The United States is a country rich in cultural diversity and differences in ethnic communities, due to this fact, it has repeatedly faced racial, ethnic, confessional and social problems, which are still perceived very acutely in our time. Discrimination, racial segregation, racism, nationalism led to acute social conflicts, which in turn were embodied in the culture of the people, poetry, music, and art. Angelitos Negros is a poem by Andres Eloy Blanco, which was preceded by the history of people trying to find freedom to choose life and religion.
The difficulties that the African American race had to face came before the writing of this work, which later found its embodiment in music and films. The proliferation of Marcus Garvey’s United Negro Improvement Association in the Americas has become a significant event that has put the thoughts of discriminated people about equality in the head. “Its motto One God! One Aim! One Destiny! Enveloped the organization’s desire to combat black oppression and contest the lingering effects of European colonialism” (Coleman 3). What is more, his nationalism was inextricably linked with the theology of black liberation in the ecclesiastical context. Garvey’s insistence “for black men to depict God in their own image and likeness” echoes in Blanco’s poem.
Guillén in Cuba and Blanco in Venezuela were aware of the racist prejudices that excluded black people from mainstream society and were determined to make a difference and educate society about the importance of African contributions to American civilization. They also “embraced Garveyism’s holistic pursuit of Black liberation” and their ideas to reverse the devaluation of the population laid the foundation for Acción Democrática’s project. (Sulik 10) The incident when a famous African American singer was denied hotel accommodation on the basis of race was decisive. It served as the impetus for a campaign to introduce legislation against such discrimination.
Despite the progressive events, racism flourished in Venezuela and was perpetuated by folklore and the media. “The absence of the black people in heaven” is a racist example of a proverb used by the privileged people of society. (Moriah 84) Andres Eloy Blanco challenged established stereotypes and wrote a protest poem that says exactly the opposite. The artist reverses the famous proverb by defending the rights of African Americans, declaring that there are no restrictions in heaven. Blanco believed “the installation was symbolic of four hundred years of the dehumanization and suppression of Black people in the US”. (Solis 2) Thus, by interfering with the debate about race, national identity and religious subjectivity, the poem provided food for thought to the masses.
The poem suggests a devaluation that Blanco wanted to eradicate from society, although this contradicts the tenets of the Christian faith, in which an all-encompassing love of God comes first. The point is that the dominant privileged class denies the syncretism of African American religious life. Religion is a more multifaceted concept, which implies the coexistence of different denominations and people cannot be excluded from the faith for their skin color.
To conclude, Angelitos Negros is a poem about visibility and equality. The lyrics juxtapose and contrast the competing ideas of the privileged and the discriminated against, claiming the same faith. The essence of the work is to convey to people the principles of equality not only in society, but also in religion since faith presupposes a transcultural experience.
Works Cited
Coleman, Taylor A. ““Diasporic Dialogues”: Marcus Garvey’s Negro World and the Critical Engagement of Black & Latinx Resistance Narratives in the Early 20th Century (1921-1933).” SUNY Buffalo Romance Studies Journal vol. 5, no. 2, 2020, pp. 1-43.
Moriah, Kristin. “Where Are the Black Angels?.” PAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art vol. 41, no. 2019, pp. 82-86.
Solis, Gabriel Daniel. “Documenting State Violence:(Symbolic) Annihilation & Archives of Survival.” KULA: knowledge creation, dissemination, and preservation studies vol. 2, 2018, pp. 7-7.
Sulik, Stephanie Theresa. Waving The Red, Black, And Green: The Local And Global Vision Of The Universal Negro Improvement Association In Akron And Barberton. 2020. PhD dissertation.