
Contrary to common knowledge, particularly among Mexicans and Mexican-Americans, is that Mexico, like other Latin-American nations, have African blood as well as indigenous and Spanish. Mexican people of indigenous ancestry, to this day, play ancient instruments, such as African hand pianos (or marimbas) in songs and dances of African influence (corridos), which tell stories of slave revolts and ancestral tributes.
Spanish forces were unable to defeat these “uppity negroes,” and a free black town called Yanga was established.
A Mexican-American woman asked me during a discussion as to where I am getting my information. Although there are many books on this topic, I told her to check out one by Mexico’s renown, late anthropologist and professor at the University of Vera Cruz. His name is Gonzalo Aguirre Beltrán. The book is entitled, La Población Negra de México (The Black Population of Mexico), where he talks about more than 500,000 African slaves being brought in through Mexico’s Port of Vera Cruz between the Cortez invasion in 1519 and Mexican independence in 1810.
Africans made up 71% of the non-indigenous population in Mexico during the early colonial periods.
Mexico’s first root is the native population before the Spanish invasion.
The Spanish represents Mexico’s second root, who brought in African slaves making up Mexico’s third root.
After more than 500 years of interracial marriages and offspring, the African presence is no longer noticeable.
I would be remiss not to point out that Mexican history also includes 19th century African-American slaves and Seminole people (so-called Indians) who fled what is now known as the State of Florida to the Mexican border state of Coahuila where their descendants live there to this day.
http://ahorasecreto.blogspot.se/2011/07/mexicos-third-root.html