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
Half-length portrait of a man in the streets of San Basilio de Palenque. His arms are crossed and are resting on his left knee. The man, wearing a ruined long sleeve shirt unbuttoned, is looking at the camera with a smile. 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 category: Social organization. Retrato de medio cuerpo de un hombre en las calles de San Basilio de Palenque. Sus brazos están cruzados y descansan sobre su rodilla izquierda. El hombre, vestido con una camisa de manga larga desabrochada, está mirando a la cámara con una sonrisa. San Basilio de Palenque, un pueblo ubicado a 31 millas de Cartagena, se considera la primera comunidad de esclavos libres 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 esclavos fugitivos en el Montañas de María. Sin embargo, las autoridades locales no firmaron un tratado con las comunidades de esclavos libres sino hasta enero de 1714, reconociendo su libertad y ordenando el establecimiento del poblado Palenque San Basilio Magno. La gente en San Basilio de 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 de 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.
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