How Afro-Latinos Came To Be

By Scholar-Griot: Melanie Falu

Afro-Latinos are descendants of the formerly enslaved Africans in Latin America and the Caribbean. You probably know about slavery in the United States, but what do you know about slavery south of our border?

Millions of Black Africans were brought as slaves to Central and South America and the islands in the Caribbean Sea. At that time, Spain ruled most countries there, including Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Colombia, and Argentina - while Portugal ruled Brazil and France controlled French Guiana and a few islands in the Carribean. Naturally, the Indigenous residents of these places had to learn to speak Spanish, Portuguese or French. So did their African slaves. (Because the Spanish, Portuguese and French languages came from the Latin language, Spanish, Portuguese and French speaking nations in the Americas make up Latin America.)

Slavery in Latin America and in the Caribbean was somewhat different from slavery in the US. In the Caribbean islands and Brazil, enslaved Africans were often able to hold on to parts of their cultures. For example, they kept African music styles like conga and drumming. They practiced African spiritual traditions and added African flavors to local foods. Dishes like plátanos, alcapurrias, meals wrapped in banana leaves, and Brazil’s feijoada all show this rich history.

Many North Americans assume that people who look Black don’t speak Spanish, Portuguese or French - or come from Latin America. They are surprised when Afro-Latinas and Afro-Latinos speak fluently Spanish, Portuguese and French or celebrate Latin music and food. Few understand how racially diverse Latin America really is. They don’t realize how deeply African cultures shaped Latin cultures.