Afro-Ecuadorians

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

Most Afro-Ecuadorians are the descendants of enslaved Africans who were transported by Spanish slavers to Ecuador from the early 16th century.[3] In 1553, the first enslaved Africans reached Ecuador in Quito when a slave ship heading to Peru was stranded off the Ecuadorian coast. The enslaved Africans escaped and established maroon settlements 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) by Vicente Albán.

Racism, on an individual basis and societally, such as Mestizaje and Blanqueamiento are deeply ingrained from the Spanish colonial era is still encountered; Afro-Ecuadorians are strongly discriminated against by the mestizo and criollo populations.[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 in Esmeraldas (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 of Esmeraldas and the Valle del Chota in the Imbabura Province, where they are the majority.[11] They can be also found in significant numbers in Guayaquil, and in Ibarra, where in some neighborhoods, they make up a majority.[12] Many Afro-Ecuadorians have participated in sports, for instance playing with the Ecuadorian national football team, many of whom hail from Valle del Chota.[13]

Afro-Ecuadorians at 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 of Esmeraldas, and the Chota Valley.[14] Afro-Ecuadorian culture is a result of the Trans-atlantic slave trade.[11] Their culture and its impact on Ecuador has led to many aspects from West and Central Africa cultures being preserved via ordinary acts of resistance and commerce.[15] Examples of these include the use of polyrhythmic techniques, traditional instruments and dances; along with food ways such as the use of crops brought from Africa, like the Plantain and Pigeon pea, and oral traditions and mythology like La Tunda.[16][17][18][19]

Music

A typical marimba from Esmeralda.

Marimba music is popular from Esmeraldas to the Pacific Region of Colombia. It was considered an Intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2010.[20] It gets its name from the prominent use of marimbas, but is accompanied along with dances, chants, drums and other instruments specific to this region such as the bombo, the cununo and the guasá.[21]

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 are currulao, bambuco and andarele.[22]

Afro-Ecuadorian style drum from Esmeralda.

On the other hand, in the Chota Valley there is bomba music. It can vary from mid tempo to a very fast rhythm. It is usually played with guitars, as well as the main local instrument called bomba, which is a drum, along with a guiro, and sometimes bombos and bongos. A variation of it played by la banda mocha, groups who play bomba with a bombo, guiro and plant leaves to give melody.[23]

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

Numerous organizations have been established in Ecuador to care for the needs of Afro-Ecuadorians. The Afro-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, the Agustín Delgado Foundation, the Black Community Movement (El Proceso de Comunidades Negras) and The National Confederation of Afro-Ecuadorians (Confederación Nacional Afroecuatoriana, CNA) are amongst some of the institutional frameworks in place in Ecuador.[9] The World Bank has funded Afro-Ecuadorian development proposals in Ecuador since 1998, loaning $34 million for related projects between 2003 and 2007, and USAID also overlooked the 2006 elections in Ecuador to see that Afro-Ecuadorians were fairly represented.[9]

• Afro-Latin Americans
• List of Afro-Latinos

• Centro Cultural Afroecuatoriano Website with much information on this subject