation

of

the

States

policies

from

while

the

second

document

CONPES

particularly

addresses

for

the

first

time

in

terms

of

national

policy

development

Afrodescendants

issues

in

Colombia

This

An

analysis

of

these

two

documents

shows

that

Colombias

state

policies

for

the

Pacific

coastal

region

for

the

most

part

fail

to

address

the

regions

and

its

inhabitants

particulars

needs

It

is

observed

that

government

policies

seem

to

be

focused

on

the

states

advancement

of

its

economic

agenda

rather

than

on

the

advancement

of

the

region

and

its

people

But

perhaps

the

most

problematic

aspect

of

these

policies

seems

to

be

that

they

are

based

upon

faulty

ideas

such

as

the

states

ideas

about

development

socioeconomic

advancement

environmental

protection

resource

management

and

exploitation

among

many

others

When

comparing

these

ideas

In

this

way

policies

for

the

region

created

by

the

central

government

have

proven

to

be

ultimately

ineffective

in

addressing

issues

affecting

AfroColombians

in

the

Pacific

CONPES

State

Policies

to

the

Colombian

Pacific

According

to

the

Colombian

National

Planning

Department

CONPES

sought

to

address

poverty

and

precarious

living

standards

in

the

Colombian

Pacific

region

In

addition

the

policy

also

presented

solutions

to

the

regions

historic

situation

of

exclusion

Thus

given

the

regions

great

potential

its

resources

and

its

geographical

location

the

Colombian

government

throughout

CONPES

sought

to

integrate

the

Pacific

coastal

region

into

its

vision

of

socio

economic

development

nationally

and

internationally

According

to

the

Colombian

government

by

promoting

and

implementing

the

policies

contained

in

CONPES

the

Pacific

region

would

experience

an

economic

and

social

reactivation

that

would

benefit

not

only

the

country

but

its

heavily

afrodescendant

population

CONPES

formulated

its

policies

around

five

key

areas

democratic

security

poverty

reduction

promotion

of

employment

and

equality

high

and

sustainable

growth

environmental

management

to

promote

sustainable

development

and

especial

growth

dimensions

Democratic

Security

The

principal

objectives

on

this

area

were

to

regain

control

over

the

territory

and

to

legitimize

the

State

The

strategy

focused

on

incrementing

manpower

in

the

Armed

Forces

and

Police

in

the

region

and

provided

funding

for

military

equipment

and

infrastructure

By

taking

these

military

measures

the

State

sought

to

debilitate

what

the

government

labeled

as

terrorist

groups

FARC

guerrillas

and

paramilitary

groups

and

eradicate

illicit

crops

by

promoting

programs

for

manual

and

voluntary

eradication

of

illicit

crops

The

government

also

offered

financial

and

technical

assistance

to

replace

illicit

crops

with

legal

crops

Although

AfroColombians

in

the

South

Pacific

area

have

long

opposed

expansion

of

mono

crops

in

their

territories

especially

African

Palm

funding

for

legal

crops

under

this

policy

was

limited

to

promote

cultivation

of

five

products

cacao

coconut

African

Palm

and

coffee

According

the

June

of

report

from

the

United

Nations

Office

on

Drug

and

Crimes

on

illicit

crops

the

major

concentration

of

hectares

with

coca

crops

is

located

on

the

Colombian

Pacific

Region

Nariño

Cauca

Valle

del

Cauca

and

Chocó

This

area

has

been

constantly

affected

by

the

presence

of

illicit

crops

since

In

out

of

hectares

with

coca

crops

were

located

in

this

region

The

report

also

notes

that

the

Colombian

departments

of

Chocó

in

the

Pacific

and

Cordoba

in

the

Atlantic

region

have

been

particularly

hit

by

an

increment

of

illicit

crops

during

Event

though

Colombias

coca

crops

have

decreased

over

the

years

from

hectares

in

to

in

the

report

states

that

today

coca

crops

in

the

Chocó

are

nine

times

bigger

than

they

were

in

UNODC

These

numbers

are

an

example

of

how

democratic

security

in

the

region

as

the

main

policy

to

regain

state

control

over

the

Pacific

territory

and

curved

proliferation

of

illicit

crops

has

failed

in

the

region

Poverty

Reduction

Promotion

of

Employment

and

Equality

According

to

governments

data

for

the

elaboration

of

CORPES

almost

of

the

Pacifics

population

lives

in

poverty

are

illiterate

educations

quality

is

at

and

malnutrition

reaches

compared

to

in

poverty

at

the

national

level

in

education

quality

and

in

malnutrition

Colombia

National

Planning

Department

In

addressing

the

issue

the

government

sought

investment

in

five

areas

education

health

promotion

of

childrens

well

being

and

protection

of

seniors

food

security

and

access

to

government

programs

for

people

in

conditions

of

extreme

poverty

Familias

en

Accion

and

Red

Juntos

To

improve

living

conditions

in

the

Pacific

coastal

region

the

government

planned

to

improve

access

to

potable

water

and

sewage

systems

According

to

the

Colombian

National

Administrative

Department

of

Statics

DANE

in

the

Pacific

region

only

of

the

population

has

access

to

potable

water

and

have

sewage

system

compared

to

and

at

the

national

level

DANE

In

addition

the

government

intended

to

implement

land

titling

programs

and

provide

the

population

with

access

to

credits

and

healthy

housing

High

and

Sustainable

Growth

Four

main

areas

are

part

of

the

States

polices

for

high

and

sustainable

growth

transportation

mining

and

energy

telecom

and

agriculture

investment

The

government

prioritized

investment

in

ground

transportation

infrastructure

to

strengthen

road

transportation

as

an

instrument

to

reduce

high

costs

to

external

trade

and

achieve

regions

integration

Colombia

National

Planning

Department

as

well

as

other

transportation

infrastructures

such

as

aerial

and

fluvial

The

transportation

policy

also

secured

investment

for

ports

modernization

and

expansion

The

implementation

of

the

policy

is

still

highly

controversial

for

AfroColombians

living

in

port

cities

such

as

Buenaventura

as

we

will

see

later

on

this

work

where

large

modernization

projects

have

displaced

AfroColombians

andor

made

it

difficult

for

them

to

keep

engaging

on

their

traditional

ways

of

subsistence

eg

fishing

Roads

and

highway

projects

were

divided

in

four

programs

road

infrastructure

and

regional

development

program

Programa

de

Infraestructura

Vial

y

Desarrollo

Regional

or

Plan

competitiveness

pathways

Corredores

de

Competitividad

regional

roads

plan

Plan

Vial

Regional

roads

for

municipalities

Although

some

funding

is

reserved

for

road

maintenance

and

to

improve

access

to

rural

areas

this

kind

of

investment

to

improve

peoples

quality

of

life

seems

to

have

low

priority

for

the

state

as

it

does

little

to

advance

external

trade

For

instance

to

implement

Plan

the

government

invested

million

pesos

while

it

allocated

million

pesos

for

assistance

to

the

municipalities

with

road

improvement

or

the

Regional

Roads

Program

Plan

Vial

Regional

The

gap

in

funding

is

even

larger

when

comparing

the

amount

allocated

for

Competitiveness

Pathways

Corredores

de

Competitividad

with

the

amount

appropriated

for

roads

directly

benefiting

the

majority

of

the

population

within

the

different

Pacific

municipalities

billion

vs

million

CONPES

Ports

Modernization

and

Expansion

As

briefly

mentioned

before

policies

directed

to

ports

as

part

of

the

governments

main

policy

for

High

and

Sustainable

Growth

in

the

region

is

maybe

one

of

the

most

problematic

as

it

has

often

negatively

impacted

the

ports

population

The

governments

policy

is

mainly

structured

by

granting

yearslong

concessions

to

private

sectors

with

minimal

government

investment

and

oversight

Thus

under

this

policy

from

a

total

investment

of

thousand

million

of

pesos

for

ports

and

ports

industry

thousand

million

were

expected

to

come

from

the

private

sector

The

concessions

system

has

left

ports

and

the

ports

industry

in

private

hands

allowing

for

a

private

monopoly

For

AfroColombians

private

monopoly

of

this

lucrative

industry

has

hurt

labor

rights

and

access

to

employment

In

addition

some

of

these

concessions

have

caused

displacement

for

many

AfroColombians

families

Currently

Colombian

ports

are

operating

under

five

concessions

the

Regional

Port

Society

of

Tumaco

a

year

concession

that

started

on

May

the

port

concession

of

Buenaventura

the

port

concession

of

Agua

Dulce

the

port

concession

of

Bahia

Malaga

and

the

port

concession

of

Tribuga

As

the

main

port

in

Colombia

the

Buenaventura

concession

is

crucial

for

the

government

For

this

project

the

government

has

estimated

a

private

investment

of

million

dollars

plus

thousand

of

million

pesos

coming

from

the

State

The

Buenaventura

concession

is

the

only

one

with

some

government

investment

For

the

port

concession

of

Bahia

Malaga

and

Tribuga

the

government

has

estimated

an

investment

of

million

dollars

and

million

dollars

respectively

The

funding

for

both

of

these

concessions

comes

entirely

from

the

private

sector

In

addition

as

part

of

the

port

concession

of

Tribuga

the

government

has

agreed

The

Port

Concession

of

Agua

Dulce

recently

allocated

by

the

government

requires

special

attention

as

it

has

been

directly

linked

as

a

cause

of

displacement

for

many

AfroColombian

families

in

the

Bajamar

area

in

Buenaventura

Apparently

the

territory

allocated

by

the

State

for

the

ports

development

has

jeopardized

the

livelihood

of

many

AfroColombian

families

Even

though

the

State

has

pledged

to

relocate

these

families

relocation

for

them

is

not

an

option

as

AfroColombians

in

this

area

have

relied

on

their

easy

access

to

the

water

for

subsistence

Advocates

for

these

families

and

the

families

have

argued

that

once

they

are

About

AfroColombian

families

are

at

risk

of

becoming

displaced

from

five

neighborhoods

located

in

the

Bajamar

area

of

Isla

Cascajal

In

their

place

the

local

government

is

planning

an

expansion

of

the

port

The

government

is

looking

to

relocate

the

residents

into

a

proposed

large

scale

housing

project

further

inland

Although

the

living

conditions

in

Bajamar

are

substandard

many

residents

do

not

want

to

move

because

being

close

to

water

affords

them

the

opportunity

to

sustain

themselves

through

fishing

transport

or

traveling

to

and

from

their

lands

along

the

rivers

Nicholls

and

SanchezGarzoli

Railroad

Transportation

This

project

is

also

developed

with

private

sector

funding

through

government

concessions

with

some

state

funding

As

well

as

other

transportations

polices

the

government

has

prioritized

the

projects

based

upon

their

relation

to

international

trade

and

competiveness

The

railroad

transportation

policy

mainly

focuses

on

the

construction

rehabilitation

and

maintenance

of

a

railroad

system

to

support

trade

However

even

before

the

formulation

of

this

policy

the

Pacific

railroad

system

has

been

controlled

by

the

private

sector

through

a

government

concession

for

years

Airports

Infrastructure

This

project

seeks

improvement

and

maintenance

of

small

airports

in

the

region

The

policy

allocated

funds

to

improve

nine

airports

in

the

Pacific

five

airports

in

the

Chocó

department

two

airports

in

the

Cauca

department

one

in

the

Valle

department

and

one

in

the

Nariño

department

Although

this

project

has

state

funding

some

airports

have

been

given

as

a

concession

to

the

private

sector

This

is

the

case

for

airports

in

Rionegro

Medellin

Monteria

Quibdo

Corozal

and

Carepa

AfroColombian

actress

Indhira

Rosa

Serrano

Redondo

Fluvial

Transportation

The

government

has

developed

three

projects

to

consolidate

and

improve

fluvial

transportation

in

the

region

The

construction

of

a

canal

on

the

rivers

Atrato

and

San

Juan

establishing

communication

between

San

Martin

RiverBahia

Malaga

Bahia

Buenaventura

and

communication

between

Bahia

Buenaventura

and

Bahia

Tumaco

Other

important

transportation

investments

include

massive

transportation

and

stilt

bridges

in

Tumaco

Mining

and

Energy

Energy

As

every

other

living

social

and

economic

standard

in

the

Pacific

region

power

coverage

is

lower

than

the

national

standards

where

of

the

population

has

power

For

instance

in

the

Chocó

department

only

of

the

population

has

power

coverage

In

rural

zones

just

of

the

population

has

power

coverage

In

the

Pacific

coastal

region

municipalities

of

Charco

Nariño

Bojaya

Chocó

Murindo

Antioquia

y

Alto

Baudo

Chocó

the

numbers

are

even

lower

only

of

the

population

has

power

coverage

CONPES

The

Government

mainly

attributes

this

phenomenon

to

the

lack

of

proper

energy

infrastructure

as

there

is

To

improve

delivery

of

power

and

natural

gas

for

uncovered

households

in

the

Pacific

region

the

government

through

its

ministry

for

mines

and

energy

has

planned

to

take

a

series

of

strategies

to

ensure

the

vast

majority

of

the

population

is

covered

to

national

systems

are

part

of

the

governments

plans

to

deliver

power

to

millions

of

AfroColombians

families

Resources

for

many

of

the

projects

are

mainly

from

the

State

However

state

funding

for

municipal

energy

projects

would

be

considered

as

long

as

they

fit

the

mine

and

energy

ministrys

criteria

of

economic

technical

and

environmental

sustainability

CONPES

In

addition

the

government

seeks

to

promote

when

possible

and

applicable

the

usage

of

alternative

sources

of

power

such

as

biodiesel

which

is

obtained

from

the

African

Palm

Mining

In

developing

economic

policy

for

the

Pacific

coastal

region

the

government

prioritized

mining

exploitation

The

governments

mining

policy

focuses

on

promoting

legal

mining

attracting

foreign

and

national

investment

for

large

scale

mining

exploitation

and

promoting

and

protecting

minority

mining

projects

To

promote

legal

mining

the

government

has

proposed

the

creation

of

associations

for

certified

miners

These

associations

established

around

identified

mining

districts

would

provide

miners

with

access

to

training

and

financial

and

technical

assistance

funded

by

private

public

and

multilateral

institutions

The

government

states

that

in

protecting

AfroColombian

mining

projects

the

projects

shall

have

preference

over

any

other

project

as

long

as

they

are

located

in

collectively

owned

territories

According

to

critics

of

this

policy

mainly

US

based

NGOs

and

AfroColombian

Community

Councils

the

governments

mining

agenda

is

negatively

impacting

this

ethnic

minority

as

AfroColombians

usually

struggled

to

protect

their

territorial

rights

For

instance

in

the

emblematic

case

of

La

Toma

a

gold

mining

community

in

southern

Cauca

the

government

concession

for

a

large

scale

mining

project

on

the

area

was

allegedly

made

without

following

policy

recommendations

and

ethnic

laws

over

collectively

owned

territories

In

this

case

formed

part

of

a

hearing

in

the

InterAmerican

Commission

of

Human

Rights

For

many

La

Tomas

case

demonstrates

how

government

mining

policies

are

detrimental

to

AfroColombians

territorial

rights

The

critics

also

note

that

in

addition

to

socioeconomic

instability

and

violation

of

ethnic

rights

AfroColombian

mining

communities

face

displacement

and

violence

as

a

consequence

of

the

emphasis

placed

by

the

government

on

large

scale

mining

projects

in

the

Pacific

coastal

region

Telecom

In

the

area

of

communications

the

government

seeks

to

improve

urban

and

rural

telecommunications

by

extending

coverage

and

services

such

as

internet

to

public

schools

hospitals

libraries

and

local

majors

offices

as

well

as

opening

telecommunication

services

throughout

the

region

Agricultural

Development

Agricultural

policy

for

the

region

focuses

on

investment

to

support

land

titling

strengthen

fishing

and

aquaculture

promoting

African

palm

crops

strengthen

sanitary

and

phytosanitary

measures

promotion

of

productive

projects

and

investigation

and

technological

development

in

the

region

It

is

important

to

highlight

the

governments

efforts

to

bust

African

Palm

crops

and

Biodiesel

projects

in

Guapi

Cauca

and

Tumaco

Nariño

is

at

odds

with

AfroColombians

groups

in

the

Pacific

AfroColombians

groups

have

strongly

opposed

massive

plantations

of

African

Palm

due

to

the

irreparable

damage

cause

by

the

palm

to

the

subsoil

AfroColombians

claim

that

once

palm

has

been

cultivated

the

land

loses

its

ability

to

produce

any

other

product

The

subsoil

essentially

becomes

infertile

According

to

the

government

the

goal

for

was

to

cultivate

hectares

of

African

Palm

in

Guapi

The

governments

numbers

estimated

that

massive

investment

in

this

area

would

generate

jobs

and

promote

sustainable

development

directly

benefiting

Guapi

In

for

the

first

stage

of

the

project

the

government

invested

million

of

pesos

CONPES

In

addition

the

government

invested

million

pesos

for

a

biodiesel

plant

in

Tumaco

and

million

pesos

to

investigate

and

control

biological

factors

affecting

African

Palm

crops

CONPES

Environmental

Management

to

Promote

Sustainable

Development

Promotion

of

private

investment

in

ecotourism

in

national

parks

and

consolidation

of

ecotourism

in

the

region

form

part

of

the

governments

plans

to

promote

sustainable

development

in

the

Pacific

region

It

also

promotes

conservation

and

protection

programs

using

the

concession

model

For

instance

in

the

government

awarded

a

ten

year

concession

for

the

Park

of

Island

Gorgona

an

island

located

on

the

Colombian

Pacific

Ocean

kilometers

about

miles

from

the

municipality

of

Guapi

in

the

Department

of

Cauca

CONPES

The

governments

goal

was

to

triple

the

number

of

tourist

visiting

the

region

from

people

in

to

in

CONPES

Special

Growth

Dimensions

The

government

plans

to

invest

on

promoting

ethnoculture

and

ethno

education

improving

local

governments

and

consolidating

c

ethnoterritorialsociopolitical

structures

Through

the

promotion

of

these

programs

the

government

seeks

to

strength

sociopolitical

ethnic

organizations

and

the

governments

offices

dealing

with

ethnic

issues

For

instance

the

government

allocated

million

pesos

to

community

councils

the

High

Consultative

Commission

for

Black

communities

and

Departmental

Consultative

In

addition

the

government

through

the

Ministry

of

Interior

and

Justice

allocated

million

pesos

to

improve

ethnic

organizations

structures

and

to

promote

participation

their

participation

as

an

ethnical

group

CONPES

However

the

government

funded

AfroColombian

organizations

have

been

strongly

criticized

by

AfroColombian

communities

and

grassroots

organizations

These

groups

have

claimed

that

these

organizations

do

not

represent

them

as

many

of

the

members

of

these

community

councils

are

not

directly

involved

with

AfroColombian

communities

in

the

region

Furthermore

the

community

councils

have

also

questioned

the

High

Level

Consultative

Commission

for

AfroColombian

communities

which

is

the

most

prominent

organization

representing

AfroColombians

before

the

government

Currently

in

Colombia

there

is

a

big

debate

over

the

mandate

and

the

legitimate

position

of

the

High

Level

Consultative

Commission

for

AfroColombian

communities

In

January

more

than

AfroColombian

community

councils

sent

a

letter

to

President

Santos

questioning

the

mandate

of

the

consultative

and

its

role

in

the

negotiations

with

the

government

regarding

two

very

important

laws

affecting

AfroColombian

territories

The

Victims

and

a

package

adjusting

Colombias

legal

code

in

order

to

facilitate

the

entrance

of

foreign

investment

in

AfroColombian

territories

in

the

context

of

the

expansion

of

Free

Trade

Agreements

In

addition

CORPES

consolidates

the

main

investments

in

the

Colombian

Pacific

between

the

years

of

CONPES

Policies

to

Promote

Equal

Access

to

Opportunities

to

Black

Population

Afro

Colombian

Palenquero

and

Raizal

Population

This

policy

is

aimed

at

addressing

two

big

issues

identified

by

the

government

in

the

Black

Population

Afro

Palenquero

and

Raizal

populations

lack

of

access

to

opportunities

for

human

development

and

precarious

living

standards

below

national

levels

According

to

the

government

successful

implementation

of

CONPES

would

improve

AfroColombian

historic

socioeconomic

conditions

plagued

by

issues

such

as

inequality

and

poverty

The

government

has

identified

six

main

causes

directly

responsible

for

AfroColombian

socioeconomic

lag

in

the

country

low

productivity

and

low

competitiveness

of

productive

activities

difficult

access

to

education

education

quality

and

permanence

in

the

education

system

fragmentation

of

social

net

Low

productivity

and

Low

Competitiveness

of

Productive

Activities

Urban

AfroColombian

populations

are

usually

found

playing

roles

in

the

informal

economy

as

they

have

done

so

for

centuries

AfroColombians

in

the

cities

usually

make

a

living

as

street

vendors

working

on

domestic

services

buying

and

selling

products

crafts

etc

These

jobs

are

usually

poorly

paid

and

lack

employment

benefits

AfroColombians

in

the

urban

areas

are

generally

low

income

people

lacking

minimal

labor

standards

On

the

other

hand

AfroColombian

populations

located

in

rural

areas

are

generally

poor

peasants

owning

some

land

and

working

in

agriculture

fishing

hunting

and

forestry

They

lack

financial

and

technical

resources

to

fully

exploit

their

lands

which

generates

low

productivity

In

addition

AfroColombians

lack

proper

infrastructure

for

commercialization

of

their

products

Difficult

Access

to

Education

Education

Quality

and

Permanence

in

the

Education

System

According

to

CONPES

the

AfroColombian

population

in

general

has

low

education

and

higher

rates

of

truancy

especially

between

children

from

to

years

old

and

to

years

old

CONPES

Among

AfroColombians

in

Colombia

AfroColombians

in

the

Pacific

region

have

even

higher

rates

of

truancy

In

rural

areas

the

government

states

that

difficult

physical

access

to

schools

is

one

of

the

main

reasons

for

high

rates

of

truancy

among

AfroColombian

youth

The

document

also

states

that

in

both

rural

and

urban

areas

AfroColombian

children

usually

join

the

work

force

early

in

their

childhood

to

help

supporting

their

families

instead

of

going

to

school

The

principal

issues

identified

in

this

area

were

illiteracy

high

dropout

rates

difficult

access

to

higher

education

and

child

malnutrition

Illiteracy

While

between

the

years

of

to

to

illiteracy

in

Colombia

was

reduced

and

it

went

from

to

the

document

found

that

a

great

number

of

AfroColombians

still

dont

know

how

to

write

or

read

For

instance

according

to

the

census

data

some

municipalities

in

Canton

de

San

Pablo

in

Chocó

and

Guapi

in

Nariño

have

illiteracy

rates

of

and

percent

respectively

Illiteracy

in

the

Chocó

Department

reaches

percent

three

times

greater

than

the

national

rate

percent

In

all

regions

AfroColombian

women

are

more

affected

as

illiteracy

numbers

among

them

Access

to

Higher

Education

Access

to

higher

education

is

very

difficult

for

AfroColombians

mainly

due

to

lack

of

economic

resources

AfroColombian

families

usually

live

in

poverty

and

the

scarce

resources

available

are

used

to

provide

basic

necessities

In

addition

as

previously

noted

poverty

forces

AfroColombian

youth

to

enter

to

the

job

market

at

a

very

young

age

to

help

support

their

families

Another

issue

impacting

access

to

higher

education

for

AfroColombians

is

the

lack

of

quality

education

AfroColombian

students

who

are

able

to

graduate

from

high

school

overcome

economic

obstacles

and

usually

perform

poorly

on

standardized

tests

scores

such

as

the

ICFES

which

is

required

to

gain

access

to

higher

education

institutions

The

results

of

this

test

determine

the

kind

of

higher

education

school

the

student

can

apply

to

Thus

the

higher

the

score

the

greater

the

chances

are

to

enter

to

the

best

schools

in

the

country

AfroColombian

high

school

graduates

generally

receive

very

low

scores

on

this

test

limiting

their

ability

to

access

to

good

schools

Lack

of

quality

education

also

affects

AfroColombians

permanence

in

higher

education

institutions

Once

accepted

to

a

program

AfroColombian

students

are

usually

discouraged

from

staying

and

graduate

once

it

becomes

clear

that

the

education

they

received

did

not

adequately

prepare

them

for

higher

education

As

in

any

other

sector

AfroColombian

students

enrolled

in

higher

education

institutions

are

below

the

national

level

of

achievement

Thus

while

of

high

school

graduates

have

access

to

higher

education

at

the

national

level

the

departments

with

major

concentrations

of

Afro

populations

are

usually

below

the

Chocó

Nariño

San

Andres

Cauca

Bolivar

and

Valle

del

Cauca

CONPES

Child

Malnutrition

and

High

Vulnerability

to

Health

Issues

in

Scholar

Age

Population

In

Colombia

malnutrition

primarily

affects

children

from

ethnic

populations

According

to

the

Colombian

Institute

for

Family

Wellbeing

ICBF

almost

of

AfroColombian

children

are

at

risk

of

having

malnutrition

and

just

about

have

the

proper

weight

and

height

for

their

age

Lack

of

proper

nutrition

makes

these

children

especially

young

children

more

vulnerable

to

present

lifethreatening

health

issues

such

as

respiratory

infections

chronic

diarrhea

and

tuberculosis

As

a

consequence

AfroColombian

child

mortality

rates

are

the

highest

among

Colombias

nonethnic

population

to

CONPES

In

addition

it

was

determined

that

poverty

and

limited

or

no

access

to

sanitation

systems

and

potable

water

in

heavily

populated

AfroColombian

regions

are

direct

causes

of

malnutrition

and

poor

health

among

this

ethnic

group

Fragmentation

of

Social

Net

Fragmentation

of

AfroColombians

social

net

occurs

due

to

various

factors

such

as

forced

displacement

loss

of

territory

and

extreme

poverty

preventing

AfroColombians

from

developing

strong

and

permanent

cultural

personal

and

social

ties

During

the

last

decade

forced

displacement

has

become

a

major

social

issue

affecting

mainly

minorities

but

especially

AfroColombians

The

issue

of

forced

displacement

has

disproportionally

affected

this

ethnic

group

that

according

to

official

government

represent

of

the

total

of

Internally

Displace

Persons

in

Colombia

Other

minorities

such

indigenous

peoples

and

gypsies

represent

of

the

Colombians

displaced

More

than

half

of

displaced

AfroColombian

people

are

young

women

and

girls

CONPES

Living

in

precarious

conditions

with

limited

access

to

basic

services

such

as

power

potable

water

sewage

system

and

waste

disposal

also

directly

affect

AfroColombians

social

net

The

Pacific

and

the

Atlantic

region

have

high

numbers

of

precarious

housing

settlements

In

addition

forced

displacement

has

diminished

AfroColombians

quality

of

life

as

many

migrate

to

cities

such

as

Cali

in

the

Pacific

region

where

they

are

forced

to

live

in

marginal

areas

These

areas

usually

not

only

lack

basic

services

and

sanitary

conditions

but

expose

this

population

to

criminal

gangs

forced

recruitment

and

sexual

exploitation

According

to

CONPES

DANE

data

showed

that

the

Pacific

region

is

the

second

most

affected

by

precarious

living

conditions

In

this

region

of

urban

areas

are

located

in

high

risk

areas

or

areas

usually

affected

by

flooding

It

was

also

found

that

displaced

people

are

living

under

precarious

urban

conditions

in

cities

such

as

Cali

and

Bogota

Maria

Isabel

Ocorro

AfroColombian

actress

Indhira

Rosa

Serrano

Redondo

Maria

Isabel

ocoro