Afropop Worldwide

Much has been made of Mexico's rich Spanish and indigenous heritage, but until recently there's been little talk of Mexico's so-called "Third Root": Africa. Africans came to Mexico with the Spanish as soldiers and slaves -- so many that by 1810, the black population of Mexico was equal to that of the United States. Today, African heritage persists throughout Mexico, yet for a variety of reasons, black history has long been silenced. In this Hip Deep episode, we use music to explore that history as we take a road trip across the country in search of sonic traces of Afro-Mexico. We visit the state of Veracruz to learn the history of the Afro-Mexican son jarocho sound, made famous by Ritchie Valens' 1958 hit cover of "La Bamba," a traditional jarocho tune. Then, we visit the Costa Chica of Guerrero, where Afro-Mexican communities are fighting for government recognition to help preserve faltering musical traditions. And we'll stop by the golden-age halls of Mexico City, where the Afro-Cuban danzón thrives far fr