This volume contains a selection of papers presented at the conference Palenque, Cartagena y Afro-Caribe conexiones históricas y lingüísticas, Cartagena, Colombia , held at the University of Cartagena in late 1996. The volume features 17 articles by leading figures in the fields of Afro-Hispanic linguistics, creolistics, history, and anthropology. It reflects the state of the art on Palenquero research, and is representative of scholars' special interests in Palenquero.