Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro was an Afro-Peruvian army officer who served as the 41st President of Peru from 1931 to 1933. Sánchez was the first person of Afro-Peruvian descent to become the nation’s president. Born on August 12, 1889, to Antonio Sánchez and Rosa Cerro, … Read MoreLuis Miguel Sánchez Cerro (1889-1933)
María Elena Moyano Delgado was an Afro-Peruvian community organizer and mother whose assassination by the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) sparked a public outcry bringing attention to her work and the plight of economically marginalized women. Born on November 23, 1958 in Barranco District, Lima to … Read MoreMaría Elena Moyano Delgado (1958-1992)
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)
In the article below, culinary historian Diane M. Spivey describes the centuries-old diaspora of African foods and cooking traditions in North and South America. Africa has been a major contributor to the cuisine of North and South America although this contribution has long been overlooked, … Read MoreTransAtlantic Food Migration: The African Culinary Influence on the Cuisine of the Americas
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Leopoldine Emma Doualla-Bell Smith is the world’s first black flight attendant. Smith was born in Cameroon which, at the time, France controlled. Smith was a princess of the royal Douala family of Cameroon. She was offered a rare after-school employment opportunity … Read MoreLeopoldine Emma Doualla Bell Smith (1939– )
In 2013, Brian A. Nichols, career Foreign Service officer with the rank of Minister Counselor, was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve as ambassador to Peru. Nichols was born in 1965, to Charles Harold and Mildred (Thompson) Nichols. Charles Harold Nichols was a Professor … Read MoreBrian A. Nichols (1965- )
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Juan García was one of the best known black auxiliaries aiding Francisco Pizarro in the conquest of Peru between 1532 and 1542. He was born free near Jaraicejo, Spain in 1495, most likely of African and Spanish descent, although he was … Read MoreJuan Garcia (1495?- ? )
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” In 2002, Ambassador James Irvin Gadsden, career diplomat, and educator, was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as ambassador to Iceland. Gadsden was born on March 12, 1948 in Charleston, South Carolina, to James who worked as a janitor … Read MoreJames I. Gadsden (1948- )
Ericka Yadira Cruz Escalante became the first Miss Mexico of African descent. With that victory she completed in the Miss Universe pageant in Roberto Clemente Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2002. Cruz was born in Mérida, Yucatán, México, on November 16, 1981 to … Read MoreEricka Yadira Cruz Escalante (1981- )
The Tryal Rebellion of 1805 is a little known account of a shipboard slave uprising in the South Pacific off the coast of Chile. In 1803 a number of West African Muslims were purchased by the Spanish in what is now Senegal and put on … Read MoreThe Tryal Slave Ship Rebellion, 1805
