San Basilio De Palenque.
Sup Muses?!
Late April my husband & I took a trip to Colombia, specifically Cartagena. The day we arrived, the government implemented curfew to mitigate rising COVID rates and protests that were happening in Bogota, Cartagena and other major cities. I want to acknowledge that because there is privilege traveling to another country during times of unrest and no being heavily impacted. I’m not here to talk about Cartagena- the Walled City, the food or the party boat. This post is about Palenque. Have you heard of this town? I had not, ever. The thing is, I barely learned about slavery in school. Yes, slavery generally , but not about the slave trade leading to enslaved persons in Central America/Caribbean and definitely not the enslaved of South America.
So let's get into it.
The Entrance to Palenque. Typical tourist behaviour.
Palenque [Puh- Lin- Kay] is a free town. The first free town in the Americas. What is a free town? A place where freed slaves or those who fled slavery reside. Benkos Biohó founded this town in 1603 after he escaped from his Spanish colonizers and he rebelled and fought to kept the town. It was a town in Colombia for Africans. Right now, there are about 3,000 people residing in Palenque. A large percentage of Africans came from Ghana, but they also arrived from from Mozambique, Angola and other African countries to a lesser extent. I immediately thought of 1. Zora Neale Hurston’s childhood home (Eatonville, FL.) 2.Tulsa, Oklahoma before the Race Massacre of 1921 - both Black towns in the US. I read more about this history of Palenque and the amazing leadership and fearlessness of Biohó when I got back home. Here’s a resource.
It's a town rich with history, culture, traditions and music. Michael and I learned about traditional medicine (that is still used), community oversight (instead of policing), daily living and much more. Palenque has its own flag and language and the society is cooperative- If I have something and you need it, here’s some, it's not a problem. Take what you need. Since there's no hospital in the town, the use of traditional medicine, herbs, spices are of great value and importance. History, music and traditions are passed down from generation to generation. Oh and yall, the art work is amazing! When you walk around the town, you'll see brightly colored murals and messages- so good. Antonio Cervantes aka Kid Pambelé is a famous boxer who was born and raised in Palenque and because of his fame, more people were exposed to his hometown and its history.
Founder Benkos Biohó in the town center. Powerful piece.
Palenque is a UNESCO site and the founders of the tourism agency are three men from Palenque. The day we went, it was hot, like HOT HOT. So here's a few tips for your visit:
bring water
bring Colombian pesos to tip
wear sneakers and loosing fitting clothes
ask questions and take everything in
You will get a taxi service to and from your hotel in Cartagena and it's about an hour outside the city.
One thing I found interesting was how in tuned the tour guides were with Black American history. I heard very strong opinions about Michael Jordan vs Lebron James which was hilarious because I've heard the same debates here in the states, however, they weren't focused on basketball stats. The areas of interests were: community service and how each man uses their platform and fame to help others and speak out on injustices. (Consensus: Lebron by far is better than Michael.) The guides explained that they follow a few social media pages that keep them up to date on Black Lives Matter and various resistance and social justice movements in the States.
Before you depart, you're provided and authentic meal. We both got fish, rice + bean and a salad. The appetizer was beef bone broth, and as someone who doesn't eat beef, I'd become a beef eater if I could have that broth again.
What was the best thing about the town? When I looked around, everyone looked like me or Michael. They had our hair type, our skin complexion, it was like wow, I'm in a town with all Black people who love on each other, don't have a capitalist mindset and seem to be happy. This is it. This is what I want.
If you go to Colombia, schedule a visit Palenque and support the Freedom Tour Of Palenque.
PS: Mango trees are every where! Enjoy some photos below.
