Digital Magazine of the Comboni Missionaries
in America and Asia
Digital Magazine of the Comboni Missionaries
in America and Asia
In the vast geography of the Peruvian Andes, where the mountains rise to the sky and the rivers meander with the serenity of centuries, there lived and served a man whose heart beat to the rhythm of love and dedication. Father Giuseppe Messetti, affectionately known as “Padre Pepe”, was a Comboni Missionary whose life was marked by tireless service to those most in need, bringing hope and comfort to the most remote and vulnerable communities in Peru. His story is a testimony of faith, sacrifice and deep connection with the land and its inhabitants, leaving an indelible mark in every corner he set foot in.
Father Nelson Mitchell, mccj - Jorge Chávez Hurtado
COLOMBIA
GOD DOES NOT MAKE GARBAGE
The miracle of the 800 daily lunches for “street dwellers” in Medellín. The story of a dining room that offers a daily hot and dignified meal, all carried out with the own hands of dozens of volunteers and the money of some benefactors.
Fr. Antonio Villarino, MCCJ
Last July 5, the Holy See announced the appointment of Father Wiston Mosquera Moreno as the new bishop of the Colombian diocese of Quibdó, in the department of Chocó, which had been without a pastor for more than two years. Father Mosquera was until then vicar general of the archdiocese of Cali, since 2017, and pastor of the cathedral.
Father Wiston Mosquera Moreno, who was born in Andagoya-Chocó on March 17, 1967, will be the first Afro-Colombian bishop. His appointment represents a historic milestone for the country's Afro-descendant community and an important step towards greater inclusion in the Church of the Afro-Colombian population, which constitutes at least 25% of Colombia's total, or some 10.5 million people.
Mosquera was consecrated bishop on September 14 at Cali's St. Peter the Apostle Cathedral in a ceremony presided over by Archbishop Luis Fernando Rodriguez Velasquez of Cali.
Nicaraguan authorities released 135 political and religious prisoners following international pressure, but many government critics remain behind bars amid ongoing repression against political dissent and religious organizations.
The U.S. Department of State (DOS), which has been working to secure the release of political prisoners in Nicaragua, announced that among those released were Catholic lay people, 13 individuals associated with the Texas-based evangelical group Mountain Gateway, and human rights activists.
According to DOS, many of the former prisoners were temporarily resettled “safely and voluntarily” in Guatemala. The Guatemalan government worked with the U.S. government to help secure the prisoners' release.
In Seoul, the capital of South Korea, the World Youth Day to be held in 2027 will have a special connotation of interreligious encounter, promoting fraternity and friendship with Buddhists and other believers of various confessions. Archbishop Peter Soon-taick Chung, Archbishop of Seoul and chairman of the Korean WYD Organizing Committee, expressed this desire for unity in a message to the Buddhist community on the occasion of the Feast of Vesak. This approach reflects the "synodal" style of Christians, not only within the ecclesial community, but also in their willingness to walk together with people of good will to build a better world.
In Zamboanga, the dialogue, spirituality and friendship initiative Silsilah (meaning "chain") is 40 years old and has worked to establish ties between Christians and Muslims in the country and around the world. Not far from Zamboanga City, Silsilah maintains a special place, its Harmony Village, a place where Christians and Muslims live together and share a vision of life oriented toward dialogue and peace. If Jesus' method of evangelizing was "come and see" and "see how they love one another," Silsilah's method of promoting coexistence includes inviting you to see how they do it in their village.
In the diocese of Shanghai 470 baptisms were administered during the Easter Vigil. A silent and precious flowering of the gift of faith that was recorded on Easter night also in the other Chinese Catholic dioceses. In Beijing, in the cathedral, 142 baptisms were celebrated on Easter night. Likewise, in the church dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, founded by the Jesuit Matteo Ricci, a hundred new Catholics received the first sacrament of Christian life, while in the church dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel another 25 baptisms were administered.
According to partial statistics published by the Chinese Catholic newspaper xinde.org, of the 470 new baptized in Shanghai, 349 received the first three sacraments of the so-called Christian initiation (Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist).
Eleven evangelical pastors linked to the U.S.-based Mountain Gateway organization have been convicted by the Nicaraguan justice system on charges of money laundering. The members of the Texas-based organization, detained two months ago and held incommunicado without contact with lawyers or family members, were sentenced to between 12 and 15 years in prison, plus a fine of US$80 million per person. The trial was held behind closed doors.
This was denounced by the organization Alliance in Defense of Freedom, Adf International, which spoke of an "irregular" sentence handed down in a process in which "the authorities were unable to present any evidence". Adf requested the intervention of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to demand that the Managua authorities guarantee respect for the prisoners during their stay in jail.
When he was less than 47 years old, Francisco Javier was struck down by death from pneumonia. It happened in a leafy hut on the island of Shangchuan, off Guandong, the Chinese coastal province he wanted to reach. By his side, there was only a crucifix and a Chinese man who had recently converted to Christianity, and who should have accompanied him as an interpreter on his new adventure. After 471 years, this excellent "grain of wheat" continues to bear much fruit, extending from the same island of Shangchuan, where he died in the early hours of December 3, 1552.
Bishop Nassar, the Maronite bishop of Damascus, warned that without the new generations "the Church loses its foundations and has no future" in the region. "We are terrified" by the conflict in Gaza, which poses a threat to everyone; for 12 years "we have been living in a situation of constant danger, waiting for a peace" that is slow to arrive: this is how Bishop Samir Nassar, the Maronite archbishop of Damascus, describes the atmosphere in the Syrian capital in these weeks of deep tension throughout the Middle East. A picture of violence and terror, which is superimposed on an already critical reality of profound economic, political and social difficulties. War, a crippled economy, terrorism, pandemics and earthquakes and, most recently, the Gaza conflict: there are many shadows hanging over the future of the country and its young people, who are increasingly opting for exodus.
According to the Archbishop of Manipur, there is no end in sight to the violent conflict that erupted in May in northeastern India, causing more than 185 deaths and tens of thousands of displaced people.
The fighting in some areas of Manipur "could go on for months" if the Indian government continues to fail to respond adequately, the Archbishop of Imphal, Dominic Lumon, told the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN): "It hasn't stopped. One here, one there, every day things are happening, there are shootings, violence. We hope the central government will intervene. If it says 'enough', I think the violence will stop, but if no one intervenes it will go on for many more months."
Last July 5, the Holy See announced the appointment of Father Wiston Mosquera Moreno as the new bishop of the Colombian diocese of Quibdó, in the department of Chocó, which had been without a pastor for more than two years. Father Mosquera was until then vicar general of the archdiocese of Cali, since 2017, and pastor of the cathedral.
Father Wiston Mosquera Moreno, who was born in Andagoya-Chocó on March 17, 1967, will be the first Afro-Colombian bishop. His appointment represents a historic milestone for the country's Afro-descendant community and an important step towards greater inclusion in the Church of the Afro-Colombian population, which constitutes at least 25% of Colombia's total, or some 10.5 million people.
Mosquera was consecrated bishop on September 14 at Cali's St. Peter the Apostle Cathedral in a ceremony presided over by Archbishop Luis Fernando Rodriguez Velasquez of Cali.
From 28 to 30 June 2024, the II Comboni Youth Congress was held in the city of Cali. About 150 young people from the different youth processes promoted by the Comboni Missionaries in Colombia experienced a very lively and inspiring weekend that had been prepared for months and that will continue to resonate in them for a long time to come.
Ulrike Purrer
Hello, I am Father Jorge Alberto Benavides Orjuela, a native of the municipality of Turmequé, Boyacá, proudly called, The World Cradle of Yew, farmer farmer, from a very simple, humble and welcoming family. Since childhood we are instilled with the values of honesty, work and faith nurtured through popular devotions and participation in the sacraments. Undoubtedly, it was in the experience of these values that little by little the seed of my missionary vocation began to germinate.
Fr. Jorge Alberto Benavides Orjuela
HOLY LAND
COMBONI MISSIONARY SISTERS, HUMAN BRIDGES
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HOLY LAND
COMBONI MISSIONARY SISTERS, HUMAN BRIDGES
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"PEOPLE TEACH ME TO BE A MISSIONARY"
Fr. Eduardo Antonio Revolledo Villanueva is a young Comboni Missionary from Lima, Peru. He is in Taiwan and shares his vocation story and his missionary service on the Asian continent.
Fr. Eduardo Antonio Revolledo
BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR
THE COMBONI MISSIONS
With a Mass of thanksgiving in the Basilica of Guadalupe, the Comboni Missionaries closed their Jubilee year on October 14, celebrating 75 years of presence in Mexico.This report is the fruit of a pilgrimage through the former missions of the Comboni Missionaries in Baja California Sur, where it all began.
P. Ismael Piñón
On the
Synodality it can be seen that in the church there are opposing positions and
they are not minor. The fact that the synodal fathers and mothers have been
able to speak, expressing these divergences, does not mean that there are not
very different visions and the road is too long to reach consensus.
Dr.
Consuelo Vélez
"It
is urgent the implementation of an Integral Action Plan for the protection and
defense of the Pan-Amazon and its peoples with a serious commitment of the
public authorities and the civil society". This is the call of the members
of the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network (REPAM) in the open letter they present
to the cries of the Amazon.
Vatican News
On Saturday, 14 October, we Comboni Missionaries celebrated a Mass of thanksgiving in the Basilica of Guadalupe for the 75th anniversary of our presence in Mexico. On Sunday, October 15, we all gathered in Xochimilco, the seat of our novitiate and provincial house, to close this beautiful event in a festive way.
Janett Rocio Escobar Angulo is a Colombian Comboni Lay Missionary committed to the Afro pastoral and leader of district and national programs on empowerment and promotion of the rights of Afro-descendant communities.
Alexandra Garcia
"As
an Ecclesial Network also present in the Amazonian territory of Bolivia,
Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, French Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela, in
harmony and synergy, we join to support and say "Yes" to the life of
the peoples and the biome of Yasuni and the Andean Choco in Ecuador",
affirms.
UNITED IN DEFENSE OF LIFE AND THE COMMON HOME IN ECUADOR
May all your creatures praise you Lord, especially those of the Andean Chocó
and Yasuní. May none of them be missing when we say "Laudato Si",
Praise you my Lord.
Dear promoters of the campaign "Laudato Si a la Vida" and to all who
are dedicated to the care of the Common Home, the Amazon and its inhabitants.
Receive a cordial greeting from those of us who make up the Pan-Amazonian
Ecclesial Network - REPAM.
First of all, we thank you and congratulate ourselves for the path you are
taking in defense of life, the Amazon and its peoples in Ecuador. The inspiring
phrase "We can still choose the good" (LS 205): Say Yes to
Life", title of the communiqué launched last August 3, inspires and
orients us to "Care for the common home", as an urgent challenge for
all humanity.
As an Ecclesial Network also present in the Amazonian territory of Bolivia,
Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, French Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela, in
harmony and synergy, we join to support and say "YES" to the life of
the peoples and the biome of Yasuni and the Andean Choco in Ecuador. To say Yes
to life is to say Yes to the gift of God in Creation, Yes to the life of the
Peoples and Yes to the mission that has been entrusted to us.
We are united with one voice and hope for Laudato Sí a la vida.
Manaus, August 16, 2023
The
continental network Churches and Mining met in Quito, Ecuador, last February.
More than 50 people from different regions of Latin America gathered to feel
and think about the situation of mining in our territories. As was discussed at
the meeting, our churches are living a moment of profound sensitivity to the
issues of the martyrdom of so many communities and of Sister Mother Earth, who
refuse to allow the capitalist system to commercialize their lives and their
territories. We live in synodal times, therefore it is necessary to know how to
be and to know how to be a network, in defense of life and the Common Home.
Churches and Mining Network
It is surprising to talk about Islam in Latin America, a reality that seems very distant from the Arab world in terms of culture and mentality, customs and habits. However, Muslims have been present in the continent for a long time; it is enough to remember the different migratory flows between the end of the 19th century and the middle of the 20th century from Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and the Middle East in general, without forgetting the converts in the USA who return to their homeland and become propagators.
P. Raphael Savoia
The celebration of the XV EPA (Encuentro de Pastoral Afro) takes place within the framework of the "First Ecclesial Assembly for Latin America and the Caribbean" which has just concluded in Mexico City from 21 to 28 November 2021. It is also taking place against the background of the synod on synodality called by Pope Francis for the year 2023, the celebrations for the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City in 2031 and our Redemption in Rome in 2033.
The
elderly make an invaluable contribution to their community, their family and
their parish. The Church values the apostolate of the elderly and provides them
with pastoral care and support.
By Eric Michael B. Santos
Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis' encyclical, has five parts. The fourth part is entitled "The Social Dimension of Evangelization". Until now, the social question was seen as a specific topic to be dealt with only in social encyclicals, whereas Francis deals with this question in an apostolic exhortation on the proclamation of the Gospel in today's world, because he sees the social dimension as constitutive of the Gospel and of evangelization.
In this way he pushes us to ask ourselves: What is the relationship between the Gospel and Christian faith on the one hand and economics and politics on the other? Is it good for a Christian to deal with social and political issues?
Bro. Alberto Degan
The indigenous uprising in Ecuador and a Church moving towards an integral ecology
Like many countries in Latin America and the Global South, Ecuador has been suffering the consequences of the multiple crises of a model that can no longer be sustained, with a slow recovery after Covid-19 and a sharp rise in fuel prices, which has led to an uncontrolled increase in the cost of living. In the last two years, multidimensional poverty has reached almost 40% of the Ecuadorian population.
P. Dário Bossi
The Comboni Missionaries have been present in the area of Altos de Cazucá (Soacha) for several years: it began with sporadic visits by Brother Marco Binaghi and the Brothers of the CIFH (International Brothers' Formation Centre), by Brother José Manuel and the postulants and by Father Rafael Savoia. Since 2015, Father Franco Nascimbene has been living permanently in Cazucá, in a rented house located in the Oasis neighbourhood, accompanying this sector for seven years, visiting all the houses on a daily basis, organising small communities of life and faith. Father Daniele Zarantonello, who arrived in Bogotá after spending the last 10 years of his life with the Afro people of Tumaco, started living in Cazucá in February 2022.
Fr. Francisco Carrera
A community in the Amazon region of Brazil that suffers from pollution and struggles to ensure a dignified life, with special attention to the elderly and children.
Flavio Schimdt, Comboni lay missionary
Even today, the dominant powers want to relegate peace to the world of fairy tales and beautiful utopias, but as Christians, our first commitment is to believe in and fight for the peace that the Risen One announces to us.
Brother Alberto Degan
The Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM) shares with you this second issue with the pastoral challenge of the Ecclesial Assembly: "Accompanying the victims of social and ecclesial injustices with the processes of recognition and reparation".
The Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM) took an important step on 8 March, coinciding with International Women's Day, by launching the continental campaign "Women Gestors of Change".
Marco Bernardoni - Week News
Chapter 5 of the encyclical "Brothers and Sisters" is dedicated to a better politics, which is a politics truly at the service of the common good. Pope Francis rehabilitates politics as the noble social activity that pursues the common good. And as an example of this better politics, he presents (FT 169) the popular movements that generate various forms of popular economy and community production at the grassroots.
Fr. Joseph Mumbere
For several months, a real war has been raging in the Colombian department of Arauca. The Colombian armed groups of the National Liberation Army (Eln) and the dissidence of the 10th Front of the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) are fighting for control of this border area with Venezuela, rich in natural resources and strategic for smuggling weapons and narcotics, especially cocaine.
Fr. Francisco Carrera
All against racism
Father Joseph Mumbere Musanga, a Comboni missionary from the Democratic Republic of Congo, arrived in Brazil four months ago. His superiors assigned him to the mission of Piquiá-Açailândia, in the state of Maranhão. He imagined a Brazil "where racism had been overcome", the missionary recounts in a letter protesting against racism, which we publish below. "Unfortunately, in the four months that I have been living in Brazil, I have already had to face the reality of criminal racism," he says. [Justiça nos Trilhos.]
P. Joseph Mumbere Musanga, mccj
What should have been the Sixth General Conference of the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopate has been transformed by the initiative of Pope Francis into the First Ecclesial Assembly of Latin America and the Caribbean, an Assembly in which the participation of all the people of God has been privileged and which strengthens the Latin American Church on the path of synodality.
Fr. Ismael Piñón
Twenty-five years have passed since a small group of Comboni Missionaries arrived in Macau to begin their work in the Chinese context. The Fen Xiang project was at the centre of their pastoral activities. The opening of a community in Macau and later in Taiwan was intended to lay the foundations for the presence of the Comboni Missionaries in the Chinese context. However, his aim was to establish the "Comboni presence" in mainland China.
Precisely the path of synodality is the path that God expects from the Church of the third millennium" - when Pope Francis uttered these words on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the institution of the Synod of Bishops (17 October 2015), most of us were not even aware of them and therefore were not able to grasp their prophetic depth as they are being revealed to us today.
Fr. Rafael González Ponce MCCJ
On 23 September, Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino, Archbishop Emeritus of Caracas, died of Covid-19, a pastor totally devoted to the people entrusted to him and a passionate defender of justice, freedom, democracy and the common good for all Venezuelans.
Fr. Francisco Carrera
During the Synod of Amazonia, a large group of bishops, lay people, priests and religious celebrated the Pact of the Catacombs for the Common Home and signed a commitment to multiply it in the different mission territories.
The Comboni Missionaries, on the initiative of the provincials of Latin America, have also adapted this Pact to the reality of their presence and of their communities on the continent and have relaunched it for their adherence.
Fr. Dario Bossi
In the midst of many shadows, contradictions and sins, let us allow ourselves to be carried by the light that shone in the strongest moments of the Conferences of Medellin, Puebla, Santo Domingo and Aparecida! Before this springtime of the Spirit, it was difficult to think of a "Church going out".
Fr. Dario Bossi
In 2011, a group of young people with the support of the Comboni Missionaries laid the foundation stone for the Afro Centre, thus starting a whole community process for young people.
By Ulrike Purrer, coordinator of the Afro Centre since 2012.
A response to the pain of communities and the cry of Mother Earth.
In many Latin American countries, mining is seen as the engine of development; governments, whatever their political leanings, promote it by reducing taxes, facilitating investment, relaxing laws, and handing over land. However, mining does not represent for the people a real improvement in their living conditions.
Daniela Andrade - Churches and Mining Network
We commit ourselves to promote, in the local Churches where we are present, initiatives in this direction and we encourage the confreres already engaged in Afro pastoral work to continue this important service in the spirit of St. Daniel Comboni" (2015 - CA, 45.9). In the following, we will see what Afro-descendants mean, their reality where they are located, how they are organised and some challenges for the Comboni Missionaries on the Continent.
P. Raffaello Savoia
Mission never happens by chance nor is it the fruit of careful planning, for we believe that mission belongs not to us but to our missionary God who, through the Holy Spirit, continues to inspire, impel and make fruitful our various missionary works. And so, on 4 January 1988, the Comboni Missionaries set foot in the Far East, in the Philippines, 33 years ago. A humble beginning in a continent that is home to most of humanity. The seed was planted in this large archipelago of islands, the Philippines, which is now celebrating the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Christianity on its shores.
P. David Domingues, mccj
Mauricio López Oropeza, Director of the Centre for Pastoral Action Programmes and Networks of Celam, refers to his own experience in the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network (REPAM), as well as to the Amazonian synodal event itself - still in process - from which he situates some categories of interpretation of this territorial pastoral experience, based on the specific and urgent orientations of Pope Francis. [REPAM]
IBy Professor Adela Panezo Asprilla President of the Centro de la Mujer Panameña - Capítulo de Los Santos Professor of Ethics and Religion at ICSV
Four centuries ago, a group of blacks enslaved by the Spanish Crown in Cartagena de Indias (Colombia) fled to the interior of the country in search of freedom. They founded San Basilio de Palenque, a town that would eventually become the first free territory in colonial America. Today they keep their traditions alive and, with them, their African roots.
By Yaiza Martín Fradejas
The three stonemasons of Chartres and the meaning of the Mission in the new world that is being born.
St. Daniel Comboni had a very special devotion to St. Joseph. It presents itself to us with two characteristics.
The pandemic surprised us all. We had heard about a "strange virus" in Wuhan (China), we saw some worrying scenes on the television screens, but we had no idea that the "Coronavirus" was already roaming our streets. How can we make a Christian missionary discernment, enlightened by faith and in coherence with our charism, in the face of the pandemic that is hitting us?
Following the inspiration of the Saint of Assisi, but also of Martin Luther King, Desmond Tutu, Mahatma Gandhi and many others, the encyclical relaunches the dream of fraternity to the whole world. It concludes with an appeal for peace, justice and fraternity, addressed to all people of good will, which takes up the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Common Coexistence, signed on 4 February 2019 in Abu Dhabi. The text of the encyclical explains why Pope Francis considers this appeal so urgent for our world.
Guía para la lectura de la encíclica "Hermanos Todos" del Papa Francisco.
Pope Francis signed his encyclical letter "Fratelli Tutti" (Brothers All) on 3 October 2020 on the tomb of St. Francis of Assisi. The title of the encyclical is taken precisely from the twenty-eight "Admonitions" that the Saint of Assisi addressed to all his brothers and sisters....
We need an ecclesiology of communion and communication, because evangelisation needs the collaboration of all. The ecclesiology of proclamation reminds us that the evangelising action is to communicate the Gospel and this communication is carried out by word, by works-witness and by the values-force that drive the spiritual life. Good evangelisation cannot do without all three elements.
"The evangelisers thus have the "smell of sheep" and the sheep listen to their voice. The evangelising community then sets out to "accompany". It accompanies humanity in all its processes, however hard and prolonged they may be". (EG, n. 24)
With this Apostolic Exhortation, Pope Francis wants to invite us to "a new evangelising stage marked by joy and to point out new paths for the Church in the coming years". Joy is an experience that opens us up to others, because it tends to communicate. This is very important in today's world, which with its consumerist offerings locks us into the "individualistic sadness" that encloses us in ourselves. The Pope asks us to let ourselves be encountered by Jesus Christ, no one can be excluded from the joy of this encounter, from the possibility of receiving his forgiveness. God never tires of forgiving, it is we who tire of turning to his mercy".
The Amazon Synod proposes the creation of new ministries in our parishes, communities, projects. For example, the ministry for the Care of the Common Home and the promotion of Integral Ecology, including the role of promoting the formation, discussion and implementation of the encyclical Laudato Si'.
The Comboni Pact for our Common Home
These are 10 commitments of a Church that seeks to be prophetic, Samaritan and wants to advance in the inculturation of the liturgy. Besides this, it seeks to assume a pastoral ministry in an ecumenical and synodal style, favouring the protagonism of women and cultivating a sober, simple lifestyle of solidarity. The Comboni Pact for our Common Home is, therefore, an instrument which confirms the alliance and common cause with the Amazon, its peoples and the defence of life.
Dear Amazonia" is a beautiful and prophetic document which, in addition to reflecting Francis' closeness to this immense region, proposes courageous solutions to the problems faced by its inhabitants. The contents of the Exhortation are broken down into four "great dreams" of the
The dream of a commitment by all to defend the rights of the poorest, of the original peoples, of the last ones. The dream of an Amazon region that preserves its cultural wealth. The ecological dream of an Amazon that preserves its overflowing life. And the dream of Christian communities capable of incarnating themselves in the Amazon.
The encyclical Laudato Si' offers a special vision of Pope Francis: the concept of integral ecology, an approach that emphasises how "everything is closely connected". The cry of the earth is no different from the cry of the poor; the ecological crisis is a social crisis. The 2nd objective of Laudato Si' is therefore a call to respond to the Cry of the Poor by defending life in all its forms, with special attention to vulnerable groups such as indigenous people, migrants, the unborn and children at risk of modern slavery.
Juan Pablo Pezzi
African-Americans went from slaves in the colony to second-class citizens after abolition in the new republics. They have preserved in the collective imagination the resistance to slavery and the legacy of the maroon rebels through escapes and the creation of free towns called palenques.
By Fr. Rafael Savoia and Alejandro González.
