Afro-Mexicans Are Pushing For Legal Recognition in Mexico’s National Constitution walter thomas-hernandez

The myth of the Latin American racial democracy, scholars believe, began in Brazil following the abolishment of slavery in 1888, when government officials declared that high rates of racial mixing had officially absolved the nation of its racial problems. This thinking eventually transcended Brazil and spread to a host of other Latin America countries, including Mexico.

But Mexico had its own nuanced understanding of the Latin American racial democracy – one called mestizaje, that was created by government officials, intellectuals, and artists following the 1910 Mexican Revolution: the erroneous belief that Mexico’s ethnic and racial mixture was solely composed of indigenous and European ancestry.

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Black History Month needs a rethink: it's time to ditch the heroes

Britain is a nation for which history is an obsession and a popular passion. Look at our top visitor attractions. Museums, stately homes and ancient cathedrals draw bigger crowds, year after year, than amusement parks or zoos. Our national fascination with the past supports a vast, cross-fertilising network of university departments, museums, historic buildings, magazines, publishers, festival organisers, TV and radio documentary makers and numerous heritage organisations.

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The Fuss Over The First Afro-Latino Spiderman

TWhen Marvel Comics first announced a new Spiderman who is half-Hispanic and half-African-American–from the popular Peter Parker to a New Yorker, Miles Morales–back in 2011, radio host Glen Beck shared his thoughts on the matter. Beck argued that Michelle Obama was behind the creation of the biracial superhero. On this radio show, Beck said, “Do I care if he’s half-Hispanic, all Hispanic? No. Half-black, all black? I don’t care. However, what I do care about is that I think a lot of this stuff is being done intentionally.” Then he played a sound clip of Michelle Obama: “Barack knows we’re going to have to make sacrifices, we’re going to have to change our conversation, we’re going to have to change our traditions, our history. We’re going to have to move into a different place.”

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Linking Afro Puerto Rican Bomba to New Orleans in the Bronx

I was riveted last week by a performance of Bamboula, by the Bronx's Bombazo Dance Co., which fused two traditions sharing a common root: Afro Puerto Rican bomba and bamboula from New Orleans. A corps of drummers electrified the air, kicking the production off with a syncopated overture that incorporated bomba "barril" drums, African skins and conga. The energy kept escalating until the dancers appeared, embodying the spiritual connection between the drum and the human heart and soul -- what remains of our ancestors within us.

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