Honoring and Celebrating African American and AfroLatine Cultures
A Brief History
The Transatlantic Slave Trade, which occurred from the 16th to 19th century, was responsible for the displacement of over 12 million Africans to European colonies, mostly in the Americas, for the purpose of slavery (United Nations, n.d.). Despite their unimaginable circumstances, these Africans persevered, incorporating their Native culture into the experiences and meager resources that their new environment provided to them. The blending of African and European traditions became evident through budding regional musical styles, cuisines, and dialects that reflected the abundance of African heritage in Latin American communities. Today, many Latin American countries identify with and celebrate AfroLatine cultural practices, but not everyone knows where they came from and how they became popular on an international scale.
The AfroLatine Community
Where can you find AfroLatine communities in the United States?
Creole dialects are popular in the United States, specifically in cities such as New Orleans, Louisiana; the Bronx, New York; and Los Angeles, California (Ocasio, 2022).
In the US, afro-latinx individuals are statistically more likely to be foreign born and come from low income families, and they are less likely to receive a college level education.
24% of Hispanic Americans “identify as Afro-Latino, Caribbean-Latino, or of African descent with roots in Latin-America” (López & Gonzalez-Barrera, 2016).
Where can you find AfroLatine communities in Latin America?
Colonialism in South and Central America led to the transportation and enslavement of fifteen times as many Africans as the United States (López & Gonzalez-Barrera, 2016).
At this time, 130 million individuals of African descent make up a fourth of the entire population in Latin America.
The short film, Afrolatinos, gives an excellent historical summary of the AfroLatinx population and provides examples of African influence on culture throughout several Latin American countries (Devia, n.d.).
Significant Cultural Contributions
Music and Dancing:
Son Cubano
Son Cubano is a style of music that originated in Cuba when approximately one million Africans were displaced there for the purpose of slavery. This style combines African rhythms and Latin melodies which became a huge part of AfroLatinx culture and eventually evolved into early-salsa (CUBA50, 2022).
AfroLatinx salsa artists used their music as a way to comment on Latin American sociopolitical issues such as colonialism and failures of the economy (Antonio, 2023). Salsa music and dancing became popular in the United States in the mid-20th century when an influx of Cubans and Puerto Ricans immigrated to New York City.
Over time, salsa’s association with African influence dwindled through practices of segregation, cultural appropriation, and other acts of overt racism in the U.S. as well as altering the purpose and context in which it is relevant.
Spotlight Artist!
Compay Segundo
Compay Segundo was one of the most famous son cubano artists of all time. He was born on November 18th, 1907 in Cuba and lived to be 95 years old before he passed away in Havana (Brennan, 2018). The charismatic Compay Segundo was a talented composer, singer, and guitar player that even invented his own stringed instrument, the armonico. He is most known for his involvement in the Buena Vista Social Club album.
Throughout Compay Segundo’s career, he toured internationally and played for notable figures including Fidel Castro and Pope John Paul II. He criticized modern “New York” salsa music for being rowdy and without balance.
Culinary Traditions
The use of African ingredients and cooking techniques in Latin America can also be dated back to the Transatlantic Slave trade (LAWA, 2024). This fusion of African and Latin cuisines is responsible for some of the most popular dishes in Latin America today. Three classic AfroLatin recipes are featured below with details regarding their origin.
African staples like regional spices, yams, plantains, cassava, black eyed peas, and native grains were important to enslaved communities in representing their culture which remained significant as they fought for and gained independence in Latin America.
Mofongo
Mofongo is an alternative to West African fufu initially made by Angolan slaves in Puerto Rico. It is made by mashing unripened bananas with garlic, oil, and chicharron to mimic the texture and versatility of boiled yam purée. Mofongo was used as a filling component in meals for hungry slaves that survived off of rations, and it is meant to compliment a variety of proteins or vegetables.
Tacu Tacu
Tacu tacu is the origin of the classic rice and beans combination made by Black slaves in Peru. Rice brought from Asia by European traders was combined with canary beans and lard using traditional African techniques to produce a simple bean stew. Since then, variations of tacu tacu have become an integral part of Latin American cooking.
Okro Soup
Okro soup is a dish originally made by African slaves in Honduras made from the African medicinal vegetable, okro. Medicinal properties of okro include improving digestion, immunity, and overall nutrition. Less desirable scraps like chicken feet or pigs tongue were given to slaves and combined with a base of okro to make for a more palatable meal that is still enjoyed today.
Afrolatin Dialects
When Africans arrived as slaves in Latin America, they were specifically grouped with others that did not speak the same language in order to prevent collaborations to escape or revolt (Ocasio, 2022). Colonists’ plan to silence African slaves resulted in the development of an abundance of dialects that are made up of both African and European languages. These dialects are collectively referred to as “creole,” and they are spoken widely throughout the Americas today. Now, at least 100 creole languages exist around the world incorporating aspects of Spanish, Portuguese, French, English, or indigenous languages with Native African speech (African American Registry, n.d.).
Garifuna
The Garifuna people are an Afro-indigenous community that originated in the Caribbean on the island of Saint Vincent (Ocasio, 2022). The dialect spoken by Garifuna is based on the indigenous language, Arawakan, with strong African influence on pronunciation and grammar.
It is likely that a majority of the Africans that came to Saint Vincent as escapees from the slave trade. Sustained by fishing and growing cassava, the Garifuna people were known for their mud structures and canoe-building skills.
The Garifuna were eventually forced out of Saint Vincent, at which point they relocated to coastal Central America. Today, there are groups of Garifuna people living in Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Belize (UNESCO, n.d.). It is common for Garifuna to be fluent in English and Spanish in addition to their own dialect. More than half of the world Garifuna population now resides in the U.S.
Palenquero
Palenquero is a dialect that emerged out of the San Basilio region of Columbia. Because it came from a remote area, the language originally consisted of African Bantu and local indigenous components (Ocasio, 2022). Similar to Garifuna, Palenquero was first spoken by escaped slaves that bravely took their chances into the unknown to reclaim their freedom. Over time, Palenquero became known as a creole dialect because of increased Spanish influence on the language.
Palenque de San Basilio is one of a few villages that provided refuge for escapees of slavery as early as the 17th century that still exists today (UNESCO, n.d.). Slave palenques were small, walled in communities that established a safe haven for self-emancipated individuals where they developed their own unique culture. Their commitment to Palenquero traditions is evident in their burial process and use of music to celebrate with artistic expression.
Papiamento
Due to the influx of slaves imported to Curaçao which was a colony of the Netherlands during the time of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, the creole language of Papiamento developed (Ocasio, 2022). This dialect has Portuguese, Dutch, Spanish, and African aspects. It is common for speakers of Papiamento to also be proficient in Dutch and/or Portuguese.
Until the turn of the 21st century, the island remained a colony of the Netherlands. Curaçao fought for its independence, becoming known as a territory of the Netherlands Antilles in 1954, and eventually being able to self-govern the country’s internal affairs within the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 2010.
How can you support AfroLatine communities?
Visit our partners’ websites – Learn something new and donate if able :
El Futuro : North Carolina’s leading provider in bilingual and culturally responsive mental health services.
Amexcan : Connects families with the information, services, and support they need to thrive such as helping them navigate schools, health systems, immigration processes, or civic life.
Engage with AfroLatinx creators online (NexGen Collective, 2023) :
Elizabeth Acevedo : Award winning Afro-Dominican-American poet and author from New York City.
Tiffany Alfonseca : Afro-Dominican-American mixed media artist from the Bronx.
Make purchases from AfroLatine owned businesses (Bacigalupo, 2024):
Project Body : An all women’s fitness studio located in East Atlanta that offers in person, virtual, and video classes. They strive to promote diversity and women’s health by rejecting diet culture and celebrating the beauty of a wellness centered mindset.
Agua Bonita : Founded by Erin PonTell and Kayla Castañeda, Agua Bonita is an all natural, sugar free, eco-friendly aguas frescas company that uses 100% real fruit to create refreshing beverage flavors.
Donate to non-profit organizations that support AfroLatine communities :
Unidos US : The largest Latino civil rights organization in the United States. Their website has information posted on civil rights and racial equity, housing and financial empowerment, education, health, immigration, voting and political empowerment, workforce development, and more!
We Are Casa : With almost 200,000 supporters nationwide, this organization has a mission to improve quality of life for Black, Latinx, AfroLatinx, indigenous, and immigrant, individuals, families, and communities.
Amplify AfroLatinx voices socially, professionally, and politically :
Challenge racist beliefs including unfair treatment, comments, inequities, etc.
Vote for candidates that acknowledge and celebrate diversity.
Consume meaningful and educational AfroLatine media content :
(Devia, 2010); link to full video in “References” below (Devia, n.d.).
Share your knowledge with others and encourage them to be curious about how they can support the AfroLatinx community as well
Thank you for visiting the AfroLatinx page to become more culturally informed today!
We encourage you to continue exploring your curiosity with your own research from reputable sources! Understanding and embracing the vast diversity within the Latinx community is a productive way to amplify their voices in the fast pace and extreme news cycle that our current sociopolitical climate has created. We urge you to share what you learned from this post with a member or ally of the Latinx community. Stay tuned for more new content on our resource pages!
References
Antonio, M. J. (2023, August 2). Why is Afro Latin history important for salsa? National Park
https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/why-is-afro-latin-history-important-for-salsa.htm
Bacigalupo, C. (2024). 18 Afro-Latina owned businesses to shop from. #WeAllGrow Latina.
https://www.weallgrowlatina.com/afro-latina-owned-businesses-to-shop/
Brennan, C. (2018, May 23). Compay Segundo. In Contemporary Musicians.
https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biograp
cuba50. (2022, July 21). What is Son Cubano? Cuba 50. https://cuba50.org/2022/07/21/what-is-son-cubano/
Devia, R. (n.d.). AfroLatinos [Short film]. Hero Traveler.
https://www.herotraveler.com/RenzoDevia/afrolatinos/video/afrolatinos
Devia, R. (2010, January 25). English trailer AfroLatinos [Video]. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQYi4iSD1p0
LAWA. (2024, July 15). African roots in Latin American and Caribbean food in 11 (delicious!)
dishes. LAWA. https://lawadv.org.uk/african-roots-in-latin-american-and-caribbean-food-in-11-dishes/
López, G., & Gonzalez-Barrera, A. (2016, March 1). Afro-Latino: A deeply rooted identity
among U.S. Hispanics. Pew Research Center.
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2016/03/01/afro-latino-a-deeply-rooted-identity
NextGen Collective. (2023, February 16). NextGen Collective: 7 Afro-Latina influencers to follow on Instagram.
Hispanic Executive. https://hispanicexecutive.com/nextgen-collective-7-afro-latina-influencers-to-follow-
Ocasio, M. A. (Ph.D.) (2022, February 4). Through adversity and resilience: A brief history of
Afro-Latino and Afro-Indigenous languages. Duolingo Blog.
https://blog.duolingo.com/history-of-garifuna-papiamento-palenquero
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2025, December 14). Curaçao. Encyclopaedia Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/place/Curacao
UNESCO. (n.d.). Cultural space of Palenque de San Basilio. UNESCO Intangible Cultural
Heritage. Retrieved December 16, 2025, from
https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/cultural-space-of-palenque-de-san-basilio-00102
UNESCO. (n.d.). Language, dance and music of the Garifuna. UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Retrieved December 16, 2025, from https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/language-dance-and-music-of-the-
United Nations. (n.d.). Slave trade. United Nations. Retrieved December 16, 2025, from
https://www.un.org/en/observances/decade-people-african-descent/slave-trade
