Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will visit the first “free village” for runaway slaves in the Americas during their visit to Colombia as the couple continue to explore their interest in colonialism and its legacies.
The couple are scheduled to visit the important San Basilio de Palenque shrine on Saturday.
The small town, which has a population of around 3,500, was one of the walled communities known as palenques that were founded by runaway slaves as a refuge in the 17th century, leading the enclave to develop a rich and unique culture, heavily influenced by the population’s African heritage.
In 2008, the town and its cultural space were declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
Prince Harry and Meghan meet with students in Abuja, Nigeria
The Sussexes will arrive at the invitation of Colombian Vice President Francia Márquez
The couple are expected to stay in the £2,500-a-night presidential suite at the Sofitel Legend Hotel in Cartagena.
Part of the recognition is linked to the fact that the Palenquero language is the only Creole language of Spanish origin in Latin America, spoken by only about 3,000 people.
Most of the other so-called secret villages of Palenque were eventually found and destroyed by the Spanish, but San Basilio de Palenque, which is a popular day trip destination for tourists from Cartagena, survived.
The founding father was Domingo Benkos Bioho, originally from the Bijago Islands of Guinea-Bissau in West Africa.
He was captured by Portuguese slave traders in the late 16th century. Mystery surrounds the story of his escape from Cartagena, one of the main centres of the slave trade in Colombia in the 17th century.
Spanish authorities, seeking to eliminate the threat he posed after he organized a network of palenques and coordinated raids on Spanish-run plantations to free more slaves, captured him during a visit to Cartagena after tricking him into returning to the city and executed him.
The trip to Colombia will allow Meghan to show off her fluent Spanish
Meghan poses for a photograph in Abuja, Nigeria
Harry and Meghan will visit Bogotá as part of their tour of Colombia
A statue of Benkos Bioho stands in the center of San Basilio de Palenque.
Hikers visiting the village are offered the opportunity to learn palenquero and experience traditional hairstyles and braids at a hair salon.
Meals visitors can sample include fusions of African, Caribbean, European and American ingredients, such as fried fish, coconuts and mango salsa.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex He will also visit a music festival in Cali called the Petronio Álvarez Festival on Sunday according to the city’s mayor, Alejandro Eder.
It takes place every August at the sports complex called Unidad Deportiva Alberto Galinda.
Since its founding in 1997, it has become an important celebration of Afro-Colombian music and culture in Latin America.
Its aim was to unite artists from the Pacific coast of Colombia and provide them with a platform to express and celebrate their rich cultural heritage.
Speaking at a tourism conference earlier this month, Cali Mayor Eder said: ‘They are coming to Cali and spending a day in the city.
‘They will visit the Petronio Álvarez Festival in the city and will also visit other social initiatives.’
The trip will allow Meghan, who celebrated her 43rd birthday on Sunday, to show off her fluent Spanish, which she learned at a private school in Los Angeles and honed at the U.S. Embassy in Argentina.
But for many Colombians, the Sussexes’ visit is seen as little more than a cynical attempt by a failing left-wing government to use the glamorous couple as “political pawns” to divert attention from a series of scandals that have engulfed the regime.
A prominent Bogotá lawyer told the Mail on Sunday: “I’m sure Meghan and Harry mean well, but everyone here is talking about how obvious they are being manipulated.
“Of course, their stardom will be used to draw attention to the poor and certain sectors of Colombian culture… but the reality is that the Colombian government has been mired in scandal since it took power two years ago. They need something that will appease people at home and make them look good abroad.”
