High in the hills along their beloved river, at their unique, ancient Easter celebrations, men wearing carved wooden African style masks defiantly heckle Jesus, a reference to their ancestors’ rejection of the enslavers’ Christianity. Today’s crisis means that these traditions can no longer stay in the river communities. With their semi-autonomous territory invaded by armed groups, and threatened by external environmental destruction, members of the community qualify to compete in the biggest Afro-Colombian music festival. They perform their traditions on stage to show that their palenque still exists, that they are still holding their territory in spite of everything, and to honour their leaders who have been ‘disappeared’.
Former BCDSS fellow Emma Christopher is a writer, documentary maker and associate professor of the African diaspora at the University of New South Wales. She is the director, producer and researcher of the award-winning documentary "They Are We" (2014) and of "We the Cimarróns" (2021), which we have previously shown as part of our "Who's got the Power" film discussion series at Kino in der Brotfabrik
Sergio Leyva Seiglie is a photographer and documentarian. His photographic work explores belongingness, identity, and the interplay between private and public memory. He was the production manager and photographer on "They Are We". The photographs from the documentary became part of the exhibit ‘Victory over Slavery: Haiti and Beyond’ in New York City at the United Nations Headquarters’ Visitor Centre, and part of the UN's International Decade for People of African Descent.