Afro-Mexicans, also known as Black Mexicans, are Mexicans who have heritage from sub-Saharan Africa and identify as such. As a single population, Afro-Mexicans include individuals descended from both free and enslaved Africans who arrived to Mexico during the colonial era, as well as post-independence migrants. This population includes Afro-descended people from neighboring English, French, and Spanish-speaking countries of the Caribbean and Central America, descendants of enslaved Africans in Mexico and those from the Deep South during Slavery in the United States, and to a lesser extent recent migrants directly from Africa. Today, there are localized communities in Mexico with significant although not predominant African ancestry. These are mostly concentrated in specific communities, including the populations of the Oaxaca, Huetamo, Lázaro Cárdenas, Guerrero, and Veracruz states.
El Costeño by Agustín Arrieta, a painting of an Afro-Mexican boy from Veracruz (c. 1843)
Slaves landed in Mexico by ship's flag from 1450 to 1866
Monument to Gaspar Yanga, founder of the first free town of escaped slaves in North America. The settlement is now known as Yanga, Veracruz.
Parts of the fort complex at San Juan de Ulúa were built by enslaved West Africans and indigenous Mexicans. In 2017, the fort and the town of Yanga were declared "Sites of Memory" by INAH and UNESCO as part of The Slave Route Project.
The Costa Region or Costa Chica lies on the Pacific coast of the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, south of the more mountainous Sierra Sur inland from the coast. It includes the districts of Jamiltepec, Juquila and Pochutla.
Puerto Escondido.