Republic of Panama

Ministry of Education

University of the Isthmus

Headquarters of Los Pueblos

Subject: English

Topic: Black Ethnicity Month

Name:

Maria Arauz

Professor:

Tatiana Espitia

Delivery date:

05 / 23 / 2022

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 Index

 Introduction
 Content
o Origin
o Food
o Music and Folklore
o Clothing
o Important faces (personalities
o When is celebrate it?
 Conclusion
 Illustration
 Infography

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 Introduction

There is nothing better than a country members value their ethnic, cultural, social
roots and try these, are known worldwide. That is why, thanks to the enactment of
Law 9 by President Mireya Moscoso, was created a commission that designated
May 30 as the official date of the celebration of the "Day of National Black
Ethnicity".

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 Black Ethnicity Month

1. Origins

It is difficult to pinpoint and identify the place of origin of the African slaves brought
to Panama during the colonial era. According to the study of Martin Jamieson,
some authors point out that most were from Guinea-Bissau.

Other authors point out that the slaves came from the region between
southern Senegal River and northern Angola. In fact, according to other authors,
whether from 1514 began arriving Africans, brought from West Africa to work on
plantations in Panama, from 1523, men and women who arrived mainly came
from Guinea, Cameroon, the Congo Basin and Angola. The presence of this factor
determined the ethnic-cultural core musical features of the Panamanian people.
The form of communication used by Africans since 1607 (due to their songs, their
instruments and their dances, their numerous uprisings - many of whom fled to
settle in the forests, under the guidance of legendary figures like Bayano, Anton
Mandinga or Domingo Congo-and the conclusion of a peace treaty in 1607, which
granted some freedom, but with restrictions, to thousands of former slaves), and is
still cultivated by the "Congo" (a culture, and genre of Afrocolonial dance from
Republic of Panama,[3] characterized by a violent expression and erotic dancing,
and is almost always associated with some sort of mime and theater, with themes
of infamous historical episodes of African slave trade, slavery and the resulting
slave rebellions during the time of the conquest and colonialism. Students of this
culture did find parallels as their cryptolect is similar to funeral practices of San
Basilio de Palenque, Colombia, who are of Congolese and Ghanaian origin. The
study of this culture helps determine at least some origins of Afro-Panamanians), is
the greeting with feet and talking backwards, as a mixture of European, African and
Indigenous cultures. Already by 1560, there were maroon communities in
Bayano palanqueras, and Cerro de Cabra, Portobelo, Panama.

Moreover, besides the slaves which some authors may have been imported to
Panama from, mostly, Guinea Bissau, Cameroon, Congo and Angola (which
originated culture "Congos" in 1607), according to Guzman Navarro, many of the

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slaves who arrived in Panama in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries
were transported by French traffickers, from Goree slave factory in Senegambia.
During the period when the asiento was granted to the South Sea Company, which
lasted until the mid-eighteenth century, slaves came mostly from the Windward
Coast (Liberia - west of Ivory Coast) and the Gold Coast (east of the Ivory Coast-
Ghana), but also came some slaves from Senegambia. In the last decades of the
eighteenth century the Spanish Gaditana Company was authorized to import
African slaves, although most came from other American colonies,
including Cartagena de Indias, Havana, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and the French
Caribbean colonies.

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 2. Food

The “bon” that we enjoy so much, especially during Holy Week, originated in the
XIV Century in England, where a priest began to bake them to give them to the
poor. Shortly thereafter, they became known as the “loaves of the red cross” and
were enjoyed by everyone, especially on Good Friday. These yeast and spice
breads are made with raisins, currants, and candied citrus peel days, and are
decorated above with a cross on, it’s bright tan surface. The “bon” tradition crossed
the seas during the slave trade and was adopted by the Antilleans, a custom that
has lasted to this day. A good heavy and dense bone. It is required to knead and
rest and knead again until acquiring the appropriate consistency. It is not a sweet
bread as some people say

Other food we can mention are:

- Saus or Souce
- Enyucado
- Cou Cou
- Saril
- Gongo Peas
- Pescado en Escabeche

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 3. Music and Folklore

Following the Civil War, black Americans, through employment as musicians

playing European music in military bands, developed a new style of music
called ragtime which gradually evolved into jazz. In developing this latter musical
form, African Americans contributed knowledge of the
sophisticated polyrhythmic structure of the dance and folk music of peoples across
the African continent. These musical forms had a wide-ranging influence on the
development of music within the United States and around the world during the
20th century.

The modern genres of blues and ragtime were developed during the late 19th

century by fusing West African vocalizations which employed the natural harmonic
series, and blue notes. For example, "If one considers the five criteria given by
Waterman as cluster characteristics for West African music, one finds that three
have been well documented as being characteristic of Afro- American music. Call-
and-response organizational procedures, dominance of a percussive approach to
music, and off-beat phrasing of melodic accents have been cited as typical of Afro-
American music in virtually every study of any kind of Afro-American music from
work songs, field or street calls, shouts, and spirituals to blues and jazz."

The earliest jazz and blues recordings were made in the 1920s. African-American
musicians developed related styles such as rhythm and blues in the 1940s. In the
1960s, soul performers had a major influence on white US and UK singers. In the
mid-1960s, black musicians developed funk and they were many of the leading
figures in late 1960s and 1970s genre of jazz-rock fusion. In the 1970s and 1980s,
black artists developed hip-hop, and in the 1980s introduced the disco-infused
dance style known as house music. Much of today's genres of music is heavily
influenced by traditional African-American music. A new museum opened in
Nashville, Tennessee, on January 18, 2021, called the National Museum of African
American Music which highlights African Americans' contributions in the creation of
new genres of music that have influenced American music and popular music
around the world. The new museum has a history of African-American music

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beginning in Africa to the present day. "It’s the only museum in the U.S. to
showcase the 50-plus musical genres and styles created or influenced by African
Americans spirituals, gospel tunes, jazz, hip-hop and more."

In Latin America, Panamanian folk music stands out for its dances, hand, foot and
hip movements, and, above all, the joyful rhythms of its drums: rhythms soundly
marked by African heritage. It is one of the most distinctive and colorful folkloric
manifestations from the province of Colon. The Congo dance tradition arose on the
Atlantic coast, after the escape of the blacks brought by the European colonizers.

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 4. Clothing

The clothes of black ethnicity are a grate feature of their culture, this is a very
colorful, its fabrics are comfortable for any weather. The design has wide sleeves
to ventilate the body, colors and designs emphasize their roots. Woman wear
ornaments on their heads called “ovanas”, are fabrics that cover their hair and Men
wear a small cloth hat called “kufi”.

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5. Important faces (personalities)
- Martin Luther King Jr.: No single African American in history is
perhaps as famous as Martin Luther King Jr., otherwise known as
MLK. There is a federal holiday on the third Monday each January
celebrated in his honor, and whole sections of textbooks are devoted
to his civil rights activism in the 1950s and 1960s. A Baptist minister in
the city of Montgomery by trade and a prominent civil rights activist,
Martin Luther King made his mark by preaching nonviolent means of
protesting the segregation of whites and blacks in the United States.
MLK’s assassination at the hands of a white man in 1968 sparked riots
and mourning across the world.

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- Rosa Parks: Rosa Parks is best known for refusing to move to the
back of a bus after the driver demanded she give her seat to a white
passenger. While not the first person to refuse to obey the segregation
laws in the United States, Rosa Parks was labeled as the “Mother of
the Freedom Movement” following her bold disobedience and
subsequent arrest. Like MLK, Rosa Parks was from Montgomery, and
she and King together made great strides in procuring basic human
rights for African Americans across the country.

- Frederick Douglass: Frederick Douglass lived during the Civil War in

the middle of the 19th century, which was fought over slavery and its
role in American society. Douglass, a prominent abolitionist
(somebody who was against slavery) and former slave himself, is best
known for his seminal autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick
Douglass, an American Slave. In it, Douglass outlines his life as a
slave and his subsequent escape, which proved instrumental to the
abolitionist movement and the ultimate goal of ending slavery.

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- Maya Angelou: Maya Angelou is one of the best-known African
American authors, famed for her autobiographies. Her most influential
autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, tells a coming-of-
age tale that shows racism as it affected a young girl, and how it
transformed her into the proud author she would later become. Maya
Angelou worked with Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights
leaders to put a permanent end to segregation.

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 6. When is celebrate it?

May in Panama is the time for the “Fiesta de la Etnia Negra” or, loosely translated,
Black History Month. Unlike many holidays celebrated here, this is a month-long
event, one that culminates today, May 31, referred to as “Día de la Etnia Negra
Nacional”, when a customary parade takes place in Colón.
The “Día de la Etnia Negra Nacional” is a celebration of ethnic heritage but it’s also
a time of inclusion. People of all colors, heritage, and origins are encouraged to
join events, parades, and the overall celebration. So I hope you put on your party
shoes and hit the streets.
Día de la Etnia Negra Nacional, established by Law 9 of May 30, 2000, to
commemorate ethnic diversity in the country, is no exception. The inspiration for
the day came from the province of Chiriquí, specifically Las Arenas de Puerto
Armuelles, home to the Honorable Claral Richards Thompson, an Afro-
Panamanian who was a famous discus thrower as well as renowned baseball
player.
The celebration’s background and the law that created the national holiday has not
only made it possible to appreciate the country’s Afro heritage, but also to highlight
its abolition of slavery in 1851. This was during a period in which Panama was
united with Colombia, then called Nueva Granada, before the separation of
Panama in 1903.

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 Conclusion
The day of the Black Ethnic Group in Panama will have enormous potential when
the black communities recognize their possibilities and move away from the
apprehension of their blackness. We must understand that there is no other more
opportune moment to highlight the achievements of the black man in Panama and
his participation in the formation of the nation and our nationality. We must take
advantage of the day and more than anything of the month to squeeze every
ounce of utility available, promoting and educating.

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Ilustration

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 Infography

Wikipedia contributors. (2022, 18 abril). Afro-Panamanians. Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro-Panamanians

Berrio, E. J. P. (2019, 25 junio). INFORMACIÓN SOBRE ETNIA NEGRA EN PANAMÁ.

studylib.es. https://studylib.es/doc/8809532/informaci%C3%B3n-sobre-etnia-negra-

en-panam%C3%A1

Teeters, R. (2020, 2 octubre). A Celebration For All: Panama’s Afro-Heritage Month

Festivities. Live and Invest Overseas. https://www.liveandinvestoverseas.com/in-

focus-panama/a-celebration-for-all-panamas-afro-heritage-month-festivities/

User, G. (2020, 25 marzo). In Celebration of Black History Month: 10 Influential African

Americans. America House Kyiv.

https://www.americahousekyiv.org/ah-blog/2018/2/17/in-celebration-of-black-

history-month-10-influential-african-americans

Wikipedia contributors. (2022b, mayo 22). African-American music. Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African-American_music#International_influence

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