Bullerengue as a Tool for Afro-Colombian Self-Determination

Abstract

This article demonstrates that the Colombian town of María la Baja uses the dance, music, and song of bullerengue as a powerful tool to combat institutionalized racism. The community moved to teach and promote a dance traditionally performed by the elder population among the younger residents in an effort to maintain the custom and instill cultural and historical pride. Connected to a historic maroonage network, the people of María la Baja fought to reaffirm their identity through appropriately ethnocentered cultural knowledge and practices. Bullerengue has become a channel for community empowerment in conjunction with ethnoeducation and ancestral knowledge. By emphasizing their unique history, rich customs, and traditions, residents of María la Baja illustrate that a people can change otherizing narratives through self-determination.