Preliminary Results of 2023 Panama National Census: 1/3 Self Identify as Afrodescendant

Panama recently concluded its latest Census round on March 4, 2023 and the preliminary results revealed a remarkable truth hidden in plain sight. The 2023 Census demonstrated that 32.8% of the population self-identified as being of African descent.  The results proved what was known since the debacle of the 2010 Census which counted only 3-4% of the population identifying as Afrodescendant. In fact in 2014, then President Juan Carlos Varela issued a rare but limited apology acknowledging then that the population was likely greater than 14%.

Panama now sits third behind Brazil (50%) and Cuba (35%) in terms of populations that self-identity as #Afrodescendant. The success of the 2023 Census at 32.8% is a testament to the various efforts of the Black community and participants in the Black social movement to raise the level of consciousness. Panama's historic and contemporary reality reflects the larger demographic composition of Latin America as being 1/3 Afrodescendant. The intergenerational and collaborative work, the cultural affirmation, the political consciousness building and the digital outreach and communications efforts all played a key role in achieving the recent success.

Yet work remains. As the same time the census concluded, the need for protest has arisen as the school year commences. As all too often occurs during the school year, there are various crude and illegal attempts at different schools to discriminate against Afrodescendant youth wearing natural hair, afros or braids on school grounds. In response, the National Secretariat for Afro-Panamanians Development (SENADAP) and the Ombudsman's Office (Defensoria del Pueblo), with the support of a newly formed community-based watchdog group have set up hotlines for parents and students when the 2023 school year begins to file complaints of racial discrimination by school officials.

The First Maroon Community: Santiago del Príncipe and Panama’s Congo Heritage

Photo: Mario Ruben for DICPNY

On October 12, 2019, nearly 30,000 Panamanians attended the 24th Annual Pre-Independence Parade of Panamá held in Brooklyn, New York. The parade, organized by a group of Afro-Panamanians committed to preserving and celebrating our cultural heritage, is one of the largest outside of the country.

During the parade we posted a picture of a traditional Afro-Panamanian Congo dance group with a truncated description. The post received many comments, including several objections. It also highlighted a persistent issue which has been around for decades as diaspora communities forge bridges of solidarity. Many within Black diaspora communities do not know their own histories; this is exacerbated even further when discussing the histories and cultural contexts of other Black diasporas.

Panama celebrates its 116th year of independence from Colombia this week amidst nationwide civic protests. In this context, we briefly highlight the resilience, independence and heritage of Panama's 500 year old Congo traditions. 

In 2014, archeologists from the University of Barcelona discovered,  "La Villa de Santiago del Príncipe", the first documented community of free blacks in the Western Hemisphere built in 1579. The findings, part of the UNESCO Slave Route Project were reported in  "Afrocolonial Archaeology – Slave Route Sites of Memory – Resistance, Freedom and Heritage". They confirmed the location near the town of “Nombre de Dios”, a key trade port in Colón Province, 80 miles from the capital of Panama City. This first free community was established by Luis de Mozambique, one of the earliest maroon kings in the Americas. Nearly a century before 1619, enslaved Africans who rebelled throughout the Western Hemisphere established communities of free Blacks or "maroons". Many of these communities, called "palenques" in Spanish or quilombos in Brazil, still exist. The Congo community in Panama are descendants of King Bayano, another in the line of 16th century maroon leaders in Panama. Ftnte The writings of Spanish friar and colonizer Bartolomé de las Casas described Africans possibly from Guinea, already in Darien, Panamá, by 1514. 

Credit: UNESCO

The cultural heritage of Panama’s present day Congo descendants has been passed down through the generations for more than 500 years.  These traditions, principally rooted in maroon practices, are most often seen in celebrations, death or carnivals, clothing colors and patterns, dance movements, song and character themes and percussions. These practices were functional and intentional. For example: wearing of clothes inside out as a form of communication and mockery of slave owners; use of oil/paint on the hands and faces common for 1) palenque watchmen,  2) maroons responsible for raiding Spanish colonial towns and plantations and 3) slaves escaping to freedom; and strapping of trinkets around their belts symbolizing their few personal possessions. The clothing used during these ceremonies and dances represent the Queen, (the most important character within these matriarchal communities), the King, the bird, the Devil and more. Each of the five polleras (or traditional dresses) have their own significance and connote certain status in the matriarchy. 

The first documented slave revolt in the Western Hemisphere occurred in Santo Domingo, Hispaniola on December 25, 1522, by Senegalese men on the sugar plantation of Admiral Don Diego Colón, the son of Christopher Columbus. According to spanish colonial records, the second occurred in Nombre de Dios in 1527. Both were brutally suppressed after bloody battles.

CREDIT: Creative Commons

[We have news of the first rebellion of blacks in Panama in the year 1527, in which the victims of desperation due to their treatment, rebelled against authorities, but were brutally put down, following a bloody fight] "Tenemos noticias del primer alzamiento de negros ocurrido en "Panamá en el año de 1527, en donde victimas de la desesperación por el trato recibido, se rebelaron contra las autoridades, pero fueron brutalmente sometidos, tras una sangrienta lucha.( fragmento tomado de escrito del Sr Jorge Conte Porras)"

Geographical, military and economic considerations often proved key to the success of any single revolt or effort to sustain maroon communities against continued armed assaults by colonial forces, pirates or slave owners. By relentlessly attacking the vital Atlantic-Pacific Ocean trade route, Luis de Mozambique and Bayano were able to force negotiated treaties with the spanish crown, recognizing them as free men in exchange for a ceasefire. 

In 1553, relentless Maroon revolts and raids in Panama had forced the Spanish to the negotiating table. By 1580, after years of battling pirates and the spanish crown, Maroons aligned themselves with British pirates/profiteers including Sir Francis Drake. This Maroon-buccaneer alliance posed a serious challenge to Spanish hegemony in the region.  In fact, to help confirm their own findings on Santiago del Principe, UNESCO researchers used Drake's cartographic footprint, the General Archive of Indias in Seville, Spain together with key works of Spanish colonial literature, such as the poem "La Dragontea" by Lope de Vega (supported by other works).

Following Luis de Mozambique's reign and between 1542-1581, came other maroon leaders included Felipillo, Bayano, Antón Mandinga, Juan de Diosa, El Negro Madagascar, Domingo Congo.  

Felipillo became such a threat to Spanish trade in the 1540's that he was captured, drawn and quartered by horse and his palenque burned to the ground in 1551. The death and bravery of Felipillo turned him into a legend. Those who followed another cimarron leader, Anton Mandinga, continued fighting and by 1581, another treaty was negotiated guaranteeing freedom, land, non aggression by Spanish colonizers and autonomy to the palenque.

CREDIT: America Economia

While Bayano was not the first maroon king from Panamá, he was one of the most successful. He organized and protected a palenque of 1,500, stretching from the Atlantic to Pacific Ocean from 1552-56/1556-58, and has rivers and lakes named in his honor.  The descendants of Bayano, the Congo, thus preserve a rich heritage as the earliest practitioners of black liberation through oral history's, dance, attire and more.

Although widely known in Panamá, Congo traditions had been guarded from outside eyes for centuries and simultaneously excluded from national patrimony.  In 2015, the Congo attire was first recognized in Panama's Festival of the Thousand Polleras after several years of unsuccessful attempts. In 2016, the 1st Festival de la Polleras Congo was held in Colon province. In 2018, UNESCO declared Congo culture as intangible cultural patrimony to the world. In 2019, the Festival of las Polleras Congo was denied funding by the Institute of Arts and Culture (INAC). Despite setbacks the push by Afrodescendants for recognition and plenary participation, culturally as well as economically and politically continues in Panamá, as it does in all of Latin America.

Other early maroon communities include:

• Colombia, 1600 - San Basilio de Palenque, one of the first free space communities still in existence was founded by Benkos Bioho. Inspired a 50 year slave revolt from 1621-1671.

• Mexico, 1608- Yanga founded by Gaspar Yanga known for his military and organizational prowess and his community leadership skills forced the Spanish to negotiate

• Mosquitia (present day Nicaragua) 1633/1687. King of the Mosquitia.

• Colombia, 1634- Leonor, Queen of the Limón palenque near Cartagena

• Brazil, 1670 Ganga Zumba king of the Quilombo do Palmares captured along with 5,000 of his men by the Portuguese in Angola.

• Zumbi and Dandara dos Palmares 1655-1695 Leaders of the Quilombo Palmares and revered as the godparents of AfroBrazil. Day of Black Consciousness in Brazil dated in honor of the death of Zumbi dos Palmares. 

• Jamaica - Queen Nanny c. 1686. Leader of the Maroons in the first Maroon War of 1734 and hailed as a Jamaican national hero in 1976

• Honduras/Nicaragua/Guatemala/Belize - 1797 Black Caribs/Garifuna  fought against being enslaved at all, reaching a truce with the British which exiled them from St. Vincent, Grenadines to Roatan, Honduras. 

• The most well known slave revolt Haitian Revolution, 1791-1804. The military support by Haitian President Alexandre Petion of Simon Bolivar lead to the end of slavery in Gran Colombia (Panama, Ecuador, Colombia) and Venezuela.

Formal education systems barely teach us black history in any country. Some of the work to educate those less knowledgeable about the Black Americas (often times our own) is on Afrolatinxs. We encourage you to dig deeper and learn about other black diaspora cultures in the Americas, specifically from black diaspora cultures from the Americas. If not, instead of an ally, you become part of the problem of erasure and invisibilization Afrolatinxs and Afrolatinamericans continue to combat.

Additional readings:

Craft, Renée Alexander. When the Devil Knocks: The Congo Tradition and the Politics of Blackness in Twentieth-Century Panama. OSU Press, 2015

Fortune, Armando . “Los Negros en Panamá”, en Revista Lotería 2ª. época, no. 143. (1976, octubre) bdigital.binal.ac.pa › loteria › descarga › 1967_143_LNB

Lindsay, Arturo. “The Research Methods of an Artist-Ethnographer on the Congo Coast of Panama”. Breaking the Disciplines: Reconceptions in Knowledge, Art and Culture. Edited by Martin L. Davies and Marsha Meskimmon. I.B. Taurus, (2003).

Maloney, Dr. Gerardo. “Armando Fortune” . Protagonistas Panamá Siglo XX. (2015, septiembre). http://www.protagonistaspanamasigloxx.com/product/armando-fortune/

Pike, Ruth. "Black Rebels: The Cimarrons of Sixteenth Century Panama," The Americas 64/2 (2007): 245-46, by Ruth Pike citing the original source, Pedro de Aguado, Historia de Venezuela, Book 9, chapter 13.

Pulido Ritter, Luis. “Armando Fortune y la Identidad Cultural Panameña” Tareas, núm. 140, enero-abril, 2012, pp. 83-106 Centro de Estudios Latinoamericanos "Justo Arosemena" Panamá, Panamá https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/5350/535055523007.pdf

Vila Vilar, Enriqueta. “Cimarronaje en Panamá y Cartagena. El costo de una guerrilla en el siglo XVII”. Caravelle. Cahiers du monde hispanique et luso-brésilien. 1987  Vol. 49 pp. 77-92 https://www.persee.fr/doc/carav_0008-0152_1987_num_49_1_2341

Afro-Latina actress Tessa Thompson saves the world in 'Men in Black: International'

By Arturo Conde

Tessa Thompson considers herself Afro-Latina, a black woman, a person of color, and Latinx. But when fans go to see the sci-fi action blockbuster "Men in Black: International" this weekend, she hopes that they will only see her character, Agent M, on the silver screen.

“I hope we can get to the space in Hollywood where it’s not noteworthy for a woman, and particularly a woman of color, to top line a franchise film,” Thompson, who has Afro-Panamanian and Mexican roots, told NBC News. “I hope we can get to a place where we don’t have to congratulate it, or comment on it because it happens with such frequency. But we are still really far away from there.”

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/afro-latina-actress-tessa-thompson-saves-world-men-black-international-n1017606

Following protests, Nike recalls "Puerto Rico" Air Force 1 Edition misappropriating Panamanian indigenous art

Credit: Arnulfo Franco/AP

Nike has recalled its latest edition Air Force 1 which attempted to pay tribute to Puerto Rico, by using art from indigenous communities in Panamá. After coming under criticism for cultural misappropriation, Nike issued a statement on May 21, "We apologize for the inaccurate representation of the design origin for the Nike Air Force 1 'Puerto Rico' 2019. As a result, this product will no longer be available."

Comments across social media were swift including from famous Panamanian -American hip hop DJ Clark Kent and thousands signed several petitions that had been initiated. 

The mola design is the cultural patrimony of the Ngobe Bugle or Ngäbe-Buglé, an indigenous community in Panama which has been recognized by the Panamanian government via century old treaty. They primarily reside in autonomous territory regions and set their own laws.

Representatives from the Ngobe Bugle also denounced the use stating  The indigenous groups of panama consider the design an unacceptable disrespect of Panamanian culture and history. ["Los grupos indígenas panameños consideran el diseño un irrespeto inaceptable a la cultura y la historia panameña”]. 

Others including Belisario López, the traditional leader of the Guna Yala community stated, “We are not against our ‘mola’ being commercialized. What we oppose is it being done without consulting us first."

What is striking is that Puerto Rico has its own indigenous cultural heritage attributed to the Taino,  including famous historic and cultural symbols, such as the coquí. More baffling is that Nike had an internal example of a successful country tribute effort with its Fall 2018 De Lo Mio campaign celebrating the Dominican Republic.

These occurrences of culturally problematic or appropriative designs are not new in fashion, as Gucci and Nordstrom have come under recent criticism from the Sikh community for their use of "indy turbans" in the Fall 2018 collection or Gucci's use of blackface on a turtleneck last winter. One hopes that the recent introduction of a house of Fenty by Rihanna to the LVMH portfolio will ensure that a new standard of cultural awareness will be set across the fashion industry.  

New Music: Kafu Banton x El Micha x Farruko "Playa"

Panamá (Kafu Banton), Cuba (El Micha) and Puerto Rico (Farruko) team up for a summer hit remixing a Kafu classic!

Afro-Panamanians nominated for 2019 Emmy Award for Univision's "Afrolatinos"

Credit: Facebook

Stephanie Murillo, a young Panamanian professional, specialist in multimedia productions, is among the nominees for a 2019 Emmy Award in the United States. The good news came to her this week, after receiving a call from her best friend Edwin Pitti, also Panamanian, who serves as the Univision correspondent for the White House.

"My Whatsapp [Edwin] was blowing up to announce that the report we did together last year, AFROLATINOS, is nominated this year for an Emmy Award among the four nominations that he has" announced Stephanie on their social networks.

On the other hand Pitti, based in the United States, shared in his personal Twitter account his joy as this year is nominated in four categories. In 2018 and 2016 Pitti won awards for Best Series-Special Generic Report, Best Report-Medicine Science and Technology, Best Promo-Specific Report.

"The AFROLATINOS report was born out of a concern of his, of knowing more about our history, our ancestry, our culture and our shared struggles throughout the region, and he asked José Antonio Gil and myself to support him as producers in Panama, through Mambriche Media, to raise Afro-Panamanian voices "explained the happy nominee.

Translated fromSpanish/Version en Español: https://ensegundos.com.pa/2019/05/16/panamena-es-nominada-para-los-premios-emmy-por-reportaje-afrolatinos/

WATCH AFROLATINOS:

As Panamanians Vote for the Next President, Where Do Afro-Panamanians Stand?

Carlos Jasso Reuters 2019

On Sunday May 5, Panamanians go to the polls to elect a president for a new 5 year term (2019-2024). Seven candidates have run a grueling race which began in earnest in mid 2018. With less than 48 hours before voters go to the polls, Lorentino "Nito" Cortizo Cohen of the Popular Democratic Party (PRD), is favored to win succeeding outgoing president Juan Carlos Varela. His closest competitor, Romulo Roux of the Democratic Change Party (CD) is backed by ex-president Ricardo Martinelli, who is currently incarcerated awaiting trial for corruption. Other candidates include the Mayor of Panama City, José Isabel Blandón, Ricardo Lombana,  and Panama's former attorney general Ana Matilde Gómez and Saul Méndez, leader of SunTracs, Panama’s strongest labor union.

The campaign has been dominated by issues of ongoing corruption scandals across the political spectrum, rising inequality and crime, education system, strengthening /reworking of the country's Constitution, concerns about the viability of Panama's social security system and a general lack of trust by the population that government institutions are able to address the concerns of the people, in particular the most marginalized.

Despite the corruption inquiries and economic malaise that has gripped the country for the last 3 years, Panama remains one of the strongest economies in Latin America with 5.3% growth and is projected by the World Bank to have 6% growth in 2019. However this prosperity belies the the fact that Panama's black and indigenous communities have barely benefited from the economic boom which has been driven in large part by the financial sector, Panama Canal commissions, real estate and  infrastructure development such as the subway expansion in Panama City. In fact,  "nearly one in four of the population has an income less than half of the median level, according to a study by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean [ECLAC] - the highest discrepancy in 18 countries it reviewed".

Carlos Jasso Reuters 2019

On March 22 and April 22 respectively, the Foro Afropanameño, a nationwide entity of various social movement organizations representing Afro-Panamanians and the National Coordinator of Indigenous Peoples (CONAPIP) representing indigenous communities, held candidates forums for those running. The objective of each was to address the issues of concern to these communities but also to assess the agendas of the candidates towards these communities.

In addition to national elections, May is also the Month of Black Ethnicity in Panama (the officially recognized “Day”, May 30, was made law in 2000, yet is observed the entire month). According to the Panama based watchdog organization, the Observatory Panama Afro, of the seven candidates in attendance on March 22, four submitted action plans with respect to the Afro-Panamanian community or signed onto the Plan of Action developed by the Foro Afropanameño. Generally, the candidates have agreed to ensure fulfillment of the country’s obligations to the Black community under international conventions, in particular the U.N. International Decade of Afrodescendants. On April 5, frontrunner Nito Cortizo presented his plan, followed by Ana Matilde Gómez whose “Government Plan” called for the creation of a permanent national entity to protect afrodescendant rights within the framework of the sustainable development of the country. On April 15, José Isabel Blandón acknowledged his commitment to the community based on the Plan of Action. Since one of these candidates will likely be the next president of the Republic it is important to understand the public policy agenda they will need to embrace. Mr. Cortizo, in fact provided the most detailed plan, parts of which were extracted from the Foro Afropanameño "Plan of Action: 4 Pillars and 1 Star" presented to all candidates. These included 1) realization of the Afrodescendant Census 2020 in a serious, exact and scientific way to ensure verifiable and useful statistics that ensure fair political inclusivity, 2) a relaunch of the National Plan for Afro-Panamanian Development established in 2007, 3) honor and visibilize accomplished community members and inclusion of AfroPanamanian historical and cultural contributions to the educational system and 4) transparent inclusion of public policy concerns relevant to Afro-Panamanians public sector.

Follow through of the winning candidate will be critical. The first two tests will be the appointment of a secretary for Afro-Panamanian development as well as the expeditious assessment and implementation of the Afrodescendant Cenus 2020 plan. Having campaigned on a platform of participatory community-focused reform, should Nito Cortizo prevail, as has been predicted, his administration will be monitored closely to ensure their plan of action is actually put into action.