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Feb 14

A Love Letter to My Trini-Vene Tribe… #BlackHistoryIsGlobal

Today’s La Vida En Black History Month moment comes in the form of a love letter. A love letter written through history, by our ancestors, by our Great Grandmothers and Great Grandfathers…today’s Post is dedicated to mi famila. Born in the “in between” time my Mummy, Josefa Machado was a bright daughter in the Luces family. …
Feb 2

La Vida En Black; El Negro Primero #BlackHistoryIsGlobal

Afro-Venezuelans were a vital part of the struggle for independence. One of Simon Bolívar’s most famous lieutenants, Pedro Camejo, is legendary in Venezuela’s history as “El Negro Primero,” who was always the first to ride into battle. In the final battle of Carabobo, Camejo was mortally wounded but survived long enough to utter one infamous phrase: “General, vengo decirle,…
Oct 8

TriniVene Tribe

My father Don Pedro Machado Jr. left a beautiful family way too soon. He knew about other children but what about the child he never knew existed? Don Pedro Machado Hamilton Jr. Well, God in Her infinite wisdom determined that he would miss out and was deemed unable to truly enjoy the fruits of his…
Feb 17

The turban is not a style – it is a legacy, a heritage passed down from 17th century enslaved black women to today’s progressive woman wearing her culture with pride. A tignon (spelled and pronounced tiyon) is a headcovering. A piece of material tied about the lady’s head to form the turban (see video below) that looks like the West African Gele. It was worn by Creole women of African descent in Louisiana during the Spanish colonial period, and continuing to the present day. This beautiful headdress was the result of laws passed in 1786 under the administration of Governor Esteban Rodriguez Miró. The tignon laws, enforced “appropriate” public dress for black women in colonial society. In Louisiana, and around the world, women of African descent vied with white women in beauty, dress and manners. One of the most standout physical attributes that separated us from the white counterparts was our hair. We would adorn our hair with colorful jewelry, beads and other accents, demonstrating an enticing appearance which attracted the white male suitors. Many of us had become openly kept mistresses of white, French, and Spanish Creole men. This perceived threat to white women’s relationships with French and Spanish Creole men incurred the jealousy and anger of their wives, mothers, sisters, daughters and fiancées. With the looming threat to the social status of white women growing and the attention garnered as a result of the jewelry adorned hairstyles from women of African descent, action was required. To correct this, Governor Miró decreed that women of African descent, slave or free, should cover their hair and heads with a knotted headdress and refrain from “excessive attention to dress” to maintain class distinctions. Historian Virginia M. Gould notes that Miró hoped the law would control women “who had become too light skinned or who dressed too elegantly, or who, in reality, competed too freely with white women for status and thus threatened the social order.” Miró’s intent of having the tignon mark inferiority had the opposite effect, according to historian Carolyn Long[3]who noted: “Instead of being considered a badge of dishonor, the tignon…became a fashion statement. The bright reds, blues, and yellows of the scarves, and the imaginative wrapping techniques employed by their wearers, are said to have enhanced the beauty of the women of color.” The women who were targets of this decree were inventive and imaginative. They decorated tignons with their jewels and ribbons, and used the finest available materials to wrap their hair. In other words, “[t]hey effectively re-interpreted the law without technically breaking the law”[4]—and they continued to be pursued by men. BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!
Feb 7

Africans’ Sovereignty in the Americas

Enslaved Africans Reclaimed Their Freedom All Over the Americas Celebrating AfroVenezuelan history each and every May 10 to June 10… Through the leadership of the late President Hugo Chávez, Venezuela had been combating the historical legacy of racism and recognizing the national importance of African heritage, promoting social inclusion and respect for Afro-Venezuelans. Among them…
Feb 7

Minette et Lise

A truly legendary name in Haitian history, Minette, was freed woman of African descent or an Affranchi. Minette et Lise (her sister) broke through staggering racial barriers of the late 16th century to become a star performers on the colonial stage. Minette et Lise fought to find both their artistic and a political voices, using…

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October 2017

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