The Garifuna culture came from the San Vicente Islands to Honduras with the escaped slaves who arrived on the coast in 1797. There is a celebration every April to mark their arrival. Costa Mosquito, Honduras, 2006. (Sebastian Belaustegui/GlobalPost)
- [/]

The celebration features people playing drums and singing traditional Gariifuna music. Costa Mosquito, Honduras, 2006. (Sebastian Belaustegui/GlobalPost)
- [/]

A black Jesus Christ is punished during the celebration of Easter week of the Garifuna culture. Livingston, Guatemala, 2006. (Sebastian Belaustegui/GlobalPost)
- [/]

Bahia, Brazil, has more African descendants than any other state in South America. The spiritual leaders, called Bahianas, dance in celebration of the day in 1888 when the slaves were freed. Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, 2005. (Sebastian Belaustegui/GlobalPost)
- [/]

Some traditional Bahianas women stand in front of the fallen crosses that were used to torture slaves. Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, 2006. (Sebastian Belaustegui/GlobalPost)
- [/]

A man in a trance invokes the spirit of a slave as part of the Candomble Ritual, an African tradition celebrated in Bahia, Brazil, 2006. (Sebastian Belaustegui/GlobalPost)
- [/]

In this Candomble ceremony, a man dances with a snake while others sing and play drums. Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, 2006. (Sebastian Belaustegui/GlobalPost)
- [/]

A traditional funeral in Chacahua, a small village with a large number of African-Mexican descendants. Chacahua, Oaxaca, Mexico, 2008. (Sebastian Belaustegui/GlobalPost)
- [/]

As a part of the Easter week celebration, people celebrate a mass with a symbolic dead body of Jesus. Costa Chica, Guerrero, Mexico, 2009. (Sebastian Belaustegui/GlobalPost)
- [/]

A celebration of the devil dance on the holiday of Corpus Christi. A community elder stands in front of a church. Chuao, Aragua, Venezuela, 2009. (Sebastian Belaustegui/GlobalPost)
- [/]

Street portrait in Havana, Cuba, 2008. (Sebastian Belaustegui/GlobalPost)
- [/]

Dancers are reflected in a car window while getting ready for Carnival in Trinidad y Tobago, June 2007. (Sebastian Belaustegui/GlobalPost)
- [/]

During the celebration of carnival in Bahia, Brazil, some people dance the traditional “Capoeira dance,” which comes from Angola and has a strong tradition in Brazil. Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, 2005. (Sebastian Belaustegui/GlobalPost)
- [/]

During the Carnival parade in Barranquilla, some children paint their entire body black representing the time of slavery in Colombia. Barranquillas, Colombia, 2007. (Sebastian Belaustegui/GlobalPost)
- [/]

It is a tradition on Feb. 22, the day of of the goddess Yemanya, to go into the ocean at the end of the day to offer flowers to the goddess. Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, 2005. (Sebastian Belaustegui/GlobalPost)
- [/]