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Afro-Ecuadorians

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Afro-Ecuadorians
Afroecuatorianos
Afro-Ecuadorian girls in traditional clothing.
Total population
1,120,000(7.2% self identified in 2010 census).[1]
Regions with significant populations
Esmeraldas,Guayaquil,Valle del Chota,Imbabura ProvinceSucumbíos ProvinceSmall minorities live in the U.S., and Spain
Languages
Spanish
Religion
PredominantlyCatholic
Related ethnic groups
OtherAfro-Latin Americans.

Afro-EcuadoriansorAfroecuatorianos(Spanish), areEcuadoriansof predominantlySub-Saharan Africandescent.[2]

History and background

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Los tres mulatos de Esmeraldas(1599) by Sánchez Galque.

Most Afro-Ecuadorians are the descendants of enslaved Africans who were transported by predominantly British slavers to Ecuador from the early 16th century.[3]In 1553, the first enslaved Africans reached Ecuador in Quito when aslave shipheading to Peru was stranded off the Ecuadorian coast. The enslaved Africans escaped and establishedmaroonsettlements in Esmeraldas, which became a safe haven as many Africans fleeing slave conditions either escaped to there or were forced to live there. Eventually, they started moving from their traditional homeland and were settling everywhere in Ecuador.[4]

Portrait of a Quito Matron Lady with Her Black Slave(1783)byVicente Albán.

Racism, on an individual basis and societally are strongly discriminated against by themestizoandcriollopopulations.[5][6]As a result, along with lack of government funding and low social mobility poverty affects their community more so than the white and mestizo population of Ecuador.[7][8]After slavery was abolished in 1851, Africans became marginalized in Ecuador, dominated by the plantation owners.[9]

A typical street scene inEsmeraldas(2005).

Afro-Ecuadorian people and culture are found primarily in the country's northwest coastal region. The majority of the Afro-Ecuadorian population (70%)[10]are found in the province ofEsmeraldasand theValle del Chotain theImbabura Province,where they are the majority.[11]They can be also found in significant numbers inGuayaquil,and inIbarra,where in some neighborhoods, they make up a majority.[12]Many Afro-Ecuadorians have participated in sports, for instance playing with theEcuador national football team,many of whom hail from Valle del Chota.[13]

Culture

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Afro-Ecuadoriansat a convention to receive cultural recognition, traditional instruments can be seen in the background

Afro-Ecuadorian culture may be analysed by considering the two main epicenters of historical presence: the province ofEsmeraldas,and theChota Valley.[14]In Ecuador it is often said that Afro Ecuadorians live predominantly in warm places like Esmeraldas.[15]Afro-Ecuadorian culture is a result of theTrans-atlantic slave trade.[11]Their culture and its impact on Ecuador has led to many aspects fromWestandCentral Africacultures being preserved via ordinary acts of resistance and commerce.[16]Examples of these include the use ofpolyrhythmic techniques,traditional instruments and dances; along with food ways such as the use ofcrops brought from Africa,like thePlantainandPigeon pea,and oral traditions and mythology likeLa Tunda.[17][18][19][20]When women wear their hair as it grows naturally, it is often associated with poverty, which is why successful or upwardly mobile women tended to straighten their hair.[21]

Music

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A typical marimba fromEsmeraldas.

Marimbamusicis popular from Esmeraldas to thePacific Region of Colombia.It was considered anIntangible cultural heritagebyUNESCOin 2010.[22]It gets its name from the prominent use ofmarimbas,but is accompanied along with dances, chants, drums and other instruments specific to this region such as thebombo,thecununoand theguasá.[23]

An example of the Cununo in the semi-final round of a championship in Esmeraldas.

Sometimes this music is played in religious ceremonies, as well as in celebrations and parties. It features call-and-response chanting along with the music. Some of the rhythms associated with it arecurrulao,bambucoandandarele.[24]

Afro-Ecuadorianstyle drum from Esmeralda.

On the other hand, in the Chota Valley there isbombamusic. It can vary from mid-tempo to a very fast rhythm. It is usually played with guitars, as well as the main local instrument calledbomba,which is a drum, along with aguiro,and sometimesbombosandbongos.A variation of it played byla banda mocha,groups who playbombawith abombo,guiroand plant leaves to give melody.[25]

Religion

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The religious practice among Afro-Ecuadorians is usuallyCatholic.Catholic worship is distinctive in Esmeraldas, and sometimes is done withmarimba[26][27]

Political framework

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Dr.Diana Salazar Méndez,Attorney General -Quito(2019)

Numerous organizations have been established in Ecuador to for Afro-Ecuadorian issues. TheAfro-Ecuadorian Development Council(CONDAE).Afro-Ecuadorian Development Corporation(Corporación de Desarrollo Afroecuatoriano, CODAE), institutionalized in 2002,Asociación de Negros Ecuatorianos(ASONE), founded in 1988,Afro-Ecuadorian Institute,founded 1989, theAgustín Delgado Foundation,the Black Community Movement (El Proceso de Comunidades Negras) and TheNational Confederation of Afro-Ecuadorians(Confederación Nacional Afroecuatoriana, CNA) are amongst some of the institutional frameworks in place in Ecuador.[9]TheWorld Bankhas given loans for Afro-Ecuadorian development proposals in Ecuador since 1998, loaning $34 million for related projects between 2003 and 2007, andUSAIDalso monitored the 2006 elections in Ecuador to ensure that Afro-Ecuadorians were not being unfairly underrepresented.[9]

Notable Afro-Ecuadorians

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Historical

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Politics

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Government

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Activism

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Music

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Literature

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Sports

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Bo xing

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Judo

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Discus

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Weightlifting

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Sprinting

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Football

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An Afro-Ecuadorian in the national assembly.
Semifinal of the Encebollado Championship in Esmeraldas 2015
Semifinal of the Encebollado Championship in Esmeraldas 2015
"Together for our rights" March through the streets of San Lorenzo, Esmeraldas
Semifinal of the Encebollado Championship in Esmeraldas 2015
Semifinal of the Encebollado Championship in Esmeraldas 2015
Afro-Ecuadorian girls in traditional clothing.
An Afro-Ecuadorian artesian vendor.
Afro-Ecuadorians offer recognition to Foreign Minister.
Afro-Ecuadorians offer recognition to Foreign Minister.
Afro-Ecuadorians offer recognition to Foreign Minister.
Afro-Ecuadorians offer recognition to Foreign Minister.
An Afro-Ecuadorian marimba groups from Esmeraldas

See also

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References

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  1. ^http:// ecuadorencifras.gob.ec/cpv/[dead link]
  2. ^"MAR | Data | Assessment for Blacks in Ecuador".mar.umd.edu.Retrieved2021-08-12.
  3. ^"Up from slavery, Afro-Ecuadorians continue the struggle for their place in society".CuencaHighLife.2018-10-15. Archived fromthe originalon 2020-11-06.Retrieved2021-08-12.
  4. ^"Afro-Ecuadorian - Afropedea".afropedea.org.Retrieved2021-08-12.
  5. ^"Much work needed to 'target unacceptable levels' of racism in Ecuador: UN experts".UN News.2019-12-23.Retrieved2021-05-27.
  6. ^"Afro-Ecuadorians".Minority Rights Group.Retrieved2021-05-27.
  7. ^"Poverty rates in Ecuador".Statista.Retrieved2021-05-27.
  8. ^"Government should do more to reduce poverty among Afro-Ecuadorians, UN says".CuencaHighLife.2019-12-26.Retrieved2021-05-27.
  9. ^abc"Assessment for Blacks in Ecuador".CIDCM. Archived fromthe originalon June 22, 2012.RetrievedAugust 28,2012.
  10. ^"Esmeraldas and its Afro-Ecuadorian Cultural Legacy".Sounds and Colours.2015-06-19.Retrieved2021-05-27.
  11. ^ab"How Afro-Ecuadorians shaped the country's culture".Lonely Planet.Retrieved2021-05-27.
  12. ^"Afro Ecuador – Freedom Is Mine".Retrieved2021-08-12.
  13. ^"In Ecuador, a poor valley gets a kick start".Christian Science Monitor.2006-12-27.ISSN0882-7729.Retrieved2021-08-12.
  14. ^"Ecuadorian Culture: Customs, History, Society, Food | don Quijote".donquijote.org.Retrieved2021-05-27.
  15. ^"Mónica, the first | Translation".Radio Ambulante.2022-04-26.Retrieved2022-05-28.
  16. ^Ph. D., History; M. A., History; B. A., Rhodes College."There Were 3 Major Ways That Enslaved People Resisted a Life in Bondage".ThoughtCo.Retrieved2021-05-27.
  17. ^"A Botanical Story of Slavery and the Survival of the Wisdom of Africa".Hidden Garden.2016-08-04.Retrieved2021-05-27.
  18. ^"Pigeonpea".Crop Wild Relatives.Retrieved2021-05-27.
  19. ^Breslin, Patrick (2007)."Juan Garcia and the Oral Tradition of Afro-Ecuador".hdl:10644/5940.{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help)
  20. ^"La Tunda es un mito afroecuatoriano con fondo emancipador".El Comercio(in Spanish).Retrieved2021-05-27.
  21. ^Lago, Ivonne."Paola Cabezas:" A la vida hay que ponerle tumbao "".expreso.ec.Retrieved2022-05-28.
  22. ^"UNESCO - Marimba music, traditional chants and dances from the Colombia South Pacific region and Esmeraldas Province of Ecuador".ich.unesco.org.Retrieved2021-08-12.
  23. ^Cornejo, Santiago Carcélen; Ordóñez, Fabricio Morales,The Guardians of the Marimba, the Cununo and the Guasa(in Spanish),retrieved2021-08-12
  24. ^"Discover the Afroecuadorian culture".This Is Ecuador.2019-02-27.Retrieved2021-08-12.
  25. ^Velasco, Estefanía."La Bomba, símbolo musical de resistencia de la minoría afroecuatoriana".El Comercio(in Spanish).Archivedfrom the original on 2021-08-12.Retrieved2021-08-12.
  26. ^"Marimba importance on the religious aspects of Afro-Ecuadorians"(PDF).Archived(PDF)from the original on 2014-01-14.
  27. ^Gonzalez, David; Alarcón, Johis (2019-05-31)."Afro-Ecuadoreans Maintain Identity Through Spiritual Practices".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2021-08-12.
  28. ^"Paola Cabezas:" A la vida hay que ponerle tumbao "".2020-12-21. Archived fromthe originalon 21 December 2020.Retrieved2022-05-28.
  29. ^"Black Latin America".Archived fromthe originalon 2021-08-29.Retrieved2006-11-29.
  30. ^"Athletics VILLALBA Virginia Elizabeth - Tokyo 2020 Olympics".Olympics /tokyo-2020/.Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.Archived fromthe originalon 2021-08-10.Retrieved2021-08-10.
  31. ^"'We are one big heart' - how Ecuador's 4x100m women made Olympic history in Silesia | FEATURE | WRE 21 | World Athletics ".worldathletics.org.Retrieved2021-08-10.
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