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Mexico, with the most Places of History and Memory by UNESCO, to raise awareness about slavery and counteract racism
As part of UNESCO's actions to strengthen the role of memory, social sciences, and education in counteracting hate and racism, 22 places in 10 countries have joined the new Network of Places of History and Memory linked to Enslavement and the Slave Trade. Mexico has the highest number of designated places: five.
The Network will enable members to share best practices in conservation, promotion, and education about memory, heritage, history, and Afro-descendant resistance. UNESCO Member States proposed the places to an International Scientific Committee, which also supervises the network activities.
The five designations in Mexico highlight the actions led by the State around the International Decade for People of African Descent 2015-2024, proclaimed by the United Nations. The Places of History and Memory in Mexico are:
Historic Center of Mexico City
Being the main center for commercial activity and meeting place for different social groups, it was also a place of redistribution and allocation of enslaved Africans and Afro-descendants during New Spain, reconfiguring the dynamics of colonial society throughout its territory. Several anti-racist organizations and institutions have carried out activities to highlight the contributions of Africans and Afro-descendants, once enslaved or free, to the formation of current Mexican society and culture.
Cuajinicuilapa
Cuajinicuilapa, in Guerrero, was one of the first palenques in New Spain, communities formed by African and Afro-descendant people who had fled from slavery, called cimarrones. An example of their legacy and memory are the redondos, buildings of African origin that used to be inhabited as homes. In addition, it is home to the first museum dedicated to Afro-descendant memory and to breaking the silence about the history of slavery in Mexico: Museo de las Culturas Afromestizas (Afro-Mestizo Cultures Museum) or Museo de la Tercera RaÃz (Museum of the Third Root).
Fort of San Diego and Historic Center of Acapulco
The designation of the Historic Center of Acapulco, the second Place of History and Memory in Guerrero, is crucial. Guerrero has the highest number of African descendants (8.6%), and Acapulco is the municipality with the highest concentration, with over 75,400 people recognizing themselves as Afro-Mexican, according to the 2020 INEGI Census. It was the first census to count this population in the country.
Historical and cultural exchanges shape the cultural diversity, the heritage and the identities of the communities. La Guinea, one of the oldest neighbourhoods of Acapulco, is one of them and preserves an indelible link to its African ancestry throughout its name. Meanwhile, the Fort of San Diego was the entry and exit point of the Manila Galleon, a maritime route from the 16th century, which facilitated the trade between Europe, Asia, and the Americas for 250 years, including the regrettable trafficking of enslaved people.
The Fort of San Juan de Ulúa
The fort was the first port authorized by Spain for overseas trade and the first arrival gate for African people in America since 1518. Around 250,000 enslaved African people arrived there between the 16th and 18th centuries. Over time, some people obtained their freedom and joined colonial society in different activities, consolidating the coastal area of ​​Veracruz as a home for Afro-descendants.
Yanga
In Veracruz, Yanga is considered the first Free People in the Americas, founded by Africans and Afro-descendants who had escaped slavery. Initially called San Lorenzo de los Negros, it was renamed Yanga in 1932 in honour of the leader who, in 1609, led the resistance against Spanish attempts to reoccupy the Palenque of cimarrones. Now, Yanga is emblematic due to the great participation of its communities, and a meeting and pilgrimage centre for some national and international Afro-descendants.
The network of Places of History and Memory linked to Enslavement and the Slave Trade will contribute to knowledge development, best practices exchange, scientific and academic networks, and initiatives to recover universal memory and "break the silence" about the history of slavery and racism.
Its actions focus on recognizing racism as a system of oppression and exploitation, honouring resistance, promoting the cultural and creative contributions of Afro-descendant people to humanity, questioning inequalities derived from the trafficking and enslavement of Afro-descendant people, and fostering the psychosocial healing of communities through the memory of slavery and racism.
