2011 documentary featuring Colombia Vice-President Elect Francia Marquez Mina (Suarez Gold)

Suárez Gold - Afro-Colombian miners defending their heritage



A Minority Rights Group International production by acclaimed Colombian filmmaker Hollman Morris.

Afro-Colombians have been carrying out small-scale mining in Colombia's Cauca region since their ancestors settled there in 1637. Today their descendants continue to chip away at the red rock in search of gold, seeing it not only as a means for earning a modest living, but also as an activity deeply linked to their culture. Between 2002 and 2010, Colombia's government gave out 7,500 mining exploration titles to national and foreign companies eager to exploit the country's precious resources. In the film we hear of the Afro-Colombian community of La Toma's brave, and sometimes deadly, struggle to prevent the invasion of mining companies and defend their ancestral livelihoods at all costs.

The documentary was premiered in Madrid, Spain, on 9 December 2011. Visit www.minorityvoices.org for more information.

This film was funded by the European Union. This content is the sole responsibility of Minority Rights Group International and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.