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
Women of all ages and a small, naked boy stand on the bed of a dry stream. They each hold a metal bucket to transport water. Piped water arrived in 1978, and until then, the creek was the village's drinking supply and the place to do laundry and bathing. A section of the river was closed and off limits for all adult males. San Basilio del Palenque, a village located 31 miles from Cartagena, is considered the first free-slave community of the Americas because on August 23, 1691, the Spanish King Carlos II signed a royal charter recognizing its freedom. Local authorities, however, did not sign a treaty with the community of free slaves until January of 1714 acknowledging its freedom. People in San Basilio del 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 del 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, Social organization. Mujeres de todas las edades y un niño desnudo se paran en el lecho de un arroyo seco. Cada persona sostiene un cubo de metal para transportar agua. El agua entubada llegó en 1978, y hasta entonces, el arroyo era el suministro de agua del pueblo y el lugar para lavar la ropa y bañarse. Una sección del río estaba cerrada y fuera del alcance de todos los hombres adultos. San Basilio del Palenque, un pueblo ubicado a 31 millas de Cartagena, se considera la primera comunidad de esclavos libres de las Américas porque el 23 de agosto de 1691, el rey español Carlos II firmó una carta real que reconocía su libertad. Las autoridades locales, sin embargo, no firmaron un tratado con la comunidad de esclavos libres hasta enero de 1714, reconociendo su libertad. La gente en San Basilio del Palenque habla una lengua criolla con base en español conocida como palenquero. Según los registros públicos, en 1975 el poblado tenía 2,400 residentes (en su mayoría agricultores o jornaleros) y 388 casas. La antropóloga colombiana Nina S. De Friedemann había estado estudiando en la comunidad afrocolombiana de San Basilio del Palenque para el Instituto Colombiano de Antropología y Richard Cross se unió a ella para trabajar como antropóloga visual en junio de 1975. Esta imagen ilustra las categorías antropológicas de Cross: Inventario de roles de trabajo masculino-femenino, Organización social.
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