Dance and Resistance: The Tradition of the Diablos in Afro-Mexican Communities

Abstract

The Afro-Mexicans who currently inhabit Mexican territory preserve a biocultural heritage that is manifested through their gastronomy, dances and other cultural expressions. The Afro-descendants who inhabit the Costa Chica of Oaxaca and Guerrero come from a history of enslavement, discrimination, racism and invisibility. The dance of the Devils is a cultural manifestation that prevents the cultural fusion between Africans and indigenous people. This dance is performed in these communities during the Day of the Dead, where people dress up as devils wearing their costumes, zoomorphic masks and accompanied by music, they walk through the streets of the towns to celebrate their dead. This dance dates back to colonial times when Africans were slaves on the haciendas and forced to work in oppression, so this dance is a satire of the hacienda structure of that time, it was also a means of worshipping their African god Ruja. Currently this dance is performed on local and national stages, it is used as a banner for the visibility of the Afro-descendant population that inhabits the country, to claim rights and as a means of cultural resistance in the face of so many years of exclusion by the Mexican State.