Ecos del pasado: prácticas de memoria histórica entre afrodescendientes en el Veracruz colonial.

This article aims to examine the role of historical memory, as well as the challenges and opportunities that arise from the intersection between memory and history in the context of Afro-descendant populations. It is based on the premise that, although there are no homogeneous and unbreakable memories, it is possible to use historical documentary sources to explore how Afrodescendants in the past constructed narratives of memory and how these practices can help to better understand the present. The first part of the article presents a review of the main debates between memory and history, addressing the tensions and convergences between these two dimensions of knowledge. Theories on historical memory and its application in recent decades in Latin America are discussed, with particular emphasis on the case of Afro-descendant communities. The second part analyzes two concrete examples of memory practices: one based on municipal documents revealing how a group of pardo militiamen used collective memory in their interactions with local authorities, and another based on a colonial periodical publication about a life story that shows, within its exceptionality, the socio-spatial mobility of the Afrodescendant population. The article concludes with some hypotheses about the process of constructing historical oblivion for this sector of the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]