Exploring the Afro-Mexican Story with Darryl Richardson
"Mexico has always embraced their indigenous culture, so I wondered why their history with their African roots wasn't actively discussed."
In entering the podcast sphere, Trippin hopes to facilitate thought-provoking and exciting conversations surrounding travel and culture. Fronted by co-founder, Yasmin, we’ll bring in thought-leaders and tastemakers from around the world to delve deeper into their cultural scenes and ask questions that may not have been asked before.
In our first podcast episode we sit down with photographer and filmmaker, Darryl Richardson, whose work aim is to build new narratives for communities of colour across the world. In his largest and most personal project to date, ‘JUS SOLI’, he focuses on telling the story of the Afro-Mexican community of Costa Chica, Oaxaca. Darryl first became aware of Mexico’s Afro-descendants upon reading “Flash of the Spirit” by Robert Farris Thompson. Intrigued, he set out to discover more and was surprised at how little information was out there surrounding this part of Mexico’s history.
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"As a group, Afro-Mexicans are largely invisible. In Mexico there are currently 1.4 million people that identify as Afro-descendant. Mexico's constitution is the only one in Latin America that does not specifically mention citizens of African descent. In 2015, for the very first time, the Mexican government included its Afro-descendants in a national survey. This recognition will hopefully give Afro-descendants access to educational grants, medical services, and social security benefits."
Hailing from the south side of Chicago, Darryl was the first in his family to have a passport. As the first traveller in his family, he saw the endless possibilities travel presented and with this outlook, he also felt a responsibility to contribute to changing the global narrative towards people of colour and to inspire them to travel.
"A common narrative exists across the world pertaining to the people of the African diaspora: the radicalisation and subsequent colonisation that launched the slave trade has continued to complicate the lives of people with a darker hue of skin today. JUS SOLI is me doing my part as an artist of African descent. We have to tell our own stories. We have to continue to remind everyone that we are here and we matter.”
His first formative trip came as a late teen when he found himself in Mexico for the first time. Now, he resides in Mexico City where we recorded this conversation. It’s safe to say, the country has changed Darryl’s life in more ways than one: he’s become a father and opened his first studio space, Fabrica 29.
