Video 1 https://youtu.be/5Dkl48Rxf0c
Video 2 https://youtu.be/_H3mirAm71s
Video 3 https://youtu.be/0YJ4dIDmfuM
Video 4 https://youtu.be/KbC_Fjwymmc
Video 5 https://youtu.be/SXpe12Y9YDo
Video 6 https://youtu.be/JRQ9RQpFcgo
Video 7 https://youtu.be/JvC7PsS14fM
Today’s original plan was to attend Easter Sunday service at Alex’s house then to chill the rest of the day... but that suddenly turned into us joining the entire Rocha family to their small country town by the same name, Rocha.
Children service downstairs
While the kids were in church I was washing clothes and spending time with my host family. The machines here wash and spin the clothes only. You have to rinse them yourself between those cycles. And of course everyone dries their clothes on the outside line.
Wash
Rinse in these two basins
Spin in the machine
Washing clothes 1 https://youtu.be/NTI4jMxUP88
Washing clothes 2 https://youtu.be/630J1guYRqM
Washing clothes 3 https://youtu.be/-5Hlf44cyhk
We boarded our bus at 12:30 and off we were to Rocha, Colombia. Big Baby and Audys were kind enough to take pictures of me sleeping. LOL!
While headed to our lunch stop we got another treat, guinep... or limoncello in Spanish... Colombians have another name for this that I can’t remember.
Here’s lunch
Most of us got fish
Jordan with parrots
As we were leaving we saw cattle crossing the street near our van.
By the time we got back to our neighborhood it was 6:30 and the boys wanted to play basketball with friends. I let them play from 7-8. When they got back we walked each other home with our local friend and were all in for the night.
After Afronet, we just walked around Palenque with our group talking to people, looking at murals, and learning along the way.
Homemade alcohol made by a resident for the holiday celebration.
Written in Spanish and Palenquero. Restoring and preserving the rememorable history and culture of the Palenque territory.
Town elder passing by our group
Written in Palenquero saying something to the affect that, we form a connection like woven thread we are united.
Palenque flag and I love being Black
Right in front of these mural was a soccer field. None of the kids had on shoes and they looked free and happy. Of course the BEST Boys jumped in the game.
And
Well ain’t that the truth!!
Written in Palenquero, general meaning is to enjoy life
Ancestral and community house of justice
All dispute are handled here by community elders. No police, no court system, justice a community that is united and holds each other accountable.
Livestock everywhere!!
Directly across from the Black Lives Matter mural lives the muralist himself, Afronet. In addition to being the town muralist, he’s also the lead musician in a band called Kombilesa mi, which means my friend in the Palenquean language.
Whole there theynseng a few hip hop songs for us and had us sign their wall as new fans. During the final song they had Demetrius jump in as a guest drummer.
Meeting Afronet- https://youtu.be/OhyNjQnmbLI
Song 1https://youtu.be/2THakV8G9wo
Song 2 https://youtu.be/DdHc_L8KEpI
Song 3 https://youtu.be/BmzYOsHxPwk
Demetrius drumming- https://youtu.be/RWs8QraulYs
We tagged our name and BEST Academy and BEST Boys Go Global, everywhere we could.
We were reluctant to leave Afronet but there were still things to be seen.
Our next stop was in the Palenque town square. I’m the middle stands a statue of Benkos Bioho himself. The statue shows him breaking chains and reaching toward freedom. I make sure I teach my students about him and many enslaved Black folks in the American who fought back against the cruelest system of slavery know to man. We fought then and we continue to fight injustice and inequality.
Alex compared Benkos Bioho to Harriet Tubman, in which escaped slaves ran to his protection in Palenque (like how slaves in the US ran to the north and to Canada) and how he and other Palenque residents would raid plantations and bring people to freedom in Palenque. Benkos and the others gave the Spanish so much hell that the Spanish agree to a peace treaty, ensure that Palenque will always remain free as long as they stopped attacking plantations, raiding caravans, and maintained a Catholic Church in the town square. The church still stands bug Palanqueros practice traditional African religions despite its presence.
Appropriately just around the corner from the statue was a Black Lives Matter mural. We were all touched by the solidarity of people who are so far from our struggle... geographically... but are so close to it emotionally and intellectually. Just before coming here a young Black man was shot by police 20 times in his own backyard while minding his business using his cell phone 8 of those bullets were in his back. Black lives matter, in Atlanta, in Palenque, and all over the globe.
Palenque is truly a little Africa in Colombia. The people here consider themselves African and are still Warriors. They are not governed like the rest of Colombia. There is no police force. A counsel of elders resolves disputes and they all grow up fiercely proud and protective of their community, language, history and way of life. The United Nations named it a protected culture and community. They consider all Africans in the diaspora to be their family and enjoy welcoming up to their safe haven.
We started in Palenque taking pictures of important murals and community centers. We then moved on the drum and cultural expressions foundation to watch a show performed by teenagers from Palenque. This is one of many ways that they preserve their culture.
Explanation of dances- https://youtu.be/xiXffMonc50
Dance 1- https://youtu.be/9LxNlABqiDI
Dance 2- https://youtu.be/-Ulnm2fGjX4
Dance 3- https://youtu.be/_0Z_UVYRuX4
Drum solo 1- https://youtu.be/P0Mqf-gA4E
Drum solo 2- https://youtu.be/eHiXaSMES_c
The show was amazing and toward the end they invited us to dance with them. Why did they do that? BEST is not shy... EVER!!! Needless to say we all had sooooo much fun. There was a dance off and much more.
On our way out I bought us some snack and we made donations our new dance buddies. Seeking the youth takenso much pride in their culture and still be able to kick is with teens from another continent and culture is worth encouraging and investing in.
