Delvin “Pen” Cayetano is a celebrated Belizean artist and musician from Dangriga, known for his influential role in preserving and innovating Garifuna and Creole cultural expression. Largely self-taught, Cayetano began his artistic journey in the 1970s and later expanded his reach internationally after relocating to Germany. He returned to Belize in 2009, where he and his wife established the Pen Cayetano Studio Gallery in his hometown. As a pioneer of punta rock, Cayetano blended traditional Garifuna sounds with modern instruments, creating a genre that transformed the Belizean music scene. His early work with the Turtle Shell Band laid the foundation for this musical innovation. Over the years, Cayetano has received numerous honors, including being named a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2013. His creative legacy lives on through his children’s band, The Cayetanos, and through the continued display of his artwork, such as a major exhibit at the Museum of Belize.
Phillip Montalbán Ellis is an Afro-Nicaraguan reggae artist from Bluefields, on Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast. Emerging in the 1980s, he became a central figure in the region’s musical identity by blending reggae with local Afro-descendant and Indigenous traditions. Singing in English Creole, Spanish, and Miskito, Montalbán uses his multilingual music to explore themes of identity, resistance, spirituality, and regional pride. In the late 1980s, he was part of the band Soul Vibrations alongside musicians like Raymond Myers, Clifford Hodgson, and Adolfo Bendlis. Known for their Black consciousness and politically engaged lyrics, Soul Vibrations was prominently featured in the documentary Rock Down Central America. As a solo artist, Montalban has released albums such as Pachamama, Africa, Evolution, and Viva La Vida (2023), continuing to bridge cultural worlds through music that affirms the diversity and dignity of Nicaragua’s Atlantic Coast.
This volume examines contemporary political processes affecting societies, organized groups, social collectives, and individuals identified—or self-identified—as Black or Afro-descendant. Drawing from case studies and theoretical analyses, the contributors explore the political dimensions of Afro-descendant organizing and the strategies these communities use to assert themselves as cultural and political subjects within their respective contexts. The book advances a clear and compelling argument: that the right to self-determination and collective organization based on respect for "difference" and "multicultural citizenship" must be accompanied by the equally valid freedom not to choose ethnic identification, affirming the right to a citizenship "without adjectives."
RAIZAL: Taking Back Paradise is a forthcoming documentary by Pedro Espinosa Millán that follows the Raizal people, Afro-Caribbean descendants native to the archipelago of San Andrés, Old Providence, and Kathleena, as they confront the legacies of colonialism and territorial disputes between Colombia and Nicaragua. Centering Raizal voices, the film documents their fight for cultural survival, land rights, and self-determination in the face of ongoing political marginalization and ecological threats to their island homeland.
Juliet Hooker's Race and the Politics of Solidarity (Oxford University Press, 2009) examines how the social fact of race shapes the ethical-political orientations of citizens in diverse democracies. It develops the concept of racialized solidarity; explores its impact on current conceptions of racial justice, particularly as formulated in theories of multiculturalism; and suggests how it might begin to be addressed.
Glenn A. Chambers' Race, Nation, and West Indian Immigration to Honduras, 1890–1940 (LSU Press, 2010) explores the migration of West Indian workers to Honduras during the rise of the banana industry and the powerful influence of U.S. fruit companies. Focusing on race, labor, and national identity, Chambers examines how West Indians maintained their distinct cultural identity amid anti-Black and anti-immigrant sentiment, and how their presence shaped racial dynamics in Honduran society and challenged dominant narratives of mestizaje.
This podcast, hosted by Dash Harris, Evelyn Alvarez, and Janvieve Williams Comrie, creates a vibrant space for conversation, reflection, and healing around the experiences of Black communities from Latin America. Through storytelling, dialogue, and laughter, the hosts explore the histories, identities, and ongoing struggles that shape Afro-Latinx lives across the diaspora.
This acclaimed documentary explores the deep cultural ties between the Raizal people of San Andrés, Colombia, and Jamaica, shedding light on their shared Afro-Caribbean heritage. Through powerful storytelling and vivid cinematography, it highlights the enduring connections between the two communities and brings greater visibility to Afro-Caribbean Latino identities.
A digital humanities project and archival collection focused on the histories and material cultures of the Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities of the Nicaraguan and Honduran Mosquitia, or Mosquito Coast, in Caribbean Central America.
The REAC is an interactive space that brings together researchers and members of Afro-descendant civil organizations and communities from the Central American region. It promotes the history and anthropological legacy of Africa in the diaspora.
