Schedule of Events

One-third of the population of Latin America and the Caribbean is made up of Afro-descendants (Unciencia). However, Afro-Latinos and their contributions are continually ignored by a majority of the academic community. As Julian Gerstin mentions in his review of the book Nationalizing Blackness: Afrocubanismo and Artistic Revolution in Havana, 1920-1940, books and pieces of literature with Afro-Latin themes most commonly attract readers interested in “African Diasporic Issues” and not general audiences. Nancy Morejón (1944), Victoria Santa Cruz (1922- 2014) and Nicolás Guillen (1902-1989)  are three afro-latino writers which are among the most visible in the Afro-Latino community, and yet remain relatively invisible when considering Latin American Literature. The literary richness and complexity of Afro-Latino Literature is represented in the poems "Mujer Negra", “Me gritaron Negra”  and “Balada de los dos abuelos” by Nancy Morejón, Victoria Santa Cruz, and Nicolás Guillen. These authors narrate their personal journeys as people of African descent, providing a reflection of the Afro-Latino population. These poets focus on shaping and contributing to a new theme in Latin American literature in which the black person is no longer just a decoration, a slave or secondary character, they are agents of their own history and present themselves as free, powerful and as peoples worthy of being recognized. These writers use their pens to highlight African culture in Latin America and use their literature to raise their voices as a sign of a cultural identity that should be recognized internationally as part of the literary canon.