The first conspiracy on record took place in 1537, and these assaults on the system grew more frequent as the black population increased. As such, black resistance occupies a special place in Mexico's revolutionary tradition, a tradition that is a source of pride for many Mexicans. Beyond that, Africans in Mexico left their cultural and genetic imprint everywhere they lived. In states such as Veracruz, Guerrero, and Oaxaca, the descendants of Africa's children still bear the evidence of their ancestry. Yet their cultural heritage has not entirely disappeared.
Some African traditions survive in song, music, dance, and other ways.
But much has changed since slavery ended, and it is difficult for a small minority to maintain its traditions in a constantly changing society. As their ancestors did, the few remaining persons who are visibly of African descent continue to be productive members of society. But history has not been kind to the achievements of African peoples in Mexico. It is only within recent times that their lives have been studied and their contributions to Mexican society illuminated. Suffice it to say that contemporary black Mexicans can claim this proud legacy and draw strength from it, even as they become a shrinking part of their country's peoples.