Although Haïtien individuals have been coming to what is now the United States both as enslaved and free people since the colonial era, the single largest group of Haïtien immigrants arrived in 1972, thus initiating a movement that continues to this day. In 1972 thousands … Read MoreHaïtien Immigration to the U.S. (1972- )
In 1619, 12 years after the first permanent English colony was established at Jamestown, Virginia, a small cargo of enslaved Africans arrived at the colony at Comfort Point near present-day Hampton, Virginia. Until recently, historians had misconstrued the circumstances of how this human cargo came … Read MoreFirst Africans in the Jamestown Colony (1619)
Composer, master pianist Ignacio Jacinto Villa Fernández, known by the stage name Bola de Nieve, was born Ignacio Jacinto Villa Fernández on September 11, 1911, in Guanabacoa, Cuba, to Domingo Villa, a chef, and Inés Fernández, a professional rumba dancer. The couple had 12 children. … Read MoreIgnacio Jacinto Villa Fernández (1911-1971)
Dominga de la Cruz-Becerril, socialist, lecturer, poet, and declamadora, was born April 22, 1909 in Bueno Aires, Ponce, Puerto Rico (PR) to Catalina Becerril of Fajardo and Domingo Clarillo Cruz of Ponce. Reared in Mayagüez, both parents and godparents died while she was a pre-teen. … Read MoreDominga Cruz-Becerril (1909-1981)
Julia López is an established painter whose work is considered an early example of the “breakaway” generation of painters who began to move away from the muralista artistic tradition in Mexico. López was born in the Costa Chica region in the state of Guerrero on … Read MoreJulia López (1936- )
The Olmec heads of Mexico are a collection of 17 giant stone head sculptures believed to have been carved by the Olmecs. The heads, and their inspiration, have been the cause for much debate throughout history. The Olmec civilization is considered to be the first … Read MoreOlmec Heads of Mexico (1200-400 B.C.?)
Clara Ledesma was one of the leading Dominican artists during the post-World War II era. Born in Santiago De Los Caballeros, DR, on March 5th, 1924, to Bienvenido Ledesma Piera and Beatriz Christian, Ledesma began her artistic journey in the 1930s, under the tutelage of … Read MoreClara Ledesma (1924-1999)
Victoria Santa Cruz (Victoria Eugenia Santa Cruz Gamarra) is widely considered the mother of Afro-Peruvian dance. Born in Lima, Peru, on October 27, 1922, she was the eighth of ten children. Her father was Nicomedes Santa Cruz Aparicio, and her mother, Victoria Gamarra Ramirez. Her … Read MoreVictoria Eugenia Santa Cruz Gamarra (1922-2014)
Donald Jasper Harris is a Jamaican American economist, author, and Professor Emeritus at Stanford University in Stanford, California, since his retirement in 1998. He is now best known as the father of Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party’s Vice-Presidential Nominee. Harris joined the Stanford faculty in … Read MoreDonald Jasper Harris (1938- )
Edmond Albius was born a slave in 1829, in St. Suzanne, on the island Réunion. His mother died during childbirth, and he never knew his father. In his youth he was sent to work for Botanist Fereol Bellier-Beaumont. The vanilla plant was flourishing in Mexico, … Read MoreEdmond Albius (1829-1880)
