The Afro Latin Network (2017-18) was designed to encourage exchange between Afro-Latin Americans and scholars, activists and artists in three countries where narratives of Blackness have infused constructions of national belonging in significant and often contradictory ways: Nicaragua, Colombia and Cuba. Through a series of initiatives attended by participants from Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba, Colombia, and the UK, we held several events to discuss ways to best take advantage of the opportunities afforded by the UN International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-24), and analyse the main challenges facing Afrodescendants, with a view to developing strategies to counter racism and discrimination, enhance visibility within national polities, and cultivate and fortify Afrodescendant media and film production.

The broad geographical scope which sustained the three Network workshops and associated film screenings and discussions shed light on the transregional linkages of Afrodescendant activism in the area, focusing in particular on how the arts channel cultural imaginaries, subvert the geopolitical gaze, and envision Afrodescendant cultural politics.