Afroecuatorianos | |
---|---|
![]() Afro-Ecuadorian girls in traditional clothing. | |
Total population | |
1,120,000 (7.2% self identified in 2010 census). [1] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Esmeraldas, Guayaquil, Valle del Chota, Imbabura Province Sucumbíos Province Small minorities live in the U.S., and Spain | |
Languages | |
Spanish | |
Religion | |
Predominantly Catholic | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Other Afro-Latin Americans. |
Afro-Ecuadorians or Afroecuatorianos (Spanish), are Ecuadorians of predominantly Sub-Saharan African descent. [2]
Most Afro-Ecuadorians are the descendants of enslaved Africans who were transported by predominantly British slavers to Ecuador from the early 16th century. [3] In 1553, the first enslaved Africans reached Ecuador in Quito when a slave ship heading to Peru was stranded off the Ecuadorian coast. The enslaved Africans escaped and established maroon settlements in Esmeraldas, which became a safe haven as many Africans fleeing slave conditions either escaped to there or were forced to live there. Eventually, they started moving from their traditional homeland and were settling everywhere in Ecuador. [4]
Racism, on an individual basis and societally are strongly discriminated against by the mestizo and criollo populations. [5] [6] As a result, along with lack of government funding and low social mobility poverty affects their community more so than the white and mestizo population of Ecuador. [7] [8] After slavery was abolished in 1851, Africans became marginalized in Ecuador, dominated by the plantation owners. [9]
Afro-Ecuadorian people and culture are found primarily in the country's northwest coastal region. The majority of the Afro-Ecuadorian population (70%) [10] are found in the province of Esmeraldas and the Valle del Chota in the Imbabura Province, where they are the majority. [11] They can be also found in significant numbers in Guayaquil, and in Ibarra, where in some neighborhoods, they make up a majority. [12] Many Afro-Ecuadorians have participated in sports, for instance playing with the Ecuador national football team, many of whom hail from Valle del Chota. [13]
Afro-Ecuadorian culture may be analysed by considering the two main epicenters of historical presence: the province of Esmeraldas, and the Chota Valley. [14] In Ecuador it is often said that Afro Ecuadorians live predominantly in warm places like Esmeraldas. [15] Afro-Ecuadorian culture is a result of the Trans-atlantic slave trade. [11] Their culture and its impact on Ecuador has led to many aspects from West and Central Africa cultures being preserved via ordinary acts of resistance and commerce. [16] Examples of these include the use of polyrhythmic techniques, traditional instruments and dances; along with food ways such as the use of crops brought from Africa, like the Plantain and Pigeon pea, and oral traditions and mythology like La Tunda. [17] [18] [19] [20] When women wear their hair as it grows naturally, it is often associated with poverty, which is why successful or upwardly mobile women tended to straighten their hair. [21]
Marimba music is popular from Esmeraldas to the Pacific Region of Colombia. It was considered an Intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2010. [22] It gets its name from the prominent use of marimbas , but is accompanied along with dances, chants, drums and other instruments specific to this region such as the bombo, the cununo and the guasá. [23]
Sometimes this music is played in religious ceremonies, as well as in celebrations and parties. It features call-and-response chanting along with the music. Some of the rhythms associated with it are currulao, bambuco and andarele. [24]
On the other hand, in the Chota Valley there is bomba music. It can vary from mid-tempo to a very fast rhythm. It is usually played with guitars, as well as the main local instrument called bomba, which is a drum, along with a guiro, and sometimes bombos and bongos. A variation of it played by la banda mocha, groups who play bomba with a bombo, guiro and plant leaves to give melody. [25]
The religious practice among Afro-Ecuadorians is usually Catholic. Catholic worship is distinctive in Esmeraldas, and sometimes is done with marimba [26] [27]
Numerous organizations have been established in Ecuador to for Afro-Ecuadorian issues. The Afro-Ecuadorian Development Council (CONDAE). Afro-Ecuadorian Development Corporation (Corporación de Desarrollo Afroecuatoriano, CODAE), institutionalized in 2002, Asociación de Negros Ecuatorianos (ASONE), founded in 1988, Afro-Ecuadorian Institute, founded 1989, the Agustín Delgado Foundation, the Black Community Movement (El Proceso de Comunidades Negras) and The National Confederation of Afro-Ecuadorians (Confederación Nacional Afroecuatoriana, CNA) are amongst some of the institutional frameworks in place in Ecuador. [9] The World Bank has given loans for Afro-Ecuadorian development proposals in Ecuador since 1998, loaning $34 million for related projects between 2003 and 2007, and USAID also monitored the 2006 elections in Ecuador to ensure that Afro-Ecuadorians were not being unfairly underrepresented. [9]
Demographic features of the population of Ecuador include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
The marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the marimba has a lower range. Typically, the bars of a marimba are arranged chromatically, like the keys of a piano. The marimba is a type of idiophone.
The music of Ecuador is a diverse aspect of Ecuadorian culture. Ecuadorian music ranges from indigenous styles such as pasillo to Afro-Ecuadorian styles like bomba to modern indie rock like "Cambio de Tonalidad" by Da Pawn.
Zambo or Sambu is a racial term historically used in the Spanish Empire to refer to people of mixed Amerindian and African ancestry. Occasionally in the 21st century, the term is used in the Americas to refer to persons who are of mixed African and Indigenous American ancestry.
Ecuador is a multicultural and multiethnic nation, with the majority of its population is descended from a mixture of both European and Amerindian ancestry. The other 10% of Ecuador's population originate east of the Atlantic Ocean, predominantly from Spain, Italy, Lebanon, France and Germany. Around the Esmeraldas and Chota regions, the African influence would be strong among the small population of Afro-Ecuadorians that account for no more than 10%. Close to 80% of Ecuadorians are Roman Catholic, although the indigenous population blend Christian beliefs with ancient indigenous customs. The racial makeup of Ecuador is 70% mestizo, 7% Amerindian, 12% White, and 11% Black.
Esmeraldas is a province in northwestern Ecuador. The capital is Esmeraldas.
The upper valley of the Mira River, called the Chota River in its upstream portion, in northern Ecuador, and the small villages in it are usually referred to as 'El Chota', and it runs east–west between the two ranges of the Andes. It lies in the provinces of Imbabura, Carchi and Esmeraldas. The river and its upper valley are situated about halfway between the equator and the Colombian border. Accessed off Route 35, the nearest major city is Quito, but Ibarra is the major market centre just south of the valley. It is reputed to be where the best soccer players in the country tend to be from.
Esmeraldas is a coastal city in northwestern Ecuador. It is the seat of the Esmeraldas Canton and capital of the Esmeraldas Province. It has an international sea port and a small airport. Esmeraldas is the major seaport of northwestern Ecuador, and it lies on the Pacific coast at the mouth of the Esmeraldas River. It is the antipodes of Padang, Indonesia. The city is the principal trading hub for the region's agricultural and lumber resources, and is the terminus of the 313-mile (504-km) Trans-Ecuadorian Pipeline from the oil fields in northeastern Ecuador.
Bomba or Bomba del Chota is an Afro-Ecuadorian music and dance form from the Chota Valley area of Ecuador in the province of Imbabura and Carchi. Its origins can be traced back to Africa via the middle passage and the use of African slave labor during the country's colonial period. Africans brought to labor as slaves in Ecuador brought with them this music form heavily influenced from the Bantu cultures of the Congo. The people dance in pairs to the drums and use improvisation to build relationships between the dancer and lead drummer.
Walter Orlando Ayoví Corozo is a former Ecuadorian professional footballer who last played for the Monterrey Flash in the Major Arena Soccer League. He previously played as a left winger for Club Deportivo El Nacional in the Ecuadorian league and in the Ecuador national team, primarily in left defense. He is the cousin of fellow footballer Jaime Ayoví, who also plays in the Ecuador national team. He also holds Mexican citizenship.
Miller Alejandro Bolaños Reasco is an Ecuadorian footballer who plays as a striker for Ecuadorian Serie B club 9 de Octubre.
The Mira River originates in the Andes of Ecuador and flows to the Pacific Ocean in Colombia. For a few kilometers it forms the border between the two countries. The upper course of the Mira is called the Chota River and is notable for its Afro-Ecuadorian inhabitants, its bomba music, and the large number of internationally prominent soccer players it has produced.
Jaime Javier Ayoví Corozo (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈxajmeaʝoˈβi]; born 21 February 1988 in Eloy Alfaro, Esmeraldas is an Ecuadorian footballer who plays for Emelec.
Nelson Estupiñán Bass (1912–2002) was an Ecuadorian writer. He was born in Súa, a city in the predominantly Afro-Ecuadorian province of Esmeraldas in Ecuador. He was first homeschooled by his mother before traveling to the capital city of Quito where he graduated from Escuela Superior Juan Montalvo with a degree in public accounting in 1932. Bass identified with the Communist Party during this time and in 1934 had the opportunity to publish two of his poems in the socialist diary La Tierra.
Ecuadorians are people identified with the South American country of Ecuador. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Ecuadorians, several of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being Ecuadorian.
Guillermo Ayoví Erazo better known as Papá Roncón was an Afro-Ecuadorian musician, singer, and marimba player.
Aníbal Hernán Chalá Ayoví is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Ecuadorian Serie A club Barcelona SC and the Ecuador national team.
Jessy Teotista Caicedo Ayovi is an Ecuadorian footballer who plays as a defender for Superliga Femenina club Club Ñañas and the Ecuador women's national team.
Petita Palma Piñeiros is an Ecuadorian singer who is regarded as a national treasure. Marimba music and traditions from the Ecuadorian province of Esmeraldas are recognised by the UN as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
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