Juan José Nieto Gil: a subaltern in the construction of Colombia

Abstract: This paper revisits the history and verifies the memory of Juan José Nieto Gil, the first and only black president that Colombia had, who was intentionally made invisible. Based on the analytical categories of intellectual history, discourses, historiography in general and invisibility, we intend to vindicate the memory of the Caribbean man as an actor in the construction of the modern Colombian State, and this by retracing the trajectory of his life, which is characterized by his strong dedication to the establishment and strengthening of federalism as a form of government likely to provide better relevance to the problem of discrimination, racism, segregation and neglect of Afro-Colombians by the ruling classes inherited from colonial thought in the nineteenth century. The result is the creation of a work that not only retraces the memory of J.J Nieto Gil, but also proposes solutions for its sustainable recognition from the act of unveiling of his painting by Manuel Santos on August 2, 2018 (157 years after his presidential term).