UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
09/02/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 09/03/2024 04:30
Mexico City celebrates the historical memory and resilience of Afro-descendant people
Joint with several artistic and cultural activities, the Government of Mexico City, through the Council to Prevent and Eliminate Discrimination of Mexico City (COPRED), in collaboration with UNESCO, the Secretariat of Culture of Mexico City, the UNFPA, and Afro-descendant and anti-racist collectives, held the "Afro-descendants Festival in Mexico City: Historical Memory and Resilience."
The event, in recognition of the International Day for People of African Descent, aims to promote the right to equality, recognize the historical, cultural, and social contributions of Afro-descendant people, and highlight the resilience of Afro-descendant communities in Mexico City, serving as a reflective and educational space.
UNESCO/Juan Luis M. Acevez
The International Decade for People of African Descent 2015-2024 was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2013, and the International Day for People of African Descent in 2020, to promote the recognition of the memory, contributions, and preservation of the cultural heritage of these populations.
The festival was organized in collaboration with Afro-descendant communities, collectives, academics, and artists in the Plaza de Santo Domingo in the Historical Centre, a UNESCO Site of Memory of the Routes of Enslaved Peoples.
As part of the event, the fanzine "Fruturos de Cimarronaje, lucha histórica de la afrodescendencia" (Fruitures of Cimarronaje, Historical Struggle of Afro-descendancy) was launched, a project led by the Afrochingonas collective and sponsored by COPRED and UNESCO in Mexico. The fanzine narrates the history of the struggles and resilience of Afro-descendant people in Mexico City, featuring voices from Afro activists, journalists, artists, researchers, and writers.
UNESCO/Juan Luis M. Acevez
The photographic exhibition "I Have a Dream" by Guerrero-based photographer Hugo Arellanes was also presented, with images inspired by Martin Luther King's iconic speech. Each photo symbolizes the collective dream of a city where racism and discrimination have no place. Through his lens, Hugo Arellanes explores the daily realities of Afro-descendant people in Mexico City, capturing both: the challenges they face and the hope that remains alive in their communities.
The festival included various artistic performances, like the "Afromexican Dance: Women New Blood" project, which fuses Afro dance, contemporary dance, and jazz dance with poetry, body expression, theatre, and Latin American cultural elements. The Nandayapa Brothers also performed with their Afro street clown show titled "Cotton & Mop," a proposal that takes over public space with style inherited from Latin American street theatre of the 1980s, turning architecture and attendees into part of the performance.
The Batucada de Ensamble Libre de Percusión was also part of the festival, playing rhythms of African and Brazilian origin. Likewise, "IBU AÑA," a collective of women from the Afro diaspora, led a Yoruba dance and singing workshop, which explores Afro-Cuban dance and singing, music, rhythms, drumming, and worldviews that connect with the spirituality of the orishas and Afro-descendant richness.
UNESCO/Juan Luis M. Acevez
Information booths from institutions and organizations provided information and activities throughout the day. The event also featured the conversation "Afro and Anti-racist Resistances in Mexico City: Experiences from Organizations," an Afro Historical walking tour, talks on equality, non-discrimination, racism, and intersectionalities, as well as the show "Afro-Latin Decimas: Afro-Latin Songs and Stories for Children," and the presentation of "Aguaje Ensemble + Sonido Arrecho."
These actions are part of recognizing and promoting the rights of Afro-descendant people in Mexico City to live a life free of prejudice, stereotypes, discrimination, and racism.
UNESCO/Juan Luis M. Acevez
The festival's organizing entities thank the participation and work of the consultative assembly members of the Council, the Network of Afro-descendant Women CDMX, the National Network of Afro Youth, Afrochingonas, the Center for Afromexican Studies Tembembe, Afro-dependencies MX, Investigación e Incidencia AC., Racismo MX, Huella Negra, the Permanent Assembly of Associations, Collectives, and Afro-Mexican People of CDMX, and the Afro University.