Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/16726
Continued from page 19 NO LONGER INVISIBLE: AFRO-LATIN AMERICANS IN ECUADORIAN HISTORY BY BILL HERBERT aground in 1553. A group of 23 Africans from the coast of Guinea attacked the slavers and liberated themselves. This group joined forces with other Blacks entering the region. Led by a ladino (a Hispanicized Black person) named Alonso de Illecas, they came to dominate the region from northern Manabi north to what is now Barbacoas, Colombia. They intermixed with indigenous peoples to establish palenques (villages of self-liberated people). The features of these people were described as zambo (black- indigenous admixture). By 1599, Black people were in charge of a region called T Oil Painting of Chiefs he amazing history of Afro-Hispanic culture in Ecuador began in what is now known as the city of Esmeraldas where a Spanish slaving ship ran La Republica de Zambos or Zambo Republic. That year, a group of Zambo chieftains, representing 100,000 or more Zambo people of Esmeraldas, marched to Quito to declare their loyalty to Spain. The above oil painting of these chiefs was created by Adrian Sanchez Galgue. It is said to be the earliest signed and dated painting from South America. The three chiefs wear abundant gold jewelry, which was typical of the Indians of the region. Their clothing is European, and they carry spears. Each chief has the title Don, a sign of respect in the Latin-Hispanic world. For background information on this painting and the his- tory of the chiefs, see “No Longer Invisible: Afro-Latin Americans Today.” Another source is “The African Experi- ence in Spanish America.” Black Meetings & Tourism July/August 2010: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 21