Full Frame: African rhythm to a Latin American beat

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The slave trade dispersed Africans throughout the Americas. A photographic journey through the remaining Afro-American cultures.

By Sebastian Belaustegui — Special to GlobalPost

Published: July 27, 2009 05:53 ET
Updated: July 28, 2009 08:35 ET

Full Frame features photo essays and conversations with photographers in the field. See more Full Frame galleries here and here.

I spent more than 10 years documenting the indigenous roots of Latin American culture. One assignment covering the Santeria religion in Cuba opened my eyes to another rich aspect of the history and culture of the Americas: the Afro-American peoples. Like the cultures of indigenous groups, the Afro-American cultures and traditions are poorly documented and underappreciated.

My hope is that by documenting these cultures, their record will be preserved for everyone, and the descendants of slaves will be encouraged to maintain their traditions for future generations. Through the creative means of documentary photography, I hope to provide these cultures with a platform for their own life testimony and a way for them to share the richness of their diversity with each other and the broader world.

My documentation of the descendants of Africans who were dispersed throughout the Americas by the slave trade includes images of carnivals, rituals, traditional music and dance, as well as portraits and scenes of everyday life. In this era of globalization and mass communication, the cultures and traditions of once isolated ethnic minority groups are being diluted by dominant cultures.

I have been working for five years on my project “Africa in the Americas” with the idea of producing a book that shows the heritage of the African culture on the American continent. I have never seen a book that gives a global views of this important issue and with Barack Obama's election as U.S. president, I feel more than ever that it is important to do this work. My main objective is to awaken respect for them and to create a consciousness of the value of their presence as a treasure of the continent and of humanity.

About the photographer:

Sebastian “Suki” Belaustegui is a photographer who for the past 18 years has embarked on a mission to document the indigenous cultures that still survive in Latin America. His book, "Guardians of Time: Portrait of the Spirit of Latin America," is a testament to his experiences in 10 countries while living with 25 indigenous communities. Currently he is working on his new editorial project called "Africa in the Americas," documenting the heritage of the African culture in the American continent. His work has been published in magazines such as National Geographic, Newsweek and the Los Angeles Times, and he has held numerous exhibitions of his work in museums and art galleries throughout the continent.

See the work of more photographers:

Tim Hussin: Piles of sponges, Bahamas

Khaled Hassan: Surviving off stones, Bangladesh

Edwin Koo: When peace deals break down, Pakistan

Beth Dow: In a secret garden, Europe

Comments:

3 Comments.

Posted by isaac viel on July 27, 2009 17:19 ET

Great photos. The street portrait in Cuba is amazing.

Posted by Tashtego on July 30, 2009 16:05 ET

The photos you have posted show an
African culture very fused with and changed by Latino culture. I am quite sure that African culture as it has survived in the West Indies is at least as, if not more, authentic and rooted in an African past. What is interesting in the Caribbean islands is their deep similarity, even though their histories as European colonies are quite different. After learning some of the culture of these islands for several years, I can make sense of current African politics and events. From this, I conjecture that Africa is well-mirrored in the West Indies. (I can't prove this, not having traveled in Africa). So if your projected book has the intention of presenting Africans in the Americas, I hope you will have much to say about the peoples and traditions of the West Indies.

Posted by Anaya on July 31, 2009 23:40 ET

You have undertaken a worthy project: documenting the Afro-American peoples. The subject is almost absent in documented formats of any kind. As a professor, my regular teaching in Central America and East Africa prompted me over the last 5 years to engage students in the field study of the Garifuna. I am very interested in gathering data for cultural identity studies. I welcome your book and hope it will spark greater interest from the various communities being photographed about their own history and identity. I invite more conversation about "Africa in the Americas".