“‘With Their King and Queen’: Performing Black Sovereignty in Colonial Latin America”

• In Event: Black Sovereignty: Narrative Continuities Across the South Atlantic

Description for Program

Throughout the African diaspora, performing with a royal court was a preferred performance of Black communities. Though recorded sporadically in North America, this practice was more common in Latin America, where it is still staged by communities in Brazil and Panama. This paper explores the cultural and political significance of this tradition in colonial Latin America, where Afrodescendants were executed for it on at least two occasions.

Author

• Miguel Valerio, University of Maryland, College Park