The Afro's Voices Center of Nicaragua (AVOCENIC) is a center that is located on the North Coast of Nicaragua and works to transform the reality of the Afro-descendant peoples of the Autonomous Regions of Nicaragua, and has as its strategic work axes the vindication of the aspirations of Afro girls, boys, young people, women and men in cultural, political, socioeconomic and environmental contexts to achieve their own well-being, and in this way overcome the inherited invisibility and exclusion, which allows historical continuity with Afro identity of the new generation.
In this essay (NACLA Vol. 53, No. 3, 2021), Paul Joseph López Oro reflects on the vital role of Garifuna women in sustaining Afro-Indigenous cultural traditions and shaping collective memory. Focusing on the ways in which Garifuna women carry and transmit ancestral knowledge, López Oro highlights their work in preserving language, rituals, spirituality, and stories across generations and throughout the diaspora. The essay challenges the ways anti-Blackness and patriarchy often erase or silence Black Indigenous experiences, especially in academic and activist spaces. By centering the leadership and labor of Garifuna women, López Oro not only honors their contributions but also calls for a deeper understanding of Black Indigeneity as a lived reality, one rooted in care, resistance, and cultural survival.
This paper aims to engage readers with artist-activist-scholar-librarian June Beer of Nicaragua via a close reading of her poetry while tracing connections of field-specific library pedagogical practices that may be drawn from the ancestral calls evident within her work. Her geographic location informs her embedded community role as artist and librarian as well as her socio-cultural connection to her ancestral lineages. Using a close reading of Beer’s poetry, this article gives power to the language of poetry, and aims to draw conclusions of poetic form which identifies ancestral calls, and may be applied to library and pedagogical practice. Informed by Beer’s subversive work of poetics, activisms, and artmaking, sentipensante pedagogy, storytelling, place, and time, this article aims to reveal that within her writings are embedded useful tools for library and pedagogical practice, as informed not via traditional and normative librarianship, but via ancestral teachings, revelatory within the poetic articulations.
Ancestry.com is a powerful tool not only for tracing family connections but also for researchers exploring broader histories of Black movement across Central America, the Caribbean, and the Americas. Its extensive digital archives—including immigration records, ship and airline manifests, census data, and vital records like birth, marriage, and death certificates—can help uncover the routes, labor histories, and social networks of Afro-descendant communities often overlooked in official accounts. For anyone studying Black Central American history, Ancestry.com offers critical insights into diasporic trajectories, transnational migration, and the lived experiences of individuals and families across the region.
Andy Palacio was a celebrated Belizean musician and cultural advocate, best known for his role in preserving and promoting Garifuna music and identity. Born in the village of Barranco, he rose to fame with punta rock in the 1980s and later gained international recognition with his groundbreaking album Wátina (2007), recorded with The Garifuna Collective. Palacio’s work brought global attention to Garifuna culture and earned him honors such as UNESCO Artist for Peace.
Antojología de Carl Rigby (dirs. María José Álvarez and Eduardo Spiegeler, 2019) is a 62-minute documentary that captures the poetic life and voice of Afro-Caribbean writer Carlos Rigby through two years of intimate conversations, performances, and reflections in Spanish, Creole, and English. Filmed between Managua and his hometown of Pearl Lagoon, the film follows Rigby as he recites poems and shares memories spanning the Somoza dictatorship, the 1972 Managua earthquake, and the impact of U.S. imperialism on the Caribbean Coast. Inventively titled after one of Rigby’s own neologisms, Antojología is both a portrait of a singular thinker and a sonic archive of Nicaribbean spoken word poetry.
Asociación de Mujeres Garífunas Guatemaltecas (ASOMUGAGUA) is a grassroots organization dedicated to advocating for the rights and visibility of Garífuna women in Guatemalan society. Founded after 1997 and formally established in 2005, ASOMUGAGUA works to challenge stereotypes that reduce Garífuna women to cultural symbols, instead affirming their status as rights-bearing individuals. The organization focuses on ancestral justice, gender rights, and the revitalization of Garífuna spiritual and cultural practices. Through initiatives like the Garífuna Women’s Defenders Office, ASOMUGAGUA empowers women to claim their rights in both private and public spheres, addressing systemic inequalities while acknowledging and reflecting on cultural dynamics within their communities.
Aurelio Martínez is a renowned Garifuna musician, singer, and cultural ambassador from Honduras, widely recognized for his efforts to preserve and promote Garifuna music and heritage on a global stage. Known for blending traditional Garifuna rhythms with contemporary influences, Martínez is a master of paranda, a genre rooted in Afro-Indigenous storytelling and acoustic guitar. He gained international acclaim with albums such as Garifuna Soul and Lándini, and has performed around the world, raising awareness of Garifuna language, culture, and struggles. In addition to his music career, Martínez has served as a politician and advocate for Afro-Indigenous rights, becoming the first Garifuna member of the Honduran National Congress. His work continues to inspire cultural pride and transnational connection across the African diaspora.
Bad Lucky Goat is the first feature film produced in San Andrés-Providencia Creole, the unique Caribbean English spoken on Colombia’s islands of San Andrés and Providencia. Directed by Samir Oliveros, the story follows a brother and sister who accidentally kill a goat with their parents’ car just before the start of tourist season. The film is not only a coming-of-age tale but also a tribute to the language and culture of the Raizal community, offering a rare cinematic portrayal of life on the island.
"Latinidad is constructed in such a way that it continues to erase all connections to Afro-identities." Join Idalia Wilmoth, a second-generation Roatanin descent from Roatan, Honduras, as she uses the dual concepts of Black geography and African Diaspora Space to investigate the creation of Black Roatanin Identity and its role in constructing Roatan's Nation-state. Each episode, we educate, amplify, and elevate the stories, histories, and cultures of Afro-Latin communities in Roatan, Honduras and their transnational connections.
