Writing Exercise
Why is preserving culture important for the human experience? Is there something you do in your family to preserve your cultural heritage?
When Alfredo Duquesne, one of the people interviewed in the film, says “My body is in Cuba but my soul is in Africa,” how does that resonate with you? Have you ever experienced a similar feeling?
Bio and Sypnosis
Emma Christopher is a scholar of the historical and modern slave trade (with various landmark books on the topic), an anti-slavery advocate, and a documentary filmmaker. They Are We is Dr. Christopher’s first feature film and has been well-received since its release at numerous Film Festivals.
“They Are We tells the extraordinary story of cultural endurance and reunion between the Gangá-Longobá, a small Afro-Cuban ethnic group, and their ancestral family in a remote village in Sierra Leone. For over 170 years, the Gangá-Longobá sustained their heritage through the songs and dances of their
ancestors. They endured the brutalities of the Atlantic slave trade, decades of slavery on Cuban sugar plantations, and the Cuban Revolution, and through it, all retained a sense of their African identity. However, until recently, it was an identity the Gangá-Longobá knew little about — until their lives intersected with the work of director Dr. Emma Christopher. They Are We traces the precise roots of the Gangá customs, a connection that most historians considered impossible considering centuries of separation and the fusion of African peoples in Latin America.”
Historical Context
Beginning in 1762, a brief British occupation led to a huge increase in African slavery on the island of Cuba. Later, Cuban planters continued to import large numbers of Africans, with the period from 1790 to 1867 as the largest period of human traffic. After Haiti’s sugar economy collapsed, Cuba soon replaced Haiti as the world’s number one supplier of sugar. Between 1651 and 1866, Cuba received almost 800,000 enslaved Africans. Capitalizing on Haiti’s failed state, Spanish conquistadors went full speed ahead into cultivating Cuba’s sugar plantations. By the 1820s, Cuba had become the “largest sugar exporter in the world and the largest slave economy in the western hemisphere.” On October 10, 1868, Cuba began its first War of Independence from Spain which lasted the rest of the century. Slavery was abolished by royal decree on Oct 7, 1886.
Based on what you saw and what you know about the slave trade from Africa to the Americas, why do you think African descendants in Cuba know so little about their ancestors in Africa?
Open Questions with Partners
Reunite with a partner and discuss the following questions:
.Why did the members of the Gangá-Longobá community and the Banta in Sierra Leone want to meet each other? Why was it important to members of the Gangá-Longobá community to travel to Africa?
.In what way do dancing and songs connect the Gangá-Longobá to their relatives across the ocean? What similarities do you detect in the body movements of the Gangá-Longobá and the Banta as they perform their ceremonial dances? What effect do drums have on the ceremonial events in both Africa and Cuba?
LANGUAGE
What are some of the ways that the Cuban people and the African people overcome and communicate despite their lack of a common language? How has the Gangá-Longobá community contributed to the preservation of a dying culture and language?
CULTURE
When you watched scenes filmed in Cuba versus scenes in West Africa, what cultural (clothing, food, shelter, religion, language, etc.) similarities and differences did you observe between the two places? How does the identity of the Gangá-Longobá reflect their ancestral roots? How were they able to hold on to their African heritage?
MUSIC AND DANCE
In the film Alfredo Duquesne states, “I learned the meaning of some of the songs, and sometimes they kind of hurt me.” Why do you think he says this? What other emotions do the performers exhibit in the film as they experience the songs, dances, and drumming? Why do you think they undergo a variety of emotional responses to the music?