Finding Africa in Veracruz
Posted Aug 3 2009
As a word of caution, be careful of seeing what you want.
For example, you’ll see plenty of people walking around with braids, but that probably has more to do with tourism culture that you can find at any beach front town. Reggaeton is popular, but you can hear reggaeton in places like Taiwan and Japan. I came across some drum circles, but you there are all-White drum circles at any self-respecting reggae festival. At first glance, it’s hard to distinguish 
what can historically be traced to Africa and what came later. Something I did find intriguing was a couple of people I saw carrying items on their heads “African style.” Maybe they learned it from someone in their family, maybe they were just bored.As I mentioned before, Veracruz is held up as a bastion of Afro Mexico and I was surprised not to see more. I was told a couple of times that Yanga is “where all the Black people are.” Apparently, these are all historical
references. Then again, I wasn’t there that long and didn’t really get to speak to as many people as I would’ve liked. Most people didn’t even know what I was talking about, although they found it interesting. Still, there are a number of people doing research and promoting Afro Mexican communities. I ended up meeting a family friend of anthropologist Gonzalo Aguirre Beltran, who wrote the La Poblacion Negra de Mexico, 1519-1810, the first serious publication on Afro Mexican history. However, I was unable to meet up with his granddaughter due to our schedules not matching up.If you’re simply looking for straight up Black folks, the city of Veracruz probably isn’t the place to go, but if you’re willing to see how Africa has influenced Mexico in a much more pervasive level, including genetically, it’s well worth the trip. In fact, the influence has just become a part of being “Mexican.” I’ll definitely be back to dig deeper and if I ever needed a reason to work on my Spanish, this certainly didn’t hurt.
Other groups
While the African influence was a focus of this trip, I did keep my eyes open for other influences. While I did see some locals who looked more Asian than me, who knows why. There have been Asians coming to Mexico for
centuries, but maybe they were straight Indigenous guys. I did stop by a Chinese restaurant and they said that there were hardly any other Asians, much less Chinese in Veracruz. They said Mexico City was the place to go. I saw very few Asian restaurants, which I found a bit odd based on Veracruz’s size. I ended up hanging out with a waitress from the restaurant and she took me to a great salsa club I wouldn’t have found on my own. I should point out that I must’ve heard “La Rebellion,” a popular song from Colombia a dozen times while in Veracruz. It addresses slavery in the Americas and I’ve heard it everywhere from Detroit to Tokyo so it’s definitely a global hit. Indigenous people were everywhere, and although Indigenous culture is often revered in Mexican society, I hardly get the impression that respect for the actual living communities is that high. I drove by a “Rancho Ramadan,” but have no idea if that has anything to do with Islam. Parts of Mexico have a strong influences from the Middle East, Asia, and Europe, but that’s a future trip to explore!
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.