The African Presence in Mexico

The National Hispanic Cultural Civic Center's current exhibit, The African Presence in Mexico: From Yanga to the Present, spans five centuries of Mexico's "third root," people of African Descent. The early African presence in the Americas is normally associated with the slave trade in the United States, the Caribbean, Brazil, Central America, Colombia and Peru. Not generally taught in history textbooks is that Mexico was also a key port of entry for slave ships and consequently had a large African population. Blacks in Mexico weren't simply slaves. Many were explorers and cofounders of settlements as far north as Los Angeles and other parts of what is today the Southwest United States. Between 1580 and 1640, Mexico had the largest African population in the New World.

Emiliano Zapata, a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution, which broke out in 1910, formed alliances with battalions of Afro-Mexicans, including battalions from Guerrero made up of widows of African descent who became soldiers. The photo above, "Portrait of a Female Soldier from Michoacan" by Agustin V. Casasola (1874-1938) shows one of Zapata's allies.

A fascinating and informative cultural journey, The African Presence in Mexico is well worth your time!