We are largely a mixed-race people due to the various colonial histories of our countries and encounters between Europeans, indigenous people, and Africans. Our cultural heritage and who we are today is a result of an unprecedented history of transcontinental migration, when after 1492, 60 million Europeans, 11 million Africans, and 5 million Asians arrived in the Americas to inhabit a land that once belonged to what was once the Aztec Empire, now non-existent.
Latinos come from regions of the world that span two continents: North America (including Central America and the Caribbean) and South America. This includes 19 sovereign nations and one non-independent territory, Puerto Rico. Most people from these regions speak Spanish or Portuguese, although French, English, Dutch, and Kreyol are also spoken in parts of the Caribbean, Central America, and South America.
Nuestras Raíces is a project or Rhode Island Latino Arts, a statewide organization based in Providence and Central Falls. We acknowledge that we are on the traditional homelands of the Narragansett and Wampanoag peoples, the original stewards of the territory now called Rhode Island. We honor their ancestors, we offer our respect to the Elders past, present, and future, and we recognize their continued existence and contributions to our society.
Collecting our history is incredibly important for me because we, as Latinos, rarely are given the opportunity to share our history and to tell our story. My hope is for the younger generations to learn about all the successes that Latinx individuals have had in this country, and to understand the whole history of the Latinx community, and how celebrateing our diversity makes us stronger and keeps united.
Marta V. Martínez, Founder of Nuestras Raíces and Community Oral Historian
© All Rights Reserved | Nuestras Raíces: Latino History of RI © | When using materials from this website, please acknowledge by stating the name of the URL of the webpage on which it is displayed. Citations should include full bibliographic information as follows: Courtesy of the Latino Oral History Project of Rhode Island, Central Falls, RI.
