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 tugs on the handle of a hand pump as he fills various buckets with water. A group of people, composed mostly of women and children, huddle around and wait. Domesticated animals, such as a mule, also stand nearby. Piped water arrived in 1978, and until then, the creek was the village's drinking supply and the place to do laundry and bathing. San Basilio de 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 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 and Social organization. Un hombre tira del mango de una bomba manual mientras llena varios cubos con agua. Un grupo de personas, compuesto principalmente por mujeres y niños, se apiña y espera. Los animales domésticos, como una mula, también están cerca. El agua entubada llegó en 1978, y hasta entonces, el arroyo era el suministro de agua potable de la aldea y el lugar para lavar la ropa y bañarse. 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 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 de Palenque habla una lengua criolla en español conocida 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 estado estudiando la comunidad afrocolombiana de San Basilio de 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 laborales masculino-femenino y Organización social.
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