Afro-Ecuadorian people

Ethnic group


caption= Alberto Spencer
group=flagicon|African Union Afro-Ecuadorian flagicon|Ecuador
poptime="c." 690,000
popplace=South America:
Ecuador
langs=Spanish
rels=Predominantly Roman Catholic
related=Sub-saharan Africans and other African groups.

An Afro-Ecuadorian is a member of an ethnic 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 20% of Ecuador's population.
In 2006 Ecuador had a population of 13,547,510 with 8%, or 690,000 descendant from Spanish and African people, approximately 10%-15% of Ecuador's population.Microsoft Encarta 2007.] 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 1533, the first African 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.Fact|date=June 2008 Poverty is rampant amongst them. Many Afro-Ecuadorians have participated in sports, for instance playing with the Ecuadorian national football team.

Culture

Afro-ecuadorian culture could be analysed by considering the two main centers of historical presence. One is the province of Esmeraldas and the other is the Chota Valley.

Marimba music comes from Esmeraldas and its called like that because of the prominent use of marimbas 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.

Notable Afro-Ecuadorians

* Alberto Spencer - 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 Delgado, Born in the Juncal village became the top futbol player to hail from Ecuador. 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 Hurtado, from Guayaquil, was notorious for fighting for the rights of the working people of Ecuador and the founder and leader of the Democratic Popular Party (MPD). He was assassinated in the winter of 1999. [ [http://whgbetc.com/mind/black-latin-america2.html Black Latin America] ]
*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) [ [http://www.edufuturo.com/educacion.php?c=2276 Edufuturo] ]

References

See also

*Chota Valley
*Esmeraldas
*Bomba (Ecuador)
*Afro-Latin American
*List of Famous Afro-Latinos

Links

* [http://www.centroafroecuatoriano.org Centro Cultural Afroecuatoriano] Website with lots of information on this subject