Harry and Meghan will visit Colombia’s first ‘free town’ and music festival on their latest tour – amid claims they are being used as ‘political pawns’ to distract from Government scandals

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will visit the first ‘free town’ for escaped slaves in the Americas during their visit to Colombia as the couple continue to explore their interest in colonialism and its legacies.

The pair are due to be shown around the important sanctuary of San Basilio de Palenque on Saturday.

The small town, which has a population of around 3,500 , was one of the walled communities known as palenques which were founded by escaped slaves as a refuge in the seventeenth century, leading to the enclave developing a rich and unique culture, influenced heavily by the population’s African heritage.

In 2008 the town and its cultural space were declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

Prince Harry and Meghan meeting students in Abuja, Nigeria 

The Sussex’s will be arriving at the invitation of Colombian vice president Francia Marquez 

The pair are expected to stay in the £2,500-a-night Presidential suite at the Sofitel Legend Hotel in Cartagena

Part of the recognition is linked to the fact the palenque language, called palenquero, is the only Spanish based creole language in Latin America. It is only spoken by around 3,000 people.

Most of the other so-called palenque secret fort villages were eventually found and destroyed by the Spanish, but San Basilio de Palenque which is a popular day trip for tourists from Cartagena survived.

The founding father was Domingo Benkos Bioho, originally from the Bijago islands of Guinea-Bissau in West Africa.

He was captured by Portuguese slave traders in the late 16th century. Mystery surrounds the history of his escape from Cartagena, one of the main hubs for the slave trade in Colombia in the seventeenth century.

Spanish authorities seeking to eliminate the threat he posed after he organised a network of palenques and coordinated raids against Spanish-run plantations to free more slaves, captured him during a visit to Cartagena after tricking him into returning to the city and executed him. 

The trip to Colombia will allow Meghan to show off her fluent Spanish 

Meghan poses for a photograph in Abuja, Nigeria 

Harry and Meghan will visit Bogata as part of their tour of Colombia

A statue of Benkos Bioho stands in the centre of San Basilio de Palenque.

Day-trippers to the town are offered the chance to learn Palenquero and learn about traditional hairstyles and braids at a hair salon.

Meals visitors can try include fusions of African, Caribbean, European and American ingredients – such as fried fish, coconuts and mango salsa.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s will also visit a music festival in Cali called the Petronio Alvarez Festival on Sunday according to city mayor Alejandro Eder.

It takes place every August at a sports complex called Unidad Deportiva Alberto Galinda.

Since its foundation in 1997 it has evolved into a significant celebration of Afro-Colombian music and culture in Latin America.

It was aimed at uniting artists from Colombia’s Pacific coast and giving them a platform to express and celebrate their rich cultural heritage.

Speaking at a tourism congress earlier this month Cali mayor Mr Eder said: ‘They are going to come to Cali and spend a day in the city.

‘They’re going to visit the Petronio Alvarez Festival in the city and they’re also going to visit other social initiatives.’

The trip will allow Meghan, who celebrated her 43rd birthday last Sunday, to show off her fluent Spanish which she learned at private school in LA and perfected at the US Embassy in Argentina.

But for many Colombians, the Sussexes’ visit is viewed as little more than a cynical attempt by a failing Left-wing government to use the glamorous couple as ‘political pawns’ to divert attention from a series of scandals that have engulfed the regime.

A prominent Bogota lawyer told the Mail on Sunday: ‘I’m sure Meghan and Harry mean well, but everyone here is talking about how obviously they are being manipulated.

‘Of course, their star-power will be used to bring attention to poor people and certain areas of culture in Colombia… but the reality is the Colombian government has been drowning in scandal since it came in two years ago. They need something to appease people at home and make them look good abroad.’