Scenes of Black Life and Cultural Expression in the Colombian Pacific
Scope and Contents Note
The collection is comprised of two series: 1) Print Material and Ephemera, and 2) Photographs and Video. Photographs are available in print and online. Note: photograph no. 25 is available online only. A complete photograph and video inventory can be accessed here.
Dates
- Creation: 2020-2023
Language of Materials
Spanish, English
Access Restrictions
Unrestricted.
Use Restrictions
Standard copyright restrictions apply.
Historical Note
With the second-highest concentration of Afro descendant peoples in Latin America, Cali, Colombia, is the epicenter of Black life and culture on the Pacific coast. The materials in this collection demonstrate the art and activism of Black Colombians from the four departments of the Black Colombian Pacific: Chocó, Valle de Cauca (Cali), Cauca, and Nariño.
This collection documents daily life in Cali and the Pacific coast. One focal point is viche, a drink created by formerly enslaved Afro-Colombians and made of distilled sugar cane. Viche is all at once Black, matrilineal, medicinal, spiritual, and ceremonial. Materials highlight the cultural significance of viche, including nascent texts of an ancestral tradition that has survived until now only through protective, clandestine efforts and oral tradition.
Full Extent
1.417 linear feet, (61 printed photographs; 62 digital photographs and 10 videos)
Abstract
Collection of photographs, videos, posters, and a variety of print publications documenting Black life, nature, and the production of viche in the Colombian Pacific.
Acquisition Information
Donation with support from the Archiving Black América–Black Diaspora Archive Acquisitions Award.
Accession number: 2023-41
Additions
No further materials are expected for this collection.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Rachel E. Winston, 2024.
Genre / Form
Geographic
Topical
- Title
- Scenes of Black Life and Cultural Expression in the Colombian Pacific
- Status
- Edited Full Draft
- Author
- Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection
- Date
- 2024
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard (Dacs)
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Revision Statements
- 2025 July: Revised by Ryan Sullivant to fix validation errors prior to ingestion into ArchivesSpace.
Repository Details
Part of the Benson Latin American Collection, The University of Texas at Austin Repository
2300 Red River Street
Austin Texas 78712 United States
(512) 495-4578
bensonspecialcollections@austin.utexas.edu