Afro-Ecuadorian people
Encyclopedia
An Afro-Ecuadorian is a member of a group in Ecuador
who are descendants of black African slaves brought by the Spanish during their conquest of Ecuador from the Incas. They make up from 3% to 5% of Ecuador's population.
Ecuador has a population of about 1,120,000 descendants from African people. The Afro-Ecuadorian culture is found primarily in the country's northwest coastal region. Africans form a majority (70%) in the province of Esmeraldas
and the Valle del Chota in the Imbabura Province
. They can be also found in Quito
and Guayaquil
. Their best known cultural influence known outside of Ecuador is a distinctive kind of marimba music.
In 1560, the third Hipis slaves reached Ecuador in Quito when a slave ship
heading to Peru was stranded off the Ecuadorian coast. The slaves escaped and established maroon settlements in Esmeraldas, which became a safe haven as many slaves either escaped to there or were forced to live there. Eventually, they started moving from their traditional homeland and were settling everywhere in Ecuador.
Racism deeply ingrained from the Spanish colonial era is still found; Afro-Ecuadorians are strongly discriminated against by the mestizo
and criollo
populations. Poverty is rampant amongst them. Many Afro-Ecuadorians have participated in sports, for instance playing with the Ecuadorian national football team
.
Afro-Ecuadorians live all over the country but there are two places of historic presence which are Esmeraldas
province and the Chota Valley in Imbabura
province. There is a strong presence in Quito
and Guayaquil
which have neighborhoods with high afro-Ecuadorian populations and also Ibarra
.
and the other is the Chota Valley.
Marimba music comes from Esmeraldas and is called this due to the prominent use of marimba
s along with drums and other instruments specific to this region such as the bombo, the cununo and the wasa. 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 are currulao, bambuco y andarele.
On the other hand there is the music from the Chota Valley. Here we have bomba (Ecuador)
music. This music tends to have a more prominent Spanish, mestizo and indigenous influence than marimba music and it is very different from it. It could go from a mid tempo to a very fast rhythm. It is usually played with guitars along with the main local instrument called bomba which is a drum along with a guiro and sometimes bombos and bongos. A variation of it is la banda mocha which are groups that play bomba with a bombo, guiro and plant leafs to give melody.
Religious practice among afro-Ecuadorians usually is Roman Catholic. There is not an important African cult but nevertheless catholic worship is distinctive in Esmeraldas and sometimes is done with marimba music.
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
who are descendants of black African slaves brought by the Spanish during their conquest of Ecuador from the Incas. They make up from 3% to 5% of Ecuador's population.
Ecuador has a population of about 1,120,000 descendants from African people. The Afro-Ecuadorian culture is found primarily in the country's northwest coastal region. Africans form a majority (70%) in the province of Esmeraldas
Esmeraldas Province
Esmeraldas is a province in northwestern Ecuador. The capital is Esmeraldas.The province is home to the Afro-Ecuadorian culture.- Cantons :The province is divided into 8 cantons...
and the Valle del Chota in the Imbabura Province
Imbabura Province
Imbabura is a province in Ecuador. The capital is Ibarra. The people of the province speak Spanish and the Imbaburan Quechua language.Imbabura Volcano is located in the province. Best reached from the town of La Esperanza, the 4,609-meter-high mountain can be climbed in a single day.- Cantons...
. They can be also found in Quito
Quito
San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito , is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains...
and Guayaquil
Guayaquil
Guayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador,with about 2.3 million inhabitants in the city and nearly 3.1 million in the metropolitan area, as well as that nation's main port...
. Their best known cultural influence known outside of Ecuador is a distinctive kind of marimba music.
In 1560, the third Hipis slaves reached Ecuador in Quito when a slave ship
Slave ship
Slave ships were large cargo ships specially converted for the purpose of transporting slaves, especially newly purchased African slaves to Americas....
heading to Peru was stranded off the Ecuadorian coast. The slaves escaped and established maroon settlements in Esmeraldas, which became a safe haven as many slaves either escaped to there or were forced to live there. Eventually, they started moving from their traditional homeland and were settling everywhere in Ecuador.
Racism deeply ingrained from the Spanish colonial era is still found; Afro-Ecuadorians are strongly discriminated against by the mestizo
Mestizo
Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...
and criollo
Criollo people
The Criollo class ranked below that of the Iberian Peninsulares, the high-born permanent residence colonists born in Spain. But Criollos were higher status/rank than all other castes—people of mixed descent, Amerindians, and enslaved Africans...
populations. Poverty is rampant amongst them. Many Afro-Ecuadorians have participated in sports, for instance playing with the Ecuadorian national football team
Ecuador national football team
The Ecuadorian national football team represents Ecuador in international football competitions and is controlled by the Ecuadorian Football Federation. They generally play official home matches at Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa in Quito, but often play friendlies in other stadiums around the country...
.
Afro-Ecuadorians live all over the country but there are two places of historic presence which are Esmeraldas
Esmeraldas
Esmeraldas is the Spanish word for 'emeralds'. It is a toponym that may refer to the following:*Brazil**Esmeraldas, Minas Gerais*Ecuador**Esmeraldas, Ecuador**Esmeraldas River**Esmeraldas Province**Esmeraldas Canton*Special:Allpages/Esmeraldas...
province and the Chota Valley in Imbabura
Imbabura
Word Imbabura can refer to these places in Ecuador:*Imbabura Province*Imbabura Volcano...
province. There is a strong presence in Quito
Quito
San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito , is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains...
and Guayaquil
Guayaquil
Guayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador,with about 2.3 million inhabitants in the city and nearly 3.1 million in the metropolitan area, as well as that nation's main port...
which have neighborhoods with high afro-Ecuadorian populations and also Ibarra
Ibarra, Ecuador
Ibarra is a city in northern Ecuador and the capital of the Imbabura Province. It lies at the foot of the Imbabura Volcano and on the left bank of the Tahuando river. It is about northeast of Ecuador's capital Quito....
.
Culture
Afro-Ecuadorian culture could be analysed by considering the two main centers of historical presence. One is the province of EsmeraldasEsmeraldas
Esmeraldas is the Spanish word for 'emeralds'. It is a toponym that may refer to the following:*Brazil**Esmeraldas, Minas Gerais*Ecuador**Esmeraldas, Ecuador**Esmeraldas River**Esmeraldas Province**Esmeraldas Canton*Special:Allpages/Esmeraldas...
and the other is the Chota Valley.
Marimba music comes from Esmeraldas and is called this due to the prominent use of marimba
Marimba
The marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. It consists of a set of wooden keys or bars with resonators. The bars are struck with mallets to produce musical tones. The keys are arranged as those of a piano, with the accidentals raised vertically and overlapping the natural keys ...
s along with drums and other instruments specific to this region such as the bombo, the cununo and the wasa. 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 are currulao, bambuco y andarele.
On the other hand there is the music from the Chota Valley. Here we have bomba (Ecuador)
Bomba (Ecuador)
Bomba or Bomba del Chota is an Afro-Ecuadorian musical form from the Chota Valley area of Ecuador in the province of Imbabura and Carchi. Its origins can be traced back to Africa via the middle passage and the use of African slave labor during the country's colonial period...
music. This music tends to have a more prominent Spanish, mestizo and indigenous influence than marimba music and it is very different from it. It could go from a mid tempo to a very fast rhythm. It is usually played with guitars along with the main local instrument called bomba which is a drum along with a guiro and sometimes bombos and bongos. A variation of it is la banda mocha which are groups that play bomba with a bombo, guiro and plant leafs to give melody.
Religious practice among afro-Ecuadorians usually is Roman Catholic. There is not an important African cult but nevertheless catholic worship is distinctive in Esmeraldas and sometimes is done with marimba music.
Notable Afro-Ecuadorians
- Alberto SpencerAlberto SpencerAlberto Pedro Spencer Herrera was an Ecuadorian football player, regarded as the best of his country. He is probably best known for his still-standing record for scoring the most goals in the Copa Libertadores, the most important club tournament in South America...
- All time top scorer of the Copa Libertadores - Monica Chala, in 1996, was the first Afro-Ecuadorian to win the Miss Ecuador beauty pageant.
- Agustin DelgadoAgustín DelgadoAgustín Javier Delgado Chalá is a retired Ecuadorian footballer. Nicknamed Tín, Delgado is the all-time top scorer for the Ecuadorian national team with 31 goals in 71 games. He played professional club football in Ecuador, Mexico and England.-Southampton:Delgado moved to Southampton in 2001...
, Ecuador soccer player hailing from Juncal village. In November 2001 he signed a $3.5 million deal with the team from Southampton, England. - Afrikáns Homo Sapiens is a musical group that performs "Bao" music. Bao is a fusion of native rhythms and Caribbean rhythms including candombe, salsa, merengue, reggae and calypso.
- Jaime HurtadoJaime HurtadoJaime Hurtado González was an Ecuadorian politician of African descent aligned with the Democratic People's Movement, a deputy in the Ecuadorian parliament, and at the time of his death was standing for election to the Ecuadorian presidency.-Assassination:Sources loyal to the DPM state that...
, from Guayaquil, was notorious for fighting for the rights of the working people of Ecuador and the founder and leader of the Democratic People's MovementDemocratic People's MovementThe Democratic People's Movement is the electoral wing of the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party of Ecuador and a political party in Ecuador since 1978....
(MPD). He was assassinated in the winter of 1999. - Nelson Estupiñán Bass (1913-2002), born in Súa, Esmeraldas, he was a famous author of literature. His work expressed his great concern for the Afro-Ecuadorian people and the society of Ecuador. His works include "El Ultimo Rio" (1966), "Cuando los Guayacanes florecían" (1954), "El crepusculo" (1993), "Timarán y Cuabú" (1956), "Las tres carabelas" (1973) "Toque de Queda " (1978), "El desempate" (1980), "Viaje alrededor de la poesía negra" (1982), "Los canarios pintaron el aire amarillo" (1993)
- Antonio Valencia, soccer player for Manchester United and Ecuadorian national team
- Lady Mina, Miss Ecuador 2010Miss Ecuador 2010Miss Ecuador 2010 "The most important beauty pageant in Ecuador was held on March 25 in Cemexpo Ecuador, where Miss Ecuador 2009 Sandra Vinces handed over the crown to her successor...
, she is the third woman, of Afro-Ecuadorian descent, to win Miss EcuadorMiss EcuadorMiss Ecuador is an annual national beauty pageant that selects Ecuador's representatives to Miss Universe, Miss World, and Miss International....
(first in 1996, second in 1998). - Segundo MercadoSegundo MercadoLaurensio Segundo Mercado is a retired male boxer from Ecuador.Mercado represented Ecuador at the 1988 Summer Olympics, losing on points in the boxing competition to Martin Kitel of Sweden...
- Boxer
See also
- Chota Valley
- EsmeraldasEsmeraldasEsmeraldas is the Spanish word for 'emeralds'. It is a toponym that may refer to the following:*Brazil**Esmeraldas, Minas Gerais*Ecuador**Esmeraldas, Ecuador**Esmeraldas River**Esmeraldas Province**Esmeraldas Canton*Special:Allpages/Esmeraldas...
- Bomba (Ecuador)Bomba (Ecuador)Bomba or Bomba del Chota is an Afro-Ecuadorian musical form from the Chota Valley area of Ecuador in the province of Imbabura and Carchi. Its origins can be traced back to Africa via the middle passage and the use of African slave labor during the country's colonial period...
- Afro-Latin AmericanAfro-Latin AmericanAn Afro-Latin American is a Latin American person of at least partial Black African ancestry; the term may also refer to historical or cultural elements in Latin America thought to emanate from this community...
- List of Famous Afro-Latinos
External links
- Centro Cultural Afroecuatoriano Website with lots of information on this subject