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
A man wearing eyeglasses gets on the back of a truck. Two other men observe the action. One of them is riding a mule. Before 1971, when a road was built allowing buses and trucks to travel to and from San Basilio, horses, mules, and donkeys were the only mode of transportation. San Basilio del Palenque, a town located 31 miles from Cartagena, is considered the first community to officially free enslaved people in the Americas because, on August 23, 1691, the Spanish King Charles II signed a royal charter recognizing the freedom of the runaway communities in the María Mountains. Local authorities, however, did not sign a treaty with these communities until January of 1714 acknowledging their freedom and ordering the establishment of the town of Palenque San Basilio Magno. People in San Basilio del Palenque speak a Spanish-based creole language known as Palenquero. According to local 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 del Palenque since 1973 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 category: Social Organization, Social Change. Un hombre con anteojos se sube a la parte trasera de un camión. Otros dos hombres observan la acción. Uno de ellos está montando una mula. Antes de 1971, cuando se construyó una carretera que permitía a los autobuses y camiones viajar hacia y desde San Basilio, los caballos, mulas y burros eran el único medio de transporte. San Basilio del Palenque, un pueblo ubicado a 31 millas de Cartagena, se considera la primera comunidad en liberar oficialmente a personas esclavizadas de América porque, el 23 de agosto de 1691, el rey español Carlos II firmó una cédula real que reconocía la libertad de las comunidades de personas fugitivas en el Montañas de María. Sin embargo, las autoridades locales no firmaron un tratado con estas comunidades sino hasta enero de 1714, reconociendo su libertad y ordenando el establecimiento del poblado Palenque San Basilio Magno. La gente en San Basilio del Palenque habla una lengua criolla con base en español conocida como palenquero. Según los registros públicos locales, 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 estado estudiando la comunidad afrocolombiana de San Basilio del Palenque desde 1973 para el Instituto Colombiano de Antropología y Richard Cross se unió a ella para trabajar como antropólogo visual en junio de 1975. Esta imagen ilustra la categoría antropológica de Cross: Organización Social, Cambio Social.
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