Malunga in the world

Agustín Laó – Montes

Project Director

Professor of Sociology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, researcher in African American and Latin American studies. Activist with political and intellectual work in the U.S., Latin America, and the Caribbean. He researches topics such as decolonial critique, race, feminism, and social movements. Author of Political Cartographies of our Afro-America.

Alpha Judith Orozoco Herrera

Network Academic Coordinator

Psychologist with two specializations and a master’s degree candidate in Social and Political Cartography. She has extensive experience in education, human rights, and Afro-descendant studies. She has worked as a teacher, researcher, and consultant in public institutions, NGOs, and regional and international networks.

Ana Belique

Coordinator of the Achieving Change Line

Sociologist, activist, and co-founder of the Reconocido movement. She leads the fight for the rights of Dominicans of Haitian descent, especially against denationalization following ruling 168-13. She has also coordinated publications on these experiences and is the author of the children’s book La muñeca de Dieula.

Aurora Vergara-Figueroa

Afro-Colombian academic with a doctorate in Sociology from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Former Minister of National Education and former Deputy Minister of Higher Education. She was the director of the Center for Afro-Diasporic Studies (CEAF) and a professor of Sociology at Icesi University (2012-2022). Winner of the Martin Diskin Award from LASA (Latin American Studies Association) for the best doctoral dissertation that integrates activism and rigorous knowledge production (2014).

Beatriz Ramírez Abella

Afro-Uruguayan feminist activist and human rights advocate. She was director of INMUJERES and vice-rector at the CIM (2013–2015). Since 2018, she has directed the Human Rights Division of MIDES. Recognized as an Illustrious Citizen of Montevideo, she continues her political work for the rights of women and the Afro-Uruguayan community.

Bienvenida Mendoza

Holds a degree in Social Communication (UASD) and a Master’s in Spanish Language and Hispanic Cultures (CCSU/Salamanca). She has coordinated FUCDEMOL since 2020 and has experience in anti-racist feminism, educational production, and cultural management. She has participated in key research and publications on Haitian children and racial justice.

Claudia Mosquera Rosero

Colombian Ambassador to Senegal. Professor and researcher at UNAL (Bogotá), PhD in Social Work from Université Laval. She has worked with UN Women, IOM, and PADF. She leads the Idcarán group and has researched ethnic-racial issues, peace, and racism. Additionally, she has been a visiting professor in the USA, Canada, France, and Brazil.

Cristhian Lucumí Bonilla

Communicator with a Master’s Degree in Audiovisual Creation. He coordinates the Dignity Narratives Line at CEAF. Co-founder of Paralelo Films. His work promotes Afrocentric narratives through film, photography, and critical analysis.

Esther Girón Flete

Anti-racist activist and co-founder of Aquelarre Bonao. Law graduate (UASD, Cum Laude) and Master’s in Government and Public Management (UPF, 2025). She has training in decolonial and Black feminisms. She is pursuing a doctorate in Caribbean History (PUCMM) and works for racial and gender justice in the Dominican Republic.

Federico Pita

Coordinator of the Making It Possible line

Political scientist from the University of Buenos Aires and Afro-Argentine activist. Founder of DIAFAR and member of ARAAC. He is a member of the CLACSO Working Group on civilizational crisis, racism, and Afro-Latin American movements. Committed to the visibility and rights of people of African descent in Argentina and the region.

Flavia Rios

PhD in Sociology and professor at the Universidade Federal Fluminense in Brazil. Her research addresses Brazilian black feminism, intersectionality, race, gender, sexuality, and democracy. She studies how politics and science reproduce inequalities. She develops the Political Thought project.

Gilbert Ndi Shang

Doctor in Comparative Literature from the University of Bayreuth, Germany, and was a postdoctoral fellow of the Fritz Thyssen Foundation. His research interests include: African literature, dictatorships, body, violence, visual culture, and cyberliterature in Africa and Latin America. He has received support from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.