Afro-Ecuadorians
Country · Ecuador
Esmeraldas began as a maroon republic after a shipwreck in 1553 — and its marimba music is on the UNESCO list.
Afro-Ecuadorians at a glance
- Country
- Ecuador
- Main centres
- Esmeraldas · Valle del Chota · Guayaquil
- Region
- South America
- How many
- Roughly one in twelve Ecuadorians
- Languages
- Spanish
- Dialling code
- +593
The African connection
Africans wrecked off the coast escaped inland, allied with Indigenous groups, and established autonomous territory the Spanish never fully took. The Valle del Chota, in the highlands, is the other centre — sugar estates in a river valley at altitude.
Key dates for Afro-Ecuadorians
The dates this community marks — independence, emancipation, and the festivals that fill a hall wherever its people have settled.
Diaspora meets diaspora
AfricAsia began with Africans in Asia. The same story runs through every entry in this section — people of African descent building a life a long way from where their ancestors started.
If you are from Afro-Ecuadorians and you are anywhere in Asia — studying, working, playing, passing through — there are people here who will know what you are asking before you finish the question.
Every Asian country →The Afro-Ecuadorians channel
Every entry in the diaspora section has its own free channel in the Hub, alongside the 108 country channels and the topic rooms.
Open the channel →