Introducing The Get Into The Black Heritage Blog Series

Discover Puerto Rico’s Lost Black Town

What if I told you there’s a neighborhood in Puerto Rico where self-emancipated Africans built one of the first free Black towns in the Americas in the 1600s, and almost nobody knows about it?

Not the tour guides. Not the history books. Not even the people living there today.

This story stayed buried for 160 years. But it refused to die.

This is the Get Into The Black Heritage Blog Series. For the next five weeks, I’ll take you on a journey through the rise, erasure, and living legacy of San Mateo de Cangrejos, Puerto Rico’s lost Black town. A community that redefined what freedom looked like centuries before anyone told us it was possible.

This series connects to our Get Into The Black YouTube channel, where we explore life, business, and culture our way, from Puerto Rico to the world. Our analysis blends sharp storytelling, unapologetic humor, and equal parts education and entertainment. But here, we go deeper. Slower. More reflective than what you see on camera.

Let Me Take You Back to Where This Started

I was walking back from a coworking spot in Santurce when I found it.

Not a house. A feeling.

The air felt heavier on that street. The ground felt aware. My body was reading something my brain couldn’t translate yet. I stopped and stood there way too long. Long enough that if anyone was watching, they probably thought I was up to something.

I wasn’t looking at the house. I was feeling the vibe of the street.

I stood there thinking, What is this place?

That was 2021.

Four years later, I walked into a bookstore inside El Portal de El Yunque Rainforest Center and saw a book titled San Mateo de Cangrejos: Historical Notes on a Self-Emancipated Black Community in Puerto Rico.

My neighborhood.

That’s when I learned I’d been walking on land where free Africans, people who escaped slavery in the 1600s, built what became one of the first free Black communities in the Americas.

And nobody told me.

Not the realtors. Not the tour guides. Not even my neighbors.

I stood there in that bookstore, holding my neighborhood’s erased history in my hands, wondering how many other stories were waiting to be found.

This Is a Five-Part Journey

Over the next five weeks, I’m taking you deeper into this story. The one that changed how I see Puerto Rico, the diaspora, and what freedom actually means.

Here’s where we’re going:

Part 1: San Mateo de Cangrejos: The Free Town History Forgot. I lived in this neighborhood for four years before discovering it was founded by self-emancipated Africans who escaped slavery.

Part 2: The Name That Was Stolen. In 1862, they erased the town. What happened next took another 18 years, and the only ones who refused to forget were the players.

Part 3: Loíza & the Drums That Never Stopped.  They erased the town, but they couldn’t erase the culture. This is where it lives.

Part 4: El Yunque: Where Maroons Found Sanctuary.  The rainforest wasn’t just beautiful. It was strategic. And the land remembers why.

Part 5: From Refuge to Act 60:  Why Puerto Rico Still Welcomes Freedom-Seekers. Four years after moving here, I finally understood why the land felt like it was waiting. It was calling me home.

Why Puerto Rico’s Lost Black Town Still Matters

A lot of us in the African diaspora don’t know this story exists.

We know about Ghana. We know about Brazil. We know about the Gullah Geechee corridor.

But Puerto Rico?

Most of us think of beaches and reggaetón. Maybe Bad Bunny. Maybe that cousin who moved here for the tax breaks.

But there’s so much more.

There’s a Black history here that mirrors our own. A resistance that sounds like ours. A freedom that was fought for and found long before anyone said it was possible.

And if you’ve ever stood somewhere and felt like the ground was trying to tell you something, you already know what I’m talking about.

If you’ve ever felt that pull toward the Caribbean, toward reconnection, toward understanding what freedom actually looks like, this series is for you.

What Happens Next

Part 1 drops next week.

Don’t miss it. Follow Get Into The Black here on Medium to get notified.

Want to go deeper?
Watch this history come to life on our YouTube channel where we explore life, business, and culture our way, from Puerto Rico to the world.

Ready to experience it in person?
The La Perla Verde Heritage Retreat launches February 2026. It’s not a vacation. It’s reconnection. Sign up for early access at gitbacademy.com.

Before You Go

👏🏾 If this resonated with you, give it a clap (or 50). It helps more people find this story.

Share this with someone who’s been talking about moving to Puerto Rico, researching their roots, or who just needs to know there’s more to the story than what we’ve been taught.

Because this isn’t just my story.

It’s our story, the story of San Mateo de Cangrejos, Puerto Rico’s lost Black town, and what it still teaches us about freedom, legacy, and belonging.

Sources & Further Reading

Aponte Torres, Gilberto. San Mateo de Cangrejos: Historical Notes on a Self-Emancipated Black Community in Puerto Rico. Editorial Edil, 2023. → Order the book here to support Afro-Puerto Rican research and preserve this story for future generations.

Historical context and inspiration gathered from conversations with residents in Santurce and the archives at El Portal de El Yunque Rainforest Center.

Additional reflections written by Yohancé A. Salmon, Sr., co-creator of Get Into The Black, as part of the ongoing Heritage Blog Series connecting African American and Afro-Boricua histories.

Note: All historical details are shared for educational and cultural preservation purposes under fair use guidelines.

If you’re ready to experience this history firsthand, join our email list — you’ll be the first to know when spots open for the La Perla Verde Heritage Retreat in February 2026.