Afro Colombianos!

Afro Colombians are the result of the slaves from Africa with the Spanish colonists or with the indigenous. The slaves from Africa on the decade of the 16th century they began being imported into Colombia by the Spaniards because they were the replace of the rapidly declining Native American population. Africans were forced to work in gold mines, on sugar cane plantations, cattle ranches, and large haciendas. All this happened until they won their freedom in 1851 when the slavery was all over in Colombia. At this moment the afro-Colombians are located in every major city in the country, especially on the departments of the Pacific and the Caribbean coast.

The afro Colombian differ from the dominant culture on many factors with their identity traits, ethno history, social organization, kinship structure, methods and practices of production, exercise of territoriality and ownership of political, religions and thoughts, they redefine the complexity of the African world. Music also plays an important role as they have contributed to such important genres cumbia, vallenato, and champeta currulao.

In other hand, The afro Colombians rights come first, of Africanness and history of kidnapping, dehumanization and enslavement by society and the Spanish state, and second, international standards subscribed by the Colombian government, these rights w

ere only recognized by the constitution 1991 that declare the presence and ethnic citizenship of the Afro-descendant who were enslaved from 1510 to 1851. Although this, Afro-Colombians are currently in the middle of war, poverty and neglect many of their basic needs are unmet and education is seriously affected, also the traditional settlement area of Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities in the country is being affected by the dynamics that has taken the armed conflict.

In my opinion history and values ​​of Afro-Colombian national heritage have been ignored by society. Although legislation exists to protect human rights but in the last ten years have gotten worse their socio-economic conditions exclusion and poverty, which is the result of neglect and invisibility that have had to live these communities by the state, that’s why this people should be treated with more careful because the government hasn’t be fair to them