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Afro-Ecuadorian Foodways of Esmeraldas

Community

⚠ A DISTINCT FOOD CULTURE, NOT A COASTAL VARIANT. Afro-Ecuadorians are concentrated in ESMERALDAS on the north Pacific coast and in the CHOTA-MIRA VALLEY in the highlands, two very different places with two different histories. Esmeraldas traces in part to survivors of a wrecked slave ship in 1553 who established free communities the Spanish never fully subjugated — the "Zambo Republic" — and in part to later arrivals. The kitchen is COCONUT-based in a way the rest of Ecuador is not: ENCOCADO, fish or shrimp stewed in coconut milk; tapao; cazuela; bala de verde; seafood, plantain, cassava and forest fruit. ⚠ NOTHING IS RECORDED HERE THAT THE COMMUNITY HAS NOT PUBLISHED.

Atlas — where and when

Where in the world

Communities and languages

  • Afro-Ecuadorians community documented

Languages: Spanish

What is recorded

  • Afro-Ecuadorian settlement in Esmeraldas is traced in part to survivors of a slave ship wrecked on the coast in 1553 who established free communities that the Spanish never fully subjugated, and in part to later arrivals. The Chota-Mira Valley population descends from people enslaved on Jesuit sugar estates and is recorded as a separate community with a separate history. documented
  • A slave ship wrecks on the Esmeraldas coast; survivors establish free communities the Spanish never fully subjugated. documented

Related foodways

This foodway relates to

  • related to African Diaspora Foodways documented

    Esmeraldas traces in part to survivors of a 1553 slave-ship wreck who formed free communities; the coconut technique is the clearest marker.

  • related to Afro-Colombian Foodways documented

    One Pacific Afro-descendant cultural region across the Colombia-Ecuador border, with the same coconut, fish and marimba tradition.

Recorded as relating to this foodway

  • related to Afro-Colombian Pacific Foodways documented

    One Pacific Afro-descendant cultural region across the Colombia-Ecuador border, with the same coconut kitchen and marimba tradition.

Regional cuisines

Recipes

No recipes are filed under this cuisine yet.