Palenque de San Basilio: An "African Village" In Colombia, South America (video, information, & comments)

SEMANA RURAL, Nov. 8, 2017

A sólo unos kilómetros de Cartagena se encuentra San Basilio de Palenque, el primer pueblo libre de América. En esta tierra, los africanos liderados por Benkos Bioho encontraron el oasis para liberarse de la represión española.

Hoy, Palenque es una muestra de la herencia afro y el legado de un pueblo que lucha día a día para mantener viva sus tradiciones. "La Burgos", Alí, Tayler y Rafaelito nos cuentan que se siente ser palenquero, mientras Florencia y Kevin no dejan de sorprenderse con la magia de este rincón en Colombia con sabor al continente africano

-snip-
Google translate from Spanish to English

Just a few kilometers from Cartagena is San Basilio de Palenque, the first free town in America. In this land, the Africans led by Benkos Bioho found the oasis to free themselves from Spanish repression.

Today, Palenque is a sample of the Afro heritage and the legacy of a people who fight every day to keep their traditions alive. "La Burgos", Alí, Tayler and Rafaelito tell us what it feels like to be a palenquero, while Florencia and Kevin never cease to be surprised by the magic of this corner in Colombia with a flavor of the African continent.

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases the Colombia, South American village of "San Basilio de Palenque". That village is known as the first "free town" in the Americas.

The content of this post is presented historical, cultural, and educational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are working to preserve the culture of San Basilio de Palenque and thanks to all those who are asociated with this showcased video. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE NATION OF COLOMBIA

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colombia
"Colombia ..., officially the Republic of Colombia (Spanish: About this soundRepública de Colombia (help·info)),[Note 1] is a country in South America with territories in North America. Colombia is bounded on the north by the Caribbean Sea, the northwest by Panama, the south by Ecuador and Peru, the east by Venezuela, the southeast by Brazil, and the west by the Pacific Ocean. It comprises 32 departments and the Capital District of Bogotá, the country's largest city.

With over 50 million inhabitants Colombia is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse countries in the world, with its rich cultural heritage reflecting influences by various Amerindian civilizations, European settlement, forced African labor, and immigration from Europe and the greater Middle East. Urban centres are concentrated in the Andean highlands and the Caribbean coast."...

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INFORMATION ABOUT PALENQUE DE SAN BASILIO, COLOMBIA 
Excerpt #1
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Basilio_de_Palenque
"San Basilio de Palenque or Palenque de San Basilio, often referred to by the locals simply as Palenke, is a Palenque village and corregimiento in the Municipality of Mahates, Bolivar in northern Colombia. Palenque was the first free African town in the Americas, and in 2005 was declared a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.[1]

History

Spaniards introduced kidnapped African slaves in South America through the Magdalena River Valley. Its mouth is close to the important port of Cartagena de Indias where ships full of Africans arrived. Some Africans escaped and set up Palenque de San Basilio, a town close to Cartagena. They tried to free all African slaves arriving at Cartagena and were quite successful. Therefore, the Spanish Crown issued a Royal Decree (1691), guaranteeing freedom to the Palenque de San Basilio Africans if they stopped welcoming New escapees.

The Village

The village of Palenque de San Basilio has a population of about 3,500 inhabitants and is located in the foothills of the Montes de María, southeast of the regional capital, Cartagena.[2] The word "palenque" means "walled city" and the Palenque de San Basilio is only one of many walled communities that were founded by escaped slaves as a refuge in the seventeenth century.[2] Of the many palenques of escaped slaves that existed previously San Basilio is the only one that survives.[2] Many of the oral and musical traditions have roots in Palenque's African past.[2] Africans were dispatched to Spanish America under the asiento system.[3]

The village of San Basilio is inhabited mainly by Afro-Colombians which are direct descendants of African slaves brought by the Europeans during the Colonization of the Americas and have preserved their ancestral traditions and have developed also their own language; Palenquero. In 2005 the Palenque de San Basilio village was proclaimed Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.”…

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Excerpt #2
From https://www.colombia.co/en/colombia-country/environment/caribbean-region/san-basilio-de-palenque-first-free-town-africans-americas/ [no date given: retrieved Feb. 19, 2021]

...."San Basilio de Palenque

The free lands of San Basilio de Palenque were founded more than two hundred years before Colombia achieved independence from Spain. A ‘capitulation of peace’ was signed between the Spaniards and the former slaves in 1603 and, in 1713, the Spanish crown issued a Royal Decree that officially freed the people of the palenque from slavery. Their culture and traditions have survived intact, which is why UNESCO declared San Basilio de Palenque a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2005. It’s a unique place, where gastronomy, language, music, culture, medicine and societal organization have a rare and special significance.

Tantalize your tastebuds

Thousands of tourists wander Cartagena de Indias’ colonial streets each year and among them stroll a striking group of women, dressed in colorful skirts and turbans with shawls draped around their shoulders. These women are the city’s famous palenqueras, experts at selling goods and making deals with vast baskets of traditional treats and tropical fruit balanced on their heads. The palenqueras sell irresistible sweets, such as coconut cake, cereal balls, syrups, tamarind balls, peanut balls, sugared papaya, traditional cheeses, aniseed and more.

The palenqueras travel across the region too, sharing recipes that have been passed down through the generations for more than three centuries. Some of their best loved dishes include the catfish mote (a cheese and tuber soup) the traditional Caribbean cheese mote, seafood rice, and smoked catfish in a creamy sauce, all of them based on ingredients such as cassava, cane sugar, pigeon peas and coconut milk. The history behind these recipes infuses them with flavor and anyone who enjoys a typical palenque meal will find their mouth watering at the local phrase, “Minino a Palengue a kumé,” which means: “Come and eat in Palenque”.

Palenque’s world-beating culinary skills

The excellence of palenque cooking was recognized on the global stage at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in 2014, held in Beijing, China. More than 15,000 cookbooks written by culinary stars from 184 countries were entered into the awards, including a cookbook written in San Basilio de Palenque called Kumina ri Palenge pa tó paraje. Thirty-eight people from the palenque shared their ancestral secrets and wrote recipes for the book, which was published in the palenque language. The book won the top prize at the awards, nicknamed the ‘Oscar for Gastronomy’.

A unique language

The captives on those European slave ships came from different parts of Africa, with different cultures and languages. They were mixed together deliberately, part of a colonization strategy that was determined to ensure those confined to its boats and workplaces couldn’t communicate and plan mutinies and escape. Despite this, the ex-slaves came together and mixed Castilian, Portuguese, English, French, Bantu and Pingui to create their own language.

An irresistible beat

Music and dance are the soul of San Basilio de Palenque. Drums rumble and energetic dancers make the floor vibrate. Spectators’ hearts beat faster, swelling with the sound of song, and the influence of Africa is evident all around. Percussion instruments in the palenque thrum to beats such as puya, son, pava and mapalé and every occasion, even death, is marked with the beat of a drum.

Joy is contagious in San Basilio de Palenque. The costumes are vibrant and the stamina for dancing unparalleled and exhibited in styles such as the entrompao, pa raito or paseo, palenquero son, chalusonga and, of course, champeta. Visitors will hear artists such as Sexteto Tabalá, Kombilesa Mi, Radio Matuna, Las Alegres Ambulancias and Son Palenque and hear the magic and charm of songs such as Bullerengue Sentado, Son del Negro and Son Palenquero de Sexteto. One of the best times of the year to visit is in October, when the Drums and Cultural Expressions Festival is held, a complete overview of San Basilio de Palenque’s musical culture.”….

Palenque was spoken in all of the palenques that formed at the time and is native to African communities in the Americas. Today it is spoken only in San Basilio de Palenque and is one of Colombia’s 69 native languages. Even in Cartagena, the palenqueras who sell their traditional products speak in their original palenque, which carries incalculable cultural value for Colombia."...

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE PALENQUERO LANGUAGE
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palenquero
"Palenquero (sometimes spelled Palenkero) or Palenque (Palenquero: Lengua) is a Spanish-based creole language spoken in Colombia. It is a mixture of Kikongo (a language spoken in central Africa in the current countries of Congo, DRC and Angola, former member states of Kongo) and Spanish. Palenquero is the only Spanish-based creole in Latin America,[5] if Papiamento (which is often considered to be Portuguese-based) is excluded. The ethnic group which speaks this creole consisted of 6,637 people in 2018.[1] It is primarily spoken in the village of San Basilio de Palenque which is southeast of Cartagena, and in some neighbourhoods of Barranquilla.[6]

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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THIS VIDEO'S DISCUSSION THREAD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX1oSxiZnuQ&t=401s&ab_channel=DcodedTVShow

These comments are given in relative chronological order with the oldest dated comments given first, except for replies. 

Unless otherwise noted, the translations are from Spanish to English from Google translate.

Dairo Castro, 2018
"En Cartagena tenemos un profundo respeto y admiración a los Palenqueros. Y como dijo la sra. Evelina: "las palenqueras son las flores de las murallas de Cartagena". Sin el colorido de sus vestimentas, la blancura de la sonrisa de esa gente bella y buena, la dulzura de sus productos y lo rico se su gastronomía Cartagena no hubiese sido conocida. Nuestra cultura como cartageneros se perdió; pero la cultura del palenquero sigue intacta. Dios bendiga Palenque."
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"In Cartagena we have a deep respect and admiration for the Palenqueros. And as mrs. Evelina: "the palenqueras are the flowers of the walls of Cartagena". Without the color of their clothes, the whiteness of the smile of those beautiful and good people, the sweetness of their products and the richness of its gastronomy, Cartagena would not have been known. Our culture as Cartagena was lost; but the culture of the palenquero is still intact. God bless Palenque."

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Y. Baa973, 2018
"The Palenqueros should go met the Saramaka maroons, their brother in Suriname. Because during slavery their ancestors came from the same african countries (Kongo, Loango, Angola, Ghana, Nigeria ...)"
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"The Palenqueros should go met the Saramaka maroons, their brother in Suriname. Because during slavery their ancestors came from the same african countries (Kongo, Loango, Angola, Ghana, Nigeria ...)"

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Reply
Nichole Rojas, 2019
"Aunque la esclavitud en la esfera hispana era muy diferente a la francesa y anglosajona."
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"Although slavery in the Hispanic sphere was very different from the French and Anglo-Saxon."

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Denis Jean Garry, 2018
"Yo soy haitiano y muy interesado a la historia de los afro en America, para mi un placer descubrir San basilio de Palenque,, sobre todo su historia. Me parece similar a la historia haitiana.  El tambor y los demas elementos de la cultura palenquera constituyen les vestigios de los simbolos de resistencia en contra de la esclavitud y del imperialismo cultural. Que siguen vivos la identidad palenquera
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"I am Haitian and very interested in the history of Afro-Americans in America, for me a pleasure to discover San Basilio de Palenque, especially its history. It seems similar to Haitian history. The drum and the other elements of the Palenquera culture they constitute the vestiges of the symbols of resistance against slavery and cultural imperialism, which are still alive the Palenquera identity"

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Y. Baa973, 2018
"The Palenqueros should go met the Saramaka maroons, their brother in Suriname. Because during slavery their ancestors came from the same african countries (Kongo, Loango, Angola, Ghana, Nigeria ...)"

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Denis Jean Garry, 2018
"Yo soy haitiano y muy interesado a la historia de los afro en America, para mi un placer descubrir San basilio de Palenque,, sobre todo su historia. Me parece similar a la historia haitiana.  El tambor y los demas elementos de la cultura palenquera constituyen les vestigios de los simbolos de resistencia en contra de la esclavitud y del imperialismo cultural. Que siguen vivos la identidad palenquera"
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"I am Haitian and very interested in the history of Afro-Americans in America, for me a pleasure to discover San Basilio de Palenque, especially his history. It seems similar to the Haitian story to me. The drum and the other elements of the Palenquera culture constitute the vestiges of the symbols of resistance against slavery and cultural imperialism. That the Palenquera identity is still alive"

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Reply

AfroNative World, 2020
"Que bien tengo un poema sobre nuestra relación, Ayiti y AfroColombia por que Petion ayudo a Bolivar con querer la libertad de los Africanos en la región"
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"How well I have a poem about our relationship, Ayiti and AfroColombia because Petion helped Bolivar with wanting the freedom of Africans in the region"

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Bena Biamo, 2019
"KONGO KONGO KONGO KONGO KONGO KONGO KONGO KONGO KONGO KONGO KONGO KONGO KONGO KONGO KONGO KONGO"

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DJingMinds, 2019
"Miré en el mapa que se toma mas de una hora en carro desde cartagena hasta palenque.

Me imagino cuanto tiempo le tomaba a los esclavos de la epoca para alcanzar la libertad en este pueblito.

Un sitio que merece pelicula de nivel mundial."
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"I looked at the map that it takes more than an hour by car from Cartagena to Palenque.

I imagine how long it took for the slaves of the time to achieve freedom in this little town.

A site that deserves a world-class movie."

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Ana Moom, 2019
"Soy africana de Guinea Ecuatorial y me siento orgullosa de ver que nuestras raíces no se hayan perdido, hermoso festival😍"
-snip-
"I am an African from Equatorial Guinea and I am proud to see that our roots have not been lost, beautiful festival😍"

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Cell User, 2020
"El Palenquero es sinonimo de coraje y rechazo a la esclavitud, es grito de libertad y ha sido llevado por la musica a todos lados en nombre de lo que ahora es Colombia. Te recomiendo ver los videos del gran Joe Arroyo, musico de claras racies afro que se alimentó mucho a nivel musical en el Palenque, asi como otras expresiones culturales con Toto la Momposina y otras cantadoras de bullerengue y cumbia..."
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"El Palenquero is synonymous with courage and rejection of slavery, it is a cry of freedom and has been carried by music everywhere in the name of what is now Colombia. I recommend you to watch the videos of the great Joe Arroyo, a musician of clear Afro races who fed a lot on a musical level in Palenque, as well as other cultural expressions with Toto la Momposina and other bullerengue and cumbia singers ...

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ana, 2020
"La historia afrocolombiana es lo más fascinante que he visto👏 excelente video"
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"Afro-Colombian history is the most fascinating thing I have ever seen👏 excellent video"

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Nefertari Baidy, 2020
"Soy africana del Senegal y me da mucho gusto saber que mi raice en colombia no se han olvidado a su verdad pais que es Africa. ..soy muy orgulloso de los afro colombianos . quiero ir a visitar colombia un dia para ver a mis hermanos negros.
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"I am an African from Senegal and I am very happy to know that my roots in Colombia have not forgotten their true country which is Africa. ..I am very proud of Afro-Colombians. I want to go visit Colombia one day to see my black brothers."

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juan gomez, 2021
"En Memoria y solidaridad con Benkos Bioho. ¡un hombre muere pero las ideas son eternas! Somos hombres libres, dueños de nuestra vida, esclavos de nadie."
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"In Memory and solidarity with Benkos Bioho. A man dies but ideas are eternal! We are free men, owners of our lives, slaves of no one."

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Visitor comments are welcome.

Afro- Colombian Mapalé Music & Dance From San Basilio De Palenque

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases a video of traditional Afro-Colombian music, dancing, and chanting.

Information about Colombian palenques and about San Basilio De Palenque in particular is included in this post along with selected comments from this video's discussion thread.

The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are featured in this video. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube.

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PALENQUES IN COLOMBIAN HISTORY
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quilombo
A quilombo (Portuguese pronunciation: [kiˈlõbu]; from the Kimbundu word kilombo) is a Brazilian hinterland settlement founded by people of African origin including the Quilombolas, or Maroons. Most of the inhabitants of quilombos (called quilombolas) were escaped slaves and, in some cases, later these escaped African slaves would help provide shelter and homes to other minorities of marginalised Portuguese, Brazilian aboriginals, Jews[citation needed] and Arabs,[citation needed] and/or other non-black, non-slave Brazilians. However, the documentation on runaway slave communities typically uses the term mocambo, an Ambundu word meaning "hideout", to describe the settlements. A mocambo is typically much smaller than a quilombo. Quilombo was not used until the 1670s and then primarily in more southerly parts of Brazil.

A similar settlement exists in the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America, and is called a palenque. Its inhabitants are palenqueros who speak various Spanish-African-based creole languages.
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Italics added to highlight these sentences.

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From https://www.wola.org/analysis/palenques-legacy-afro-colombian-resistance/
"Numerous palenques, or free towns for escaped slaves, gradually emerged at different moments and in different regions of Colombia in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. One of the most important and influential of these is Palenque de San Basilio, which was first recognized in 1713 and designated by UNESCO in 2005 as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Today, Palenque de San Basilio stands as monument to resistance and the fight for a better life in Afro-Colombian communities."...

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From https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/colombia-dispatch-4-palenque-an-afro-colombian-community-87781979/ Colombia Dispatch 4: Palenque: An Afro-Colombian Community
"Four hundred years ago, escaped slaves formed Palenque. Today, the Colombian town celebrates its African roots By Kenneth Fletcher, MITHSONIAN.COM, OCTOBER 28, 2008

Centuries ago, escaped slaves built isolated forts in the jungles that surround Cartagena, once Colombia’s main port for incoming slaves. Today, the Afro-Colombian inhabitants of San Basilio de Palenque, a village just over an hour from Cartagena, have preserved many of the customs of their African ancestors.

I wander around the dusty streets and of the small town on a scorching hot day, listening to residents speaking a local Creole tongue. A mixture of African languages with Spanish and Portuguese, it sounds a lot like the Bantu languages of central Africa. Although the town now has electricity and running water in most homes, locals still gather at the creek to wash clothes, chat and bathe. In the center of town there’s a statue of town founder Benkos Bioho breaking out of chains. Locals say he established Palenque in 1603 with 36 other escaped slaves.

While most other strongholds for escaped slaves eventually fell, this one survived because of its isolation among the hills and swamps about 30 miles outside Cartagena. Locals claim that in 1713 the inhabitants declared it the first independent community in the Americas. Escaped slaves would head to Palenque, knowing that was their chance at freedom. But several decades ago, that same isolation led residents, called Palenqueros, to leave the village for big cities in search of work.

Today, colorfully dressed Palenquera women commute to Cartagena to sell candy and fruit on the streets, while many men work in construction and paving roads. But when Palenqueros first arrived in the cities they encountered racism and were mocked for their strange language. Out of embarrassment, many refrained from observing their traditional customs.

Near the town square, I sat down with Edwin Valdez Hernandez, a charismatic young instructor at the Batata Dance and Music School in Palenque. He tells me that in the 1980s and ’90s a new generation of young, educated Palenqueros fostered a resurgence in pride in the community’s African roots.

“We defend our values with a shout,” Valdez says. “We are black, and we are defending our culture.”

He believes this pride is essential to combating the racism he says still flourishes on the Colombian coast. His friend, Enrique Marques, agrees, “If you lose your culture, you become a slave again.”

The town’s public school now teaches Palenque’s traditional language to all students."...

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SHOWCASE VIDEO - BAILE MAPALE, ORIKYTABALA , DE SAN BASILIO DE PALENKE, CARTAGENA COLOMBIA



tradicionyfuzzion, Published on Sep 18, 2008

BAILE MAPALE POR ORIKYTABALA DE SANBASILIO DE PALENKE HERENCIA AFRIKA
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I think the Spanish to English translation of this sentence is "Mapale Orikytabala dance from San Basilip Palenque, Cartegena, Colombia
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Here are selected comments from the discussion thread of this video (Numbers are added for referencing purposes only and the English translations are given after all of these comments.)
1. sandrajara28, 2014
"En Colombia estamos orgullosos de nuestras raices africanas e indigenas para todo el que piense que diciendonos negros nos insultas este es el verdadero folclor y la COLOMBIA MESTIZA..QUE VIVA EL AFRICA DENTRO DE COLOMBIA QUE VIVA PALENQUE HPTA "!!!!!!"

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2. ana rabat, 2015
"Yo soy de África central y tenemos un baile parecido. Qué bueno saber que hay un pedazo de mi África en Colombia."

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REPLY
3. Nene Loxano Diax, 2015
"+ana rabat Si no estas enterada hay un corregimiento que se llama SAN BACILIO DE PALUENQUE queda en el departamento de Bolívar deberías ir a visitarlo son descendientes de africa."

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REPLY
4. Billy DeCastro, 2015
"+ana rabat la música del norte y el este del país está influenciada por danzas introducidas a estas regiones por esclavos africanos. que fueron traídos a colombia por europeos, la mezcla de estas con las notas e instrumentos locales formaron un folklor único pero variado en la forma de festejarlo, por largo tiempo fue solo de nuestro suelo, que luego se esparció por toda latino america y las islas del caribe"

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REPLY ]to question in Spanish "What are the names (of these dances?)"
5. Billy DeCastro, 2016
"To? Guillermo De Castro, bailes. Cumbia y Mapale, en el este en Choco y Buenaventura hay varias danzas que tienen raices africana 

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6. Cha Ara Gallego, 2016
"Eso es un buen mapalé: Fuerza, energía, sabor, sensualidad; nunca vulgaridad. Maravilloso, San Basilio de Palenque."

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REPLY
7. Alex Monher, 2016
"HOLA SALUDOS DE MEXICO DESCONOS QUE ES UN MAPALE PODRIAS EXPLICARLO POR FAVOR"

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REPLY
8. Cha Ara Gallego, 2016
"Hola, claro. El mapalé es un ritmo y una danza de origen afro y es propio de la costa atlántica colombiana. Se caracteriza, entra varias cosas, por tener movimientos fuertes y sensuales (no vulgares). En esta danza se representan diversos aspectos de la cultura afro que se encuentra en nuestro país. Ente ellas, la imitación del movimiento que hace un pez, al que le llaman mapalé, cuando lo sacan del agua. Esta expresión tuvo su origen hace siglos cundo vivíamos en Colombia la terrible época de la segregación y la esclavitud de la raza negra. Como te digo tiene sus orígenes en las expresiones afros y a ello se suma la mezcla de razas y toda esta cuestión étnica que se dio aquí en la época de la colonia. Actualmente se conservan esta y otras expresiones afros. El video muestra a un grupo de San Basilio de Palenque (el África pequeño, como lo llamamos también), una población cimarrona cerca de Cartagena. San Basilio fue el primer asentamiento de esclavos libres en Colombia. Su lider fue Benkhos Biojó y es para nosotros muy valioso, en todos los aspectos, contar con la vigencia de esta población en la que es como si se hubiese detenido el tiempo en tanto que aún se puede ver la riqueza y belleza de sus arraigadas costumbres y expresiones. Esto es algo muy breve del mapalé. Es muchísimo lo que hay detrás de esta y de las demás danzas afrocolombianas, que son fuerza, sabor, pasión y puro sentimiento; pero aquí te cuento un poco.
Espero haber podido aportar algo en tu haber. Y estás invitadísimo para que vengas y conozcas esta y las otras culturas de nuestro país. Te enamorarás. Yo no soy afrodescendiente, pero me declaro afro y palenquera de corazón, y soy fiel admiradora de esta raza bella, libre y fuerte. Un abrazo caluroso desde Colombia.

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REPLY
9. Alex Monher, 2016
"GRACIAS POR LA EXPLICACION A ORA ME QUEDA CLARO QUE ES UN MAPALE ES MEJOR PREGUNTAR QUE QUEDARSE CON LA DUDA LA MEJOR EXPLICACION DE UNA PERSONA DE COLOMBIA GRACIAS CLARO QUE ME ENAMORARIA DE COLOMBIA YA QUE EN LA CD DE MEXICO AMAMOS LA MUSICA DE COLOMBIA MUY BUEN SABOR Y RITMO SALUDOS DE MEXICO GRACIAS POR RESPONDER".

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10. Benishka García, 2017
"Quiero visitar este Palenque. Quiero sentir el repicar de los tambores cerca de mí. Viva mi Madre Patria África."
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Here are Google translations Spanish to English translations of these comments:
1. sandrajara28, 2014
"In Colombia we are proud of our African and indigenous roots for all who think that telling us blacks insults us this is the real folklore and the COLOMBIA MESTIZA..THE LIVE AFRICA WITHIN COLOMBIA THAT LIVES PALTAQUE HPTA "!!!"

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2. ana rabat, 2015
"I am from central Africa and we have a similar dance. Good to know there is a piece of my Africa in Colombia."

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REPLY
3. Nene Loxano Diax, 2015
"+ ana rabat If you are not aware there is a corregimiento that is called SAN BACILIO DE PALUENQUE is in the department of Bolívar you should go to visit him they are descendants of africa."
-snip-
corregimiento = district (location) ?

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REPLY
4. +Ana Rabat music from the north and east of the country is influenced by dances introduced to these regions by African slaves. that were brought to Colombia by Europeans, the mixture of these with the notes and local instruments formed a unique but varied folk in the way of celebrating it, for a long time it was only from our soil, which later spread throughout Latin America and the islands from the Caribbean

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REPLY
5. To? Guillermo De Castro, dances. Cumbia and Mapale, in the east in Choco and Buenaventura there are several dances that have African roots
-snip-

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6. Cha Ara Gallego, 2016
"That's a good mapalé: Strength, energy, taste, sensuality; never vulgarity. Wonderful, San Basilio de Palenque."

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REPLY
7. Alex Monher, 2016
"HELLO GREETINGS FROM MEXICO WE KNOW THAT IT IS A MAPLE YOU COULD EXPLAIN IT PLEASE."

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REPLY
8. Cha Ara Gallego, 2016
"Hi, of course. The mapalé is a rhythm and a dance of Afro origin and is typical of the Colombian Atlantic coast. It is characterized, it enters several things, by having strong and sensual movements (not vulgar). In this dance various aspects of Afro culture that is found in our country are represented. Among them, the imitation of the movement made by a fish, which they call mapalé, when they take it out of the water. This expression had its origin centuries ago when we lived in Colombia the terrible era of segregation and slavery of the black race. As I say, it has its origins in Afro expressions and to this is added the mixture of races and all this ethnic question that was given here at the time of the colony. Currently this and other Afro expressions are preserved. The video shows a group of San Basilio de Palenque (small Africa, as we also call it), a maroon population near Cartagena. San Basilio was the first settlement of free slaves in Colombia. Its leader was Benkhos Biojó and it is for us very valuable, in all aspects, to have the validity of this population in which it is as if the time had stopped while you can still see the richness and beauty of its deep-rooted customs and expressions. This is something very brief of the mapalé. There is a lot of what is behind this and the other Afro-Colombian dances, which are strength, taste, passion and pure feeling; but here I tell you a little.
I hope I could contribute something to your credit. And you are very invited to come and know this and the other cultures of our country. You will fall in love I am not an Afro-descendant, but I declare myself afro and a palenquero of heart, and I am a faithful admirer of this beautiful, free and strong race. A warm hug from Colombia."

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9. Alex Monher, 2016
"THANKS FOR THE EXPLANATION TO PRAYER IT IS CLEAR THAT IT IS A MAPLE IT IS BETTER TO ASK THEM TO STAY WITH THE DOUBT THE BEST EXPLANATION OF A PERSON FROM COLOMBIA THANK YOU CLEAR I WOULD LOVE COLOMBIA SINCE ON THE CD OF MEXICO WE LOVE THE MUSIC OF COLOMBIA VERY GOOD FLAVOR AND RITUM GREETINGS FROM MEXICO THANK YOU FOR ANSWERING."

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10.Benishka García, 2017
"I want to visit this Palenque. I want to feel the drumming of the drums near me. Long live my Motherland Africa."

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Here are three selected comments from the discussion thread of another copy of this YouTube video: (Comments are numbered for referencing purposes only)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcSdTrS6_Pg arthuroneil, Published on Mar 20, 2011
1. Laura Betancur, 2012
"No, they do not say Palenque, they say "Mapalé", which is the musical rhythm dancing

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2. Jeanne Suila, 2016
"Sound like the traditional music and dance of the ethnic Kongo people of the 2 Congos and Angola (North Angola)."

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3. Aprende Español, 2017
"Jeanne Suila so interesting, i dont know exactly where were from the slaves that spanish conquer bring to colombia, maybe from Kongo and Angola! For my country these traditions are very special and important, this is part of our history too."

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