“The African and the Mexican aren’t too far removed”
Through my travels of the African diaspora in search of discovering more about myself and my Blaxit (Black exit) destination, I was led to the Afro Mexican state of Veracruz, Mexico. The state of Veracruz holds the historical town of Yanga named after an enslaved African, Gaspar Yanga. He led one of the most successful slave uprising that resulted in the first free Black settlement of the Americas. Many have not heard anything about this town and its rich African and Mexican history. I first read about Yanga 5 years ago. I believe it may have been something I saw on social media that prompted me to look more into Afro Mexican history.
“The people of Oaxaca and Veracruz are of African descent”
As a part of my own African Diaspora Research Tour, I took a trip to the Afro Mexican states of Oaxaca and Veracruz. The state of Oaxaca’s Afro Mexican communities are located on the coast near Puerto Escondido and “in the mountains.” After a trip to Oaxaca City, the second leg of the tour was to Veracruz. I found myself in Yanga, a day after my arrival. After arriving at Veracruz International airport, I took a 20 minute ride to my hotel, Camino Real in Boca del Rio. Deemed one of the best hotels in the area, I was not disappointed. One thing that is apart of every trip I take is Trip Advisor or Viator. I find my tours or other fun activities to participate in and immerse myself in the culture and amongst the people. I was looking for a tour that would take me to Yanga. There was none.
“You want to go where?”
Since there were no tours that I could find to Yanga, I had to be creative. I asked the hotel valet if they knew of a driver that could take me there. Most of the employees had never heard of the town of Yanga located an hour and half away from Boca del Rio. One employee overheard my request and immediately asked, “You know about Yanga?” and began to tell me about his own African heritage and his family. They found a driver and we agreed on the price. The next morning, I would head to Yanga.
“Existimos porque resistimos”
“ We exist because we resist.”
The town of Yanga is the first Black settlement of the Americas. Founded by an African slave by the name of Gaspar Yanga, the town became a “safe space” for the formerly enslaved. After various battles for multiple years with the Spaniards, Spain agreed to allow the slaves to settle in the town that was once named after the San Lorenzo plantation. Spain asked that if they didn’t allow any more slaves to be free there, they would let them have it. Of course, that didn’t happen. All enslaved were free in Yanga. There, we would all blend together- the African and the Mexican.
As we were approaching Yanga, I started to imagine owning land and building a home. My driver and I found the statue of “El Yanga.” We went into the town and walked around. I felt very comfortable in a place I had never been before. We were approached by the Town Reporter, Ramon Malagon. Ramon gave us a tour while telling us the history of the town and El Yanga. I felt an instant connection with the town. Ramon added that he felt there should be a museum to tell the history of Yanga and I agreed.
“Come back for Carnaval Yanga”
I got a chance to visit Yanga a second time during its preparation for Carnaval and met with Presidente (Mayor) of Yanga, Fernando Torres. Olivia Franco who is also researching the history of Yanga and I partnered up to participate in the celebration. We met about the future of Yanga and shared our desire to promote the town and its rich African and Mexican history.
"La sangre te esta llamando"
(Blood is calling you)
While embracing the energy of Carnaval at a cafe in the town's square, I see a woman walking towards me. The woman looked familiar but I had never seen her before. Her and her grandchildren sat with us and she talked about being apart of the original family of Yanga. She wanted to take a picture with me and asked that I come to the last day of Carnaval. We have since become Facebook friends. I plan to return soon to interview her about her family history and the Afro Mexican community. The night before my second trip to Veracruz, I received my DNA results from Ancestry. My results showed that my mother's father (my grandfather) had Indigenous ancestry from Mexico.
One of my fondest childhood memories is of the time my mom and I were in Fresno, CA visiting relatives. We went to see the movie “La Bamba.” I was 9 years old when the movie came out. One day, I was watching a travel vlogger on YouTube as he visited Yanga and his companion mentioned that the song, La Bamba, was a slave uprising song that originated out of Veracruz.
Yanga, Veracruz, Mexico has a population of less than 5600 people. This small town contains rich African and Mexican history. The state of Veracruz sits at the Gulf of Mexico. Veracruz is a port where the enslaved from the Caribbean and other countries entered the country. Before the African slaves appeared in Jamestown, Virginia, there were a group of slaves that enter North America through Veracruz, Mexico.
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