Cha Dorina Hernández, the first palenquera to reach the Congress of the Republic

The elections to the Congress of the Republic left results never seen before in Colombia. For the first time in the country's electoral history, the Historical Pact, a left-facing party, stood with 16 seats alongside traditional parties and, among those elected, the first palenquera to occupy a seat in the House of Representatives for Bolivar stands out.

Cha Dorina Hernández topped the closed list of the Historical Pact for the House for Bolivar and won a chair in the Congress of the Republic. During its campaign, la palenquera assured that it will work for the most vulnerable populations in Colombia and propose projects that help overcome poverty and lack of opportunities.

Faced with his triumph, Hernández commented that “this was a triumph of the popular force, a triumph of the people and the tireless work we did together with Dionisio Miranda — her late husband and defender of blackness — and of everyone who dreams of a better department and country.” The elected congresswoman stressed that she will work for the dignity of the people and the historical demand.

For his part, W Radio conducted an interview with him in which Hernández stated that he is “the first and only person in the history of the Colombian Congress to become representative of the Department's alternative sectors and movements to the House for the Department of Bolivar.” With this position, she will seek to make her perspective as a leader visible in the legislature and thus “position the palenque, create a brand of the community and resume the speech of the Palenquera language,” she added.

Hernández told the radio that his political campaign was set up a few days after the elections and did not have machinery like other political parties, in a department that has been characterized by “the same families of parapolitics who have been turning their backs on reality and social causes.” For that reason, his first commitment is “to meet the demands of women, the peasantry, the youth, the waste pickers that we have in the municipality of Bolívar”.

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The career of Cha Dorina Hernández

La Palenquera assured El Universal that she has more than 40 years' experience of “social, ethno-educational, community work, the vindication of our identities, our languages, our popular cultures, our folklore, and patrimonial safeguarding in Bolívar”. In the same vein, the process that led to the fact that the district of San Basilio de Palenque has been declared oral and intangible heritage of humanity by UNESCO is highlighted.

Cha Dorina Hernández acknowledged that this achievement was not only hers but of the entire community with its historic struggle and that is why she considers the role she will play in the legislative branch important. “My voice in Congress will be one that seeks to vindicate all cultural practices in our region, from the smallest to the most colossal,” the leader said to the media outlet mentioned above.

The elected congresswoman hopes to contribute to the creation of a Ministry for Women, in the laws on intangible and tangible heritage and those on the vindication of historical memory. It also highlighted its commitment to animal and ecological rights to reduce cruelty, torture and enslavement.

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