#x1C;A well conceived and researched study that makes a significant contribution to central discussions in a growing field of Mexican history-the Afromexican experience. Beyond that, it will add to our overall understanding of how complex racially, ethnically, gender, and class based societies socially develop. [and] to our understanding of the Afromexican experience within the context of the broader colonial Mexican society.#x1D;-Patrick J. Carroll, Texas A&M University #xA0; #x1C;A unique and exhaustively researched institutional study that opens up the social dimensions of religious life amongst Afromexican populations, [this book] challenges us to rethink the process of racial assimilation in Mexico. It powerfully argues that black diasporic religious practices need not always be thought of as marginal, magical, or deviant, but can be seen as #x18;mainstream#x19; in ways that helped uplift peoples of color into the social world of the dominant classes.#x1D;-Ben Vinson III, Pennsylvania State University #xA0; #xA0; Celebrating the African contribution to Mexican culture, this book shows how religious brotherhoods in New Spain both preserved a distinctive African identity and helped facilitate Afro-Mexican integration into colonial society. Called confraternities, these groups provided social connections, charity, and status for Africans and their descendants for over two centuries.

#xA0;#xA0;#xA0;#xA0;#xA0;#xA0; #xA0;#xA0;#xA0;#xA0;#xA0;#xA0;#xA0;#xA0;#xA0; Often organized by African women and dedicated to popular European and African saints, the confraternities enjoyed prestige in the Baroque religious milieu of 17th-century New Spain. One group, founded by Africans called Zapes, preserved their ethnic identity for decades even after they were enslaved and brought to the Americas. Despite ongoing legal divisions and racial hierarchies, by the end of the colonial era many descendants from African slaves had achieved a degree of status that enabled them to move up the social ladder in Hispanic society. Von Germeten reveals details of the organization and practices of more than 60 Afro-Mexican brotherhoods and examines changes in the social, family, and religious lives of their members. She presents the stories of individual Africans and their descendants-including many African women and the famous Baroque artist Juan Correa-almost entirely from evidence they themselves generated. Moving the historical focus away from negative stereotypes that have persisted for almost 500 years, this study is the first in English to deal with Afro-Mexican religious organizations. #xA0; #xA0;.