Use of images from the collections of the Tom & Ethel Bradley Center is strictly prohibited by law without prior written consent from the copyright holders. The responsibility for the use of these materials rests exclusively with the user. The Bradley Center may assist in obtaining copyright/licensing permission to use images from the Richard Cross collection. http://www.csun.edu/bradley-center/contact
Description
With the help of a younger man, Don Fermin is loading a milk container on a mule. In the background white cows are roaming around. Owning approximately 300 cows, Don Fermin was one one of the most important cattle owners in San Basilio de Palenque. Others had fewer cows, some had only a couple, and others had none. San Basilio de Palenque, a town located 31 miles from Cartagena, is considered the first free-slave community of the Americas because on August 23, 1691, the Spanish King Charles II signed a royal charter recognizing the freedom of the runaway slave communities in the María Mountains. Local authorities, however, did not sign a treaty with the communities of free slaves until January of 1714 acknowledging their freedom and ordering the establishment of the town of Palenque San Basilio Magno. People in San Basilio de Palenque speak a Spanish-based creole language known as Palenquero. According to public records, in 1975 the village had 2,400 residents (mostly farmers or day laborers) and 388 houses. Colombian anthropologist Nina S. De Friedemann had been studying the Afro-Colombian community of San Basilio de Palenque for the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and Richard Cross joined her to do work as a visual anthropologist in June 1975. This image illustrates Cross's anthropological categories: Inventory of male-female work roles. Con la ayuda de un hombre más joven, Don Fermín está cargando un contenedor de leche en una mula. En el fondo, las vacas blancas deambulan. Con aproximadamente 300 vacas, Don Fermín fue uno de los propietarios de ganado más importantes de San Basilio de Palenque. Otros tenían menos vacas, algunos solo tenían una pareja y otros no tenían ninguno. San Basilio de Palenque, un pueblo ubicado a 50 kilómetros de Cartagena, es considerada la primera comunidad de esclavos libres de América porque el 23 de agosto de 1691, el rey español Carlos II firmó una carta real que reconoce la libertad de las comunidades esclavistas fugitivas en el Montes de María. Las autoridades locales, sin embargo, no se inscribieron en la comunidad de esclavos libres hasta enero de 1714. La gente en San Basilio de Palenque habla el idioma criollo español conocido como Palenquero. Según los registros públicos, en 1975 el pueblo tenía 2.400 residentes (en su mayoría agricultores o jornaleros) y 388 casas. La antropóloga colombiana Nina S. De Friedemann había sido estudiada. de roles de trabajo masculino-femenino.
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