Teofilo Colon Jr. | |
---|---|
Born | New York City, U.S. |
Nationality | American |
Other names | Tío Teo Teofilo Campeon |
Occupation(s) | Photographer Filmmaker Writer Journalist |
Years active | 2010-present |
Organization | Being Garifuna |
Website | beinggarifuna |
Teofilo Colon Jr. (born 1974) is a Garifuna-American photographer, filmmaker, writer and journalist. [1] Colon has created an online archive of information about the Garifuna culture, an Afro-Caribbean population made up of formerly African, Island Caribs, Arawak people exiled by the British from Saint Vincent Island to Roatán, an island off the coast of Honduras, who eventually emigrated to the Caribbean coasts of the Central American countries of Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua - with its biggest concentration outside that area in New York City, found most intensively in the Bronx. [2]
Colon was born and grew up in the East New York neighborhood of Brooklyn. Although his parents, mother Raymunda "Reina Gringa" Colon (née Alvarez Casildo) [3] and father Teofilo Colon Sr. were both from Honduras and spoke Spanish and Garifuna at home, Colon only spoke English. [4] Colon's parents were from the Tocamacho (known as Dugamachu in Garifuna) on his paternal side and Plaplaya (known as Bülagüriba in Garifuna) on his maternal side—two small villages of Garifuna territories off the northern coast of Honduras. [5] Colon began to learn the Garifuna language as an adult.
In addition to his freelance work in film and video and as a photographer for Friends of Crotona Park, Inc. in 2008, Colon began a Facebook group called "You Know You Are Garifuna/Garinagu When..." as an experiment to try and see how many Garifuna people he could find on Facebook. After connecting with thousands of Garinagu (plural for Garifuna), in an effort to understand more about his culture and provide a centralized resource of information, Colon created the Being Garifuna website to document stories and news about Garifuna people, history, and culture. The website is an online resource for people of Garifuna background to learn more about their culture and find news on current Garifuna cultural activities. [6]
Among the work he has compiled about art and music of Garifuna people, Colon did extensive research on victims of the Happyland Fire, a fire that killed many people who were thought to be of Garifuna background. One of the victims of the tragedy was Colon's cousin. [7]
In November 2010, Colon was recognized for his contribution to Garifuna culture by the Garifuna Coalition with a Garifuna Coalition Recognition award. [8] In 2013, Colon was also Honorary Grand Marshal of the 2013 New Jersey Folk Festival. [5]
Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a water boundary with Honduras to the southeast.
The Garifuna people are a people of mixed free African and Amerindian ancestry that originated in the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent and speak Garifuna, an Arawakan language, and Vincentian Creole.
Afro–Latin Americans or Black Latin Americans are Latin Americans of full or mainly sub-Saharan African ancestry.
The Happy Land fire was an act of arson that killed 87 people on March 25, 1990 in the Bronx in New York City, United States. The 87 victims were trapped in the unlicensed Happy Land social club, located at 1959 Southern Boulevard in the West Farms section of the Bronx. Most of the victims were young Hondurans celebrating Carnival, many of them part of the Garifuna American community. Cuban refugee Julio González, whose former girlfriend was employed at the club, was arrested soon afterward and ultimately convicted of arson and murder.
The wealth of cultural expression in Honduras owes its origins primarily to being a part of Latin America but also to the multi-ethnic nature of the country. The population comprises 90% Mestizo, 7% Amerindian, 2% Black, and 1% Caucasian. This influences all facets of the culture: customs, practices, ways of dressing, religion, rituals, codes of behavior and belief systems.
Punta is an Afro-indigenous dance and cultural music of the Garifuna originating prior to their exile to Roatan from the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent And The Grenadines. Which is also known as Yurumei. It has African and Arawak elements which are also the characteristics of the Garifuna language. Punta is the best-known traditional dance belonging to the Garifuna community. It is also known as banguity or bunda.
Joseph Chatoyer, also known as Satuye, was a Garifuna (Carib) chief who led a revolt against the British colonial government of Saint Vincent in 1795. Killed that year, he is now considered a national hero of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and also of Belize and Costa Rica. Vincentian politician Camillo Gonsalves described him in 2011 as his country's "sole national hero".
Garifuna (Karif) is a minority language widely spoken in villages of Garifuna people in the western part of the northern coast of Central America.
Belizeans are people associated with the country of Belize through citizenship or descent. Belize is a multiethnic country with residents of Ethnic groups of Amerindian, African, European, Asian and Middle-eastern descent or mixed race with any combination of those groups.
Aurelio Martínez, professionally known as Aurelio, is a Honduran musician and politician. He is a singer, percussionist, and guitarist known for his Garifuna music and is considered a Cultural Ambassador of the Garifuna people. According to the Guardian, he became the leading Garifuna performer after the death of musician Andy Palacio.
Thomas Vincent Ramos, commonly known as T. V. Ramos, was a Belizean civil rights activist who promoted the interests of the Garifuna people, and is now considered a national hero.
An Afro-Guatemalan person is a person who lives in Guatemala, but has African decency in their historical and cultural roots. This term intertwines the conquest of America by the Spanish. The Afro-Guatemalan population is not numerous today. Although it is difficult to determine specific figures, it is reported that Afro-Guatemalans represent only between 1% and 2% of the country's population. According to the Council on Hemispheric Affairs. They are of mainly English-speaking West Indian (Antillean) and Garifuna origin. They are found in the Caribbean coast, in Livingston, Puerto Barrios and Santo Tomas. In the 17th century, many enslaved blacks were able to secure for themselves or at least their future children through marriage to free people. Many of these marriages were with Mayans or Europeans, which created a mix between blacks, Mayans and Europeans. This resulted in a significant mestizo population that, over the years, has continued to dilute traces of African ancestry in many cases. Today this can be referred to as Afro-mestizos due to miscegenation.
Afro-Nicaraguans are Nicaraguans of Sub-Saharan African descent. Five main distinct ethnic groups exist: The Creoles who descend from Anglo-Caribbean countries and many of whom still speak Nicaragua English Creole, the Miskito Sambus descendants of Spanish slaves and indigenous Central Americans who still speak Miskito and/or Miskito Coast Creole, the Garifunas descendants of Zambos expelled from St. Vincent who speak Garifuna, the Rama Cay zambos a subset of the Miskito who speak Rama Cay Creole, and the descendants of those enslaved by the Spanish.
Afro-Hondurans or Black Hondurans are Hondurans of Sub-Saharan African descent. Research by Henry Louis Gates and other sources regards their population to be around 1-2%. They descended from: enslaved Africans by the Spanish, as well as those who were enslaved from the West Indies and identify as Creole peoples, and the Garifuna who descend from exiled zambo Maroons from Saint Vincent. The Creole people were originally from Jamaica and other Caribbean islands, while the Garifuna people were originally from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Garifunas arrived in the late seventeen hundreds and the Creole peoples arrived during the eighteen hundreds. About 600,000 Hondurans are of Garífuna descent that are a mix of African and indigenous as of Afro Latin Americans. Honduras has one of the largest African community in Latin America.
Garifuna Americans or Black Carib Americans are Americans of African, Arawak, and Kalinago ancestry that originated in the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Garifuna Americans whose ancestors were exiled from the Island trace their roots to the Central American countries of Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, while those whose ancestors remained in the island trace their roots to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The term refers to someone with full or partial Garifuna heritage who was born in the United States.
Afro-Vincentians or Black Vincentians are Vincentians whose ancestry lies within Sub-Saharan Africa.
Garifuna in Peril is a low-budget independent fiction docufiction feature film directed, written, and produced by Alí Allié and Rubén Reyes. The film depicts historical and contemporary issues within the Garinagu Afro-Honduran indigenous community and features a cast of actors from Honduras and Belize.
Dionisia Amaya-Bonilla, also known as Mama Nicha, was a teacher and Honduran Garifuna community activist who was the co-founder of Garifuna non-profit organization, MUGAMA, Inc., a support, education, and outreach organization that ran the Mugama Advocacy Center in Brooklyn, New York.
The National Garifuna Council (NGC) of Belize is a non-governmental organization that represents the Garifuna people of Belize. Their mission is to preserve, strengthen, and develop the Garifuna culture, as well as to promote economic development, interracial harmony among the Garifuna people, and maintain traditional respect for preserving the environment. It was established in 1981 and is managed by a board of directors with corresponding branches in Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. These countries all share the unique Garifuna culture, as they all served as refuge to the Garifuna people when they were exiled from their homeland, St. Vincent.
Mirtha Colón is a Honduran-born Garifuna activist and social worker who assists Caribbean migrants in The Bronx and travels widely supporting the issues of HIV prevention, sex education and cultural preservation. In 2012, she was recognized by the New York State Legislature for her service to the African diaspora in the state.
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