The Participation of Black Women from the Colombian Pacific in the Global Economy of Gold

Abstract

This article examines the current relation of black women in the Colombian Pacific with a highly informal local economy that is entangled to the global circuits of gold production. By studying the relationship between the historical trajectory of black communities and the popularization of mechanized mining in the area, the article shows how the persistence of cultural practices and traditional methods of gold exploitation, intertwined with modern dynamics of mechanized extraction, transform the modes and possibilities of participation of female labor in dynamics of gold production in the region.