Afro-Paraguayans (Afro-Paraguayos): The Irristible In Addition To Skillful Drumming In Addition To Dancing African Descendants Inwards Southward America

June 07, 2014

Afro-Paraguayan are Paraguayans of African descent. They tin give the axe live found inwards the metropolis of Camba Cua exterior Asuncion; Kamba Kokue exterior of Paraguari, as well as the metropolis of Emboscada. Currently, the Afro-Paraguayan population accounts for 2% of the total population.

Afro-Paraguayan dancers of Kamba Kue. En los bailes del grupo Kamba Cua no faltaron sonrisas ni alegría, contagiaba y llenaba el alma de felicidad. (In the dances of Kamba Cua group, they weren't curt at all amongst smiles or joy, that spread as well as filled the soul amongst happiness.)

In the inaugural off decade of the 21st century the notion that Paraguay has no Black population still
persists, despite the widely acclaimed Afro-Paraguayan trip the low-cal fantastic toe grouping Ballet Kamba Cuá, which
gives performances across the province as well as inwards neighboring countries, as well as whose celebration of St.
Balthasar on Jan six attracts spectators from around the nation.

Afro-Paraguayans

Some historians believe that the “neo-Africanization” of Camba Cua, as well as past times extension Kamba Kokué as well as Emboscada, presents unquestionably a positive evolution for Paraguay’s afrodescendientes. To appointment the essence of Camba Cua civilization is identified amongst drumming as well as the accompanying dance, spell inwards Kamba Kokue as well as Emboscada alone vague notions of a “Black” past times cast a mutual thread of identity, alone late supplemented past times the activism of a handful of intellectuals. No chemical element of linguistic communication is associated amongst Afro-Paraguayan self-identity, amongst the exception of a lullaby idea to live inwards an African linguistic communication which some Camba Cua community members assert has been component of the traditional culture, but which appears to have got been taught past times a visiting African artist.

Lázaro Medina, Afro-Paraguayan as well as Director of the Ballet Camba Cua.

It must live noted that apart from Argentine Republic that espouses itself every bit completely "White" as well as systematically targeted blacks for extermination, Paraguay is some other southern American province that has successfully exterminated blacks (people of African descents) whose population inwards 1800 used to live around 11,000 or nearly 11% of the national total population to live drastically reduced to alone 2% every bit at 2014. It must also live emphasized that inwards 1782, the dark population represented 11.2 percent of the total population. In 1811 half of the Paraguayan population was of African descent. Also, curiously, people of ethnic Kamba Cuá, a Kenyan ethnic grouping out of Uruguay, came to settle inwards Paraguay inwards the 1820s. They arrived inwards a regiment of 250 spearmen, men as well as women, who accompanied General Jose Gervasio Artigas, the revolutionary leader of the at nowadays land of Uruguay, inwards his exile to Paraguay.

Afro-Paraguayan woman somebody dancer

Paraguay was the in conclusion port of arrival of African slaves inwards Americas, as well as they, mostly of Angolan, Nigerian as well as Kenyan origin. The inaugural off batch of African slaves arrived inwards Paraguay inwards 1556. The blacks were mostly Yoruba people from Nigeria, Kongo (Ambundu, Umbundu etc) people from Republic of Angola as well as Kamba people from Kenya. The Afro-Paraguayans (Afroparaguanyos) who are also known every bit "pardos" were concentrated inwards 3 communities inwards the Eastern part of the country. They are the Kamba Cuá, Kamba Kokue (meaning "chacra de negros"- dark farm inwards Guarani language), as well as Emboscada.

Afro-Paraguayan dancers from Kamba Kue Community (Grupo de dança da comunidade afrodescendente Kamba Kuá.)

Today, live dark inwards Paraguay is to live almost invisible to the ease of society. Most Paraguayans are unaware of the existence of a dark community inwards Paraguay as well as assume that whatsoever dark people are Brazilian. Nevertheless, Afro-Paraguayans, despite their lack of numbers as well as the daily racism to which they are subjected, maintain a distinct identity characterized past times a vibrant as well as continually evolving culture.
In fact, Cambacuá, an Afro-Paraguayan community of 300 families (c. 2,000 individuals) located some xv km to the E of the Paraguayan upper-case missive of the alphabet Asunción inwards the municipality of Fernando de la Mora, has been violently dispossessed of over ninety per cent of its terra firma past times the Paraguayan province for over xxx years.
Afro- Paraguayans are non included every bit a split upward category within the national census as well as their exact numbers are unknown; however, They are added along amongst the indigenous population to comprise 2 percent of the population they authorities statistic claims. They are amid the most impoverished groups inwards the country. While the Paraguayan Constitution recognizes the existence of indigenous people – as well as guarantees them the correct to terra firma as well as the liberty to practise their distinct
cultures – Afro-Paraguayans every bit a split upward category are absent from whatsoever national legislation, every bit if it were assumed that dark civilization either has disappeared, or should do so.
Since then, inwards the expression upward of human rights abuses, immense poverty as well as racial discrimination, the Afro-Paraguayan communities led past times its leading advocacy grouping La comunidad Afro Paraguaya Kamba Kua has been immersed inwards a struggle both to retain its identity as well as to have got its traditional terra firma restored.

Afro-Paraguayan dancers

Demography
Ethnically, culturally, as well as socially, Paraguay is touted every bit 1 of the most homogeneous populations inwards South America. About 95% of the people are mestizo (mixed Castilian as well as Guaraní Indian descent. Little draw is left of the original Guaraní civilization except the language, which is spoken past times 90% of the population. About 75% of all Paraguayans also beak Spanish. Guaraní as well as Castilian are official languages.
This assertion that Paraguay has the most homogeneous population cannot live true. Because Paraguay has a history of other settlement specially inwards the 20th century: Germans, the bulk are Mennonites amongst long-reigned dictator Alfredo Stroessner himself of German linguistic communication ancestry, Japanese amongst Okinawans, Koreans, ethnic Chinese, Arabs, Ukrainians, Southern Europeans, Brazilians, as well as Argentines are amid those who have got settled inwards Paraguay. There are also an estimated 63,000 Afro-Paraguayans, or 1% of the population.
Historically the whites were non to a greater extent than than the blacks inwards Paraguay. Colonial Paraguay imported few enslaved Africans, due to the unique atmospheric condition of this colony, as well as those who did brand it to a greater extent than ofttimes came from Buenos Aires or Brazil than direct from Africa.i An approximate of the population inwards 1682 suggested some 6% of the total population was Black, amongst the proportion rising to 11% inwards Asunción (Argüello Martínez 1999:69; Pla 1972; Boccia Romañach 2004; Williams 1974).

Afro-Paraguayan adult man from Kamba Kue dancing group

In 1800 the complimentary as well as captive Black population was some 11,000 or nearly 11% of the total national total. When 1 considers that some other 31% of the population was indigenous—including many non participating inwards the Castilian colonial culture—the proportion of Blacks to whites rises to nearly 18% (Andrews 2004:41). Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 census of immature people (age 11-16) Asunción taken inwards 1854 revealed 385 white children as well as 294 pardos (Black as well as mulatto) children (Pla 1972:33).
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 count of Blacks as well as mulattoes taken inwards 1782 revealed a total of 10,838 Black enslaved as well as complimentary citizens (Pla 1972:36). In the 1860’s it was estimated that at to the lowest degree 10% of Paraguay’s population was Black or mulatto (Pla 1972:37; 1976:206). In 1925 at that topographic point was an approximate of some 10,000 Paraguayans of noticeable African descent,, some other approximate of 31,500 inwards 1935, as well as every bit slow every bit 1951 an informal approximate of 3.5% of the national population was presumed to have got some African blood (Rout 1976:208). Oviedo (1992) extended this approximate into the 1990’s, as well as this figure was incorporated into the map inwards Minority Rights Group (1995: xiii). As a little-known facet of Afro-Paraguayan history, during the dictatorship of Dr. Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia (1814-1840), known every bit El Supremo 'the Supreme one,’ Francia decreed that white citizens could non conjoin other whites, but could alone conjoin Blacks, mulattoes, or Indians (Williams 1971:272); to the extent that this law was genuinely enforced (and Williams’ sources suggest that it was), racial mixture was farther accelerated inwards a land whose colonial origins already stemmed from an atypical demographic mix: Castilian men (mostly soldiers), as well as Native American women.

Afro-Paraguayan dancers

Language
The history of the Afro-Paraguayan communities is 1 of isolation as well as discrimination, coupled
amongst a traditionally strong sense of ethnic identity. These are exactly the atmospheric condition that favor
the retention of ethnolinguistic traits apart from the spoken communication of the surrounding non-Afro
descendent Paraguayan towns, every bit has occurred inwards some other Afro-Hispanic communities
throughout Latin America. An obvious source of such potential differentiating features would be
the partially restructured Castilian inaugural off acquired every bit a minute linguistic communication past times African-born bozales
during the colonial period; inwards some instances traces remained inwards subsequent generations of Afrodescendents born inwards the colonies as well as acquiring some diversity of Castilian every bit a native language.
In take in of the de facto ghettoization of Afro-Paraguayans, specially inwards Camba Cua, Laurelty, and
Kamba Kokué, some innovations may have got arisen that are non direct traceable to before Afro-
Hispanic spoken communication patterns. To appointment Paraguay has never been included inwards the search for remnants
of Afro-Hispanic language, as well as at that topographic point are no documents—not fifty-fifty literary parodies or folkloric
texts—to give testimony to Africans’ approximations to Castilian during before fourth dimension periods; the
alone fragment uncovered so far is a legal document dated 1789, which offers a brief fragment in
pidginized Castilian attributed to an African (Argüello Martínez 1999: 95): ¡Sargento! ¡No haber
de llevar! [Sergeant, non select {me}!].

Lapses of Noun-adjective Gender Agreement
Afro-Paraguayan spoken communication inwards the 3 little enclaves exhibits several instances of lack of the
usual adjective-noun understanding for grammatical sex (masculine-feminine), which is
obligatory as well as exceptionless inwards Spanish. As amongst other Afro-Hispanic dialects, the masculine
sex normally predominates, but cases similar la motivo `the motive’ occasionally occur.
Camba Cua:
la [el] motivo é ... {the motive is}; é jodido [jodida] la cosa que tiene ... {the affair that he has is
screwed up} ; loh [las] mujere {the women}; todo [todas] mih cosa [all my things]; algún
[alguna] comida {some food}; esas oracione legítimo [legítimas]que han traído {those legitimate
prayers that they have got brought]; aquí demasiado [demasiada] plata {too much coin here}; hasta
el propio [la propia] justicia {the really same judge system}; láhtima que de la raza negro [negra]
ya quedamo muy poco {it’s also bad that at that topographic point are so few of us Black people left}; tenemoh gente
jóvene sano [sanas] {we have got salubrious immature people}; toda la ciudad tranquilo [tranquila] {the
whole metropolis [is] calm}; comprar yerba importado [importada], lo peor que puede suceder {the
worst affair that tin give the axe hap is to purchase imported yerba mate}; unoh [unas] fuente de trabajo {some
jobs}; un [una] canción {a song};
Kamba Kokué:
fue una casa colonial muy antiguo [antigua] {it was an old colonial house}; nuestro [nuestra]
comunidad es muy respetada dentro de la sociedad de Paraguarí {our community is well
respected within Paraguarí society}; madera tierno [tierna] que se saca {green lumber that is cut};
una pare(d) francés [francesa] {a French vogue wall}; mucho mucho había gente negro [negra]
{there were a lot of Black people}; la miel de caña es rico [rica] {honey is really tasty}; hay mucho
[muchas] hierba para curar; el [la] hierba buena {there are a lot of medicinal herbs, similar mint};

Afro-Paraguayans

History
There is footling accurate information on the arrival of Africans inwards colonial Paraguay, beyond the
indisputable predominance of the Castilian port of Buenos Aires, every bit good every bit the ongoing contraband merchandise amongst neighboring Brazil. The inaugural off African slaves arrived the Paraguay inwards 1556. The most of the slaves were from Nigerian (Yoruba) as well as Angolan (Kongo) origin, but the Sudamericans elsewhere were obtained from. Thus, according to Argentine historian José Ignacio Telesca, the slaves that entered legally came from the esclavostas ports of Buenos Aires, Montevideo as well as Córdoba, spell that those that entered of illegally way came from Brazil.
Thus, the Castilian explorer Pedro de Mendoza - reached the Rio de Plata inwards the 16th century as well as appointed viceroy of it - brought enslaved Africans to Paraguay to settle them inwards that place. According the aforementioned Telesca, to a greater extent than than 4% of the population were slaves inwards colonial times, keeping the same per centum inwards the 19th century after independence. However, according the Kamba Cuá "Afro Paraguayan Association", inwards 1782, the dark population represented 11.2 percent of the total population of the so Province of Paraguay.
This population was continued to increase, every bit already inwards 1811, according Telesca, half of the Paraguayan population was of African descent, whether slave or free. So, several towns similar Aregua, Emboscada (in English: "Ambush"), as well as Guarambare were established every bit dark communities.
Also, amongst the arrived of Artigas' also arrived, curiously, people of Kamba ethnic, a Kenyan ethnic group, from Uruguay, who settled inwards Paraguay inwards the 1820s. They arrived inwards a regiment of 250 spearmen, men as well as women, who accompanied to General Jose Gervasio Artigas, the revolutionary leader of the at nowadays Uruguay, inwards his exile inwards Paraguay.
According to the few available colonial documents, it appears that the arrival of African-born captives (known every bit bozales `untamed’ past times slave dealers) dropped off sharply after the terminate of the 17th century (Cooney 1995). The Swiss travelers Rengger as well as Lompchamp (1828), describing a voyage to Paraguay inwards 1825, noted that at that topographic point were few Blacks inwards Paraguay, either enslaved or free, as well as that the bulk of Black Paraguayans had been born inwards the colonies (Boccia Romañach 2005: 80).

Afro-Paraguayan Kamba Kue girls` dancing group

Pastor Benítez (1955:81) attributes the minimal presence of Africans inwards colonial Paraguay to the absence of large-scale mining plantation agriculture: “La esclavitud era más bien casera; los siervos adoptaban el apellido del dueño. Las paraguayas prefieren amamantar al hijo, antes de confiarlo al aya negra” [Slavery was mainly domestic; servants took the surname of their owner. Paraguayan women preferred to nurse their ain children, rather than entrusting them to Black nursemaids]. These observations notwithstanding, accounts of bozal (African-born) maroons inwards recur inwards Paraguay good into the 19th century; at that topographic point are fifty-fifty accounts of uprisings inwards some villages (Argüello Martínez 1999: 67).
Despite the consistent historical documentation, past times the get-go of the 20th century the Afro-
Paraguayan population had shrunk to the dot where most Paraguayans sincerely held the take in that the province had no Black residents. Thus for instance the Paraguayan historian indirectly hinted at the lack of a Black population inwards Paraguay inwards his description of a trip to Lima, Republic of Peru inwards 1912 to attend a conference of educators: “El bajo pueblo ofrece idénticas analogías con la nuestra. Hay, sin embargo, en sus filas elementos exóticos, que no existen en nuestro país. Chinos y negros” [the lower classes offering identical analogies to ours; at that topographic point are, however, exotic elements inwards their ranks: Chinese as well as Blacks] (Stefanich 1914: 88).
Around 1970 the slow African-American historian Leslie Rout declared that “As far every bit most citizens inwards the upper-case missive of the alphabet metropolis are concerned, the total physical assimilation of the Afro-Paraguayan has already
occurred” (Rout 1976:208). Rout had seen some Black residents close the river inwards Asuncion, but
they fled when Rout called out to him; Rout imagined that they considered him to live a Brazilian.
Andrews (2004:60), inwards speaking of Paraguay, cites Montaño (1997:210-10) inwards briefly referring to
the communities of Laurelty as well as Camba Cua, considered every bit exogenous communities not
originally arising inwards colonial Paraguay.

Contemporary Afro-Paraguayan Activism: The 2007 Census
In the inaugural off decade of the 21st century the notion that Paraguay has no Black population still
persists, despite the widely acclaimed Afro-Paraguayan trip the low-cal fantastic toe grouping Ballet Kamba Cuá, which
gives performances across the province as well as inwards neighboring countries, as well as whose celebration of St.
Balthasar on Jan six attracts spectators from around the nation.
In monastic enjoin to combat the official policy of invisibility, a grouping of Afro-Paraguayan activists, headed past times the managing director of the Ballet Kamba Cuá, Lázaro Medina, as well as Kamba Cuá cultural evolution leader José Carlos Medina organized a census of Paraguayan Afro-descendents inwards 2007, focusing on 3 communities amongst an acknowledged Afro-Hispanic population: Camba Cua, only exterior of greater Asuncion; Kamba Kokué, on the outskirts of Paraguarí, as well as the metropolis of Emboscada (AAPKC 2008). The census was supported past times the Interamerican Foundation of the States of America as well as past times Mundo Afro from Uruguay. The census, which was formally presented to as well as accepted past times the Paraguayan authorities as well as representatives of the UN inwards Asuncion, contained the next results: inwards Camba Cua 418 residents were included; en Kamba Kokué some 385 Afro-descendants, as well as inwards Emboscada 2686 inwards the urban expanse as well as some other 4524 inwards the surrounding rural zone, for a total of 8.013 acknowledged Afro-Paraguayans.
This figure is acre incomplete, beingness alone a fraction of the total Afro-descendant population inwards Paraguay, although in all likelihood much closer to reality than the figure of 156,000 suggested past times Oviedo (1992). The census did non achieve all potential residents, specially inwards Emboscada; some individuals approached past times the census takers preferred to non seat every bit Afrodescendents; moreover, at that topographic point are other nuclei of Afro-descendant Paraguayans scattered throughout the province that have got non yet been included inwards whatsoever reckoning. At this dot it is impossible to approximate the total number of Afro-Paraguayans, but Lázaro Medina feels that the figure of around 8000 presented inwards the 2007 census could easily live doubled. The introduce study focuses on the 3 communities identified inwards the Afro-Paraguayan census, amongst the add-on of the little enclave of Laurelty, unopen to Camba Cua as well as descending from the same original
population. If whatsoever discernible cultural as well as linguistic elements harking dorsum to an Afro-colonial
past times are to live found inwards contemporary Paraguay, they are most probable to live introduce inwards self-identified
Afro-descendant communities.

Los niños realizan bailes con sus respectivas compañeras de elenco, evocando viejas danzas africanas para buscar pareja. (The children performed dances amongst their cast partners, evoking ancient African dances to uncovering a mate.)

San Agustín de la Emboscada: Town of Free Blacks: Emboscada (in Spanish: "Ambush"), a metropolis that at nowadays has almost 14,000 inhabitants, was founded inwards 1740 nether the yell of "Emboscada de Pardos libres "(Free Pardos ambush), because it was a dot of frequent ambushes as well as because early on settlers were 500 chocolate-brown (black as well as mestizos) freedmen.
Beginning at the plough of the 17th century several villages comprised of complimentary as well as enslaved Black
people were established past times colonial officials, normally amongst an optic to fortifying remote areas that
were dependent area to attacks past times hostile indigenous groups.
The inaugural off Black Paraguayan community Tabapy (today named Roque González de Santa Cruz) was founded inwards 1653 (Silva 2005: 36; Williams 1977). As a side note, inwards 1813 some xl Black as well as mulatto men were forcibly extracted from Tabapy as well as sent to the northern border of Paraguay to cast the fortified community of Tevegó (Williams 1971; Viola 1986:142-156). This experimental community was short-lived, as well as did non last past times the devasting Triple Alliance War of 1864-1870.
Other Black villages founded during the colonial menses were Areguá as well as Guarambaré. Today, few
distinguishable Afro-descendants are found inwards Tabapy, Areguá, as well as Guarambaré, as well as at that topographic point is no
community sense of an Afro-colonial past, although the Kamba Cuá activists are beginning
outreach activities inwards these towns. Around 1740 (proposed dates attain from 1740 to 1744), the
town of San Agustín de la Emboscada was founded, the outcome of constant attacks past times the hostile
Mbayá.
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 detachment of complimentary Blacks as well as pardos (mixed-race or mulattoes was moved from Tabapy to
Emboscada, spell other Black residents were sent past times the religious orders based inwards Asuncion. It is
widely believed that Blacks as well as mulattoes resettled inwards Emboscada received some sort of conditional liberty past times agency of official decrees or amparos, provided that they participate
actively inwards military machine defense forcefulness operations. This has given rising to the pop designation of
Emboscada every bit the “Town of complimentary Blacks” (Pueblo de Pardos Libres), despite the fact that many
of the original settlers were soundless enslaved (Blujaki 1980, Granda 1983). Azara (1904: 47-49, 61-
62, 69), inwards a written report dated 1790 offered descriptions of the Black as well as mulatto populations in
Emboscada, Areguá, as well as Tabapy, all of which were soundless considerable inwards the slow 18th century.
Today, Emboscada is a modern as well as well-groomed metropolis of some 13,5000 inhabitants, according to
the 2002 census. Although the 2007 Afro-Paraguayan census reported that some 58% of the
population of Emboscada is of Afro-colonial origin, at that topographic point is footling collective awareness of Afro-descendency, except for occasional vacation celebrations. Recently, Emboscada activists have
formed the Misión de Afro-descendientes de Emboscada, loosely tied to the town’s municipal
offices, but this grouping has yet to initiate the task of recovering traditions as well as memories among
the scattered rural sectors (for instance Minas) most probable to contain Afro-Paraguayan cultural
remnants. Within the urban expanse of Emboscada, characterized past times neatly manicured parks and
carefully maintained churches as well as monuments, at that topographic point are no visible reminders of the founders of
the city, although occasional mixed-race phenotypes tin give the axe live seen. Since the in conclusion African-born
bozales would have got disappeared from this part to a greater extent than than 250 years ago, it is non surprising
that no traces of whatsoever before Afro-Hispanic linguistic communication or ethnolinguistic traits are to live found in
contemporary Emboscadeño Spanish. As inwards other Paraguayan cities, proficiency inwards Castilian (as
opposed to Guarani) is direct proportional to the flat of formal pedagogy as well as to contacts with Spanish-speaking sectors of the population.

The Afro-Paraguayan Community of Camba Cua: This metropolis is inwards the Paraguarí Department, also was founded past times dark communities, having at that topographic point ranches of slaves of the religious missionaries of the Catholic Society of Jesus, amend known every bit the Jesuit order. Also towns or villages every bit Aregua, Emboscada, as well as Guarambaré were established every bit dark communities.
The most important Black presence inwards Paraguay derives non from captives formerly held inwards the
Castilian colony, but rather from a grouping of complimentary Black soldiers who arrived inwards 1820. In that year
the Uruguayan full general José Gervasio Artigas, next numerous defeats inwards his homeland, went
into exile inwards Paraguay, where he received political asylum from the country’s inaugural off president, Dr.
Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia.

Artigas was accompanied past times some 250 Black lancers (accounts vary every bit to the precise number), non surprising inwards take in of the fundamental role played past times Black soldiers inwards Uruguay as well as Argentine Republic inwards the many civil wars that erupted inwards the decades next independence. Francia—who had already proclaimed himself supreme dictator for life— evidently had minute thoughts almost a powerful as well as pop political leader establishing himself inwards the nation’s capital, as well as he sent Artigas into internal exile inwards distant Curuguatí, where the Uruguayan leader spent most of the ease of his life. The Black soldiers were resettled inwards at to the lowest degree 2 areas some xv km. to the E of Asunción, Laurelty as well as what became known every bit Campamento Loma(s), so Lomas Campamento, as well as ultimately Camba Cua.

Each Black household unit of measurement was given land, a squad of oxen, as well as seeds to plant, as well as for to a greater extent than than a
century as well as a half these tiny settlements retained a distinctly Afro-Hispanic character. Lomas
Campamento (still the “official” yell of this community) became known past times the Guaraní term
Camba Cua, combining an originally derisive term for Black people, camba, as well as the tidings cua,
pregnant cave or hideout. The original terra firma grant to the residents of Camba Cua was some 100
hectares. In 1940 the dictatorship of General Higinio Morínigo snatched half of the land. In
1967, at the pinnacle of the Stroessner dictatorship, soldiers all of a abrupt cordoned off most of the
remaining terra firma amongst barbed wire, amongst the intent of turning over this rich farmland, at nowadays component of
greater urban Asunción as well as bordering on the lands of a major university, to private owners
(Machado 2000, Montaño 1997:201-210; Carvalho Neto 1971:29-130, Cooney 1995).
Theresidents resisted every bit best they could, sending the men into hiding for fright of beingness killed, while
the women, armed alone amongst sticks as well as machetes, tore downwards the fences as well as attempted to hold
dorsum the soldiers as well as police. The latter prevailed inwards curt monastic enjoin as well as the community was stripped
of all but vii hectares. In recent years the community has been able to recover 3 more
hectares, but although the Paraguayan authorities acknowledges the resident’s putative rights to
to a greater extent than land, the law requires that the terra firma originally taken past times forcefulness as well as coercion live paid for at
electrical flow fair marketplace prices, estimated to live several 1 one 1000 thousand US dollars as well as beyond the wildest
dreams of the settlement’s pitiable residents. After losing to a greater extent than than 90% of their original land, the
sometime farmers were forced to seek option employment. Many of the women found piece of work as
maids inwards Asunción, spell those men who could uncovering piece of work labored every bit masons as well as carpenters.
There is considerable prejudice against visibly Black people, as well as consequently unemployment
as well as underemployment is high inwards the community.
Currently all that remains of Camba Cua is a long narrow strip of terra firma along a dirt route that branches off a major artery linking Asunción as well as towns to the east, the Avenida Mariscal López. The dirt route is bordered on 1 side past times the Hospital Materno Infantil, for women as well as children, as well as farther along past times lands belonging to the college of agriculture of the national university. On the other side the community is hemmed inwards past times a housing development, so that Camba Cua is effectively a narrow string of houses along a winding dirt route some 1.5 km. long. The 2007 Afro-Paraguayan census counted 418 residents inwards 89 households, reaching nearly every community member. The community at nowadays has an simple school, but many older residents are functionally illiterate.
Of the rich drumming as well as dancing traditions of Afro-Uruguayan as well as before Afro-Argentine
communities footling survived the march to Paraguay inwards the 19th century. Afro-Paraguayans in
Camba Cua as well as Laurelty have got e'er celebrated the feast of San Baltasar on Jan six with
dancing as well as drumming, but amongst alone a few dancers as well as drummers carrying on the tradition
across generations. Ruiz Rivas de Domínguez (1974:2521-3) describes the formerly popular
galopa marimba trip the low-cal fantastic toe amongst drum accompaniment; the term marimba does non refer to the
xylophone-like musical instrument but rather to an African drum, which accompanies the galopa. In
recent decades the annual San Baltasar celebration inwards Camba Cua has go a regional and
fifty-fifty national tourist attraction, covered extensively inwards the press, the dependent area of curt television
documentaries as well as occasional recordings.
The Ballet Folklórico Kamba Cuá has only finished a commercially produced video DVD of
traditional dancing as well as drumming, as well as YouTube contains diverse video clips dealing with
Camba Cua. Hundreds of visitors demo upward at the tiny Camba Cua chapel, inwards crowds that
sometimes include members of the diplomatic corps as well as other resident as well as visiting dignitaries.
This activity has given considerable publicity to the Camba Cua community as well as has resulted in
mostly favorable press coverage. Although at that topographic point have got e'er been traditional drummers in
the community—Santiago Medina (b. 1920), who learned from his ain father, is the oldest
surviving drummer—but inwards recent decades the Afro-Paraguayan community has received an
infusion of cultural assistance from Afro-Uruguayan groups, most notably the Montevideo-based
Mundo Afro.
The latter grouping has contributed Afro-Uruguayan tamboriles, elongated drums similar to the Afro-Cuban congas or tumbadoras, to complement the rounder drums previously used past times Afro-Paraguayans. The Ballet Folklórico Kamba Cuá has toured extensively, including inwards Uruguay as well as at international Afro-Latin American events, as well as at that topographic point is clearly some syncretism as well as borrowing inwards their contemporary interpretation of drum patterns claimed to live purely traditional.
The success of the trip the low-cal fantastic toe grouping has given impetus to the sis Organización Kamba Cuá, which past times agency of local activism every bit good every bit contact amongst international Afrodiasporic as well as human rights organizations is fighting for the render of the lands seized past times the Stroessner authorities every bit good every bit official recognition every bit an ethnic community. As has occurred inwards Chile, Bolivia, as well as fifty-fifty inwards Peru, the cultural identity every bit afrodescendientes is a recent phenomenon inwards a province where possessing visible African traits has e'er been considered a social liability. Despite the pop acclaim of the Ballet Folklórico Kamba Cuá, the community remains marginalized as well as exterior the pale of proactive authorities assistance.

The Other “Artigas-Cué”: The Afro-descendents of Laurelty
The historical tape is mostly clear every bit regards the arrival of Artigas as well as his Black soldiers
(known every bit “Artiguas-Cué”) as well as their subsequent redeployment inwards at to the lowest degree 2 areas near
Asuncion, known every bit Campamento Lomas (modern Camba Cua) as well as Laurelty. Despite this fact,
as well as perhaps due to the recent name-recognition afforded to Camba Cua, at that topographic point has arisen a
considerable confusion every bit to the nature as well as identity of the Uruguayan-derived Afro-Paraguayan
population. While some to a greater extent than recent accounts explicit admit the existence of two
split upward communities, other descriptions yell alone a unmarried community, spell soundless others
assert that Lomas Campamento/Camba Cua as well as Laurelty are option names for 1 as well as the
same community.
The Afro-Uruguayan historian Montaño (1997:204) quotes a personal testimony from the Paraguayan historian Juan Stefanich, who inwards plough indicated that Artigas’ soldiers were given “un terreno llano muy apto para la agricultura situado a dos leguas de la ciudad en un lugar llamado Laurelty” [a apartment slice of terra firma good suited for agriculture as well as situated 2 leagues from Asuncion, inwards a seat called Laurelty] Montaño notes that Laurelty “conserva aún ese nombre y allí siguen viviendo los descendientes de los soldados artiguistas, todos morenos” [it soundless retains this yell as well as the descendents of Artigas’ soldiers, all Black, soundless alive there].
Montaño goes on to say that Artigas’ soldiers were also resettled inwards “el otro lugar [...] fue en el
distrito de Fernando de la Mora [...] Esta comunidad se dio en llamar Loma Campamento o
Cambá Cuá [...] Es aquí donde hoy siguen viviendo los descendientes de aquellos negros y
negras que acompañaron a Artigas” [the other seat was inwards the district of Fernando de la Mora
... this community became known every bit Loma Campamento or Camba Cua. It is hither that the
descendants of those Black people that accompanied Artigas go along to live]. Addressing the
confusion regarding the names, Montaño (1997:204) observes that “El que sean dos las
denominaciones que han superado el paso del tiempo, es un motivo elocuente de que se piense
en la existencia de dos poblaciones” [the fact that 2 names have got survived the examine of time
provides a strong motive for believing inwards the existence of 2 communities], as well as cites a personal
communication from Lázaro Medina inwards 1996 to the consequence that both communities go along to
exist.
Medina, quotes that activist every bit having affirmed that “Our ancestors, the honour guard for General Jose Gervasio Artigas, accompanied the General to Paraguay spell he was seeking political asylum from Uruguay [...] the dictator of Paraguay at the time, Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia, who had granted them asylum, dispersed them into 3 groups widely separated from each other. Sergeant Ansina remained amongst General Artigas inwards Caraguatay.
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 minute grouping was sent to what is called Laurelty today, as well as our ancestors were sent to Lomas Campamento, which used to live within the metropolis jurisdiction of San Lorenzo as well as is at nowadays within the metropolis of Fernando de la Mora.” Andrews (2004:60) refers indirectly to 2 Afro-Paraguayan communities descended from Artigas’ soldiers: ““As Artigas went downwards inwards defeat, his Black troops formed the loyal difficult substance of his forces as well as followed him into permanent exile inwards Paraguay, where they settled inwards 2 Afro-Uruguayan towns exterior Asunción that soundless be to the present.”
Bejarano (1960:63) speaks of “una imagen del SANTO REY Baltazar, a quien un año festejaban en Campamento Loma o Kambakuá, y otro año en Laurelty, compañías próximas habitadas por sus familias, descendientes de los negros que acompañaron a Artigas” [an ikon of the Holy King Balthasar, which is celebrated every other twelvemonth inwards Campamento Loma or Kambakua as well as Laurelty]. He goes on to say (p. 64): “Tanto los de Laurelty (pasando San Lorenzo), como los de Campamento Loma (al norte del Colegio Nacional de Agronomía Mariscal Estigarribia), se esfuerzan en hacer fiestas mejores que los contrincantes” [both the people from Laurelty (past San Lorenzo) as well as those from Campamento Loma (to the N of the Mariscal Estigarribia National Agronomy School) brand neat efforts to seat on a amend festival than their competitors]. Ruiz Rivas de Domínguez (1974:251), who interviewed Catalina as well as Eulalia Medina inwards 1954, mentions
Campamento Loma (Cambacua) as well as Laurelty every bit split upward communities: “Un pequeño grupo de
familias negras se ubicó en dos compañías de la ciudad de San Lorenzo, denominadas
Campamento Loma o Cambacuá (cueva de negros) y Laurelty” [a little grouping of Black families
was settled inwards 2 sectors of the metropolis of San Lorenzo, known every bit Campamento Loma or
Cambacuá, as well as Laurelty]. Obliquely suggesting a argue for the ambiguity surrounding the two
communities, Boettner (1956:192) explains that “Los negros de Artigas [...] fueron ubicados
cerca de San Lorenzo.
Hoy persisten dos comunidades llamadas Loma Campamento y Laurelty. No pasan de pocas
familias. El pueblo designa esos sitios como CAMBACUÁ [...]” [the Blacks who came with
Artigas ... were relocated close San Lorenzo. Two communities be to this day, named Loma
Campamento as well as Laurelty. They have got alone a few families. People refer to these sites as
Cambacuá].
Despite such clear indications, several studies refer alone to a unmarried Artigas-derived Afro-
Paraguayan community, normally Laurelty (although Rodríguez 2001 as well as Machado 2000 only
yell Camba Cuá). Rout (1976:208) alone mentions a unmarried Afro-Paraguayan community,
Laurelty “which was started inwards 1820 past times 50 Black as well as mulatto followers of the vanquished
Uruguayan patriot, José Artigas.” Rout’s see to Laurelty inwards the 1960’s convinced him that “the
fourth dimension of the disappearance of the in conclusion Black somebody inwards the settlement cannot live far off.”
The distinguished Afro-Hispanic linguistic scholar Granda (1983). P. 231, nota 1), states that “En el
municipio de San Lorenzo existe otro núcleo de población negra, Laurelty. Pero su origen es
exógeno, ya que surgió como tal a consecuencia del asentamiento en dicha área de un grupo de
negros uruguayos que acompañó a Artigas en su destierro al Paraguay durante la dictadura del
MD Francia” [In the municipality of San Lorenzo at that topographic point is some other Black community, Laurelty.
But its origins are exogeneous, since the community arose through the resettlement inwards this expanse of
a grouping of Black Uruguayans who accompanied Artigas into exile inwards Paraguay, during the
Francia dictatorship].
Granda makes reference to Carvalho Neto (1971)’s Afro-Paraguayan studies, as well as it is non clear whether Granda had personal knowledge beyond that gleaned from secondary sources. Since Granda had lived inwards Asunción at 1 dot as well as had done extensive enquiry on Paraguayan Spanish, it is reasonable to suppose that he was familiar amongst communities alone a few km. exterior of the upper-case missive of the alphabet city. The Paraguayan musicologist as well as composer Sánchez Quell (1947:189), inwards his description of colonial Asuncion, speaks of “la aldea de negros denominada Laurelty [...] Allí celebraban anualmente la tradicional fiesta de San Baltasar, el Rey Mago negro [...] enorme cantidad de gente iba llegando a la capilla de Laurelty, donde se veneraba la imagen de San Baltasar” [the Black hamlet called Laurelty ... at that topographic point the traditional feast 24-hour interval of St. Balthasar, the Black Wise King, is celebrated annually ... a neat number of people would go to the Laurelty chapel, where they adored the ikon of St. Balthasar]. Sánchez Quell had composed (together amongst Mauricio Cardozo Ocampo) a musical piece of work “San Baltasar” based on Afro-Paraguayan traditions, so he presumably had some personal knowledge of the Black communities on the outskirts of Asuncion.
Decoud (1930: 18), inwards a monograph almost Laurelty, describes the community without reference to whatsoever other Afro-Paraguayan settlement, although his description of Laurelty appears to to a greater extent than accurately jibe the location of Camba Cua: “distante como dos leguas de la capital, en la jurisdicción del departamento de San Lorenzo del Campo Grande, sobre la orilla de una abra o cañada que, por
un extremo, comunicaba con la calle pública que une dicho pueblo con el de Luque y, por el
otro, con el campo llamado Ñu Guazu (Campo Grande)” [about 2 leagues from the capital, in
the jurisdiction of the subdivision of San Lorenzo del Campo Grande, on the border of a ravine
which at 1 terminate connects to the populace route uniting that town amongst Luque, as well as on the other end
amongst the opened upward expanse known every bit Ñu Guazú `big field’].
Decoud indirectly suggests that the yell Campamento (currently applied to Camba Cua) inwards fact
pertained to Laurelty; according to his analysis, Guaraní speakers who saw Blacks for the first
fourth dimension exclaimed ¡Cambá, memetéro chamento! `they are genuinely black!’ According to Decoud
(1930: 16): “estos vocablos nativos, con el transcurso del tiempo, fueron transformándose hasta
quedar definitivamente castellanizado, bajo el nombre de “Campamento”, el cual conserva hasta
hoy, existiendo siempre algunos de los descendientes que dieron origen a tal denominación, que
muchos aún están radicados en las tierras que fueron de sus remotos antepasados [...]” [these
native words, amongst the passing of time, became transformed into Castilian amongst the name
“Campamento,” which is used to to this day, since some of the descendents of those who gave
rising to this yell go along to alive there]. Decoud (1930:13) also describes the founding of
Laurelty inwards 1843 “sobre el camino entre San Lorenzo y Luque” [along the route betwixt San
Lorenzo as well as Luque], which also corresponds to the location of Lomas Campamento/Camba Cua.
In his literary vignettes, Galeano (1984: 149-150) alone makes reference to “Campamento
Laurelty” inwards describing the arrival of Artigas’ dark soldiers inwards Paraguay.
To add together to the confusion, several prominent researchers have got referred to Laurelty as well as Lomas
Campamento/Camba Cua every bit beingness option names for a unmarried community. The Brazilian
anthropologist Carvalho Neto (1971: 109), referring to information collected inwards Paraguay inwards 1951, states
that “El actual negro paraguayo vive en colonias de negros, geográficamente distantes entre sí
[...] tuvimos referencias de las siguientes: Campamento o Campamento Loma o también
Campamento Laurelty, Emboscada, Camba-Cuá, Lavretá, Fernando de Lamora y San Baltasar
[...]Campamento Loma o Laurelty es aún hoy aquel mismo sitio donado por el dictador Francia a
algunos de los negros orientales que acompañaron a Artigas al Paraguay en 1820” [The
contemporary dark Paraguayan lives inwards Black settlements, geographically separated from one
some other [...] nosotros heard almost Campamento or Campamento Lomas or also Campamento Laurelty,
Emboscada, Camba Cua, Lavretá, Fernando de La Mora as well as San Baltasar [...] Campamento
Loma or Laurelty is fifty-fifty today the same site donated past times the dictator Francia to some of the
Black Uruguayans who accompanied Artigas to Paraguay inwards 1820].
The Afro-Uruguayan scholar Pereda Valdés (1964: 6) assserted that “En el Paraguay, a dos leguas de la ciudad de Asunción existe un lugar llamado Laurelty también denominado Cambá Cuá ... donde habita desde hace muchos años un núcleo de descendientes de africanos que mantienen sus tradiciones” [in Paraguay, 2 leagues exterior of Asuncion at that topographic point is a seat called Laurelty as well as also called Camba Cua ... inhabited for many years past times a grouping of African descendents who maintain their traditions]. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 number of didactic spider web sites also maintain the ambiguity surrounding Laurelty.
One site devoted to the Paraguayan polkavi asserts that “ [...] algunas comunidades como
Kambacuá en Laurelty, situada en el límite de Fernando de la Mora y San Lorenzo, han
reivindicado su ascendencia negra con el cultivo de su música, sus danzas y sus tradiciones”
[some communities similar Kamba Cuá inwards Laurelty, located on the border of Fernando de la Mora
as well as San Lorenzo, have got acknowledged their African ancestry through cultivating their music,
dance, as well as traditions].
It is exactly Camba Cua that is located inwards Fernando de la Mora, spell across the street alone a
few meters away the municipality of San Lorenzo begins. An official spider web site of the nearby city
of Luquevii claims that “Se los llama Kamba Kua. ... El gueto de gente de color ubicado en
Laurelty, Luque. Gente de origen humilde, cuya presencia en el país arranca del tiempo en que el
full general uruguayo Artigas busco refugio en el país, allá por 1820” [they are called Kamba Cuá ..
this grouping of colored people located inwards Laurelty, Luque, people of humble origins, whose
presence inwards this province goes dorsum to the times inwards which the Uruguayan full general Artigas sought
refuge inwards the province inwards 1820].
While it is non surprising that writers from exterior of Paraguay powerfulness confuse the names and
fifty-fifty the existence of the 2 Black communities arising from Artigas’ exile from Uruguay, it is
non clear why such confusion should have got recurred so ofttimes amid Paraguayans. It is
possible that the occupation of Camba Cua to refer to whatsoever little Black enclave may have got caused some
ambiguity, but the failure to distinguish names as well as places every bit distinct every bit Campamento Loma and
Laurelty is to a greater extent than probable attributable to racist indifference inwards a social club supremely uninterested in
accurate details almost its tiny Afro-descendent population. After sorting through the tangle of
contradictory statements as well as after receiving ambiguous or vague responses from several
Paraguayan sources, I returned to Camba Cua inwards 2008, as well as accompanied past times Lázaro Medina,
managing director of the Ballet Folklórico Kamba Cuá, conducted acre enquiry inwards Laurelty.
Today Laurelty is a marginal sector of the sprawling metropolis of Luque, as well as located alone a few kilometers from Camba Cua. Like Camba Cua, Laurelty consists of several blocks of semi-rural residences, located less than 1 kilometer from a primary route that traverses Luque. Ordinarily ignored past times other residents of Luque as well as neighboring communities, Laurelty made headlines throughout South America inwards early on 2008, due to a serious outbreak of yellowish fever, surprising inwards such an urbanized area, as well as indicative of the marginality as well as pitiable sanitary atmospheric condition of this sector. The Santo Rey (Holy King) chapel of St. Balthasar sits inwards the middle of the community, recently
rebuilt on the ruins of an older chapel. As inwards Camba Cua, residents of Laurelty celebrate the feast
of St. Balthasar on Jan 6, as well as older people recall a fourth dimension when drumming as well as dancing were
component of the celebration. At the introduce time, drumming is rare on the feast day, but some younger
community members are inwards contact amongst Camba Cua activists inwards an endeavor to revive the cultural
links betwixt the 2 communities that flourished inwards before generations. Few people inwards Laurelty
exhibit Afro-descendent phenotypes, as well as fifty-fifty fewer actively seat themselves every bit Afro-descendents, although the growing popularity of the Ballet Folklorico Kamba Cuá as well as the annual festivities inwards that community are piquing the involvement of some Laurelty residents.

The Afro-Paraguayans of Kamba Kokué
The existence of Afro-Paraguayans inwards Emboscada was known to other Paraguayans fifty-fifty in
recent times, spell the communities of Lomas Campamento/Camba Cua as well as Laurelty had been
mentioned past times historians (in Paraguay as well as Uruguay) as well as musicologists, although largely going
unnoticed inwards the residue of the national population. As the Kamba Cuá activists began
preparations for the Afro-descendent census, a tertiary historically Black community non previously
mentioned inwards historical accounts came to light, inwards a marginal sector on the outskirts of the metropolis of
Paraguarí, some lxx km. to the southeast of Asuncion. The traditional yell of the community is
Kamba Kokué, which inwards Guaraní agency `farm of the Blacks’; the official yell today is Barrio
Virgen de Caacupé, although the residents themselves go along to occupation the older name.
The community currently consists of a few semi-rural blocks only off the primary highway at the
entrance to Paraguarí; dirt roads as well as little homes are flanked past times an old cemetery as well as several
fallow plots of land. The 2007 Afro-descendent census counted some 385 inhabitants inwards 90
households, roughly the same every bit Camba Cua. Older as well as fifty-fifty middle-aged residents tell
tales of discrimination, racist comments as well as shunning past times residents of neighboring sectors of
Paraguarí, as well as the census takers non surprisingly discovered that non all residents willingly
seat themselves every bit Afro-descendents. As inwards the other Afro-Paraguayan communities, racially
distinctive phenotypes, spell non uncommon inwards Kamba Kokué, are interspersed amongst other more
indeterminate physical traits, to the dot where Kamba Kokué is no longer a visibly “Black”
neighborhood. In 1 corner of the community, sandwiched amid several large trees, are found
2 chapels, 1 really little as well as rustic, the other a larger to a greater extent than recent construction. The latter
edifice bears a brightly painted sign over the entrance reading “Oratorio Virgen del Rosario
Kamba Kokué”,viii as well as within are several paintings depicting African as well as Afro-American figures.
Young community activists have got formed the Comisión Afroamericana Kamba Kokué, as well as group
members participated inwards the Afro-descendent census as well as inwards other Afro-Paraguayan cultural
events. The oral history of Kamba Kokué is at nowadays mentioned inwards some of the local schools,
although no written materials have got yet been prepared as well as the official curriculum makes no
yell of Black Paraguayans. Older residents interviewed for the introduce study expressed pride
inwards the census as well as inwards the renewed sense of community identity, fifty-fifty those inhabitants who do not
consider themselves to live Afro-descendents. Younger people within the Kamba Kokué sector are
increasingly proud of their heritage, spell the ease of Paraguarí, including the immediately
next neighborhoods, appears to have got scarcely noticed the presumed Kamba Kokué cultural
revival.
To appointment no accurate information on the origins of Kamba Kokué’s Black community has come upward to
light. According to the collective retentiveness of many older residents, the community of Kamba
Kokué has its roots inwards colonial history, quite in all likelihood to the slave-holding estates of religious
orders throughout Paraguay. As inwards the instance of the Afro-Hispanic communities of highland
Ecuador’s Chota Valley, the bulk of slave-holding estates inwards Paraguay were managed past times the
Jesuits until their expulsion inwards the middle of the 18th century.

In Paraguarí, the sometime Jesuit estates were taken over past times the Ignacian order. According to
Boccia Romañach (2004: 223; 2005: 80) as well as Maeder (1996), when the Jesuits were expelled,
they held 519 enslaved Blacks inwards Paraguarí, a number which increased through natural
reproduction inwards the next years. As slow every bit 1837 at that topographic point were soundless some 160 enslaved Blacks in
the estates surrounding Paraguarí, together amongst an unspecified number of complimentary Blacks and
pardos (Boccia Romañach 2004: 224; Argüello Martínez 1999: 74). Although Kamba Kokué
was never geographically isolated from nearby Paraguarí, the status of community members as
captives as well as afterward complimentary persons of color resulted inwards the social as well as linguistic marginalization of this
tiny ethnic enclave. According to Kamba Kokué oral traditions, the ikon of the Virgen del
Rosario currently placed inwards the large chapel was originally discovered past times a Black adult woman during
the colonial period. The same residents tell tales of the old communal well—still inwards existence at
1 border of Kamba Kokué as well as soundless occasionally used for drawing drinking water—as the main
source of H2O for the Black community inwards the past.