Latinegr@s Project: Thank You!

Last day of Black History Month. It has been a great ride. I have taken myself to a different place with all the readings and research. However, the project will continue. While it will not be everyday on this blog, http://lati-negros.tumblr.com/ will always highlight Afro-Latinos in a positive light!

I want to thank a few people. First, I want to say that the hits on this blog has gone up which means people have been reading and I appreciate that. So thanks to all you for showing support. I think I have learned more by posting all the bios than I have from taking classes in History.

I want to also thank Bianca. I did not post as many blogs as she did. She did all her homework on this subject and truly carried me through this project. She also moderated the tumblr page. This project came to life on twitter in January when we both had a very open discussion about the lack of Latino representation in Black History Month. I had no idea about what type of involvement we would get and I am surprised by the end result.

Thanks also goes out to Professor Surro. I am always impressed by someone of such intelligence. Her passion for sharing knowledge is unmatched. Her blog is incredible. I would encourage people to frequent her site as well.

For those who participated, you are another reason we started this project. While we wanted to educate people on Latinegr@s, we also want to get back what we put in. I know that I have spoken to many people in person and via the internet about this project and the feedback has always been a good one.

There are the haters as well. I want to thank you too. Without your ignorance this project would not exist. So keep sending the hate mail. We love it. Someone of you thought this was not going to amount to much and that is ok. I thinking we all proved the naysayers wrong.

I anticipate that we will still do profiles every now and then and hit up everyone again in time for Latino Heritage Month. So, please do not think that because this month is over that you cannot submit something or that you cannot contribute. The tumblr site is always open for submissions or you can guest blog here.

Thanks again! I will be returning to my regular blogging tomorrow!

Latinegr@s Project: Did You Know?

I didn't realize that we are currently in the last week of Black History Month. It wasn't until I read Latino Sexuality (shameless plug of my interview...lol), that I noticed that I only have days left to get all the things I wanted to get done with project. I have done much research and not all of the things I found were long enough to sustain a single post. However, I figured I would compile some of the things I found interesting so I can share with you all.


Afro-Latino Fraternity

I found this bit of information to be a surprise. Many people in the Greek community knew that there was a Afro-Latino Fraternity called Beta Sigma Kappa. Founded in 1998 at the the University at Buffalo, Beta Sigma Kappa Fraternity Incorporated set out to "promote African and Latino culture throughout society."

Being that Beta Sigma Kappa is almost twelve years old, there isn't much information out there for me to document any philanthropies or the number of men through out the entire organization. The only thing that I do know is that there is a chapter at the University of Buffalo. I have made attempts to contact a few brother of that organization so I will wait to see how that pans out.

Afro Latino Festival

There is a festival in Bree (Belgium) where Afro Latinos celebrate culture. This was something that I was practically drooling over. I am still doing some research, but this is something that happens every year. I posted a following video from last year's festival on http://lati-negros.tumblr.com/. There is a facebook fan page as well.

Latinegr@s Project: Nicomedes Santa Cruz

Nicomedes Santa Cruz was a Peruvian poet, journalist, and folklorist. He was born on June 4, 1925 in Lima, Peru. He was best known for raising public awareness of Afro-Peruvian culture.

As a child, his mother, Victoria Gamarra Ramirez would recite décimas to him. A décima is a style of poetry that is octosyllabic and has 10 lines. This artistic form of poetry is often found in Latin America. In 1945 he met Don Porfirio Vasquez who was a decimista and folklorist. He was one of the pioneers to regain cultural identity of Afro-Peruvians. Vasquez became a major factor in Nicomedes development as a decimero.

Nicomedes began his professional life as a blacksmith. He opened his own store called Herrira Y Cerrajeria Santa Cruz" in 1954. However, in 1956, he abandoned his shop to fulfill his destiny. Santa Cruz decided to travel throughout Peru and Latin America, composing and reciting his décimas. After his travels he became an a radio announcer and a commentator for various playhouses throughout Peru. He made his theater debut in 1957 at the Teatro Municipal de Chile, with the company Pancho Fierro, in a show called Black Rhythms of Peru. Through his radio broadcasts, and collaborations in the daily newspapers like "Expreso" and "El Comercio", him along with his sister Victoria began to revive Afro-Peruvian folklore through a theater company they formed. They wrote several playwrights together from 1959 to 1961.

He recorded 4 notable albums in his career. The first was in 1959, after his mother's death with his group Conjunto Cumanana titled Kumanana. The next two came out in 1960 titled Ingá and Décimas y poemas Afroperuanos. The final was a four-album set called Cumanana which came out in 1964. He also wrote a series of books filled with poetry. All listings of books and recordings can be found here.

In the 1970s, he continued promoting Afro-Peruvian folklore. Nicomedes presented the first Black Arts Festival, held in Cañete, in August 1971. He then went to Africa in 1974, where he participated in the symposium "Négritude et Amérique Latine" in Sengal. That same year he traveled to Cuba and México, participating in a series of television programs.

In 1980 he moved to Madrid to work as a journalist at Radio Exterior de España. During this time he does some traveling including a trip to Brasil in 1985, where he participates in the Consultation on Black Culture and Theology in Latin America, by giving a lecture entitled "Aportes del Negro al Cristianismo en America". In 1989 he taught a seminar on African culture in Santo Domingo. He did manage to travel back to Peru several times always promoting his culture through his books and teachings. Nicomedes Santa Cruz died on February 5, 1992 from lung cancer in Madrid, Spain.

While I did not highlight everything he did, I consider him to be a very prominent Afro-Latino that not many people may have heard of. I know up until this project, I have never heard of him. If you wish to learn more about him and Afro-Peruvian culture, please check out: www.nicomedessantacruz.com

Please remember to visit: http://lati-negros.tumblr.com/