Finding Africa in Veracruz
Posted Aug 3 2009
Historically speaking, there was more recognition of Black Mexicans than I had expected. At the Museo de la Ciudad the exhibit covering the early years of Veracruz was practically dominated by Black folks, including pirates. Musicians and athletes were also covered. I was a little bit surprised that overall in Veracruz there wasn’t more on singer Toña La Negra, who I’ve heard called “The Mexican Billie Holiday.” There’s an alley named after her, in the neighborhood where she grew up, and the museum for songwriter Agustine Lara had some info on her, but I didn’t come across much else. Maybe there was more, 
but I just didn’t see it. There isn’t much to see on her alley, although her family apparently owns a funeral home up the street. Still, I was excited to walk the same streets that she did. The Agustine Lara museum was small, but unless you’re a big music fan, like me, it may not be the most exciting place to visit. Walking along the Malecon (waterfront), I came across a statue of three men holding up a wall, fighting back the sea and one of the guys appeared to be Black. It was late at night so I wasn’t able to get a good picture.
In Antigua, which is a short drive north of the city, there’s a lot of history, including the oldest church in the continental Americas and the house of Hernan Cortez, which are mere ruins and you can literally just walk through his crib. The town doesn’t seem like
it’s changed much over the years, although people were friendly. One thing that changed is that apparently the elementary school was formerly a site where slaves were sold. I wasn’t able to verify this, but based on the town’s history, it wouldn’t be surprising.
Much further out is the town of Yanga, named after a fugitive African who resisted slavery and created a community that the Spaniards were not able to conquer. The two sides eventually negotiated a treaty, that included land for Yanga’s people, which became the first free town in all of the Americas. This was not the original site, but the second site was chosen due to its better 
location for agriculture and such. Originally known as San Lorenzo de Los Negros, the town has a large statue of Yanga in one of its parks and there’s an annual festival in his honor. Incidentally, the park also has a half pipe and quarter pipe for skateboarders, which may have nothing to do with Blackness, but on the day I visited there some kids skating and some were quite good. You can only stare at a statue for so long so it was good to watch them.
Downtown isn’t too far away and Cesar and I had a great lunch at a restaurant called Yam-bo (um, can’t get much more African than that), but since time was limited we didn’t really get to explore much more. However, we did make it to near by museum, which was fairly small, 
although there were some good pre-Colonial artifacts. There are also two gorgeous murals when you first enter, related to slave rebellions, and some information on the founding of Yanga. Hopefully they’ll keep adding information and maybe increased tourist traffic will help make a case for this to happen. They were genuinely excited to host us and seem bewildered that we had come all the way from California to visit Yanga.
They did have a book regarding the history of the city for sale, which I’ve only skimmed thus far.
In addition to Yanga, there are a few towns and areas near Veracruz city with African names, including Matamba, the touristy Mocambo beach, Mandinga, and Mozambique. Mocambo beach, is well, a beach, while Mandinga and Mozambique look like pretty much any other small Mexican village. Mandinga stood out as there are a number of restaurants on lakefront and as soon as 
we came down the street at least a dozen guys rushed up to our car, trying to get us to eat at their place. We just wanted to look around and feel things out, but literally at every corner it felt as if we were being accosted so we decided to head out. Getting to Mozambique was a journey as people hadn’t either heard about it and/or it was so small that we got all kinds of different directions. Once we found it, it was one of those places where if you blink, you miss it. There was a small school and maybe a dozen homes. It was a long day so we didn’t bother going to Matamba, which was up the street.
Of course, what people really want to know is, are there still Black people here? Upon my return to the U.S. I coincidentally began talking to another uncle of former students and he started rattling off all kinds of places where he said Black people lived. There was a broader discussion of a lot of people having obvious African ancestry, but he said that these were places where people were “really Black.” I didn’t write down all the places, but I will once I talk to him again. 
What I saw was a lot of people who definitely had Africa mixed in their blood and even many who could pass as “light skinned” African Americans; people who had stronger features than, say Halle Barry, or looked like a Christina Milian (who’s of Cuban descent), or even Sherman Hemsley (aka George Jefferson). They could definitely pass as lighter or brown-ski
nned Puerto Ricans or Dominicans. I kept seeing people who looked like El Debarge! I did see a couple of Black folks who didn’t seem to be tourists, but I’m not sure if they were Mexican, Cuban, Colombian, or what, including some baseball players.
But again, the visible African roots were mainly hair, facial features, and possibly skin tone. The reason I’m leery about focusing on skin color is people get so fixated on the actual color they everything else about identity is 
ignored. I met Mexicans who had really dark skin, but they looked East Indian or Indigenous while some of the lighter-skinned folks definitely looked “Black” due to their facial features and hair texture. In a broader sense, gaining an international perspective definitely exposes the differing interpretations of Blackness. The U.S. is so dominant that what usually gets projected is an African American perspective, even though there are countries on the continent that actually have more Black people. But that's a longer discussion.
In addition to the people, most who probably don’t see 
themselves as being Black, there were traces of African everywhere. La Bamba, which is one of Mexico’s best known songs is of African origin, comes from the son Jarocho, which heavily blends African stylings, along with Indigenous and European influences. Many instruments, such as the marimba, are used in local music, and some songs reference African gods. The Cuban and Afro-Cuban influence is immense, particularly when it comes to music. I once asked a local where good place was for salsa and she just chuckled and told me to walk around and follow my ears. I quickly came across a number of live bands and even a
statue in honor of music legend Benny Moré, a Cuban by birth who spent time in Mexico. Food-wise, the food has a Caribbean feel, with lots of seafood, plantains, and a dish similar to West African fu fu. Other foods, such as modongo (aka tripe soup aka menudo-a favorite of Fred G. Sanford. Yes, THAT Fred Sanford) even sound African.
WOW Daniel. This is an excellent write up. I felt as if I was there too.
Great article...why wasn't I invited? Let me know when you return there...
Glad you two liked it. Both Vince and Geanie, you two always have an open invitation!
Hmmm...maybe we need to make it a group outing??? I have a ton of questions about Mexico and identity partially spurred by two recent trips to Mexico City. As an "African American" who, like almost all African Americans, is a blend of African, European, and Native, I still am very much black, so the question of race vs ethnicity vs identity on a national level is intriguing. The huge Catholic Cathedral downtown is built on top of a pyramid and has started leaning a bit over time due to the slope of the underlying structure. The irony and symbolism is not lost on many people there. Your journey sounds fascinating.
Great article! Veracruz is a wonderful state. Well, I was born there, so how can I not love it? While I was reading, I saw you mentioned something about people carrying objects on their heads, this is very common over there...If you ever go back, and spend more time, you'll notice that many vendors tend to do this, specially in the more indigenous ares.
Daniel, great write up, links and photos. As you know, I've traveled the world a bit and always look for the African influence wherever I go. I was fortunate enough to see the "African presence in Mexico" exhbit at the Oakland museum last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. Your words and photos make me want to take a visit to Mexico. Thanks for sharing!!!
Cornelius, we definitely need to go down. I'm hoping to check out Costa Chica next, although I'm far from done with Veracruz. Like you said, these notions of identity are complex. The older I get, the less I adhere to borders and boundaries. They don't fit our realities. Didn't know about the church in D.F. Makes sense though!
Evelyn, Yeah, I'm sold now. I know how much you've talked it up over the years and now I see why. Plus, you have a great family. Who else would've turned me on to fried ants!
Sevaughn, I'm glad you made it there. It's one of my favorite exhibits. I thought about you as I did some of this exploration and again during my time in Taiwan. There's a budding African and Caribbean community here and I heard that there are upwards of 200,000 Africans in China. I even heard of 2nd generation Africans who've grown up in Taiwan who only speak Chinese and Taiwanese. So much to learn!!!
Wow!!! This is such an interesting article. Everything you said in this article is so true. Prior to my trip to Ecuador, I had no idea of the African population that existed there. Once I got there, it was a major culture shock to see people who look so much like me, speak the tongue of another culture. Thank you for sharing this with me. It makes the world seem like a small place after all!
Did writting this article change your opinion as to how humans migrated and formed into distinct cultures?
Adrianne, This article and trip itself didn't change my views, but doing research over the years certainly did. My latest focus has been people of African and Latino descent who've immigrated to Asia over the past few decades.