<I>Vara del premio No. 4: Giovanni Buelvas, Porto Laino, Anònimo, Manuel Casseres</I>
date: label: Date
content: 1989
name: label: Created by
content: Ana Mercedes Hoyos, Colombian, 1942 - 2014
label: Subject of
content: Giovanni Buelvas, Colombian
label: Subject of
content: Porto Laino, Colombian
label: Subject of
content: Unidentified Man or Men
label: Subject of
content: Manuel Casseres, Colombian
notes: label: Caption
content: A painter, printmaker, and sculptor, as well as a photographer and one of Colombia’s most celebrated contemporary artists, Ana Mercedes Hoyos focused much of her work on the Afro-Colombian community of San Basilio de Palenque. Located on the country’s Caribbean coast, across from Panama, Palenque was the first free African town in the Americas and is home to locals known as “Palenqueros,” descendants of enslaved persons who fled the area near Cartagena after a 16th century slave revolt.
label: Caption
content: Described as “an entirely Afro-Latin community,” the inhabitants have preserved a distinctive matriarchal culture and a local language derived from a mix of Kikongo (a language associated with Angola and the Congo), Spanish and Portuguese. Hoyos’ work in all media (paintings, prints, drawings, and photographs) captures the vibrant Palenque community, bringing their customs to life and offering vivid glimpses of a world, a people, and a way of life that provides a rich demonstration of the African diasporic experience in the Americas.
label: Description
content: A digital chromogenic photograph of four young men climbing a pole for the San Basilio de Palenque’s festivity of vara de premio (prize rod). The pole and climbers are depicted against a white background. The four men are vertically stacked and connected, holding onto one another for support. The man at the top wears a light colored sleeveless top and blue shorts. He is barefoot a he kneels on the shoulders of the man just below him, who is shirtless and wearing dark shorts. The third man from the top is wearing a purple t-shirt with grey sleeves and grey shorts. The man on the bottom of the pole is shirtless and wearing red shorts. The tall wooden pole that they cling to is visible at the very top and bottom of the image. On the verso are two inscriptions: [Vara de Premio 4 (cucaña) / 1989] at bottom left and [hos / 89] at bottom right.
place: label: Place depicted
content: San Basilio de Palenque, Bolívar, Colombia, Latin America, South America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: African diaspora
label: Topic
content: Art
label: Topic
content: Communities
label: Topic
content: Holidays and festivals
label: Topic
content: Photography
label: Topic
content: Social life and customs
label: Topic
content: Youth
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Visual Arts
label: Classification
content: Photographs and Still Images
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the artist Ana Mercedes Hoyos
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2015.166.16
objectType: label: Type
content: chromogenic color prints
label: Type
content: digital prints
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © Ana Mercedes Hoyos
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: dye and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 59 1/16 × 39 3/8 in. (150 × 100 cm)