Afro Guatemalan

Although not well known, there is a good number of Afro Guatemalans in Guatemala 110,000 was 2002's estimate, but that number has increased since then.

Afro Guatemalans

If one were to look up the population numbers on Guatemala, the most populous country in Central America, many times they will not see a percentage for its Black population. Many Guatemalans, even, are unaware of the fact that there are Black people in the land. Mestizos, Mayan Indians and Black Africans make up the bulk of Guatemalan people. Africans arrived as slaves around the same time that Guatemala was invaded by Pedro de Alvarado around 1524. Sugar plantations and haciendas were the big reason for slavery. Most of the Africans, who were enslaved, eventually intermarried with the Native American population. Slave importation did not last a long time as the conquistador became very nervous due to the uprising of the Blacks they captured. Slavery became less important to the conquistadors and slavery was abolished in 1823. The Afro-Guatemalans one may meet today are the Garifuna peoples who came from Honduras in the 1800s and maintain many of their traditions in art, food and music. The next batch are Afro-Caribbeans (BlackWest Indians) and they speak Creole English as well as Spanish, and mostly have English last names. Afro-Antilleans came to Guatemala seeking jobs from neighboring Belize and Jamaica and found those jobs working with the U.S.`s United Fruit Company. Punta and Reggae are popular amongst Afro-Guatemalans. The Black population of the country is mostly located on the Caribbean lowlands in Livingston, Puerto Barrios and Santa Thomas but there are some in Guatemala City.Guatemalan culture is a mix of European, Mayan Indian, and African, but only 2% of the population is considered black or mulatto. The main community of African descent are the Garifuna, concentrated in Livingston and Puerto Barrios. The rest of the community is of Afro-Caribbean STOCK and mulattos. Izabal, on the Caribbean coast is the center of African culture in Guatemala, with its population being of mixed African, Mayan Indian, and European.

Notables

First Guatemala president Rafael Carrera was Afro Guatemalan, Footballers Ricardo Trigueño Foster, Florencio Martinez, Guillermo Ramirez, Willie Sims, and Freddie Thompson.