Ric Francis

UNEXPECTED FACES

It is common knowledge that people of African heritage have deep roots in Brazil and Columbia. However there also exist Latinos whose ancestors were enslaved from Africa in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile and Argentina. 'Unexpected Faces' is an ongoing project that will document the experiences of Afro-Latinos in the unexpected places of South America.

A coca farmer heads home in Tocana, a tiny community made up mostly of Afro-Bolivians in the lush Yungas Valley.
  
A group of Afro-Bolivians share conversation and drinks.
   
Edder Pena waits for friends outside a soccer stadium.
     
  
Martha Rey, second from right, an Afro-Argentine, along with Miguelina Monzon, distributes religious literature to men waiting for a meal outside a church. Contrary to common belief all blacks living in Argentina are not foreigners.
  
A young girl appeals to her mother to intervene on her behalf against a younger cousin who grabbed her orange.
   
Claudio Martin, 37, right, works as a doorman. Afro-Peruvian men are highly sought for such jobs under the belief that their skin color lends an aura of elegance to the position. Discrimination against blacks is strong hence job opportunities are limited.
     
  
Afro-Peruvian men are highly sought for such jobs as pallbearers - clad in tuxedos and white gloves at the most upscale funerals - under the belief that their skin-color lends an aura of elegance to the job. On May 18 the Peruvian Ministry of the Woman and Social Development urged undertakers to cease the discriminatory practice.
   
Music and drinks are the order of the day after observing a local soccer match.
   
A musical troupe performs an Afro-Peruvian dance.
     
  
Students participating in a program honoring the musical contributions of Afro-Peruvians wield dolls which caricature blacks.
   
A rainbow paints the sky over El Carmen which is home to a large Afro-Peruvian community.
   
An Afro-Bolivian hunter returns home at the end of the day.
     
  
Exhausted from picking coca leaves Juana Vasquez, 71, chats with her 7-year old grandson.
   
An Afro-Bolivian dance troupe performs for churchgoers during a celebration marking 'Fiesta de San Benito'.
   
Afro-Bolivians and indigenous community members participate in a ceremony marking 'Fiesta de San Benito'.
     
  
An Afro-Bolivian woman observes church service.
   
A young Afro-Bolivian girl appeals to her mother for permission to go outside during church service; her plea was denied.
   
Afro-Ecuadorians make their way home.
     
  
Thousands of Peruvians gathered at an outdoor mass and procession in honor of Our Lord of Miracles (Senor de los Milagros). It's the country's most widely attended religious event and was founded by Afro-Peruvians.
   
An Afro-Ecuadorian woman observes passersby from her front window.
   
Maria Celeste Ballesteros', 37, body was violently hacked with a machete, over a land dispute, while pregnant with her daughter Milagros, 9, right; Milagros was unharmed.
     
  
Afro-Ecuadorian girls wash clothes in the river.
   
A young Afro-Bolivian girl carries her cousin.
   
Tocana, Bolivia is a tiny community made up mostly of Afro-Bolivians in the lush Yungas Valley.
     
  
Family members head home after a day in the field picking coca leaves.
   
As evening falls adults assist a younger family member with homework.
   
An Afro-Bolivian family waits for a bus to take them into town.
     
  
An Afro-Peruvian family celebrates during a Mother's Day gathering.
   
Two young Afro-Bolivian girls stroll home.
   
"My mother and father are negroes and so am I - I'm proud," says Dayana Rene Ballivian, 9. In 2009 Afro-Bolivians won a moral victory when the Bolivian government - which had always denied their existence - formally acknowledged them.
     
  
Oscar Valdez, 9, looks on as a couple of young girls loiter near the river.
   
An Afro-Bolivian woman pauses while walking home.