Rachel Clara Reed

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The oldest of its kind in Veracruz, Mexico, Coyolillo’s Carnival originated when enslaved Africans, brought to the area by Spanish colonists, were given a single day off, and used it to disguise themselves with masks. Today the Carnival celebrates the heritage of Afro-Mexicans, who have been historically marginalized. Only in 2015 did the government formally acknowledge them in the national census. The day’s festivities include a parade, a beauty pageant, traditional homemade dishes, and intricately designed masks.

As published by Atlas Obscura

Filmed and edited by Rachel Clara Reed

Beginning in the 16th century, about 200,000 slaves from Guinea, Congo, Ivory Coast, Mali, Burkina Fasso and other African countries were shipped to Mexico by the Spanish, many through Veracruz's port. It is believed that the first inhabitants of Coyolillo were freed slaves, who had worked at sugarcane plantations in the region. Many were linked to the hacienda of San Miguel de Almolonga. As one version of the story goes, the slaves were given one day off a year to rest, which they would turn into a celebration. 150 years later, this tradition of celebration continues in the form of a week-long Carnaval, complete with dance, thousands of stuffed chilis and colorful costumes (or disfraces) with animal masks.

In a country that didn’t formally recognize African descendancy until 2015, Afro-Mexicans have been historically marginalized and are fighting for their stories to be heard. “[Coyolillo is] a community that is realizing that other Afro-Mexican communities exist and that there is a lot of work to do,” activist Daniela Lopez Carreta told me, “What united [our ancestors] was achieving freedom. So now I think we are the freedom that they fought so hard to get.”

Iglesia San Isidro Labrador, in the center of Coyolillo.

“We have seen that our history is not clear but that might be because it was very painful,” Daniela told me. “The people feel proud of their heritage, but they also know very little and this is where we can talk about invisibility. That invisibility, it has allowed other people not to know us, but also people here don’t know where exactly we came from.”

Dani realized that she was Afro-Mexican when she met other members in the Afro-Mexican movement, and was inspired into activism because she realized how much work there was to do.

“To talk about Afro-Mexicanism is to talk of the different shades of pigmentation,” Daniela said. “In Coyolillo there are diverse families in which half of the family is black and the other half is white. Without a doubt those with a darker complexion are more discriminated against. When a child is born, for example, the first question is if she is black or white and then if she is white: “Oh well she will be very beautiful” and if she is black: “Ah, well just like her father or her grandmother.” So we need to unlearn all of these forms of racism or micro-racism.”

Maricruz Barradas Carranza says she only recently learned about her Afro-Mexican identity.

“Our parents, our grandparents, they didn’t talk about it,” she said. “We knew that we were Coyoleños. That we were black. Before, everyone around us always called us derogatory terms. People criticized us for our surroundings, for our poverty. Now, it doesn’t hurt that they treated us poorly because we know that this is who we are and we are happy. We are Afro-descendants, Afro-Mexicans, and now let’s see if we receive more respect and more support.”

The 2015 recognition of people of African descent on the Mexican census was an important first step for black communities to have their needs recognized.

“Right now there is a whole movement,” Dani said, “even more so after the constitutional recognition of several support programs that have come out specifically for Afro-Mexican communities. What we are trying to do as activists is to show that it’s not just another modification to the Constitution, that needs exist, that they can’t see us as just a fad because we are not a fad. We are an original people who have contributed a lot.”

“It is said that the people who had been enslaved had one day off,” Daniela explained, “and on that day they could disguise themselves, hiding their identity and that’s why the mask of the bull is used because nobody knows who you are and you can do whatever you want because they can’t discover you.”