>>> la presencia de los latinos afro descendientes resalta la gran varieda
the great variety of cultures that represent our Latin American race.
Afro-Latinos have expanded through history, identities, social classes
and we have seen that over the years their contribution
has not been overshadowed by the distinction of their color or language
Today we will be talking with two Afro - Latino guests.
Chatiel Rosado from the Doctor of Fellow and Agustín Lao Montes,
Doctor in sociology, professor at Umass University.
>>> Where are the cultures that represent Afro Latinos?
>>> First of all thank you for the invitation. Afro-Latinos, first of all,
there are Afro descendants in every country in Latin America
and there is sometimes a sense or some thought that Afro-Latinos only come from the Caribbean
or just come from the Dominican Republic, for example
There are Afro Latinos, people of African descent in each Latin country,
so it is important to know about the contributions of that person
and the African culture and history in these places
and the positive effects that culture has had for us.
>>> What offspring are they?
>>> I am Puerto Rican, as is my colleague who, besides being Puerto Rican,
is Dominican and that is part of what characterizes Afro Latinity.
We are, according to the figures of the economic commission for Latin America,
a figure of 2005, we are 150 million south of the Rio Grande
In the United States we are a few million more, so,
we African-Americans are the majority of the African American diaspora
and we have been invisible, our particular culture has not been recognized,
but we are an emerging force in the process towards the third world conference
against racism and related forms of discrimination that took place in South Africa in 2001;
where the networks of Afro Latin American organizations that had the leading voice.
The first ones that were organized were the women in a conference,
precisely in the Dominican republic in 1992
so we are a very broad mix across all the Americas
and we are organized as Afro Latin Americans
>>> What was the footprint left by the Africans when they arrived in Latin America?
>>> It was not just a cultural thing, it was a question of food,
a question of dance, but it was also a policy of resistance. For example,
some places in Latin America such as Palenque, an Afro-descendant community in Colombia
that was based on Africans who ran away and started a separate community
That policy of resistance lives in our heritage,
the terrible things that happened to people during slavery, was to survive that we are here
It can be a cultural thing but it can also be a political thing
>>> In your case, have you experienced any kind of racism?
How have you personally felt?
>>> I say that racism, especially Afro-Puerto Rican, is triple;
It is because of the fact that we are colonial subjects of the United States,
Puerto Rico is still a colony. There is discrimination against us
because we are Puerto Rican, but also because we are Latinos,
Latinos of the United States and also people who are Afro-descendants
have this triple discrimination
Of course, that's why, as the companion said very well,
there is a culture of resistance and Afro-Puerto Rican people
have a culture of resistance from many years ago.
For example, the oldest archive of African people in the world,
African people living outside Africa of African descent;
The Afro-descendants were founded by a Puerto Rican, Arturo Alfonso Chomber
and today that file is a branch of the public library of the city of New York
>>> Many people coming from countries like the Dominican Republic,
including from Argentina, from Chile that are of another color,
where they have seen that clash of color
has been when they arrived here in the United States
>>> I think that for some people the color collides more,
everything depends on the country from which one comes
For example, in the Dominican Republic, the highest percentage of people
have African descent, so a difference is formed more in terms of nationality.
That is, there is still this question of color,
but it is not like in the United States and in the United States
they are not in the majority either, it is a question of minorities and majority
Now, if one comes from a country, let's say an Afro-Colombian comes to the United States
has already experienced racism in their country, for sure,
because in Colombia Afro-descendants are a minority and apart from being a minority
there is a racial difference that is recognized within the country
So, everything depends on where the person comes from. For example,
there are people who come here, they are not afro descendants,
they are mestizo or white, that means that the shock will come more because
of the racism of the Americans against the Latinos.
There are many Afro-Latinos, for example, who come to the United States
and have experienced the fact of racism in their countries of origin; that is,
it is not something new for them
>>> We have also seen that here in the United States has come what is the Cuban,
celia cruz, where I represent Latin America so well with its music, its folklore.
This has given a relief and an advance
as to how the afro descendant is visualized here in America?
>>> yes, it is important on the one hand
to recognize the contributions
that have been made in music, in dance, in sports; they are very big,
but that can also be part of racism, it can also be part of the discrimination
by color because it tends to reduce our culture,
what we are able to contribute to music, dance and sports
When we have made great intellectual contributions, in literature;
as I said earlier in the case of the chombo,
in the historical memory, then that is part of what is needed
What we have contributed and continue to contribute that has to be in the universities,
it has to be in the literature programs,
it has to be in the history programs, it has to be in the philosophy programs
For example, now there are many Caribbean philosophers
and philosophers such as seater James who was from Trinidad and Tobago
and wrote a book called the Black Jacobins where he recognizes the importance
the Haitian revolution as the democratic for liberation
and the deepest decolonization of the 18th and 19th century
In a lot of sense going beyond the democratic ideals of the war of independence
of the United States and the French Revolution. So this forces us to rethink totally,
to rethink the region, to rethink the Americas and rethink the world
in light of the contribution that we and afro-descendants
make in Latin America and the Caribbean
>>> how can we feel more involved, involved in the improvement of our nation
no matter race, culture where we come from?
>>> I think the first thing to do is recognize racism.
There are many people who hear the word racism and think,
that's what I'm shouting at someone in the street, something personal
Racism can be structural, it can be something institutional and institutionalized,
we have to acknowledge first that contributions bring those cultures to our countries
so that we can work together, because if we do not recognize the problem
we can not solve the problem first.
>>> The wide diversity that exists in our Latin American culture
goes beyond the distinction of races or color, it is important to highlight
the value of learning from each other,
in this way we build a better future where we all feel valued.
We are still here in presence, the many voices of a people.