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Narrator: THE AFRICAN ROOTS
OF MEXICO AND PERU

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HIDE IN PLAIN SIGHT.

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THEY MIX
FROM THE BEGINNING.

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YOU CANNOT SEE THEM,
BUT IT'S THERE.

00:00:13.513 --> 00:00:17.417
Narrator: MANY PEOPLE
REMAIN UNAWARE OF THEIR
AFRICAN ANCESTRY.

00:00:17.484 --> 00:00:21.721
Woman: I ASK MY GRANDPA
WHY YOU NEVER TOLD ME
WE ARE BLACK.

00:00:21.788 --> 00:00:25.458
Narrator: BUT TODAY,
THOSE AFRICAN ROOTS
ARE BECOMING MORE VISIBLE.

00:00:25.525 --> 00:00:29.462
Man: BLACKS ARE HERE NOW,
AND THEY ARE DEMANDING
THAT THEIR RIGHTS BE RECOGNIZED.

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"MEXICO AND PERU:
THE BLACK GRANDMA IN THE CLOSET,

00:00:33.032 --> 00:00:35.001
BLACK IN LATIN AMERICA."

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CAPTIONING MADE POSSIBLE BY
FRIENDS OF NCI

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Gates, voice-over:
WHEN YOU THINK OF MEXICO,
WHAT COMES TO MIND?

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ENDLESS SUNSHINE,

00:01:05.432 --> 00:01:06.366
WHITE SANDY BEACHES,

00:01:06.433 --> 00:01:10.403
THE MAYAN AND AZTEC RUINS?

00:01:10.470 --> 00:01:14.407
AND PERU--MACHU PICCHU,
THE GREAT INCA PEOPLE,

00:01:14.474 --> 00:01:18.411
5,000 VARIETIES OF POTATO.

00:01:18.478 --> 00:01:24.884
HOW MANY OF US REALIZE
THAT FAR MORE SLAVES CAME TO
MEXICO AND PERU TOGETHER

00:01:24.951 --> 00:01:29.923
THAN CAME TO THE UNITED STATES
IN THE ENTIRE HISTORY
OF THE SLAVE TRADE?

00:01:29.989 --> 00:01:33.927
I'VE COME HERE TO SEARCH
FOR THE LOST HISTORY
OF BLACK PEOPLE

00:01:33.993 --> 00:01:35.862
IN MEXICO AND PERU.

00:01:43.470 --> 00:01:48.908
THE CHARMING TOWN OF
TLACOTALPAN WAS FOUNDED BY THE
SPANISH IN THE 16th CENTURY.

00:01:48.975 --> 00:01:51.244
BUT IT BOOMED
IN THE 18th CENTURY

00:01:51.311 --> 00:01:57.383
WHEN IT BECAME A MAJOR
TRADING CENTER FOR SUGAR,
COTTON, CATTLE, AND HORSES--

00:01:57.450 --> 00:02:02.856
ALL COMMODITIES
PRODUCED BY SLAVES,
INDIANS, AND MESTIZOS.

00:02:02.922 --> 00:02:04.858
[LATIN MUSIC PLAYING]

00:02:16.970 --> 00:02:18.905
[MAN SINGING IN SPANISH]

00:02:18.972 --> 00:02:20.907
TODAY, TLACOTALPAN
IS KNOWN FOR ITS FANDANGOS,

00:02:20.974 --> 00:02:36.856
MUSIC AND DANCE THAT COMBINE
SPANISH, INDIGENOUS,
AND AFRICAN TRADITIONS.

00:02:36.923 --> 00:02:41.361
FANDANGOS ARE A FITTING
METAPHOR FOR THE AFRICAN
ROOTS OF MEXICAN CULTURE.

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Man: ♪ LA LA BAMBA ♪

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THE FANDANGO.

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THOSE GIRLS ARE GREAT.

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DO THE BOYS DANCE,
OR JUST GIRLS?

00:02:57.477 --> 00:03:00.847
Man: THEY ALWAYS SAY
THAT THE FIRST ARE
FOR WATCH THE GIRLS.

00:03:00.914 --> 00:03:02.348
HA HA HA!

00:03:02.415 --> 00:03:06.352
IF YOU WANT TO
DANCE WITH ONE
OF THEM LATER.

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Gates,voice-over:
RAFAEL FIGUEROA,
AN ETHNOMUSICOLOGIST,

00:03:13.326 --> 00:03:14.928
GREW UP HERE.

00:03:14.994 --> 00:03:18.364
HE'S AN EXPERT ON THIS
MUSIC WHICH HE'S HEARD
SINCE CHILDHOOD.

00:03:18.431 --> 00:03:23.903
FANDANGO IT'S
A MIX OF HISPANIC
AND AFRICAN, MAINLY.

00:03:23.970 --> 00:03:26.406
EVEN THOUGH IT'S
HISPANIC INSTRUMENTS,

00:03:26.472 --> 00:03:28.908
THEY'RE PLAYED IN
A REALLY PERCUSSIVE WAY,

00:03:28.975 --> 00:03:31.244
AND THEY ARE PLAYED
AGAINST EACH OTHER

00:03:31.311 --> 00:03:33.413
WITH THE RESULT
OF BIG POLYRHYTHMS.

00:03:33.479 --> 00:03:34.914
POLYRHYTHMS.
THAT'S AFRICAN.

00:03:34.981 --> 00:03:36.349
YES.

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I SEEN FANDANGOS
ENDING AROUND
6:00 OR 7:00 A.M.,

00:03:43.423 --> 00:03:44.857
NEXT AFTERNOON.

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I LOVE THIS TOWN.

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Gates, voice-over:
WHAT COULD BE MORE MEXICAN
THAN "LA BAMBA"?

00:03:53.933 --> 00:03:57.403
I REMEMBER SINGING THE CHORUS
ALONG WITH RICHIE VALENS
ON THE RADIO,

00:03:57.470 --> 00:04:00.840
BUT I DIDN'T KNOW THAT
THE SONG WAS SUNG HERE

00:04:00.907 --> 00:04:03.343
AS EARLY AS 1683

00:04:03.409 --> 00:04:05.845
BY ANGOLAN
AND CONGOLESE SLAVES.

00:04:05.912 --> 00:04:08.848
LIKE THE FANCY FOOTWORK
CALLED ZAPATEO,

00:04:08.915 --> 00:04:14.854
"LA BAMBA" IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE
OF MEXICAN CULTURE'S
COMPLEX AFRICAN ORIGINS,

00:04:14.921 --> 00:04:18.858
NOW BLENDED INTO
A RICH, BROWN ETHNIC MIX.

00:04:18.925 --> 00:04:20.860
Gates: HEY, BRAVO!
BRAVO!

00:04:20.927 --> 00:04:23.363
[APPLAUSE]

00:04:23.429 --> 00:04:26.866
BUT SINCE SO MANY BLACK SLAVES
CAME TO MEXICO,

00:04:26.933 --> 00:04:30.903
WHY DOESN'T ANYONE AROUND HERE
LOOK ESPECIALLY BLACK?

00:04:30.970 --> 00:04:32.705
Man: THEY MIX
FROM THE BEGINNING.

00:04:32.772 --> 00:04:36.342
THAT'S WHY YOU CANNOT
SEE THEM, BUT IT'S THERE.

00:04:36.409 --> 00:04:38.344
SO THE BLACKNESS
IS DILUTED.

00:04:38.411 --> 00:04:41.848
YES. A LOT OF AFRICAN
ELEMENTS ARE STILL PRESENT.

00:04:41.914 --> 00:04:44.851
WE ARE DARKER THAN
THE REST OF THE REPUBLIC.

00:04:44.917 --> 00:04:46.352
ALSO THE WAY OF TALKING.

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WE HAVE
A SPECIFIC ACCENT.

00:04:47.920 --> 00:04:49.355
REALLY?
YEAH.

00:04:49.422 --> 00:04:50.857
CAN YOU DO IT
FOR ME?

00:04:50.923 --> 00:04:52.525
YOU SAY "HELADO"--
ICE CREAM.

00:04:52.592 --> 00:04:56.362
HERE, YOU DROP THE "D,"
SO IT'S "HELAO."

00:04:56.429 --> 00:04:59.866
OR YOU DROP THE FINAL "S"
OF SOME WORDS,

00:04:59.932 --> 00:05:02.835
BUT IT'S REALLY COMMON
AMONG THE PEOPLE
FROM AFRICAN ORIGIN.

00:05:02.902 --> 00:05:05.171
I'VE NOTICED
SOME PEOPLE SAY,
"BUENO DIA"

00:05:05.238 --> 00:05:07.340
INSTEAD OF
"BUENOS DIAS."

00:05:07.407 --> 00:05:10.343
I THOUGHT, "WHAT'S WRONG
WITH YOU?" HA HA!

00:05:15.415 --> 00:05:19.352
Gates, voice-over: ABOUT
AN HOUR AND A HALF FROM THE
FANDANGO'S FESTIVE ATMOSPHERE,

00:05:19.419 --> 00:05:21.354
SITS THE SOMBER PORT
OF VERACRUZ,

00:05:21.421 --> 00:05:26.859
ONE OF THE MAIN POINTS OF ENTRY
OF LATIN AMERICAN SLAVERY.

00:05:26.926 --> 00:05:28.861
STARTING IN 1535,

00:05:28.928 --> 00:05:32.365
VIRTUALLY ALL OF THE COMMODITIES
ARRIVING IN MEXICO,

00:05:32.432 --> 00:05:35.835
INCLUDING AFRICAN SLAVES,
WERE UNLOADED HERE.

00:05:35.902 --> 00:05:37.403
[WOMAN SPEAKING SPANISH]

00:05:37.470 --> 00:05:39.338
IT WAS CALLED
"THE KEY OF NEW SPAIN,"

00:05:39.405 --> 00:05:41.340
THE PORT OF
SAN JUAN DE ULUA.

00:05:41.407 --> 00:05:43.509
Gates, voice-over:
JUDITH HERNANDEZ STUDIES

00:05:43.576 --> 00:05:44.977
THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF VERACRUZ.

00:05:45.044 --> 00:05:47.346
AND SAGRARIO CRUZ
CARRETERO

00:05:47.413 --> 00:05:49.348
IS A PROFESSOR
OF ANTHROPOLOGY

00:05:49.415 --> 00:05:51.317
AT THE UNIVERSITY
OF VERACRUZ.

00:05:51.384 --> 00:05:55.688
BOTH ARE HELPING ME IMAGINE
THE ARRIVAL OF HUNDREDS
OF THOUSANDS OF SLAVES

00:05:55.755 --> 00:05:57.857
THROUGH THIS VERY PORT.

00:05:57.924 --> 00:06:01.294
Gates: HOW LONG DID IT TAKE
TO GET TO VERACRUZ FROM
THE PORTS IN AFRICA?

00:06:01.360 --> 00:06:02.962
Carretero:
SOME RECORDS
MENTION TWO MONTHS.

00:06:03.029 --> 00:06:06.299
Gates: THAT'S A LONG TIME
TO BE IN A STEAM BATH.

00:06:06.365 --> 00:06:11.437
Carretero: RIGHT.
AND I FOUND 20%
OF THE LOAD DIED.

00:06:14.407 --> 00:06:18.344
Gates, voice-over:
AND IN THE 16th
AND EARLY 17th CENTURIES,

00:06:18.411 --> 00:06:24.851
ONE OUT OF EVERY TWO SLAVES
BOUND FOR THE AMERICAS
DISEMBARKED IN MEXICO.

00:06:24.917 --> 00:06:29.355
IN FACT, IN THE YEAR 1553,
VICEROY LUIS DE VELASCO

00:06:29.422 --> 00:06:34.861
ASKED KING CHARLES OF SPAIN
TO CURTAIL THE TRADE,
FEARING AN UPRISING...

00:06:34.927 --> 00:06:36.295
AND WITH GOOD REASON.

00:06:36.362 --> 00:06:41.334
UNTIL 1650, THE NUMBER
OF BLACKS AND MULATTOS
WAS ROUGHLY EQUAL

00:06:41.400 --> 00:06:43.836
TO THE NUMBER OF WHITE
PEOPLE LIVING HERE.

00:06:43.903 --> 00:06:45.338
[HERNANDEZ
SPEAKING SPANISH]

00:06:45.404 --> 00:06:48.341
Translator: THESE
ARE RINGS TO WHICH
THEY TIE THEIR SHIPS.

00:06:48.407 --> 00:06:49.842
Gates: THEY'RE HEAVY.

00:06:49.909 --> 00:06:52.845
Translator: THE PORT
DIDN'T HAVE A PIER OR DOCKS.

00:06:52.912 --> 00:06:55.848
THE SHIPS ARRIVED
DIRECTLY HERE.

00:06:55.915 --> 00:06:57.850
Gates: WHAT WOULD HAPPEN
WHEN THE SLAVES ARRIVED?

00:06:57.917 --> 00:06:59.852
THEY WOULD BE
CHECKED MEDICALLY?

00:06:59.919 --> 00:07:03.790
Translator: THERE
WERE PAID SURGEONS
TO REVIEW THE BLACKS,

00:07:03.856 --> 00:07:08.294
AND THE CHECKUP
CONSISTED OF
LICKING THE BEARD.

00:07:08.361 --> 00:07:12.298
THEY LICK THERE?
THAT SOUNDS NASTY.
EH! WHY?

00:07:12.365 --> 00:07:14.333
Translator: THE SWEAT
CONSERVED SALT.

00:07:14.400 --> 00:07:18.337
SO IF HE WAS SALTY,
THAT MEANT HE HAD
GOOD BLOOD PRESSURE.

00:07:18.404 --> 00:07:19.839
HOW MUCH DID THE
SLAVES COST?

00:07:19.906 --> 00:07:21.841
FROM 150 PESOS
TO 400.

00:07:21.908 --> 00:07:23.342
Gates: OH!

00:07:23.409 --> 00:07:26.345
LET ME COMPARE.
A HOUSE COST
400 PESOS.

00:07:26.412 --> 00:07:27.847
OH, WOW!
SO, A SLAVE AND A HOUSE.

00:07:27.914 --> 00:07:29.348
SO IT WAS A LUXURY.

00:07:29.415 --> 00:07:31.284
THAT WAS A LOT.
IT WAS A LUXURY.

00:07:40.860 --> 00:07:43.296
Gates,voice-over:
THIS IS WHAT THE SLAVES
WOULD HAVE SEEN FIRST,

00:07:43.362 --> 00:07:45.298
AFTER SURVIVING THE TREACHEROUS
MIDDLE PASSAGE.

00:07:48.401 --> 00:07:51.838
HERE, THEY ENCOUNTERED
A NEW COUNTRY, A NEW LANGUAGE,

00:07:51.904 --> 00:07:57.343
AND A NEW LIFE
AS SOMEONE ELSE'S PROPERTY.

00:07:57.410 --> 00:08:00.346
THESE WALLS ARE
COVERED WITH
AFRICAN BLOOD,

00:08:00.413 --> 00:08:04.250
BECAUSE THEY WERE
FORCED TO CONSTRUCT
THIS GORGEOUS BUILDING

00:08:04.317 --> 00:08:08.788
AFTER THE INDIGENOUS
POPULATION DECREASED
BECAUSE ILLNESS.

00:08:08.855 --> 00:08:13.125
THEY WERE FORCED
TO DIVE INTO THE OCEAN
AND GET THESE STONES

00:08:13.192 --> 00:08:14.794
BECAUSE THEY ARE
MADE OF CORAL.

00:08:14.861 --> 00:08:16.295
I SEE. CORAL, YEAH.

00:08:16.362 --> 00:08:20.299
YES, IT'S CORAL.
MANY OF THEM DIED
IN THIS PROCESS.

00:08:20.366 --> 00:08:24.337
IT'S A HISTORY OF
DEAD AND A HISTORY
OF INVISIBILITY.

00:08:24.403 --> 00:08:26.839
SO, THIS IS THE FINGERPRINT
OF BLACK HISTORY IN MEXICO.

00:08:26.906 --> 00:08:28.341
IT'S RIGHT HERE.

00:08:28.407 --> 00:08:29.842
RIGHT. DEFINITELY.

00:08:29.909 --> 00:08:31.344
DEATH AND INVISIBILITY.

00:08:38.818 --> 00:08:42.121
Gates, voice-over:
PROFESSOR SAGRARIO CRUZ
HAS INVITED ME TO LUNCH,

00:08:42.188 --> 00:08:44.290
PROMISING ME TWO
SIGNIFICANT CLUES

00:08:44.357 --> 00:08:48.794
TO HELP ME SOLVE
THE MYSTERY OF MEXICO'S
MISSING BLACK POPULATION.

00:08:48.861 --> 00:08:50.296
THIS IS MY FAMILY.

00:08:50.363 --> 00:08:52.298
I CHOSE SOME PICTURES
TO SHOW YOU.

00:08:52.365 --> 00:08:53.799
OK.

00:08:53.866 --> 00:08:55.835
THIS IS
A VERY OLD PICTURE,

00:08:55.902 --> 00:08:57.837
AND THIS IS MY GRANDPA
WITH HIS SONS.

00:08:57.904 --> 00:08:59.338
THAT'S THE BANDITOS.

00:08:59.405 --> 00:09:01.274
YES, HA HA!

00:09:01.340 --> 00:09:03.276
AND THIS IS THE WEDDING
OF MY PARENTS.

00:09:03.342 --> 00:09:04.777
AW! LOOK HOW PRETTY
YOUR MOM IS.

00:09:04.844 --> 00:09:06.279
BUT HE'S A DARK MAN--
SHE'S LIGHT.

00:09:06.345 --> 00:09:07.446
RIGHT.

00:09:07.513 --> 00:09:08.781
SO YOUR FAMILY'S
PART BLACK?

00:09:08.848 --> 00:09:10.383
IT'S PART BLACK.

00:09:10.449 --> 00:09:16.289
AND IT'S SOMETHING
THAT WAS OMITTED
UNTIL I WAS 19 YEARS OLD.

00:09:16.355 --> 00:09:18.291
HOW DID YOU
FIND OUT THAT YOU
WERE PART BLACK?

00:09:18.357 --> 00:09:19.792
BECAUSE I TRAVELED
TO CUBA.

00:09:19.859 --> 00:09:22.795
AND WHEN I ARRIVED THERE,
THEY STARTED TALKING

00:09:22.862 --> 00:09:24.797
ABOUT THE AFRICAN HERITAGE
AND THE CULTURE.

00:09:24.864 --> 00:09:27.800
I SUDDENLY REALIZED
MY FAMILY WAS BLACK.

00:09:27.867 --> 00:09:31.337
BECAUSE LOOK LIKE
MY GRANDPA,
LOOK LIKE MY FATHER.

00:09:31.404 --> 00:09:33.005
YEAH, THEY DEFINITELY
LOOK BLACK.

00:09:33.072 --> 00:09:35.341
WHEN I STARTED
TASTING THE FOOD,

00:09:35.408 --> 00:09:39.345
I SAID, "OH, MY GOD,
IT'S THE FOOD MY GRANDMA
PREPARES AT HOME."

00:09:39.412 --> 00:09:41.847
I RECOMMEND YOU TO TASTE
THE MOCO MOCO.

00:09:41.914 --> 00:09:43.349
THAT SOUNDS AFRICAN.

00:09:43.416 --> 00:09:46.852
YES, SOUNDS AFRICAN.
AND WE HAVE THE SAME
RECIPE IN PUERTO RICO.

00:09:46.919 --> 00:09:48.354
IT'S FUFU.

00:09:48.421 --> 00:09:49.855
IN GHANA, FUFU.

00:09:49.922 --> 00:09:53.192
FUFU IS LIKE
HAVING A BOWLING
BALL IN YOUR BELLY.

00:09:53.259 --> 00:09:54.860
AND IN CUBA,
IT'S CALLED MOFONGO.

00:09:54.927 --> 00:09:56.362
AND HERE WE HAVE
FRIED YUCCA.

00:09:56.429 --> 00:09:57.697
I LOVE FRIED YUCCA.

00:09:57.763 --> 00:09:59.365
IT'S LIKE A BIG
FRENCH FRY.

00:09:59.432 --> 00:10:02.401
THIS WAS ORIGINALLY
PREPARED BY SLAVES.

00:10:02.468 --> 00:10:03.903
BECAUSE THEY NEEDED
CARBOHYDRATE.

00:10:03.970 --> 00:10:06.238
YEAH, THEY HAD TO WORK
ALL DAY IN THE SUN.

00:10:06.305 --> 00:10:07.406
RIGHT.

00:10:07.473 --> 00:10:09.408
MMM! THIS IS
SOME GOOD FOOD.

00:10:09.475 --> 00:10:11.410
MMM, MMM, MMM!

00:10:11.477 --> 00:10:15.915
HOW DID IT MAKE YOU FEEL
SUDDENLY TO DISCOVER
YOU WERE BLACK?

00:10:15.982 --> 00:10:21.921
WEIRD, WEIRD.
IT WAS LIKE IF YOU WILL
DISCOVER YOU WERE ADOPTED.

00:10:21.988 --> 00:10:23.923
WHEN YOU CAME BACK
AND TOLD YOUR FAMILY,

00:10:23.990 --> 00:10:25.925
DID THEY TELL YOU
YOU WENT LOCO UP THERE,

00:10:25.992 --> 00:10:27.426
DRINKING TOO MUCH RUM?

00:10:27.493 --> 00:10:31.931
I ASKED MY GRANDPA
WHY YOU NEVER TOLD
ME WE ARE BLACK.

00:10:31.998 --> 00:10:33.966
AND HE HOLD MY HAND
AND TOLD ME,

00:10:34.033 --> 00:10:36.402
"SWEETIE,
WE ARE NOT BLACK.
WE ARE MORENOS."

00:10:36.469 --> 00:10:37.903
A MORENO?

00:10:37.970 --> 00:10:40.906
OF COURSE HE WAS
AWARE THAT HE WAS
A BLACK MAN,

00:10:40.973 --> 00:10:42.575
BUT HE REJECTED
THAT IDENTITY.

00:10:42.641 --> 00:10:43.909
THAT'S INTERESTING.

00:10:43.976 --> 00:10:46.412
AND I THINK THIS
HAPPENS IN MOST FAMILIES.

00:10:46.479 --> 00:10:50.916
YOU HIDE THE BLACK
GRANDMA IN THE CLOSET.

00:10:50.983 --> 00:10:52.418
THE BLACK GRANDMA
IN THE CLOSET.

00:10:52.485 --> 00:10:53.919
YEAH.

00:10:53.986 --> 00:10:55.921
Gates: IN AMERICA,
TRADITIONALLY,

00:10:55.988 --> 00:10:58.924
IF YOU HAD ONE DROP
OF BLACK BLOOD, YOU WERE BLACK.

00:10:58.991 --> 00:11:01.861
IF THE ONE DROP
WERE APPLIED TO MEXICO,

00:11:01.927 --> 00:11:04.864
ALL OF THESE PEOPLE
WOULD BE BLACK.

00:11:13.239 --> 00:11:17.176
Gates, voice-over:
ALMOST 500 YEARS SEPARATE
THE ONSET OF THE SLAVE TRADE

00:11:17.243 --> 00:11:21.414
AND RUMORS OF BLACK
GRANDMOTHERS IN A MEXICAN
FAMILY'S CLOSET TODAY.

00:11:21.480 --> 00:11:23.416
WHAT HAPPENED IN BETWEEN?

00:11:26.185 --> 00:11:30.923
FROM THE MARKET IN VERACRUZ,
AFRICAN SLAVES WERE TAKEN
TO WORK IN MINES,

00:11:30.990 --> 00:11:34.427
SUGAR CANE FIELDS,
AND WEALTHY HOMES,

00:11:34.493 --> 00:11:36.862
BUT THEY DIDN'T ACCEPT
THEIR FATES PASSIVELY.

00:11:36.929 --> 00:11:41.901
BY THE EARLY 17th CENTURY,
AT LEAST 10% HAD RUN AWAY,

00:11:41.967 --> 00:11:44.904
FORMING INDEPENDENT SETTLEMENTS
CALLED "PALENQUES."

00:11:47.973 --> 00:11:51.911
THE MOST FAMOUS RUNAWAY
AND REBEL LEADER
WAS A MAN NAMED YANGA,

00:11:51.977 --> 00:11:53.913
THE FOUNDER OF THIS TOWN.

00:11:53.979 --> 00:11:57.416
WHICH IS LOCATED A FEW HOURS
INLAND FROM VERACRUZ.

00:11:59.985 --> 00:12:03.856
CARMEN, WHO IS YANGA?

00:12:03.923 --> 00:12:06.358
Translator: A HERO,
MORE THAN ANYTHING.

00:12:06.425 --> 00:12:07.860
Translator:
A BLACK SLAVE.

00:12:07.927 --> 00:12:11.363
SUPPOSEDLY, HE WAS
A SLAVE OF THE SPANISH
WHO BROKE THE CHAINS.

00:12:11.430 --> 00:12:13.365
Translator: HE FREED
HIMSELF FROM OPPRESSION

00:12:13.432 --> 00:12:15.401
THAT THE SPANISH
HAD OVER HIM,

00:12:15.468 --> 00:12:17.903
AND HE ALSO
LIBERATED THE SLAVES.

00:12:17.970 --> 00:12:19.872
Translator:
WHAT MY GIRLFRIEND SAID.

00:12:19.939 --> 00:12:21.407
Translator: THAT'S WHY
THEY CALL YANGA

00:12:21.474 --> 00:12:24.410
THE FIRST FREE TOWN
IN THE AMERICAS.

00:12:24.477 --> 00:12:27.413
OH, MAN, GIVE ME FIVE,
GUSTAVO! YOU'RE THE MAN!

00:12:27.480 --> 00:12:29.915
YOU'RE A GENIUS.
YOU COULD BE A PROFESSOR.

00:12:29.982 --> 00:12:35.855
Gates, voice-over: IN 1570,
50 YEARS BEFORE THE "MAYFLOWER"
LANDED AT PLYMOUTH ROCK,

00:12:35.921 --> 00:12:38.858
GASPAR YANGA AND SEVERAL
OTHER MEN AND WOMEN

00:12:38.924 --> 00:12:40.860
NOT ONLY RAN AWAY
FROM SLAVERY

00:12:40.926 --> 00:12:45.865
BUT SPENT 30 YEARS
HIDING OUT IN THE MOUNTAINS
AROUND VERACRUZ.

00:12:45.931 --> 00:12:49.902
ATTACKING THE SPANISH
AND GUERRILLA RAIDS
AND DEFENDING THEIR COMMUNITY.

00:12:49.969 --> 00:12:52.905
THE SPANISH NEVER
COULD SUBDUE THEM.

00:12:52.972 --> 00:12:57.409
FINALLY, IN 1609,
THE SPANISH ADMITTED DEFEAT

00:12:57.476 --> 00:13:02.848
AND OFFERED YANGA
HIS OWN INDEPENDENT TOWN
IN EXCHANGE FOR PEACE.

00:13:02.915 --> 00:13:05.851
YANGA'S SETTLEMENT BECAME
WHAT SOME SCHOLARS BELIEVE TO BE

00:13:05.918 --> 00:13:09.355
THE VERY FIRST TOWN
FOUNDED BY FREE BLACK PEOPLE.

00:13:09.421 --> 00:13:12.124
IN ALL OF THE AMERICAS.

00:13:12.191 --> 00:13:14.260
ARE MOST OF THE PEOPLE
AROUND HERE BLACK?

00:13:14.326 --> 00:13:15.561
NO.
NO.

00:13:15.628 --> 00:13:17.530
Translator:
MOST PEOPLE AREN'T
COMPLETELY BLACK,

00:13:17.596 --> 00:13:18.931
BUT WE ARE MORENOS.

00:13:18.998 --> 00:13:21.400
Translator: CULTURES--
THEY COMBINE TOGETHER
AND FORM OTHERS.

00:13:21.467 --> 00:13:23.402
Gates: SO WHAT ARE YOU
AND WHAT ARE YOU?

00:13:23.469 --> 00:13:24.904
Both: MESTIZOS.

00:13:24.970 --> 00:13:26.405
MESTIZOS BECAUSE
WE ARE LIGHT BROWN.

00:13:26.472 --> 00:13:28.407
ARE YOU MORENO,
ARE YOU MORENO, OR NO?

00:13:28.474 --> 00:13:29.909
HA HA HA!

00:13:29.975 --> 00:13:31.410
Translator: LOOK.

00:13:31.477 --> 00:13:32.912
WELL, YOU'RE INDIAN?

00:13:32.978 --> 00:13:34.246
Translator: I AM BLACK.

00:13:34.313 --> 00:13:35.347
YOU'RE NEGRA?

00:13:35.414 --> 00:13:36.348
SI.

00:13:36.415 --> 00:13:38.317
YOU'RE A VERY
BEAUTIFUL NEGRA.

00:13:38.384 --> 00:13:43.856
Gates, voice-over:
HERNANDO CORTEZ, THE
FAMOUS SPANISH CONQUISTADOR,

00:13:43.923 --> 00:13:46.859
ARRIVED IN VERACRUZ
IN 1519.

00:13:46.926 --> 00:13:51.864
THEN HE HEADED TO MEXICO CITY,
WHICH THE AZTECS CALLED
"TENOCHTITLAN."

00:13:51.931 --> 00:13:53.532
ONE OF HIS FELLOW
CONQUISTADORS

00:13:53.599 --> 00:13:57.403
WAS A FREE BLACK MAN
NAMED JUAN GARRIDO.

00:13:57.469 --> 00:13:59.405
I'M FOLLOWING
IN HIS FOOTSTEPS.

00:13:59.471 --> 00:14:02.841
CORTEZ WAS DAZZLED BY
THE CITY'S OVERALL BEAUTY,

00:14:02.908 --> 00:14:07.346
BY ITS IRRIGATION SYSTEM,
BUT ESPECIALLY BY ITS GOLD.

00:14:07.413 --> 00:14:09.848
HE BRUTALLY CONQUERED IT.

00:14:09.915 --> 00:14:14.853
TODAY, MEXICO CITY IS
CONSTRUCTED ON TOP OF
ANCIENT TENOCHTITLAN.

00:14:14.920 --> 00:14:17.356
WITH OVER 21 MILLION RESIDENTS,

00:14:17.423 --> 00:14:20.025
IT'S THE LARGEST CITY
IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE.

00:14:20.092 --> 00:14:22.861
I'VE COME HERE TO FIND
TREASURES, TOO,

00:14:22.928 --> 00:14:25.864
BUT THESE ARE HOUSED IN
THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF MEXICO.

00:14:25.931 --> 00:14:27.366
Gates:
SO, WHAT ARE YOU
TAKING ME TO SEE?

00:14:27.433 --> 00:14:29.902
Woman: WE ARE GOING TO SEE
THE CASTA PAINTINGS.

00:14:29.969 --> 00:14:31.403
THE CASTA PAINTINGS.

00:14:31.470 --> 00:14:33.906
Gates, voice-over: BY THE END
OF THE 17th CENTURY,

00:14:33.973 --> 00:14:36.342
INTERRACIAL RELATIONSHIPS
WERE ON THE RISE.

00:14:36.408 --> 00:14:39.345
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ALLOWED
MARRIAGE BETWEEN ALL GROUPS.

00:14:39.411 --> 00:14:44.350
THE LAW GRANTED FREEDOM TO
THE CHILDREN OF BLACK SLAVES
AND INDIGENOUS WOMEN.

00:14:44.416 --> 00:14:47.353
WHITE MEN INCREASINGLY
IMPREGNATED BLACK WOMEN.

00:14:47.419 --> 00:14:51.357
THEY ALWAYS BEGIN WITH
SPANISH AND INDIAN,

00:14:51.423 --> 00:14:53.359
THAT IT MAKES
MESTIZO.

00:14:53.425 --> 00:14:55.861
THEN MESTIZO
AND SPANISH CASTIZA.

00:14:55.928 --> 00:14:57.363
CASTIZA.

00:14:57.429 --> 00:15:00.799
THE THIRD ONE IS
CASTIZA AND SPANISH
MAKES SPANISH.

00:15:00.866 --> 00:15:02.835
Gates, voice-over:
MARIA ELIZA VELAZQUEZ

00:15:02.901 --> 00:15:04.837
IS A PROFESSOR
OF HISTORY AND ANTHROPOLOGY.

00:15:04.903 --> 00:15:06.839
THESE 18th-CENTURY
CASTA PAINTINGS

00:15:06.905 --> 00:15:10.843
WERE PAINTED TO SHOW
EUROPEANS THE DIVERSITY
OF THE PEOPLE HERE.

00:15:10.909 --> 00:15:14.847
THESE 16 IMAGES ARE A SORT OF
AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL COOKBOOK,

00:15:14.913 --> 00:15:18.350
SHOWING THE RESULTS OF MIXING
THE GENES OF BLACK PEOPLE,

00:15:18.417 --> 00:15:20.019
BROWN PEOPLE,
AND WHITE PEOPLE.

00:15:20.085 --> 00:15:21.854
WHAT ABOUT ME?
WHICH ONE IN THE 16?

00:15:21.920 --> 00:15:23.355
YOU WILL BE HERE.
LOOK.

00:15:23.422 --> 00:15:24.857
LET ME SEE.
THIS ONE, A MULATTO.

00:15:24.923 --> 00:15:26.859
THE LITTLE KID.
THAT'S THE MULATTO.

00:15:26.925 --> 00:15:28.861
THE BEAUTIFUL
BROWN BABY, LIKE ME.

00:15:28.927 --> 00:15:30.362
YES.

00:15:30.429 --> 00:15:32.031
WHAT WOULD
BARACK OBAMA BE?

00:15:32.097 --> 00:15:33.365
ALSO A MULATTO.

00:15:33.432 --> 00:15:35.834
BEYONCE. SHE WOULD BE
MULATTO?

00:15:35.901 --> 00:15:36.835
YES!

00:15:36.902 --> 00:15:38.837
WHAT WOULD
TIGER WOODS BE?

00:15:38.904 --> 00:15:42.341
A LOBO, WITH AFRICAN
DESCENT BLOOD AND ALSO
INDIGENOUS BLOOD.

00:15:42.408 --> 00:15:43.676
THESE PEOPLE WERE CRAZY.

00:15:43.742 --> 00:15:47.346
YES, THEY NEED
PSEUDOSCIENTIFIC REASONS

00:15:47.413 --> 00:15:51.350
TO EXPLAIN WHY SOME
CULTURES WILL BE INFERIOR

00:15:51.417 --> 00:15:53.185
AND YOU HAVE TO
MAKE THEM SLAVES.

00:15:53.252 --> 00:15:54.687
AND THEY FOUND IT.

00:15:54.753 --> 00:15:55.854
THEY FOUND IT.

00:15:55.921 --> 00:15:57.856
16 SHADES OF BLACKNESS.

00:15:57.923 --> 00:15:59.191
YES.

00:15:59.258 --> 00:16:00.626
BUT WHY WERE YOUR
WHITE PEOPLE

00:16:00.693 --> 00:16:02.127
MORE WILLING
TO SLEEP WITH
BLACK PEOPLE

00:16:02.194 --> 00:16:03.295
THAN MY WHITE PEOPLE?

00:16:03.362 --> 00:16:08.834
WELL, BECAUSE THE
CULTURE OF THE
SPANISH CHURCH

00:16:08.901 --> 00:16:12.338
ALLOW THE MARRIAGE
BETWEEN ALL THE
ETHNIC GROUPS.

00:16:12.404 --> 00:16:15.841
AND ALSO THE SPANISH
PEOPLE HAVE A HERITAGE

00:16:15.908 --> 00:16:18.344
MORE OPEN
TO THE MIXTURE

00:16:18.410 --> 00:16:21.847
BECAUSE OF THE
ARABIC PRESENCE
IN SPAIN.

00:16:21.914 --> 00:16:25.150
THE MOORS WERE IN SPAIN
FOR 800 YEARS OR WHATEVER.

00:16:25.217 --> 00:16:27.353
THAT'S RIGHT.
SO IT WAS KIND OF EASY

00:16:27.419 --> 00:16:29.855
TO HAVE THESE MIXTURES.

00:16:29.922 --> 00:16:33.859
AND I THINK THAT'S
A DIFFERENT STORY FROM
THE UNITED STATES.

00:16:33.926 --> 00:16:36.795
Gates, voice-over:
BY 1810, BOLDENED BY
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

00:16:36.862 --> 00:16:38.297
AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTION,

00:16:38.364 --> 00:16:43.335
MEXICANS SOUGHT
THEIR OWN INDEPENDENCE,
BUT IT WOULD TAKE TIME.

00:16:43.402 --> 00:16:46.839
SO, THE WAR OF
INDEPENDENCE, 1810-1821.

00:16:46.905 --> 00:16:49.842
YES. IT WAS
A VERY LONG WAR.

00:16:49.908 --> 00:16:51.844
Gates, voice-over:
THE REVOLUTION WAS
STARTED BY A PRIEST

00:16:51.910 --> 00:16:53.345
NAMED FATHER HIDALGO.

00:16:53.412 --> 00:16:55.848
HE CALLED FOR THE
ABOLITION OF ALL CASTES,

00:16:55.914 --> 00:16:59.351
SAYING, "INDIANS, MULATTOS,
AND OTHER CASTES,

00:16:59.418 --> 00:17:02.287
ALL WILL BE KNOWN
AS AMERICANS."

00:17:02.354 --> 00:17:07.793
AFTER HE WAS KILLED,
HIS CAUSE WAS TAKEN UP IN
SUCCESSION BY TWO GENERALS:

00:17:07.860 --> 00:17:12.297
A PRIEST NAMED
JOSE MARIA MORELOS
AND VICENTE GUERRERO.

00:17:12.364 --> 00:17:15.334
IN FACT, BOTH WERE
AFRO DESCENDANTS.

00:17:15.401 --> 00:17:19.338
WAIT A MINUTE. TWO BLACK
PEOPLE WERE GENERALS
IN THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE?

00:17:19.405 --> 00:17:20.472
YES.

00:17:20.539 --> 00:17:22.341
THIS IS LIKE
GEORGE WASHINGTON
BEING BLACK--

00:17:22.408 --> 00:17:23.809
HA HA! YES.

00:17:23.876 --> 00:17:25.344
FOR AMERICANS.
THAT'S ASTONISHING.

00:17:25.411 --> 00:17:26.345
YES.

00:17:26.412 --> 00:17:27.846
Gates, voice-over:
AFTER MORELOS

00:17:27.913 --> 00:17:30.349
WAS KILLED BY
THE SPANISH IN 1815,

00:17:30.416 --> 00:17:33.852
"THE NEGRO GUERRERO,"
AS HIS ENEMIES
MOCKINGLY CALLED HIM,

00:17:33.919 --> 00:17:35.854
SAW THE WAR
TO ITS CONCLUSION

00:17:35.921 --> 00:17:37.790
WITH THE HELP
OF MANY BLACK MEXICANS.

00:17:37.856 --> 00:17:41.794
IN ONE STORY, GUERRERO'S
FATHER BESEECHED HIM TO
SURRENDER TO THE SPANISH.

00:17:41.860 --> 00:17:44.296
IN FRONT OF HIS MEN,
HE ANSWERED,
"YOU ARE MY FATHER,

00:17:44.363 --> 00:17:46.298
BUT THE COUNTRY
COMES FIRST."

00:17:46.365 --> 00:17:50.836
"LA PATRIA ES PRIMERO"
IS NOW A FAMOUS PHRASE
THROUGHOUT MEXICO.

00:17:50.903 --> 00:17:55.841
YES, AND IN FACT,
IN 1830, GUERRERO
STOPPED SLAVERY

00:17:55.908 --> 00:17:58.177
BY WRITING THE LAW
IN THE CONSTITUTION.

00:17:58.243 --> 00:18:01.280
33 YEARS BEFORE
ABRAHAM LINCOLN SIGNED THE
EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION.

00:18:01.346 --> 00:18:05.250
YES. ALSO, AN IMPORTANT
THING ABOUT GUERRERO

00:18:05.317 --> 00:18:07.786
IS THAT HE WAS THE SECOND
PRESIDENT IN MEXICO.

00:18:07.853 --> 00:18:10.289
SO YOU HAD YOUR
BARACK OBAMA IN 1830.

00:18:10.355 --> 00:18:11.790
THAT'S RIGHT.

00:18:11.857 --> 00:18:13.792
SO, ONCE AGAIN,
MEXICO'S AHEAD OF
THE UNITED STATES.

00:18:13.859 --> 00:18:16.295
HA HA! YES,
OF COURSE.

00:18:20.365 --> 00:18:25.337
Gates, voice-over: IMAGINE IF
GEORGE WASHINGTON AND JOHN ADAMS
HAD BEEN AFRICAN AMERICANS.

00:18:25.404 --> 00:18:28.006
WOULD WE HAVE NEEDED
A CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT?

00:18:28.073 --> 00:18:31.844
WHEN GUERRERO,
WHO WAS A MULATTO,
ABOLISHED SLAVERY,

00:18:31.910 --> 00:18:34.346
HE ALSO ELIMINATED
RACIAL CATEGORIES FROM BIRTH,

00:18:34.413 --> 00:18:37.282
MARRIAGE,
AND DEATH CERTIFICATES.

00:18:37.349 --> 00:18:40.786
TODAY, THERE ARE STATES AND
TOWNS ALL OVER MEXICO

00:18:40.853 --> 00:18:42.788
NAMED AFTER MORELOS
AND GUERRERO.

00:18:42.855 --> 00:18:46.291
MORELOS IS EVEN
ON THE 50 PESO BILL,

00:18:46.358 --> 00:18:49.294
BUT MANY MEXICANS DON'T EVEN
KNOW THAT THEY WERE BLACK MEN

00:18:49.361 --> 00:18:53.298
OR THAT THEY OWE THEIR
INDEPENDENCE TO THESE TWO MEN

00:18:53.365 --> 00:18:55.834
OF VISIBLE AFRICAN DESCENT.

00:18:57.903 --> 00:19:03.775
AFTER ALMOST A CENTURY OF
DENYING ITS MULTICULTURAL
AND MULTIRACIAL ROOTS

00:19:03.842 --> 00:19:05.777
AND AN OFFICIAL POLICY
OF WHITENING,

00:19:05.844 --> 00:19:08.780
MEXICO BEGAN TO EMBRACE
A NEW NATIONAL IDENTITY.

00:19:08.847 --> 00:19:13.285
IN 1925, THE PHILOSOPHER
JOSE VASCONCELOS

00:19:13.352 --> 00:19:17.289
PUBLISHED AN ELECTRIFYING ESSAY
CALLED "THE COSMIC RACE,"

00:19:17.356 --> 00:19:23.295
ARGUING THAT MEXICO'S
MIXED-RACE HERITAGE MADE IT
SUPERIOR AND UNIQUE.

00:19:23.362 --> 00:19:27.799
ALMOST OVERNIGHT,
MEXICO'S MESTIZAJE CULTURE

00:19:27.866 --> 00:19:30.836
BECAME A POPULAR
BROWN PRIDE MOVEMENT.

00:19:30.903 --> 00:19:32.838
BUT IF EVERYONE
WAS BROWN NOW,

00:19:32.905 --> 00:19:36.842
WHAT HAD HAPPENED
TO MEXICO'S BLACK ROOTS?

00:19:36.909 --> 00:19:41.346
THE BLACKEST PART
OF MEXICO TODAY IS CALLED
THE COSTA CHICA.

00:19:41.413 --> 00:19:46.852
IT'S ON THE PACIFIC COAST
ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE
COUNTRY FROM VERACRUZ.

00:19:46.919 --> 00:19:50.355
SOUTH OF ACAPULCO
AND NORTH OF PUERTO ESCONDIDO,

00:19:50.422 --> 00:19:54.359
THE LAND IS SWAMPY AND THE TOWNS
ARE EXTREMELY POOR.

00:19:54.426 --> 00:19:56.361
[SINGING IN SPANISH]

00:20:04.970 --> 00:20:08.907
THE COSTA CHICA HAS REMAINED
MEXICO'S BLACKEST REGION
FOR CENTURIES

00:20:08.974 --> 00:20:10.909
BECAUSE IT WAS SO ISOLATED.

00:20:10.976 --> 00:20:14.913
THERE WASN'T EVEN A HIGHWAY
TO GET HERE UNTIL THE 1950s.

00:20:23.989 --> 00:20:25.924
BORN IN TRINIDAD,
FATHER GLYN JEMMOTT

00:20:25.991 --> 00:20:32.931
HAS BEEN MINISTERING TO
CONGREGATIONS IN THE COSTA CHICA
FOR THE PAST 25 YEARS.

00:20:32.998 --> 00:20:36.902
PART OF FATHER GLYN'S
MISSION HAS BEEN TO RAISE
BLACK CONSCIOUSNESS,

00:20:36.969 --> 00:20:41.406
EVEN FOUNDING AN ANNUAL
CONFERENCE OF BLACK TOWNS.

00:20:41.473 --> 00:20:46.411
I WANTED TO LEARN FROM HIM
HOW THE MEXICANS WHO CAN'T
PASS AS BROWN OR COSMIC

00:20:46.478 --> 00:20:50.916
RELATE TO THEIR BLACKNESS
AND THEIR HERITAGE OF SLAVERY.

00:20:50.983 --> 00:20:53.919
Jemmott: THE FIRST OCCASION
WHEN I SAID A MASS,

00:20:53.986 --> 00:20:56.421
A GROWN MAN CAME AND
HE SAID, "WHO ARE YOU?"

00:20:56.488 --> 00:20:57.923
AND I SAID,
"I AM THE PRIEST."

00:20:57.990 --> 00:21:01.360
AND FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES,
HE WENT ON,

00:21:01.426 --> 00:21:03.862
"YOU'RE NOT A PRIEST.
YOU COULDN'T BE A PRIEST.

00:21:03.929 --> 00:21:05.864
"I'VE NEVER SEEN
A BLACK PRIEST.

00:21:05.931 --> 00:21:09.901
"WE BLACK PEOPLE
ONLY WORK THE LAND.

00:21:09.968 --> 00:21:12.404
WE LOAD TRUCKS,"
AND WHATEVER.

00:21:12.471 --> 00:21:13.905
YOU CAN'T BE
THE HEAD MAN.

00:21:13.972 --> 00:21:18.410
EXACTLY. AND HE WAS
REALLY TALKING
ABOUT HIMSELF.

00:21:18.477 --> 00:21:20.412
EVERYTHING IS AGAINST.

00:21:20.479 --> 00:21:23.415
AN AFRICAN-MEXICAN,
SEEING HIMSELF

00:21:23.482 --> 00:21:25.751
AS SOMEONE WHO CAN
LIFT HIS HEAD

00:21:25.817 --> 00:21:29.421
AND TAKE HIS PLACE
IN MEXICAN SOCIETY
AS AN EQUAL.

00:21:29.488 --> 00:21:31.923
Gates, voice-over:
A RACIAL CONTROVERSY IN 2005

00:21:31.990 --> 00:21:35.861
BROUGHT MEXICO UNWANTED
INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION.

00:21:35.927 --> 00:21:38.363
THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT
ISSUED A COMMEMORATIVE STAMP

00:21:38.430 --> 00:21:41.366
FEATURING THE POPULAR
BLACK CARTOON CHARACTER

00:21:41.433 --> 00:21:42.901
MEMIN PINGUIN.

00:21:42.968 --> 00:21:45.404
MOST MEXICANS
LOVE THIS CHARACTER.

00:21:45.470 --> 00:21:47.406
BUT AFRICAN AMERICANS
WERE INCENSED,

00:21:47.472 --> 00:21:49.908
CALLING IT
A RACIST THROWBACK.

00:21:49.975 --> 00:21:52.411
JESSE JACKSON
EVEN FLEW TO MEXICO CITY

00:21:52.477 --> 00:21:54.913
TO COMPLAIN
ABOUT IT PERSONALLY.

00:21:54.980 --> 00:21:56.915
TO PRESIDENT VICENTE FOX.

00:21:56.982 --> 00:21:59.251
THE STAMP BECAME AN
INSTANT COLLECTOR'S ITEM,

00:21:59.317 --> 00:22:02.854
AND THE COMIC BOOK
WAS REISSUED FROM
ITS FIRST PRINTING.

00:22:02.921 --> 00:22:07.359
THE GOVERNMENT
NEVER APOLOGIZED AND HAS
NEVER RECALLED THE STAMP.

00:22:07.426 --> 00:22:09.361
UM...MEMIN PINGUIN.

00:22:09.428 --> 00:22:10.862
IF WE WERE SITTING
IN BOSTON,

00:22:10.929 --> 00:22:12.864
YOU'D LOOK AT IT--
LOOKS LIKE SAMBO.

00:22:12.931 --> 00:22:15.901
MEXICANS WHO ARE
VERY INTELLIGENT PEOPLE,

00:22:15.967 --> 00:22:20.405
THEIR REACTION WAS,
"YOU CANNOT JUDGE HIM
BY RACIST STANDARDS

00:22:20.472 --> 00:22:25.410
"OF THE END OF THE CENTURY
BECAUSE IT WAS
BASED ON 1940s.

00:22:25.477 --> 00:22:28.914
SO THERE'S NOTHING
WRONG ABOUT MEMIN PINGUIN."

00:22:28.980 --> 00:22:30.415
YOU SORT OF PINCH YOURSELF
TO SAY, "WELL--"

00:22:30.482 --> 00:22:31.917
HA HA HA!

00:22:31.983 --> 00:22:33.919
"IS SOMETHING WRONG
WITH ME?"

00:22:33.985 --> 00:22:35.854
FREE YOUR MIND,
BROTHER.

00:22:35.921 --> 00:22:42.861
AND YOU SEE THE EXTENT
TO WHICH PEOPLE HAVE
REALLY BOUGHT IN TO A SYSTEM

00:22:42.928 --> 00:22:45.864
WHICH IS BIASED.

00:22:45.931 --> 00:22:47.866
DO YOU THINK
IN YOUR EXPERIENCE

00:22:47.933 --> 00:22:50.402
THEY'LL HAVE
A BARACK OBAMA
IN THIS GENERATION?

00:22:50.469 --> 00:22:53.405
I DON'T THINK SO.

00:22:53.472 --> 00:22:58.410
THERE'S SO MUCH
THAT HAS TO BE DONE.

00:22:58.477 --> 00:23:02.848
BEFORE BLACK MEXICANS
HAVE ACCESS TO EDUCATION,

00:23:02.914 --> 00:23:05.350
POLITICAL PARTICIPATION,

00:23:05.417 --> 00:23:06.852
SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE.

00:23:06.918 --> 00:23:10.355
AND THESE THINGS
MUST BE IN PLACE

00:23:10.422 --> 00:23:13.859
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
TO PRODUCE LEADERS.

00:23:13.925 --> 00:23:17.362
I WOULD ALSO SAY THAT I HAVE
SEEN CHANGES THERE.

00:23:17.429 --> 00:23:22.400
I KNOW HERE, YOUNG
PEOPLE SING IN A MORE
ASSERTIVE FASHION.

00:23:22.467 --> 00:23:23.902
WHY?

00:23:23.969 --> 00:23:26.404
IT'S BECAUSE OF THE KIND
OF VISIBILITY

00:23:26.471 --> 00:23:28.406
WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO GENERATE

00:23:28.473 --> 00:23:31.409
AND ALL THINGS THAT HAVE
SPUN OFF FROM THAT.

00:23:33.478 --> 00:23:35.413
[BAND PLAYING]

00:23:43.421 --> 00:23:45.357
HEY, HOW YOU DOING,
BROTHER?

00:23:45.423 --> 00:23:48.360
Gates: EDUARDO,
THIS PLACE LOOKS
LIKE HARLEM TO ME.

00:23:48.426 --> 00:23:50.362
THIS LOOKS LIKE
AFRICA IN MEXICO.

00:23:50.428 --> 00:23:52.364
IT DOES. IT'S GREAT!

00:23:52.430 --> 00:23:54.032
Translator:
BUT WE SPEAK SPANISH,

00:23:54.099 --> 00:23:56.902
BUT WE BELIEVE IN
THE RESURRECTED CHRIST.

00:23:56.968 --> 00:24:00.405
AND IN THE SPANISH CULTURE,
THE EUROPEAN CULTURE
IS ALSO IN US.

00:24:00.472 --> 00:24:04.009
BECAUSE OF THAT,
IT'S DIFFICULT TO SAY
WE ARE ONLY BLACKS.

00:24:04.075 --> 00:24:07.345
WHAT ARE WE? A MIX.
A MIX, A MIX.

00:24:10.916 --> 00:24:13.852
Gates, voice-over:
EDUARDO ZAPATA
IS A JOURNALIST,

00:24:13.919 --> 00:24:15.253
A NATIVE COSTA CHICAN,

00:24:15.320 --> 00:24:18.356
AND AN EXAMPLE
OF THE NEW GENERATION
FATHER GLYN MENTIONED,

00:24:18.423 --> 00:24:21.359
A GENERATION PROUD
OF THEIR BLACK IDENTITY.

00:24:21.426 --> 00:24:23.361
WHAT HAVE THESE
PEOPLE GATHERED
TO CELEBRATE?

00:24:23.428 --> 00:24:26.364
Translator: THAT ONE OF THEM
WAS ORDAINED A PRIEST.

00:24:26.431 --> 00:24:30.402
HE MAKES MANY OF
THE PEOPLE HERE FEEL PROUD.

00:24:30.468 --> 00:24:33.405
THE TORO DE PETATE IS DANCED
THROUGHOUT ALL OF AMERICA.

00:24:33.471 --> 00:24:35.841
FROM ARGENTINA
TO MEXICO.

00:24:35.907 --> 00:24:39.344
Gates, voice-over:
THE TORO DE PETATE DANCE

00:24:39.411 --> 00:24:40.846
CELEBRATES THE BULL,

00:24:40.912 --> 00:24:43.348
WHICH IS PART OF MOST
LATIN AMERICAN CULTURES,

00:24:43.415 --> 00:24:46.351
BUT WHEN IT'S DANCED
IN AFRO-LATINA COMMUNITIES,

00:24:46.418 --> 00:24:48.854
THE BULL HAS
A SPECIAL SIGNIFICANCE.

00:24:48.920 --> 00:24:51.857
HIS VALOR BECOMES
A METAPHOR FOR FREEDOM
FROM SLAVERY.

00:24:51.923 --> 00:24:53.525
Gates: I LIKE
THE SPIRIT.

00:24:53.592 --> 00:24:55.360
[SPEAKING SPANISH]

00:25:00.866 --> 00:25:02.500
HOW ARE YOU,
MY BROTHER?

00:25:02.567 --> 00:25:04.836
EDUARDO, ARE YOU
DESCRIBED AS A
BLACK PERSON,

00:25:04.903 --> 00:25:06.504
A NEGRO,
HERE IN MEXICO?

00:25:06.571 --> 00:25:11.343
Translator: OF COURSE.
WHEN YOU'RE LITTLE,
NOBODY QUESTIONS IT.

00:25:11.409 --> 00:25:14.346
WHEN YOU LEAVE HERE,
WHEN YOU GO TO
MEXICO CITY TO STUDY,

00:25:14.412 --> 00:25:16.848
YOU GO TO ACAPULCO,
YOU GO TO THE U.S.,

00:25:16.915 --> 00:25:18.850
THEN YOU REALIZE
YOU'RE DIFFERENT.

00:25:18.917 --> 00:25:20.352
YOU'RE MEXICAN,
BUT YOU HAVE SOMETHING

00:25:20.418 --> 00:25:22.354
THAT'S NOT THE SAME
AS ALL MEXICANS.

00:25:22.420 --> 00:25:24.356
YOU DISCOVER
THAT YOU'RE BLACK.

00:25:24.422 --> 00:25:27.359
DO BLACK PEOPLE
SUFFER DISCRIMINATION
HERE IN MEXICO?

00:25:27.425 --> 00:25:30.862
Translator: YES,
WE ARE A RACIST SOCIETY.

00:25:30.929 --> 00:25:35.333
IF YOU'RE IN THE CITIES,
THEY STOP YOU, ASK YOU
FOR YOUR I.D. CARD.

00:25:35.400 --> 00:25:37.836
THEY MAKE YOU SING
THE NATIONAL ANTHEM.

00:25:37.903 --> 00:25:40.505
THEY COULD ACCUSE YOU
OF COMING FROM CUBA

00:25:40.572 --> 00:25:43.341
TO DESTABILIZE THINGS
OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

00:25:46.912 --> 00:25:49.347
IT ISN'T SAID,
BUT IN EVERY MEXICAN FAMILY,

00:25:49.414 --> 00:25:51.016
THERE IS A BLACK PERSON.

00:25:51.082 --> 00:25:54.352
AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT
THE CITY FOLKS SAY?

00:25:54.419 --> 00:25:58.356
THEY SAY, "HE WAS
BORN BLACK, BUT WE
LOVE HIM ANYWAY."

00:25:59.424 --> 00:26:00.792
TELL ME ABOUT
MEMIN PINGUIN.

00:26:00.859 --> 00:26:02.794
OH!
HA HA HA!

00:26:02.861 --> 00:26:05.797
DO YOU THINK
IT'S RACIST OR NOT?

00:26:05.864 --> 00:26:07.299
NO.
NO. OK.

00:26:07.365 --> 00:26:09.334
Translator: NO.
YOU GO OUT INTO THE STREETS,

00:26:09.401 --> 00:26:12.337
AND ASK PEOPLE,
AND THEY'RE NOT WORRIED.

00:26:12.404 --> 00:26:13.838
IT'S JUST A CHARACTER.

00:26:13.905 --> 00:26:15.840
THEY DON'T IDENTIFY
WITH HIM.

00:26:15.907 --> 00:26:17.842
HE'S STILL
JUST IN STORIES.

00:26:17.909 --> 00:26:20.178
IT'S KIND OF LIKE
LAUGHING AT YOURSELF

00:26:20.245 --> 00:26:23.348
IF YOU TAKE IT WITH
HUMOR AND WITH SARCASM.

00:26:23.415 --> 00:26:27.352
WHY DID JESSE JACKSON
COME HERE TO SEE
VICENTE FOX?

00:26:27.419 --> 00:26:29.354
Translator: JESSE JACKSON
SHOULD HAVE WORRIED ABOUT

00:26:29.421 --> 00:26:30.855
ALL THE BLACKS
THAT GO TO WORK THERE

00:26:30.922 --> 00:26:33.358
AND AREN'T TREATED
LIKE PEOPLE.

00:26:33.425 --> 00:26:35.794
THEY'RE TREATED LIKE
THIRD-CLASS PEOPLE.

00:26:35.860 --> 00:26:39.798
BECAUSE HE'S NOT
INTERESTED IN BLACK
PEOPLE WHO ARE LIVING.

00:26:39.864 --> 00:26:42.334
HE'S INTERESTED
IN MEMIN PINGUIN.

00:26:42.400 --> 00:26:43.835
POLITICS.

00:26:46.404 --> 00:26:48.340
[MAN RAPPING IN SPANISH]

00:26:57.916 --> 00:26:59.150
Gates, voice-over:
ISRAEL REYES,

00:26:59.217 --> 00:27:02.120
A TEACHER IN THE
COSTA CHICAN TOWN OF OAXACA,

00:27:02.187 --> 00:27:06.291
IS WAGING A CAMPAIGN TO PROMOTE
AFRO-MEXICAN PRIDE.

00:27:06.358 --> 00:27:11.796
HE HOSTS A RADIO SHOW
"CIMARRON, THE VOICE
OF THE AFROMESTIZOS,"

00:27:11.863 --> 00:27:14.799
WHICH BROADCASTS BIWEEKLY
THROUGHOUT THE COSTA CHICA.

00:27:14.866 --> 00:27:19.838
HE'S TRYING TO FORCE THE COUNTRY
TO RECOGNIZE THE RIGHTS
OF ITS BLACK CITIZENS.

00:27:19.904 --> 00:27:21.840
[REYES
SPEAKING SPANISH]

00:27:21.906 --> 00:27:23.174
Translator:
THE FIRST STEP

00:27:23.241 --> 00:27:25.844
IS BEING INCLUDED
IN THE CENSUS,

00:27:25.910 --> 00:27:28.847
TO MAKE IT KNOWN
THAT THERE ARE BLACK
PEOPLE IN MEXICO,

00:27:28.913 --> 00:27:32.817
AND THOSE BLACK PEOPLE
DIDN'T GET STUCK
IN COLONIAL TIMES

00:27:32.884 --> 00:27:36.287
AND THEY AREN'T
JUST IN HISTORY BOOKS
IN THE TIMES OF SLAVERY.

00:27:36.354 --> 00:27:39.791
BLACKS ARE HERE NOW,
RIGHT NOW. TODAY.

00:27:39.858 --> 00:27:42.794
AND THEY ARE DEMANDING
THAT THEIR RIGHTS
BE RECOGNIZED.

00:27:42.861 --> 00:27:45.463
DO YOU THINK
YOUR EFFORT
WILL BE SUCCESSFUL

00:27:45.530 --> 00:27:48.299
TO CHANGE THE CENSUS?

00:27:48.366 --> 00:27:50.835
Translator: WE STARTED
A PROCESS IN WHICH
WE HAD TALKS

00:27:50.902 --> 00:27:52.337
WITH GOVERNMENT
AUTHORITIES.

00:27:52.404 --> 00:27:54.839
AT THE LAST MINUTE,
THEY INFORM US

00:27:54.906 --> 00:27:57.842
THAT IT'S NOT POSSIBLE
TO INCLUDE A QUESTION
ON THIS CENSUS.

00:27:57.909 --> 00:27:59.844
BUT WE ARE PUSHING FORWARD
A PILOT CENSUS

00:27:59.911 --> 00:28:01.780
FOR THE BLACK POPULATION
IN MEXICO.

00:28:01.846 --> 00:28:05.116
AH, THAT'S GOOD.
HOW WILL IT BENEFIT
THE BLACK COMMUNITY

00:28:05.183 --> 00:28:09.287
IF THEY CAN SAY
"AFRO," "BLANCO,"
"INDIGENOUS"?

00:28:09.354 --> 00:28:13.291
Translator: THE BENEFITS
WOULD BE PUBLIC POLICIES
FOR THESE POPULATIONS.

00:28:13.358 --> 00:28:16.628
BETTER LIVING CONDITIONS,
EDUCATION, HEALTH, HOUSING,

00:28:16.694 --> 00:28:18.396
ACCESS TO FEDERAL PROGRAMS.

00:28:18.463 --> 00:28:23.435
IF WE DON'T START,
WE WILL NEVER KNOW HOW MANY
BLACKS THERE ARE IN MEXICO.

00:28:23.501 --> 00:28:25.837
GOOD LUCK. I THINK IT'S
VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.

00:28:25.904 --> 00:28:29.340
Translator: WE ARE BEING
VISITED TODAY BY
A VERY WELL-KNOWN PROFESSOR--

00:28:29.407 --> 00:28:31.342
PROFESSOR GATES.

00:28:31.409 --> 00:28:35.346
PROFESSOR, WHAT DO YOU
HOPE THE RESULTS OF YOUR WORK
IN THE COSTA CHICA WILL BE?

00:28:35.413 --> 00:28:39.250
I HOPE THAT IT MAKES
AMERICANS MORE AWARE

00:28:39.317 --> 00:28:43.288
OF MEXICO'S COMPLEX
RACIAL PAST.

00:28:43.354 --> 00:28:46.291
Gates, voice-over:
MEXICO'S BLACK PAST
DIDN'T JUST DISAPPEAR.

00:28:46.357 --> 00:28:48.793
IT'S STILL HERE,
AND IN TWO FORMS.

00:28:48.860 --> 00:28:53.298
IT'S AN ESSENTIAL PART
OF THE HISTORY, CULTURE,
AND DNA OF THE COUNTRY.

00:28:53.364 --> 00:28:56.000
BUT FOR SOME,
IT'S WRITTEN ON THEIR FACES.

00:28:56.067 --> 00:28:58.336
THE VISIBLE REMNANT
OF ALL THAT DIDN'T MELT

00:28:58.403 --> 00:29:01.773
IN THE MESTIZO MELTING POT
THAT WE CALL MEXICO.

00:29:01.840 --> 00:29:03.775
MEXICO IS A VICTIM
OF ITS OWN SUCCESS.

00:29:03.842 --> 00:29:07.779
IT HAD A NOBLE IDEA.
IT ABOLISHED SLAVERY
IN 1830,

00:29:07.846 --> 00:29:10.115
33 YEARS BEFORE THE
UNITED STATES DID.

00:29:10.181 --> 00:29:12.250
BUT IT HAD
A ROMANTIC IDEA

00:29:12.317 --> 00:29:15.787
THAT IF IT
ELIMINATED RACIAL
CATEGORIES,

00:29:15.854 --> 00:29:17.288
IT WOULD
ELIMINATE RACISM,

00:29:17.355 --> 00:29:20.792
BUT THAT WAS REALLY
A FORM OF RACISM ITSELF.

00:29:20.859 --> 00:29:25.797
YOU CAN'T BE GREAT IF YOU
TRY TO SUPPRESS A HUGE
ASPECT OF YOUR HISTORY

00:29:25.864 --> 00:29:28.299
AND A HUGE PART OF THE
IDENTITY OF YOUR PEOPLE.

00:29:28.366 --> 00:29:31.336
IF IT LOOKS LIKE
A DUCK, QUACKS LIKE
A DUCK, IT'S A DUCK.

00:29:39.410 --> 00:29:40.845
Gates, voice-over:
I WAS INTRODUCED TO AFRO-PERU

00:29:40.912 --> 00:29:43.348
THROUGH THE VOICE
OF SUSANA BACA.

00:29:44.415 --> 00:29:46.351
[BACA SINGING IN SPANISH]

00:29:51.923 --> 00:29:54.859
I WAS SEARCHING FOR A
LAST-MINUTE CHRISTMAS PRESENT.

00:29:54.926 --> 00:29:58.530
AND I FOUND THIS CD
CALLED "THE SOUL OF BLACK PERU."

00:30:05.470 --> 00:30:07.405
NOW, I HAVE TO CONFESS
THAT BEFORE THAT DAY,

00:30:07.472 --> 00:30:09.407
I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW
THAT THERE WAS A BLACK PERU,

00:30:09.474 --> 00:30:12.911
AND I CERTAINLY DIDN'T THINK
THAT PERU HAD SOUL,

00:30:12.977 --> 00:30:15.413
AT LEAST THIS KIND OF SOUL.

00:30:17.482 --> 00:30:20.418
FOR ME, PERU WAS THE GREAT
INCA CIVILIZATIONS,

00:30:20.485 --> 00:30:22.420
MACHU PICCHU, THE ANDES.

00:30:22.487 --> 00:30:28.927
AND YET 300 YEARS AGO,
THE CAPITAL OF LIMA
WAS CONSIDERED A BLACK CITY.

00:30:28.993 --> 00:30:31.429
TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED
TO ALL THOSE BLACK PEOPLE,

00:30:31.496 --> 00:30:34.432
I'M STARTING WITH THE ONLY ONE
I'VE EVER HEARD OF.

00:30:34.499 --> 00:30:36.401
[CONTINUES SINGING]

00:30:50.481 --> 00:30:54.919
SUSANA BACA WAS BORN AND RAISED
IN A SEASIDE TOWN OUTSIDE LIMA.

00:30:54.986 --> 00:30:56.921
TODAY, SHE'S AN
INTERNATIONAL MUSIC STAR.

00:30:56.988 --> 00:31:01.359
BUT SHE'S DEVOTED YEARS
TO RESEARCHING AFROPERUVIAN
MUSIC TRADITIONS.

00:31:01.426 --> 00:31:03.861
[BACA SPEAKING SPANISH]

00:31:03.928 --> 00:31:06.364
Translator: I BEGAN
WITH MY MOTHER.

00:31:06.431 --> 00:31:09.901
I ASK HER TO TELL ME
THINGS ABOUT HER LIFE.

00:31:09.968 --> 00:31:12.403
AFTER THAT, I INTERVIEW
MY AUNTIES,

00:31:12.470 --> 00:31:15.907
AND AFTER THAT,
I TRAVEL THROUGH PERU,

00:31:15.974 --> 00:31:23.414
ESPECIALLY ALONG
THE COASTLINE WHERE
THE AFROPERUVIANS HAD SETTLED.

00:31:23.481 --> 00:31:27.418
I ALMOST REACH
THE BORDER WITH ECUADOR,

00:31:27.485 --> 00:31:33.424
SEARCHING FOR MUSIC,
POETRY, VERSES.

00:31:36.427 --> 00:31:39.864
Gates, voice-over:
SUSANA TOLD ME THAT SHE DIDN'T
EVEN REALIZE THAT SHE WAS BLACK

00:31:39.931 --> 00:31:42.900
AND THAT THIS MIGHT
MAKE HER DIFFERENT FROM
HER CLASSMATES

00:31:42.967 --> 00:31:44.902
UNTIL SHE WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL.

00:31:47.972 --> 00:31:49.240
Translator:
IT WAS TERRIBLE.

00:31:49.307 --> 00:31:54.412
SOMETHING HAPPENED
THAT WAS VERY UGLY
AND VERY SAD FOR ME.

00:31:54.479 --> 00:31:57.915
WHEN THEY TOLD US
IN SCHOOL THAT THE TEACHER
WAS GOING TO COME

00:31:57.982 --> 00:32:00.585
TO CHOOSE THE GIRLS
WHO DANCE VERY WELL,

00:32:00.652 --> 00:32:05.590
I THOUGHT, "WELL,
I'M GOING TO BE CHOSEN
BECAUSE I DANCE."

00:32:08.926 --> 00:32:12.864
SHE ONLY CHOSE
THE WHITE GIRLS.

00:32:12.930 --> 00:32:15.366
THE INDIAN GIRLS
AND THE BLACK GIRLS

00:32:15.433 --> 00:32:18.403
DID NOT BELONG
TO THE DANCE GROUP.

00:32:18.469 --> 00:32:20.405
WHAT, IN YOUR
ENVIRONMENT,

00:32:20.471 --> 00:32:24.409
GAVE YOU THE STRENGTH
TO OVERCOME RACISM
LIKE THAT?

00:32:24.475 --> 00:32:27.412
Translator: OUR FAMILY
GATHERED ON SUNDAYS.

00:32:27.478 --> 00:32:30.915
I WILL GO TO WHERE
THEY WERE PLAYING MUSIC,

00:32:30.982 --> 00:32:32.917
TO THE UNCLES
PLAYING GUITAR,

00:32:32.984 --> 00:32:34.919
THE AUNTIES SINGING,

00:32:34.986 --> 00:32:37.855
AND THERE I WAS
IN THE MIDDLE,

00:32:37.922 --> 00:32:40.358
AND THAT WAS
MY SALVATION.

00:32:40.425 --> 00:32:42.360
[SINGING LATIN TUNE]

00:32:48.466 --> 00:32:50.902
Translator:
AND THEN HAPPILY,
WHEN I WON THE GRAMMY,

00:32:50.968 --> 00:32:56.407
A LADY SAID,
"BECAUSE OF HER,
THE WORLD KNOWS ABOUT US."

00:32:56.474 --> 00:32:59.410
THIS WAS SO BEAUTIFUL
FOR ME TO HEAR.

00:33:10.421 --> 00:33:12.357
[MUSIC ENDS]

00:33:12.423 --> 00:33:14.359
Gates: BRAVO.

00:33:14.425 --> 00:33:15.860
BRAVO.

00:33:15.927 --> 00:33:18.529
Gates, voice-over:
THE WORLD KNOWS ABOUT
SUSANA BACA,

00:33:18.596 --> 00:33:21.532
BUT, LIKE ME, IT PROBABLY
DOESN'T KNOW VERY MUCH

00:33:21.599 --> 00:33:24.902
ABOUT THE ESTIMATED
TWO MILLION OTHER
AFROPERUVIANS WHO LIVE HERE.

00:33:24.969 --> 00:33:26.904
I WANT TO FIND OUT
WHO THEY ARE,

00:33:26.971 --> 00:33:29.407
WHERE THEY COME FROM,
HOW THEY'VE CONTRIBUTED
TO THIS COUNTRY,

00:33:29.474 --> 00:33:31.409
AND HOW THEY'RE TREATED.

00:33:31.476 --> 00:33:34.412
HOW IS THEIR HISTORY DIFFERENT
THAN THAT OF AFROMEXICANS?

00:33:34.479 --> 00:33:38.349
MY GUIDE IS CARLOS AGUIRRE,
A NATIVE OF PERU,

00:33:38.416 --> 00:33:40.351
AND A PROFESSOR OF HISTORY
AND LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES

00:33:40.418 --> 00:33:43.354
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF OREGON.

00:33:43.421 --> 00:33:44.856
Aguirre:
THE STREET WE ARE IN

00:33:44.922 --> 00:33:47.358
IS PART OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD
CALLED "MALAMBO."

00:33:47.425 --> 00:33:50.862
MALAMBO WAS THE NAME
GIVEN TO THE SLAVE MARKET

00:33:50.928 --> 00:33:54.365
WHERE SLAVES WERE BROUGHT
AFTER THEY ARRIVED IN CALLAO,

00:33:54.432 --> 00:33:57.902
THE PORT WEST OF LIMA.

00:33:57.969 --> 00:34:00.838
Gates, voice-over:
THE SPANISH CONQUISTADOR
FRANCISCO PIZZARO

00:34:00.905 --> 00:34:04.342
BROUGHT THE FIRST SLAVES
TO PERU IN 1527.

00:34:04.409 --> 00:34:07.345
LEGEND SAYS THAT UPON SEEING
THE FIRST AFRICANS,

00:34:07.412 --> 00:34:10.348
SOME OF THE NATIVE AMERICANS
BEGAN TO RUB THEIR SKIN,

00:34:10.415 --> 00:34:12.350
TRYING TO REMOVE
THEIR BLACKNESS.

00:34:12.417 --> 00:34:16.354
AS THE SPANISH
RAVAGED PERU'S GOLD,
SILVER, AND EMERALDS,

00:34:16.421 --> 00:34:19.857
THE DISEASES THEY CARRIED
DECIMATED THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE,

00:34:19.924 --> 00:34:21.859
JUST AS IN MEXICO.

00:34:21.926 --> 00:34:26.197
TO REPLACE THEM,
FIRST ON SUGAR PLANTATIONS
AND THEN IN THE SILVER MINES,

00:34:26.264 --> 00:34:30.401
THE SPANISH IMPORTED
AT LEAST 100,000 AFRICAN SLAVES.

00:34:30.468 --> 00:34:35.840
AND WITHIN 100 YEARS,
PERU BECAME THE RICHEST REGION
IN THE NEW WORLD.

00:34:35.907 --> 00:34:38.342
AT ITS HEIGHT,
HOW BLACK WAS LIMA?

00:34:38.409 --> 00:34:40.344
BETWEEN 30%
AND 40% BLACK.

00:34:40.411 --> 00:34:43.848
AND MANY PEOPLE
CONSIDERED LIMA
A BLACK CITY

00:34:43.915 --> 00:34:47.852
BECAUSE THEY WERE
SURRENDERED BY BLACKS
WHEREVER THEY WENT.

00:34:47.919 --> 00:34:50.354
SURROUNDED BY BLACKS.
YEAH.

00:34:50.421 --> 00:34:53.858
Gates, voice-over:
BLACK PEOPLE WERE ESPECIALLY
CONSPICUOUS IN THE CITY OF LIMA,

00:34:53.925 --> 00:34:55.359
WHERE THEY WERE DAY SLAVES--

00:34:55.426 --> 00:34:57.862
SKILLED CRAFTSMEN WHO
CONTRACTED THEIR OWN JOBS

00:34:57.929 --> 00:35:00.798
AND GAVE A PORTION OF THEIR
INCOME TO THEIR MASTERS.

00:35:00.865 --> 00:35:03.167
WITH THE SURPLUS,
THEY COULD BUY THINGS,

00:35:03.234 --> 00:35:05.837
INCLUDING, OVER TIME,
THEIR OWN FREEDOM.

00:35:05.903 --> 00:35:07.171
THEY WERE
WATER CARRIERS.

00:35:07.238 --> 00:35:08.840
THEY WERE
STREET VENDORS.

00:35:08.906 --> 00:35:10.842
THEY WERE
DOMESTIC SERVANTS.

00:35:10.908 --> 00:35:14.345
THEY ALSO
BECAME ARTISANS.

00:35:15.913 --> 00:35:18.516
Gates, voice-over:
ONE OF THE LARGEST
RELIGIOUS PROCESSIONS

00:35:18.583 --> 00:35:24.856
IN ALL OF LATIN AMERICA
WAS INSPIRED BY THE ARTISTRY
OF AN UNNAMED ANGOLAN SLAVE.

00:35:24.922 --> 00:35:27.358
PAINTED IN THE 17th CENTURY,

00:35:27.425 --> 00:35:31.028
THIS IMAGE OF CHRIST IS CALLED
"EL SENOR DE LOS MILAGROS,"

00:35:31.095 --> 00:35:32.864
"THE LORD OF THE MIRACLES."

00:35:32.930 --> 00:35:35.800
Gates: OH, MY GOD.
THAT'S BEAUTIFUL.

00:35:35.867 --> 00:35:37.835
YEAH, LOOK AT THAT
LIT UP.

00:35:37.902 --> 00:35:40.838
THERE WAS AN EARTHQUAKE
IN 17th CENTURY.

00:35:40.905 --> 00:35:43.841
THE WHOLE AREA
WAS DESTROYED

00:35:43.908 --> 00:35:46.511
EXCEPT THE WALL WHERE
THE CHRIST WAS PAINTED.

00:35:46.577 --> 00:35:49.347
THIS WAS ATTRIBUTED
TO A MIRACLE.

00:35:49.413 --> 00:35:51.015
I THINK IT'S A MIRACLE.

00:35:51.082 --> 00:35:54.852
I THINK IT'S A MIRACLE
THAT THE BROTHER PAINTED IT
IN THE FIRST PLACE.

00:35:54.919 --> 00:35:58.356
AND, IN FACT,
IT SURVIVED NOT ONE
BUT SEVERAL EARTHQUAKES.

00:35:58.422 --> 00:36:02.293
AND SO THEY STARTED
WORSHIPPING THIS IMAGE,

00:36:02.360 --> 00:36:07.798
AND IT BECAME A ...
MOSTLY AMONG THE
AFROPERUVIAN POPULATION,

00:36:07.865 --> 00:36:10.501
BUT THEN GRADUALLY
IT EXPANDED AND THEN, TODAY,

00:36:10.568 --> 00:36:12.336
DURING THE MONTH
OF OCTOBER,

00:36:12.403 --> 00:36:16.340
THEY TAKE A COPY ONTO A
PROCESSION FOLLOWED BY HUNDREDS
OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE.

00:36:16.407 --> 00:36:18.342
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS.
HUH.

00:36:18.409 --> 00:36:21.846
SO, THAT'S IT.
PAINTED BY A SLAVE
FROM ANGOLA.

00:36:21.913 --> 00:36:23.014
IT'S PRETTY AMAZING.

00:36:23.080 --> 00:36:24.348
PRETTY AMAZING.

00:36:31.923 --> 00:36:33.524
Gates, voice-over:
ANOTHER FAMOUS PAINTER

00:36:33.591 --> 00:36:36.527
LEFT A DOCUMENTARY VIEW
OF BLACK LIFE IN LIMA

00:36:36.594 --> 00:36:38.296
OVER 100 YEARS LATER.

00:36:38.362 --> 00:36:40.298
[SPEAKING SPANISH]

00:36:42.366 --> 00:36:43.834
OOH! LOOK AT THAT.

00:36:43.901 --> 00:36:46.837
Translator:
HOW BEAUTIFUL. LOOK.

00:36:46.904 --> 00:36:50.341
I'M SO NERVOUS.
IT'S THE FIRST TIME.

00:36:50.408 --> 00:36:51.842
IT'S VERY EXCITING.

00:36:51.909 --> 00:36:53.844
THIS IS YOUR FIRST TIME
SEEING THE ORIGINAL?

00:36:53.911 --> 00:36:57.848
Translator: IT'S THE
FIRST TIME I'VE HELD
AN ORIGINAL PAINTING

00:36:57.915 --> 00:37:00.785
BY PANCHO FIERRO.

00:37:00.851 --> 00:37:03.788
Gates, voice-over:
PANCHO FIERRO, A FREE BLACK MAN,

00:37:03.854 --> 00:37:07.291
PAINTED IMAGES KNOWN
TO EVERY PERUVIAN SCHOOL CHILD.

00:37:07.358 --> 00:37:10.294
OH, LOOK AT THAT.
THIS IS COOL.

00:37:10.361 --> 00:37:16.334
Gates, voice-over:
MARABEL ARRALUCEA IS SHOWING ME
HIS RARE ORIGINAL PAINTINGS.

00:37:16.400 --> 00:37:18.336
Translator: HE HAS
LEFT US THE MOST
IMPORTANT IMAGES

00:37:18.402 --> 00:37:19.837
OF THE 19th CENTURY.

00:37:19.904 --> 00:37:21.839
HE SHOWS US
A SOCIETY IN A WAY

00:37:21.906 --> 00:37:24.508
THAT WE COULD
PROBABLY NOT SEE
IN DOCUMENTS.

00:37:24.575 --> 00:37:26.344
WHAT'S THIS?

00:37:26.410 --> 00:37:28.346
Translator:
THIS IS A FUNERAL.

00:37:28.412 --> 00:37:30.348
THE DECEASED, A MAN.

00:37:30.414 --> 00:37:32.850
THIS IS THE WIDOW.
SHE'S CRYING.

00:37:32.917 --> 00:37:34.518
WERE THE PALLBEARERS
BLACK THEN?

00:37:34.585 --> 00:37:37.288
Translator: IT IS
A CUSTOM IN PERU.

00:37:37.355 --> 00:37:39.290
IT IS HIGHLY
CRITICIZED NOWADAYS,

00:37:39.357 --> 00:37:41.292
BUT IT CONTINUES
TO BE THE RIGHT
THING TO DO.

00:37:41.359 --> 00:37:42.460
SINCE SLAVERY--

00:37:42.526 --> 00:37:43.794
UP TO TODAY--

00:37:43.861 --> 00:37:45.296
PALLBEARERS
HAVE BEEN BLACK?
SI.

00:37:46.864 --> 00:37:49.333
OH, MY! THIS IS
LIKE A PICNIC.

00:37:49.400 --> 00:37:51.669
Translator:
IT IS VERY BEAUTIFUL,
ISN'T IT?

00:37:51.736 --> 00:37:53.838
THIS IS
A TYPICAL DESSERT,

00:37:53.904 --> 00:37:55.339
AND IT IS IN THE HANDS
OF AFROWOMEN.

00:37:55.406 --> 00:37:56.974
THEY WERE BOTH SLAVES?

00:37:57.041 --> 00:38:00.344
Translator: YOU CANNOT TELL
THE SLAVES FROM THOSE
WHO WERE NOT SLAVES

00:38:00.411 --> 00:38:03.280
BECAUSE THEY ALL TOOK
PART IN THE SAME CUSTOMS.

00:38:03.347 --> 00:38:05.282
THEY WORE
NEARLY THE SAME CLOTHES.

00:38:05.349 --> 00:38:09.286
WELL, WHAT DO WE
HAVE HERE?

00:38:09.353 --> 00:38:10.788
WOW! LOOK AT THAT.

00:38:10.855 --> 00:38:12.289
EXUBERANT.

00:38:12.356 --> 00:38:15.292
AND 3 RACES: INDIAN,
BLACK, WHITE.

00:38:15.359 --> 00:38:16.794
THIS SCENE
IS FANTASTIC.

00:38:16.861 --> 00:38:18.462
IT SHOWS US 3 WOMEN.

00:38:18.529 --> 00:38:21.298
BUT THE ONE THAT
TAKES CENTER STAGE
IS THE AFROWOMAN.

00:38:21.365 --> 00:38:22.800
Gates: HE WAS
AN ANTHROPOLOGIST.

00:38:22.867 --> 00:38:23.834
OH, YEAH.

00:38:23.901 --> 00:38:25.336
IN EFFECT, HUH?
SI.

00:38:25.403 --> 00:38:28.005
HE WAS IN THE STREET
ALL THE TIME.

00:38:28.072 --> 00:38:30.841
HE PAINTED AS HE LOOKED
AT WHAT WAS GOING ON
AROUND HIM.

00:38:30.908 --> 00:38:32.843
HAVE THESE PICTURES
CHANGED THE WAY

00:38:32.910 --> 00:38:36.280
YOU UNDERSTAND COLONIAL
SOCIETY IN PERU?

00:38:36.347 --> 00:38:37.782
Translator:
YES, DEFINITELY,

00:38:37.848 --> 00:38:40.785
BECAUSE WHEN WE
THINK ABOUT SLAVES,

00:38:40.851 --> 00:38:42.787
WE ALWAYS THINK ABOUT
PLANTATION SLAVES

00:38:42.853 --> 00:38:45.289
CHAINED AT THEIR FEET,
CONSTANTLY BEATEN UP.

00:38:45.356 --> 00:38:49.293
BUT PANCHO FIERRO
GIVES US A LOT
TO REGAIN THE PAST.

00:38:50.861 --> 00:38:54.298
SLAVERY IN LIMA
WAS MORE RELAXED,
MORE FLEXIBLE.

00:38:54.365 --> 00:38:57.334
I THINK PANCHO FIERRO
WANTED TO SHOW US
THE HAPPINESS

00:38:57.401 --> 00:39:00.337
THAT THE AFROPOPULATION
COULD HAVE.

00:39:00.404 --> 00:39:02.273
Gates, voice-over:
25% OF THE SLAVES IN PERU

00:39:02.339 --> 00:39:04.775
LIVED IN LIMA
DURING THE COLONIAL PERIOD

00:39:04.842 --> 00:39:08.279
AND WOULD HAD THIS MORE
RELAXED EXPERIENCE OF SLAVERY.

00:39:08.345 --> 00:39:12.783
SO, SLAVERY IN PERU
WAS SIMILAR IN THIS SENSE
TO SLAVERY IN MEXICO.

00:39:12.850 --> 00:39:16.287
BUT VERY DIFFERENT THAN SLAVERY
IN THE UNITED STATES.

00:39:16.353 --> 00:39:19.790
BUT WAS THIS TRULY THE
EXPERIENCE OF THE
TYPICAL SLAVE IN PERU?

00:39:19.857 --> 00:39:22.293
TO FIND OUT, I ASKED
PROFESSOR AGUIRRE

00:39:22.359 --> 00:39:24.795
TO TAKE ME
TO A HACIENDA.

00:39:24.862 --> 00:39:27.131
Aguirre: FOR THOSE
WORKING IN THE FIELDS

00:39:27.198 --> 00:39:28.299
SUFFERED REALLY HARSH
CONDITIONS.

00:39:28.365 --> 00:39:32.336
IT WAS EVEN HARD
TO FEED THEIR OWN CHILDREN.

00:39:32.403 --> 00:39:35.339
THEIR BEST SHOT
AT BEING FREE

00:39:35.406 --> 00:39:37.842
WAS TO RUN AWAY.

00:39:37.908 --> 00:39:39.844
Gates, voice-over: FROM THE
16th TO THE 20th CENTURIES,

00:39:39.910 --> 00:39:42.346
HACIENDAS DOTTED THE COAST.

00:39:42.413 --> 00:39:45.349
THE HACIENDA SAN JOSE
IS TWO HOURS SOUTH OF LIMA.

00:39:45.416 --> 00:39:47.852
IT PROBABLY HOUSED
ABOUT 800 SLAVES,

00:39:47.918 --> 00:39:50.855
HUNDREDS MORE THAN
THE AVERAGE HACIENDA.

00:39:50.921 --> 00:39:54.859
THOUGH MORE THAN 300
YEARS OLD AND DAMAGED BY
A RECENT EARTHQUAKE,

00:39:54.925 --> 00:40:00.364
A LOT OF EVIDENCE STILL
SURVIVES OF THE HARSHNESS
OF PLANTATION SLAVERY.

00:40:00.431 --> 00:40:05.903
Aguirre: EVERY
HACIENDA HAD A PLACE
TO PUNISH SLAVES.

00:40:05.970 --> 00:40:07.905
THEY WERE BRANDED,
WHIPPED,

00:40:07.972 --> 00:40:10.908
SOMETIMES LEFT THERE
WITHOUT ANY FOOD.

00:40:10.975 --> 00:40:16.413
PUNISHMENT WAS A
MECHANISM TO FORCE ORDER
AND SOCIAL CONTROL.

00:40:16.480 --> 00:40:20.417
JUST IMAGINE A RIOT
OR A REBELLION
OF THESE SLAVES.

00:40:23.487 --> 00:40:26.423
Gates, voice-over:
AS IN MEXICO, AND ABOUT
AT THE SAME TIME,

00:40:26.490 --> 00:40:30.427
REVOLUTIONARIES IN PERU FOUND
THOUSANDS OF PLANTATION SLAVES

00:40:30.494 --> 00:40:35.432
READY TO ABANDON THEIR
FIELDS AND JOIN THE
WAR OF INDEPENDENCE,

00:40:35.499 --> 00:40:38.903
LURED BY PROMISES OF FREEDOM
AND EQUALITY.

00:40:38.969 --> 00:40:42.907
SIMON BOLIVAR HAS TO WIN
THE CONTEST, HANDS DOWN,

00:40:42.973 --> 00:40:45.910
FOR THE MOST STATUES
IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE.

00:40:45.976 --> 00:40:49.914
A VENEZUELAN ARISTOCRAT
WITH A SPECIAL TALENT
FOR LEADING REVOLUTIONS,

00:40:49.980 --> 00:40:54.919
BOLIVAR LIBERATED
6 LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES
FROM THE SPANISH.

00:40:54.985 --> 00:40:58.923
IN 1821, TOGETHER
WITH GENERAL JOSE DE SAN MARTIN,

00:40:58.989 --> 00:41:00.858
HE FREED PERU.

00:41:00.925 --> 00:41:03.360
BUT UNLIKE THEIR
MEXICAN COUNTERPARTS,

00:41:03.427 --> 00:41:09.366
BOLIVAR AND SAN MARTIN
DIDN'T KEEP THEIR PROMISES TO
END SLAVERY AFTER INDEPENDENCE.

00:41:09.433 --> 00:41:11.402
SLAVE OWNERS THEMSELVES,

00:41:11.468 --> 00:41:16.907
THEY PASSED LAWS
GRANTING FREEDOM ONLY WHEN
SLAVES REACHED CERTAIN AGES.

00:41:16.974 --> 00:41:19.910
FIRST IT WAS 18,
THEN IT WAS 21,

00:41:19.977 --> 00:41:21.912
THEN FINALLY IT WAS 50.

00:41:21.979 --> 00:41:25.916
NOT FOR ANOTHER 33 YEARS,
IN 1854,

00:41:25.983 --> 00:41:27.918
WOULD ANOTHER LEADER,
RAMON CASTILLA,

00:41:27.985 --> 00:41:32.923
ULTIMATELY FREE THE REMAINING
AFROPERUVIAN SLAVES.

00:41:32.990 --> 00:41:35.860
AFTER ABOLITION,
NOT A LOT CHANGED.

00:41:35.926 --> 00:41:39.864
JUST AS IN THE FORMER
CONFEDERATE STATES
AFTER THE CIVIL WAR,

00:41:39.930 --> 00:41:42.366
MOST OF THE FORMER SLAVES
BECAME SHARECROPPERS

00:41:42.433 --> 00:41:45.903
ON THE VERY SAME LAND
THEY HAD ALWAYS WORKED.

00:41:45.970 --> 00:41:48.906
150 YEARS LATER,
THERE ARE STILL
MANY PEOPLE LIVING

00:41:48.973 --> 00:41:54.411
IN THE SAME PLACES
DOING THE SAME WORK THAT
THEIR SLAVE ANCESTORS DID.

00:41:57.982 --> 00:42:00.351
Gates: I'VE NEVER BEEN THIS
CLOSE TO COTTON BEFORE.

00:42:00.417 --> 00:42:01.852
Translator:
FIRST TIME?

00:42:01.919 --> 00:42:03.854
COULD YOU SHOW ME
HOW TO PICK COTTON?

00:42:03.921 --> 00:42:07.358
SO, THE COTTON
COMES OFF CLEAN,
WITHOUT THE STRAW,

00:42:07.424 --> 00:42:08.859
WITHOUT
THE LITTLE LEAVES.

00:42:08.926 --> 00:42:10.861
I GOT A LOT OF LEAVES,
SO I'M BAD.

00:42:10.928 --> 00:42:12.363
[LAUGHTER]

00:42:12.429 --> 00:42:14.865
WHAT TIME DO YOU START
PICKING COTTON EVERY DAY?

00:42:14.932 --> 00:42:17.401
Translator: FROM 4 A.M.
IN THE MORNING UNTIL
6 P.M. IN THE EVENING.

00:42:17.468 --> 00:42:20.404
COULD I ASK YOU
HOW MUCH YOU ARE PAID?

00:42:20.471 --> 00:42:22.072
Translator:
14 SOLS A DAY.

00:42:22.139 --> 00:42:24.408
ABOUT $5.00 A DAY.
THAT'S HARD WORK.

00:42:24.475 --> 00:42:27.411
Translator: IT'S HARD,
BUT WE HAVE TO DO IT.

00:42:27.478 --> 00:42:30.080
BECAUSE OF THE FACT
WE ARE IN NEED,
WE HAVE TO DO IT.

00:42:30.147 --> 00:42:32.416
HOW OLD WERE YOU
WHEN YOU STARTED
PICKING COTTON,

00:42:32.483 --> 00:42:33.918
WHEN YOU LEARNED
HOW TO PICK COTTON?

00:42:33.984 --> 00:42:35.352
Translator:
I WAS 7.

00:42:35.419 --> 00:42:36.854
DO YOU THINK
YOUR CHILDREN
WILL PICK COTTON?

00:42:36.921 --> 00:42:39.189
NO. WE DON'T
WANT THAT FOR THEM.
IT'S HARD WORK.

00:42:39.256 --> 00:42:42.359
GRACIAS.
Translator:
THANK YOU.

00:42:42.426 --> 00:42:44.361
AND TAKE THIS
COTTON BALL AS SOUVENIR.

00:42:44.428 --> 00:42:47.865
COTTON FROM TINTA.

00:42:47.932 --> 00:42:49.867
YEAH, LET'S
GET RID OF THIS.

00:42:49.934 --> 00:42:52.403
I GOT MY COTTON.
THAT'S RIGHT.

00:42:55.472 --> 00:42:59.910
Gates, voice-over:
THESE WORKERS LIVE IN THE
BLACK TOWN OF EL CARMEN.

00:42:59.977 --> 00:43:05.849
MOST OF THE TOWN'S INHABITANTS
ARE DESCENDED FROM THE SLAVES
OF THE HACIENDA SAN JOSE.

00:43:05.916 --> 00:43:08.352
STILL SUFFERING FROM
EXTREME POVERTY,

00:43:08.419 --> 00:43:13.357
ONLY 27% OF THE AFROPERUVIAN
PEOPLE EVEN FINISH HIGH SCHOOL,

00:43:13.424 --> 00:43:16.860
AND ONLY 2% GET
A COLLEGE EDUCATION.

00:43:16.927 --> 00:43:21.365
IN RECENT YEARS, THIS
HISTORICALLY BLACK COMMUNITY
HAS REINVENTED ITSELF

00:43:21.432 --> 00:43:25.402
AS THE AUTHENTIC HEARTBEAT
OF AFROPERUVIAN MUSIC.

00:43:25.469 --> 00:43:27.905
[PEOPLE SINGING]

00:43:36.914 --> 00:43:41.352
THE BALLUMBROSIOS
ARE LIKE THE JACKSON 5
OF AFROPERUVIAN MUSIC...

00:43:42.920 --> 00:43:45.356
EXCEPT THERE'S 15 OF THEM.

00:43:48.926 --> 00:43:52.363
THEIR LATE PATRIARCH,
AMADOR BALLUMBROSIO

00:43:52.429 --> 00:43:57.401
HELPED TO LEAD THE REVIVAL
OF AFROPERUVIAN MUSIC
IN THE 1960s.

00:43:58.969 --> 00:44:01.338
TODAY, THERE'S
A PARTY GOING ON.

00:44:08.412 --> 00:44:11.348
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT
TO YOU TO PRESERVE
THE TRADITIONS

00:44:11.415 --> 00:44:13.317
OF THE AFROPERUVIAN
COMMUNITY,

00:44:13.384 --> 00:44:17.354
ESPECIALLY TODAY
IN THE WORLD OF HIP-HOP
AND REGGAE?

00:44:17.421 --> 00:44:19.857
Translator: WE HAVE
OUR ANCESTRAL HERITAGE
OF AFRICAN MUSIC

00:44:19.923 --> 00:44:22.860
THAT GOES BACK
350 YEARS.

00:44:25.929 --> 00:44:27.865
WE ARE A FAMILY
WITH ROOTS,

00:44:27.931 --> 00:44:31.402
AND WE STILL PRESERVE
THE BLACK PRESENCE.

00:44:31.468 --> 00:44:34.071
THE DAY WE PLAY
ANOTHER TYPE OF MUSIC,

00:44:34.138 --> 00:44:36.340
THAT WE'RE FEATURED
ON GIANT POSTERS

00:44:36.407 --> 00:44:38.842
AND WE LOOK REALLY GOOD,
THAT WILL BE THE DAY

00:44:38.909 --> 00:44:42.346
THAT WE'RE MAKING
BLACK CULTURE DISAPPEAR
IN THIS PLACE.

00:44:49.853 --> 00:44:51.855
Gates: DO YOU FEEL LIKE
YOU'RE FIGHTING RACISM,

00:44:51.922 --> 00:44:53.857
THAT YOU'RE STANDING
FOR BLACK POWER?

00:44:53.924 --> 00:44:56.360
Translator:
RACISM IS EVERYWHERE.

00:44:56.427 --> 00:44:59.863
THE BLACKS ARE LABELED
AS BEING THOSE WHO WORK
IN THE DOORWAYS OF HOTELS

00:44:59.930 --> 00:45:01.498
OR IN A RESTAURANT.

00:45:01.565 --> 00:45:04.835
OR "THIS BLACK GUY
DANCES REALLY WELL.
THAT'S ALL HE'S GOOD FOR.

00:45:04.902 --> 00:45:06.837
HE'S NOT VERY INTELLIGENT."

00:45:06.904 --> 00:45:08.839
I THINK THAT MUSIC
GIVES YOU THE STRENGTH

00:45:08.906 --> 00:45:10.841
TO FIGHT
FOR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.

00:45:20.417 --> 00:45:21.351
Gates: BRAVO.

00:45:23.420 --> 00:45:27.024
Gates, voice-over:
DESPITE THE KIND OF PERVASIVE
RACISM THAT CHEBO DESCRIBES,

00:45:27.091 --> 00:45:31.862
LAST YEAR, THE PERUVIAN
GOVERNMENT MADE AN
UNPRECEDENTED PUBLIC APOLOGY

00:45:31.929 --> 00:45:33.864
TO ITS BLACK CITIZENS.

00:45:33.931 --> 00:45:38.335
"WE EXTEND AN HISTORICAL APOLOGY
TO AFROPERUVIAN PEOPLE

00:45:38.402 --> 00:45:42.339
"FOR THE ABUSE, EXCLUSION,
AND DISCRIMINATION

00:45:42.406 --> 00:45:46.844
PERPETRATED AGAINST THEM
SINCE THE COLONIAL ERA
UNTIL THE PRESENT."

00:45:46.910 --> 00:45:50.347
WHILE THE GOVERNMENT'S
STATEMENT DOESN'T MENTION
SLAVERY EXPLICITLY,

00:45:50.414 --> 00:45:52.850
PERU IS THE ONLY
LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRY

00:45:52.916 --> 00:45:55.352
TO HAVE APOLOGIZED
TO ITS BLACK CITIZENS

00:45:55.419 --> 00:45:57.855
FOR HISTORIC
RACIAL DISCRIMINATION

00:45:57.921 --> 00:46:01.792
STARTING IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD,
WHICH IS WHEN SLAVERY STARTED.

00:46:01.859 --> 00:46:05.796
I WONDER HOW BLACK
ACTIVIST GROUPS FEEL ABOUT
THIS UNPRECEDENTED ACT.

00:46:05.863 --> 00:46:08.465
Woman: IS NOT ENOUGH
TO SAY SORRY, NO?

00:46:08.532 --> 00:46:12.836
WE NEED TO TRANSLATE IT
IN PUBLIC POLICIES TO
AFROPERUVIAN PEOPLE.

00:46:12.903 --> 00:46:17.641
I BELIEVE THAT PERU
COULD BE THE MOST
RACIST COUNTRY

00:46:17.708 --> 00:46:19.009
IN LATIN AMERICA.

00:46:19.076 --> 00:46:21.345
Gates, voice-over:
MONICA CARILLO RUNS LLNDU,

00:46:21.411 --> 00:46:23.847
THE CENTER FOR
AFROPERUVIAN STUDIES
AND ADVANCEMENT.

00:46:23.914 --> 00:46:26.850
LLNDU CAMPAIGNS
AGAINST THE KIND OF RACISM

00:46:26.917 --> 00:46:29.853
THAT BLACK PEOPLE HERE
ENCOUNTER EVERY DAY.

00:46:29.920 --> 00:46:32.856
THERE IS A CHARACTER,
THE NAME IS NEGRO MAMA.

00:46:32.923 --> 00:46:35.859
"MAMA" IN PERUVIAN
IS NOT MAMA,
IS NO MOTHER.

00:46:35.926 --> 00:46:37.794
IS MAMA,
IS LIKE STUPID.

00:46:37.861 --> 00:46:40.797
SO THE NAME
OF THAT CHARACTER
IS NEGRO MAMA.

00:46:40.864 --> 00:46:43.333
AND HE PAINTS HIS FACE.

00:46:43.400 --> 00:46:45.335
HE'S WHITE?
HE'S WHITE.

00:46:45.402 --> 00:46:46.837
FOR EXAMPLE--

00:46:46.904 --> 00:46:49.339
THAT'S--OH, MY GOD!
THAT'S "EL NEGRO MAMA"?

00:46:49.406 --> 00:46:51.341
SO HE'S PLAYING
A STUPID BLACK MAN.

00:46:51.408 --> 00:46:52.843
YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.

00:46:52.910 --> 00:46:55.179
AND HE USE BLACK
GLOVES LIKE MONKEY,

00:46:55.245 --> 00:46:56.847
AND HE WALK
LIKE MONKEY, TOO.

00:46:56.914 --> 00:46:57.848
THAT'S TERRIBLE!

00:46:57.915 --> 00:46:59.516
THIS IS NEGRO MAMA,
NO?

00:46:59.583 --> 00:47:02.786
AND ALL THE TIME
HE'S STEALING

00:47:02.853 --> 00:47:04.788
OR HE'S TRYING
TO RAPE WOMAN.

00:47:04.855 --> 00:47:06.290
THIS IS LIKE
MINSTREL SHOWS.

00:47:06.356 --> 00:47:07.791
YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.

00:47:07.858 --> 00:47:09.293
I CAN'T BELIEVE IT.
IT'S DISGUSTING.

00:47:09.359 --> 00:47:13.297
IT DISGUSTING, BUT
LLNDU ORGANIZE PROTEST
AGAINST "NEGRO MAMA"

00:47:13.363 --> 00:47:14.798
TWO MONTHS AGO,

00:47:14.865 --> 00:47:17.834
AND IT WAS REMOVED
FROM THE AIR,

00:47:17.901 --> 00:47:19.336
BUT HE BACK
ONE WEEK AGO.

00:47:19.403 --> 00:47:20.837
IT CAME BACK?
HE CAME BACK.

00:47:20.904 --> 00:47:22.339
WHY DID IT COME BACK?

00:47:22.406 --> 00:47:26.343
BECAUSE THEY SAY
THAT WE ARE ATTACKING
THE FREE SPEECH.

00:47:26.410 --> 00:47:28.345
THEY ACCUSED YOU
OF CENSORSHIP.

00:47:28.412 --> 00:47:32.849
YES, BUT NOW WE
ARE TRYING TO ORGANIZE
AN INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN

00:47:32.916 --> 00:47:36.286
WITH INSTITUTIONS
IN THE UNITED STATES,
OF COURSE.

00:47:36.353 --> 00:47:37.955
YOU CAN SIGN ME UP.

00:47:38.021 --> 00:47:40.791
YES. IT WAS THE
FIRST TIME IN THE
PERUVIAN HISTORY

00:47:40.857 --> 00:47:43.293
THAT A RATIONAL
DISCUSSION WAS
...

00:47:43.360 --> 00:47:46.797
AND ABOUT AFRODESCENDANT
PEOPLE, TOO.

00:47:46.863 --> 00:47:48.799
BUT AT THE SAME TIMES,
PEOPLE SPIT ON MY FACE.

00:47:48.865 --> 00:47:50.334
THEY DID?
YES.

00:47:50.400 --> 00:47:53.337
PEOPLE TRIED TO--
HOW DO YOU SAY--
RUN OVER?

00:47:53.403 --> 00:47:54.838
YEAH, RAN OVER.

00:47:54.905 --> 00:47:57.841
THIS KIND OF SITUATIONS
YOU CAN FEEL IN PERU.

00:47:57.908 --> 00:48:00.344
YOU CAN FEEL EVERY DAY,
BUT IN THIS CONTEXT,

00:48:00.410 --> 00:48:05.282
MAYBE WE ARE LIVING
A MORE DRAMATICAL
PROBLEM.

00:48:05.349 --> 00:48:09.286
Gates:
I'VE SEEN SOME RACIST THINGS
ON TELEVISION IN MY LIFETIME--

00:48:09.353 --> 00:48:12.789
ALFALFA AND BUCKWHEAT
FROM "OUR GANG."

00:48:12.856 --> 00:48:14.791
"AMOS 'N ANDY," OF COURSE,
AT THE TOP OF THE HEAP.

00:48:14.858 --> 00:48:18.295
BUT I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING
AS RACIST AS "EL NEGRO MAMA,"

00:48:18.362 --> 00:48:23.834
SHOWN EACH WEEK
IN PRIME TIME HERE IN PERU.

00:48:23.900 --> 00:48:25.502
Gates, voice-over:
BLACK PERUVIANS THEMSELVES

00:48:25.569 --> 00:48:29.339
ARE CRITICIZING
RACIST STEREOTYPES
IN POPULAR CULTURE.

00:48:29.406 --> 00:48:32.342
YET, BACK IN MEXICO,
THAT KIND OF CRITICISM

00:48:32.409 --> 00:48:35.345
STILL COMES LARGELY
FROM OUTSIDERS.

00:48:35.412 --> 00:48:39.283
YESTERDAY, I SAW
"EL NEGRO MAMA"
FOR THE FIRST TIME.

00:48:39.349 --> 00:48:41.785
DO YOU THINK IT'S
IMPORTANT TO GET
IT OFF THE AIR?

00:48:41.852 --> 00:48:43.787
Translator:
I THINK THAT
IN A FREE COUNTRY,

00:48:43.854 --> 00:48:46.290
THE FIGHT IS NOT
WHETHER YOU'RE
AGAINST IT OR NOT,

00:48:46.356 --> 00:48:48.959
BECAUSE IF THEY
GET IT OFF THE AIR,

00:48:49.026 --> 00:48:50.794
THEY'RE GOING TO
GIVE IT MORE IMPORTANCE.

00:48:50.861 --> 00:48:53.797
BUT IF PEOPLE DON'T
PAY ATTENTION TO IT,
DON'T GIVE IT VALUE,

00:48:53.864 --> 00:48:57.834
THEN GRADUALLY, IT IS
GOING TO START DISAPPEARING.

00:48:57.901 --> 00:49:00.771
Gates, voice-over:
JOSE CAMPOS AND I
HAVE TRAVELED SIMILAR PATHS,

00:49:00.837 --> 00:49:02.773
ALBEIT IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES.

00:49:02.839 --> 00:49:05.776
WE'RE THE SAME AGE,
WE'VE BEEN INFLUENCED BY
THE SAME AUTHORS,

00:49:05.842 --> 00:49:09.279
AND WE BOTH SPENT
OUR CAREERS AS PROFESSORS.

00:49:09.346 --> 00:49:12.282
HOW IS PERU DIFFERENT
FOR A BLACK PERSON TODAY

00:49:12.349 --> 00:49:16.286
THAN IT WAS WHEN
YOU AND I WERE
STUDENTS?

00:49:16.353 --> 00:49:18.789
Translator: I THINK
IT HAS CHANGED SIGNIFICANTLY,

00:49:18.855 --> 00:49:21.792
BECAUSE BEFORE
WE WERE TOTALLY INVISIBLE.

00:49:21.858 --> 00:49:25.295
NOW WE ARE VISIBLE,
AND I, AFTER MANY YEARS,

00:49:25.362 --> 00:49:28.632
I BELIEVE IT IS
NOT AN ISSUE OF
FINDING AFRICA.

00:49:28.699 --> 00:49:31.001
IT IS AN ISSUE
ABOUT FINDING PERU.

00:49:31.068 --> 00:49:33.837
AT ITS DEPTH,
IT'S ABOUT FINDING
INTEGRATION.

00:49:35.906 --> 00:49:39.843
THE FUTURE OF BLACKS
IS MULTICULTURALISM
IN PERU.

00:49:39.910 --> 00:49:41.345
Translator:
THAT'S RIGHT.

00:49:41.411 --> 00:49:43.347
I BELIEVE THAT
THE BLACK ORGANIZATIONS

00:49:43.413 --> 00:49:46.016
HAVE TO WORRY MORE
ABOUT OTHER ASPECTS

00:49:46.083 --> 00:49:49.853
THAN WASTE ENERGY
ON THE FIGHT AGAINST
DISCRIMINATION AND RACISM.

00:49:49.920 --> 00:49:53.857
THE FIGHT FOR
DEVELOPMENT AND CULTURE
IS A BIGGER FIGHT

00:49:53.924 --> 00:49:57.361
THAT, IN THE LONG RUN,
BRINGS BETTER RESULTS.

00:49:57.427 --> 00:49:58.929
I UNDERSTAND.

00:49:58.995 --> 00:50:02.933
Translator: OBAMA
WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE
TO TAKE ON THE PRESIDENCY

00:50:02.999 --> 00:50:04.901
IF HE HADN'T BEEN
ABOVE THE ISSUE OF COLOR

00:50:04.968 --> 00:50:06.903
BECAUSE IF YOU
ARE OBSESSED WITH COLOR,

00:50:06.970 --> 00:50:09.573
YOU ARE THE PRESIDENT
OF THE BLACK PEOPLE.

00:50:13.477 --> 00:50:16.079
Gates, voice-over:
I WONDER IF JOSE IS RIGHT.

00:50:16.146 --> 00:50:19.416
MEXICO AND PERU,
AND OF COURSE THE UNITED STATES,

00:50:19.483 --> 00:50:22.919
ARE SO MUCH RICHER FOR THEIR
MULTICULTURAL HERITAGE.

00:50:22.986 --> 00:50:28.425
AND WITHOUT A DOUBT,
THE ENTIRE WORLD IS HEADED
TOWARDS EVEN MORE HETEROGENEITY.

00:50:28.492 --> 00:50:31.428
BUT WITHOUT ACKNOWLEDGING
WHERE EACH OF US HAS COME FROM,

00:50:31.495 --> 00:50:35.866
WHAT'S THE FOUNDATION UPON WHICH
A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY RESTS?

00:50:35.932 --> 00:50:37.901
IN BOTH MEXICO AND PERU,

00:50:37.968 --> 00:50:41.905
BLACK HISTORY AND CULTURE HAVE
BEEN TRADITIONALLY UNDERVALUED,

00:50:41.972 --> 00:50:44.908
AND BLACK PEOPLE CONTINUE
TO BE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST,

00:50:44.975 --> 00:50:46.910
DENIED EQUAL ACCESS
TO THE SOCIETIES

00:50:46.977 --> 00:50:50.414
THAT THEIR ANCESTORS
DID SO MUCH TO CREATE.

00:50:59.489 --> 00:51:03.360
AFROLATINOS HAVE A DOUBLE
IDENTITY AS CITIZENS
AND CULTURALLY.

00:51:03.427 --> 00:51:06.863
THEY'RE BOTH BLACK
AND LATINO.

00:51:06.930 --> 00:51:10.901
CHEBO BALLUMBROSIO INVITED ME TO
A BEAUTIFUL CELEBRATION--

00:51:10.967 --> 00:51:13.403
HIS NIECE'S QUINCEANERA.

00:51:22.979 --> 00:51:25.916
THIS IS A TRADITIONAL
RITE OF PASSAGE
FOR 15-YEAR-OLDS

00:51:25.982 --> 00:51:27.918
ALL THROUGHOUT
LATIN AMERICA.

00:51:27.984 --> 00:51:31.922
JUST MARVELOUS TO
SEE IT DONE IN A BLACK
COMMUNITY HERE IN PERU,

00:51:31.988 --> 00:51:38.361
SO AWARE OF THE KITSCHINESS
OF THESE RITUALS
AND SELF-CONSCIOUS ABOUT IT

00:51:38.428 --> 00:51:40.864
AND PLAYING WITH IT.

00:51:40.931 --> 00:51:42.866
IT'S SO MULTICULTURAL.

00:51:42.933 --> 00:51:46.903
MUSIC FROM ITALY,
MUSIC FROM MEXICO,

00:51:46.970 --> 00:51:52.409
SALSA MUSIC, AND MUSIC FROM,
OF COURSE, AFROPERU.

00:51:52.476 --> 00:51:56.913
Gates, voice-over:
AFTER HER FATHER SLIPS ON
HER FIRST HIGH-HEELED SHOES,

00:51:56.980 --> 00:51:59.583
SHE'LL DANCE ALL NIGHT
WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS.

00:51:59.649 --> 00:52:03.353
THE MARVELOUS WAY
IN WHICH HER COMMUNITY
HAS MODIFIED THE QUINCEANERA

00:52:03.420 --> 00:52:06.857
REFLECTS HOW HER ANCESTORS
HAVE SHAPED THIS COUNTRY.

00:52:06.923 --> 00:52:10.861
MY ONLY HOPE IS THAT
SHE'LL CONTINUE TO WEAR
HER DOUBLE HERITAGE PROUDLY,

00:52:10.927 --> 00:52:14.998
THAT OF A PERUVIAN
WHO ALSO HAPPENS TO BE BLACK.

00:52:33.016 --> 00:52:35.952
To find out more about how the
people of Latin America

00:52:36.019 --> 00:52:38.955
embrace their African history,

00:52:39.022 --> 00:52:41.358
visit PBS.org.