Five hundred years ago, 250,000 Africans from Sudan, Congo and Guinea arrived in Mexico as slaves to become servants, laborers, cowboys, farmers and artisans.

They entered the country through the ports of Veracruz and Acapulco, and by the early 18th century, they represented 10% more than indigenous people.

Spaniards brought the first group of Africans in 1519 to work in agriculture and silver mines under conditions of unspeakable brutality. Most of them came against their will, after traveling for nearly 18 months by boat. They were marked and were not entitled to a name, just to a number.

Their duty was to replace the 10 million Indians that died due to epidemics such as smallpox and the massacres committed during the conquest.

The abolition of slavery in Mexico, enacted in 1810, allowed the arrival of more Africans. Some heroes of the War of Independence, like José María Morelos y Pavón and Vicente Guerrero, had African ancestry.

"Africans were brought as slaves and sold in America to be used as things or goods. This situation lasted until the 19th century. Today, they are no longer slaves, but many of them live as such," says Jaime Cárdenas, former electoral adviser.

When the Africans brought by Spaniards settled at the Costa Chica of Guerrero, they cultivated cocoa and cotton, and raised animals. In Veracruz they worked at sugar plantations.

Over time, marginalization and lack of care in their countries of origin forced them to emigrate to the United States and Mexico.

At present, they live in states such as Yucatán, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Tabasco, Colima, Coahuila, Michoacán, Guanajuato, Querétaro, Puebla, Sinaloa, Mexico City and Guerrero.

According to experts, Africans are the most marginalized minority in the country. Their communities have high rates of illiteracy, unemployment and poverty, and they are also victims of racism and discrimination.

The National Commission on Prevention of Discrimination said that in 2010 there were 450,000 inhabitants of African descent in Mexico. However, the African community settled in Mexico City says the figure is higher, as many of them are registered as indigenous people.