Sergio Alcover is the most prominent black dance and music artist is Spain. Born in Valencia, from a Guinean father and a Spanish mother, Alcover is the face of Hip Hop dance in Spain.
In 1994 he began his career as a breakdancer. And in 2009 he released his first DVD with a breakdance masterclass, tutorials and interviews.
In 2010 he released his second album “Sergio Alcover”. The album quickly gained popularity because of a very popular Spanish television show where he teaches street dance.
Afro-Spanish Flamenco/Jazz singer Concha Buika has managed to win her first Latin Grammy Award for her latest album "El Ultimo Trago" (“The Last Drink”). The album is backed by the highly acclaimed Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés.
Buika won the Grammy yesterday in the category "Best Tropical Album." She was also nominated in 2008 for her album "Niña de fuego" in the category of "Album of the Year." The album, “El Ultimo Trago”, pays homage to Chavela Vargas on her 90th anniversary, covering the repertoire that she has built during her entire career. Vargas is a Costa Rican born singer, who is especially known for her rendition of Mexican rancheras.
Black travel expert Nelson George of BlackAtlas visited Barcelona and spoke to Black British Judi Oshowole who has lived in Barcelona for 18 years. She tells BlackAtlas about the city's growing diversity and the community of black women, from countries around the world, she has helped to build.
See a video of Judy Oshowole talking in a meeting of a group of black women in Barcelona, the BIBS (Barcelona International Black Sisters). The BIBS consists of women from all over the globe - the UK, the US, the Caribbean and South America, Germany, Sweden, The Netherlands... See the post at www.fatjuicyoyster.com Trivia on Barcelona
Frank Rijkaard was the successful head coach (2003–2008) of the Football Club Barcelona. He was appointed as head coach together with his assistent coach Henk ten Cate. Both of them are black and of Dutch/Surinamese origin.
Spanish singer Concha Buika is nominated for the Latin Grammys for her album El Último Trago, in the category Best Traditional Tropical Album. For the album she partnered with Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés.
In April 2009, Buika and Valdés got together in Abdala studios in Havana, convened by Spanish guitarist and producer Javier Limon, to pay tribute to the legendary singer Chavela Vargas on her 90th birthday.
And she is also nominated for the UK MOBO Awards, but in the category Best African Act: Concha Buika (Equatorial Guinea). But Best African Act!?
Buika was born in Palma de Mallorca in Spain, only her parents are from Equatorial Guinea. There is nothing Equatorial Guinean about her music, her music is Flamengo/Jazz.
A live performance with Chucho Valdés
Strange MOBO, in the US she is nominated for the second time as Latin artist, and in her hometown Europe she is nominated as an African Act.
Being black in Spain is different from being black in the UK, France or The Netherlands. In an interesting article five black people from Spain share their experience about living in Spain (short translation). You can read the full article (in French) on the blog Noirs d'Amérique Latine
Among the interviewed is television reporter Lucía Asué Mbomio. In the video for the website Live unchained she talks about her her documentary and about being black in Spain.
Short translation Marcia Santacruz is chocolate coloured. Black like her father and her mother. Black as her grandparents. But apparently, in Spain, clothing, education and money determine the level of melanin. They nuanced skin tone. The Afro-Colombian, who came to Madrid to complete a Masters in Public Administration, said: "In the Spanish mind black is synonymous for domestic work, poverty and lawlessness. In their subconsciousness, they can’t believe that there can be a black latina who speaks about Sartre.
Spain is not an openly racist country. There is no xenophobic party with parliamentary representation. The country does not represent a clear rejection of black, except for marginal groups of extreme right. But there is subtle everyday racism. Manifested in the way home. It is installed in the eye. You find in the classic statement: "I am not racist, but ...". Or it’s the shop salesman who rushes to serve a black person, just so he can leave the shop quickly. It’s racism in a country where blacks have gone from singular elements and exotic, before being put all in the same bag, which is perceived with some concern: immigrants.
Here, there is neither Barack Obama or Oprah Winfrey. There are not many symbols of success. The Black presence is recent. An explosion occurred in the late nineties.
Spain has about 683,000 African descent. 1.5% of the population, just over 10% of foreigners by High Council of Black Communities (Alto Consejo de las Comunidades Negras).This exponential growth is most striking: in 1998 they were no more than 77,000. And just last year, about 7,500 descendants of Africans born in the Spanish territory.
According to the association that advocates the visibility of the black community, these figures are approximate. First, they counted foreigners residing in Spain from countries with black people, and crossed the result with the percentage of African descent in these countries. These figures have a margin of error. Fortunately, we have no ethnic census, the racial difference does not appear on the national identity card. But the quantification of a minority can be seen through another prism. Especially if the initiative comes from the minority itself.
There are data that say: "We are a growing community. We're here. Take us into consideration."
For there was a time when the Spaniards (white) rubbed their eyes in seeing them. Donato Ndongo-Bidyogo, writer and minister of the self-declared government of Equatorial Guinea in exile, based in Madrid, arrived in Spain when his country was still a Spanish colony. A province on the African continent, one hundred percent black. In a recent article entitled Una nueva realidad: los afroespañoles (A new reality: afroespagnols), the Equatorial Guinean wrote several anecdotes of his early years in the white territory.
For example: "Older women who, at Christmas 1965, ran, terrified and scared to see me in a city within the Levantine region, laying hands on her head and cried a black, black, My God, a negro! "[...] My classmates had scratched his head and hands with their fingers and were surprised they were not stained black.
Guineans in the former colony have been the first to arrive so widespread. Today, they are all a little over 23,000. This is the third African country with the most big contingent of blacks in Spain, after Senegal (47,000) and Nigeria (35,000). But migration has been very different. They came to study in the metropolis. To be formed. Today, they perhaps represent the most integrated black community of African descent with a second and third generation.
Lucía Asue Mbomio reporter for Españoles por el mundo (TVE1) is one of them. She speaks with an accent of the district when she wants. She says it is her vulgar side. Born of a white mother and a father Equatorial Guinea, she grew up in Alcorcón, a municipality south of Madrid. She's 28, and her room in a shared appartment, is filled with pride of her race. From "I Have a Dream" Martin Luther King, to the "Yes we can," Obama.
Also see Black travel expert Nelson George of BlackAtlas talking to Black British Judi Oshowole, who has lived in Barcelona for 18 years. See more information about her and the community BIBS (Barcelona International Black Sisters) here.
Concha Buika is a critically acclaimed flamenco fusion vocalist from Spain. Born in 1972 in Palma de Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain, she is the daughter of political refugees from the former Spanish African colony Equatorial Guinea. She made her full-length recording debut with Buika (2005) on Dro Atlantic. On of the popular songs of the album is 'New Afro spanish generation'(video). The song is about being black and Spanish.
She collaborated with accomplished producer Javier Limón for her second album, Mi Niña Lola (2006). Her breakthrough release, Mi Niña Lola, sold over 100,000 copies in Spain. She collaborated with Limón again for her third album, Niña de Fuego (2008), which garnered a Latin Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. Though Buika was frequently acclaimed by critics, the nomination came as a surprise, as she was little known outside the Spanish flamenco fusion scene. (Source: Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide)
La falsa moneda is from the album Niña de Fuego (2008)
After the post about the first black mayor in the Netherlands I got intrigued by the presence of black people in European politics. I did some research and found out that in all Western European countries, from Norway to Italy you could find at least one black face in parliament, and several people of non European descent representing their regions on different levels of government.
The more people of foreign origin in a country, the more they will be represented politically Therefore countries like France and the UK have the largest portion of black politicians, up to ministries and chief secretaries. Women and men. In all other countries, except for the Netherlands, their representation is very small, but it is there and that’s what matters.
I think of the Secretary of State for Sports in France, Rama Yade or the chief Secretary to the Treasury Paul Boateng in the UK. Both are part of a recent phenomenon but it is clear that many will follow in their footsteps. It is therefore no illusion that one day France could elect a black president (the current one is half Hungarian, and has some Greek-Jewish ancestry on his mother side…) and England will have a black prime minister. The colour of their skin doesn’t matter, in a true democratic system, the best candidate (whatever his origins) should eventually take office.
We shouldn’t forget either that the population of African ancestry in Western Europe is very small. In countries like France (without its Caribbean territories), the Netherlands and the UK they represent approx. 3% to 5% of the population (mixed race included). However, you’ll find high concentrations in the cities, predominantly in certain areas of London and Paris. But even then, rarely do black people represent more than 50% of a municipality’s population.
In this context I did some research to the election of Black mayors throughout Europe. Although I can’t guarantee that I researched the topic thoroughly enough, I think I can give you an idea here. What is surprising is that the presence of a lot of black people in a municipality doesn’t mean you have a greater chance to find a black mayor. On the contrary, all black mayors were elected in rather small towns, with very few black people. They were elected not because of the colour of their skin, but because the people thought that she/he was the right person for that job. It all started in 1904 in Thetford, Norfolk.
The first in the UK
Picture of John Archer
John Richard Archer is generally believed to be the first black mayor in the UK, elected (nominated) in Battersea in 1913, a municipality in the London area. However it was found that Dr Allan Glaisyer Minns (1858-1930), elected Mayor of the town of Thetford, Norfolk in 1904, was the first black man to become a mayor in Britain. He was a doctor, surgeon and politician. However, there is very little information about him. Much more is known about John Archer and therefore he is often mentioned as the first black mayor of Britain.
John Archer was born in Liverpool in 1863. His father was from Barbados and worked as a ship’s steward. His mother was Irish. Nothing is known about Archer’s education but as a young man he travelled the world probably spending some time in the West Indies and North America. During this time he met and married Bertha, a black Canadian.
Archer and his wife settled in Battersea in the 1890s and in 1913 he became Mayor of Battersea. Read more about him on this website and this website too
The first in France
Raphaël Elizé
In France we will have to wait until 1929 before the First black mayor is elected. Raphaël Elizé was elected as mayor of Sablé-sur-Sarthe, a rural town in the department Pays de la Loire (central western France) of around 12.000 inhabitants. Raphaël Elizé was born on the Caribbean island of Martinique in 1891. He graduated as veterinary from the university of Lyon, France and during World War I he served for the French army in Europe. After WWI he settles in Sablé and starts a political career with the Socialist Party. During World War II he was part of the Résistance. He was deported to Buchenwald and died there in 1945. Phillippe Bérenger, a French filmmaker, is working on a film about this man ‘Le Nègre de Sablé’.
Below I post a little youtube documentary about Elizé, (unfortunately only for those who understand French)
More info?
Except for John Archer, Allan Minns and Rafaël Elizé I have no knowledge of other people of African descent who became mayors in the then so-called Mother Countries in Europe. In England and the UK there might have been other cases but I do not know of any and couldn’t find any.
However several black political activist and politicians past and present have been active in the UK, at various levels of government. For a list check wikipedia’s Black British politician page .
France recently
It is not clear who is the next black mayor in France after Elizé. France is kind of mysterious about race and colour of skin. The official story is that it doesn’t exist and so official reports on the issue are nonexistent. It’s quite sure that it is Auguste Senghor (a nephew of Léopold Sedar Senghor) who was the next black mayor in Franc after Elizé, but sources contradict each other on the year of his taking office as a mayor. He was mayor of Le May-sur-Èvre (Maine-et-Loire, 3,891 inhabitants) several times. However the Wikipedia page of May-sur-Evre states Auguste Senghor was their mayor from 1977 till 1989 and from 1995 till 2008. This makes him the second black mayor in France and the longest ever running black mayor in France.
Last year he moved to another town on the Atlantic shores of Bretagne, (Saint-Briac-sur-Mer, 1900 inhabitants) and was recently elected mayor there. We are certain that Kofi Yamgnane who is originally from Togo, became mayor of Saint Coulitz in the department of Finistère, a tiny little village (approx. 400 inhabitants) in Bretagne, western France. He must be confused when he mentions on his webpage that he actually is the first black mayor of France. Not exactly but close. Fact is that in France race is taboo. It is illegal to classify people according to race, therefore the election of a black mayor will only be informally registered. But reading below what happened in 2008, you’ll discover that the government in Paris seems to be hypocritical about race.
The 2008 elections in France
In 2008 several black French mayors were elected, one of them Kader Atteye in the tiny village of Morey (180 inhabitants, central France, department Saône-et-Loire). He was born and raised in the region, his parents were immigrants from Djibouti. This election was not without problems because more than a third of the municipal council members (5 out of 11) have resigned in protest of the election of a black person with a Muslim background (though I doubt he is still a practicing Muslim, I didn’t find anything about it though. What is certain is that he has two kids and lives together with the mother of both kids in a tiny village of 180 people …). The mayor didn't have to run for reelection but stayed in office, however 5 new council members had to be elected. read more on this racist controversy here(in French) and on this link (in French) . A similar scenario occurred in another small town where the people elected a Frenchmen of Algerian origin.
Kader Atteye, mayor of a tiny village of 180 inhabitants
During the local elections in 2008 4 municipalities elected a mayor of African origin. One of them was Kader Atteye. All were small rural municipalities of less than 5000 people, and with no significant black population. Two mayors are of Afro Caribbean ancestry and 2 of African ancestry. More info via wikipedia
Spain
Hector Julio Castillo Figueroa
Spain just has a recent democratic history. As soon as 4 years after General Franco’s death the first black mayor is elected in Spain. On the 3rd of April 1979 Héctor Julio Castillo Figueroa is elected as mayor of Isla Cristina, a coastal town of 20.000 people on the Atlantic shores of southern Spain (close to the city of Cadiz). Figueroa was a native from the Dominican Republic. He is a doctor and currently still lives in Isla Cristina. If you read Spanish you can find more about him here
Until 2007 there is no info of any other black mayor in Spain. More recently Juan Antonio de la Morena Doca was elected mayor of the town of Villamantilla in 2007, a municipality in the greater Madrid area of just 800 people. His father is Spanish, his mother comes from Equatorial Guinea in Western Africa. You can read an interview with him on line in the Spanish newspaper El Mundo or there is also an article via this link. Juan Antonio de la Morena Doca
Italy
Sandy Cane
In Italy we have Sandy Cane, who is African American and Italian and was elected this year (2009) mayor of Viggiu (5000 inhabitants) a small town in the Italian Alps. The first mayor of African ancestry in Italy’s modern history (I say ‘modern’, as some research states that during the Roman empire, some 2000 years ago, people of African ancestry settled in Italy and were actively involved in local affairs and politics, read more here and here. I don't want to go into any discussion about this topic, as I am convinced that the concepts of race, as we understand it today, do not apply to that era). She was backed by the alleged xenophobic Lega Nord
Ireland
Rotimi Adebari
Ireland also elected its first black mayor. Rotimi Adebari, a native of Nigeria, was elected mayor of Portlaoise Town in 2007. Portlaoise(pronounced something like Portleash) is a town in central Ireland of approx. 14.000 inhabitants. However there is some controversy on the person of Rotimi Abedari as he would have lied about his troubles in Nigeria (and whereabouts previous to his life in Ireland) applying for the procedure to get legal residence in Ireland. More details about this issue are mentioned on the Wikipedia page here.
Netherlands
Joyce Sylvester
In the Netherlands Joyce Sylvester recently became mayor of Naarden, replacing the fromer mayor Anna Paulowna. As such she became the first black woman to become a mayor in the Netherlands. Naarden is a beautiful medieval town in Holland worth a touristic visit. It was recently elected as the most pleasant town to live in the Netherlands. Naarden is rather small, and also doesn’t have a predominantly black population, rather predominantly white. Sylvester is born in Amsterdam and from Surinamese origins.
But Joyce Sylvester was not the first black person to become a mayor of a Dutch municipality. This was Headly Binderhagel , a Surinam born creole man, who was mayor of Nuth from 2002 to 2008. Nuth is small town of 15.000 people in the southern province of Limburg in the Netherlands.
Headly Binderhagel
Sylvester and Binderhagel became, like all the other AfroEuropean mayors, the mayor of a town because of their person, their communication skills, theri political skills, their character, … not because of race, not because of affirmative action …
Russia?
And as a last little thing this picture that I found on this link about an African running for mayor of a Russian town. Is this real or hoax? I don’t know, but it is worth a thorough research.
Slovenia
Peter Bossman
Peter Bossman (born 2 November 1955) is a Ghanaian-born Slovenian doctor and politician. He is currently the elected mayor of Piran, a city and municipality on the Gulf of Piran in south-western Slovenia. A member of the centre-left Social Democrats, he defeated the incumbent mayor in the October 2010 mayoral election to become Slovenia's first black mayor.
Photo and copyright: Lola Akinmade How do black people experience travelling in Europe? Do they feel stared at, feel welcome, or is it a bit of both. And in which Western European countries do they feel most comfortable?
To find out I sampled the experiences (2008 and 2009) from Rick Steves’s Minority Travelers Forum. Most experiences are from African-Americans who visited Europe.
I could have asked photographer and travel writer Lola Akinmade about her travel experience, but on her blog are all the answers. In pictures and in stories. See Lola's blog Geotraveler's Niche. So I stayed on Steves's forum.
To get a big picture of all the experiences I placed the reactions in the categories negative, neutral and positive. Negative means when someone felt being treated negatively. Neutral means, no problems. Positive speaks for itself. Click on the image to enlarge
1. In England or the UK – Most travellers had a great time. No stares, hardly any discrimination. With 2 negative and 9 positive reactions the absolute winner.
2. Germany – Second best with 1 negative reaction, 1 neutral and 3 positive reactions.
3. The Netherlands – One traveller felt very race conscious in the Netherlands. With 2 negative reactions, 1 neutral and 3 positive reactions third place.
4. France - Very mixed responses. Most black travellers liked it, but the French language barrier remained. Most Americans had neutral feelings about France, but over all they weren’t negative. With 2 negative reactions, 7 neutral and 4 positive reactions fourth place.
5. Italy – Here things started to get dramatically negative. Some loved Italy, others were less positive. Some reported being stared at. To put it in perspective, 4negative reactions, 2 neutral and 3 positive. Fifth place
6. Spain – This country is considered the worst Western European travel destination by most African-Americans on the forum. Most travellers see Spain as a very racist country. However one traveller was aware of racial climate in Spain, but still went. He had a great time in Spain. With 6 negative reactions, 2 neutral and 3 positive reactions it’s a country that leaves a lot of black travellers with some bad memories, but with good ones as well.
Countries as Belgium, Zweden, Austria, Creece and Ireland I didn't include because there were just one or two reactions.
Of course you can’t get a good impression if you have nine responses or less of each country. And it also depends where travellers had their experiences: big city or country side.
Minority Lola Akinmade is using her blackness to experience traveling to the max. In an interview she explained why she loves traveling as a minority. "Being able to seamlessly move because people automatically assume I’m a local impoverished immigrant allows me to observe and immerse without sticking out like a sore thumb in some places. I get to experience the true attitudes of locals towards others very different from them – both great and bad.
I have experienced everything from utmost rejection to gawks of fascination that a lot of bright-eyed backpackers could never endure. It is at the low times I question the purpose of travel and then Mark Twain’s quote always comes to mind….“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness."…… Mark Twain." Read the whole interview here
Sergio Alcover is the most prominent black dance and music artist is Spain. Born in Valencia, from a Guinean father and a Spanish mother, Alcover is the face of Hip Hop dance in Spain. 
Afro-Spanish Flamenco/Jazz singer Concha Buika has managed to win her first Latin Grammy Award for her latest album "El Ultimo Trago" (“The Last Drink”). The album is backed by the highly acclaimed Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés. 
Spanish singer Concha Buika is nominated for the Latin Grammys for her album El Último Trago, in the category Best Traditional Tropical Album. For the album she partnered with Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés.
Concha Buika is a critically acclaimed flamenco fusion vocalist from Spain. Born in 1972 in Palma de Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain, she is the daughter of political refugees from the former Spanish African colony Equatorial Guinea. She made her full-length recording debut with Buika (2005) on Dro Atlantic. On of the popular songs of the album is 'New Afro spanish generation'(video). The song is about being black and Spanish.
Mayor Auguste Senghor with the town's council
Picture of John Archer
Raphaël Elizé
Kader Atteye, mayor of a tiny village of 180 inhabitants
Hector Julio Castillo Figueroa
Juan Antonio de la Morena Doca
Sandy Cane
Rotimi Adebari 
Joyce Sylvester 
Headly Binderhagel
Fernando Torres is the King of Spain as he sinks Germany in Euro 2008 final
Fernando Torres ends Spain's long wait for glory (©Getty Images)
The joyous Spanish players parade the trophy (©Getty Images)
