Costa Chica, mostly famous for its beautiful beaches and surf spots, is also the home of many Afro-Mexicans. Here, in the center of the national park of Chacahua, lies the small fishing village of El azure.

In 2015, the Mexican government finally recognised its 1.38 million citizens of African descent in a national survey signifying a tremendous victory for the Afro-Mexican community who had up to that moment largely gone unnoticed on the margins of Mexican society.

This long overdue recognition of the Afro-Mexican community will hopefully lead to an increased academic interest in their cultural history as well as subsequent cause to greater commemorate their legacy as part of the country’s overall history. In addition, this new shift towards inclusion might finally provide a much needed impetus for improving the social services currently available to these communities.

The history of the Afro-Mexican people is not taught in school and in this particular village, Afro-Mexican culture is close to nonexistent. The limited exposure to the outside world comes via television when families gather after dinner to watch the night time soap operas with Mexican casts that look more like Californians than anyone from the region.

People of color are simply not represented in the Mexican media landscape so the notion of dark skinned Mexicans has no place in the present white washed pop-culture manifestations of what an authentic mainstream Mexican society is thought to look like. In a country that idealizes anything with a ‘western aesthetic’, Afro-Mexican’s are often considered too black to be considered ‘real’ Mexicans.

Costa Chica is part of Diaspora a long-term photo project, focusing on the African Identity within Afro-communities in the Americas and Europe. – Discover more of Cécile’s work here