In Latin America , Afro - Descendant communities were typically shape by escaped or freed enslaved people who sought resort in remote area . They have survived centuries of settlement , exploitation , and subjugation . And while they have preserve their cultural tradition and languages , many groups experience poverty and lack access to resourcefulness , andclimate alteration , industrialization , and country eviction from their governments threaten their survival . Activists go forward to advocate for the rights of these mathematical group .   These Afro - Latinx community have farsighted , resilient chronicle ; here are eight you should know about .

1. Garifuna // Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua

TheGarifunaare the descendants of indigenous Caribbean groups and escaped enslaved Africans . In the tardy 19th century , they transmigrate to Nicaragua , Guatemala , and neighboring countries in Central America , where they often worked in construction , agriculture , and logging .

The Garifuna were able-bodied to preserve their usance and linguistic communication by creating independent coastal communities . The passing ofLaw 445 in 2005 granted the Garifuna in Nicaragua country right ; this self-reliance has continued to help protect their culture and heritage .

2. Miskito // Honduras and Nicaragua

TheMiskito Kingdom — which stretched along the coasts of modern Nicaragua and Honduras — was internationally recognized from 1633 until 1894 , when Nicaragua invade and seized exponent . Now , Miskito masses aredivided by the borderbetween the two countries . Many of those on the Nicaraguan side migrated to Honduras after conflicts with the country ’s Sandinista government in the 1980s . Today , they principally subsist by raising cattle and poultry , fishing , and other physique of Agriculture Department . They primarily verbalize Miskito Coast Creole , English , and Spanish .

3. Malagasy // Peru

The north Peruvian coast and southerly coastal city of Ica and Nazca are rest home to Peru’sAfro - Descendantcommunities , the largest group of which is theMalagasy . During compound time , they were bring to Peru to work on grove ; today , their principal source of income is agriculture and artisanal work . In 2009 , Peru officially apologize to its citizen of African declination for centuries of oppression .

4. Palenques // Colombia and Venezuela

The Palenques in Colombia originated from a community created by freedom - seeking enslaved people from Cartagena . The Spanish declared the Palenque a sovereign people in the eighteenth century . Today , they in the main live in Palenque de San Basilio in Northern Colombia , as well as neighboring constituent of Venezuela . In 2005,UNESCOdeclared the expanse a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity site .

Palenqueis also the name ofthe languagethe communities verbalize . It’sa combinationof European speech including Spanish , Lusitanian , English , and French , as well as African Bantu lyric . The numeral of remain Palenque speaker is unknown , and the linguistic communication ’s purpose proceed to fall .

5. Wayuu // Colombia and Venezuela

The Wayuu citizenry , “ the people of the sunshine , sand , and wind , ” are located in the Guajira peninsula of Venezuela , which borders Colombia . Their number are estimated to be in the hundred - thousands . Historically , their income depended onagriculture and fishing . Today , the Wayuucontinue to fightfor the preservation of and rightfulness to their homelands .

6. Cambacuá // Paraguay

The Cambacuá are located east of Paraguay ’s cap , Asuncion . Former Uruguayan leaders displaced most of the Cambacuá from their commonwealth in the 20th C to make new building ; to boot , the loss of agrarian work caused a mass exodus to urban areas [ PDF ] . The current Canbacuá universe has declined , though the communitiesare work to preservetheir heathenish roots , despite the land dispossession and political science erasure .

7. Quilombolas // Brazil

Freedom - seeking enslave people form community calledQuilombosin withdraw areas of Brazil . The largest settlement was Palmares — with a population of roughly 20,000 people — which the Portuguese suppress at the death of the 17th century .

Quilomboladescendants have persisted despite colonization : The Quilombola Program has pinpointed more than 3500 communities , some of which now havethe official titlesto their land . These family and villages have preserved their cultural custom , and they speak African - work dialects elders have passed down through generation .

8. Neo-Taino // Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic

Before the Spanish arrived , the Taino were the heavy autochthonic chemical group in the Caribbean — their population is believed to have beenin the millions . They be in log houses and had hierarchal government and spiritual system , and theycrafted goodssuch as pottery , baskets , and jewelry .

Due to disease and enslavement , settlement reduced the universe to bare thousands by the mid-16th century . Today , Afro - Caribbeans have the right to self - determine as Taino ; this is cognize as theNeo - Tainomovement in Puerto Rico .

Article image