Yanga The Great
Yanga leads a slave rebellion, organizes an army of runaways and
defeats the Spanish in battle to establish the first community of
free blacks in the Americas.
Yanga defeats the Spanish in battle to establish the first community of free blacks in the New World.
Mount Orizaba
Yanga is one of the greatest African heroes of all time. This is the origin story of all slave rebellion stories. It is a little-known story in North America since it takes place in Veracruz, Mexico. It has been carefully researched via the writings of contemporary Spanish Franciscan eyewitnesses and translated into English. Yanga, Mexico has been designated as a UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE and is named in Yanga’s honor. Snoop Dog dedicated a song to his memory. Yanga’s ‘David and Goliath’ victory is true and legendary. A well-trained, motivated army of runaway slaves defeats the Spanish; the world’s greatest superpower of that age.
The carefully-researched, 99-page economically-written script is a feature-length dramatic, historical action war movie. It will be rated ‘R’ due to its graphic battle scenes.
We begin in a West African village in 1578. After Yanga is transported across the Atlantic on a Spanish ship, we find ourselves in a Veracruz, Mexico silver mine. After their escape, Yanga organizes a community of Africans and Aztecs in a tropical mountainous valley.
Logline: The true story of Yanga, the African warrior prince who was captured by the Spanish and transported to Mexico where he led a slave revolt, organized an army of runaway slaves and defeated the Spanish in battle.
Synopsis: Yanga is the prince of Gabon and a renowned West African warrior who is in line to succeed his father, King Maghan, as king and leader of their inter-tribal military alliance. Gabon hosts a large gathering of friends and allies to celebrate the King’s birthday. One of their visiting dignitaries is King Kilonji and his daughter, Princess Nzinga. The two kings announce an arranged marriage between Yanga and Nzinga.
When King Kilonji and Nzinga leave to return to Angola, they are captured by Fulani warriors. Yanga organizes a band of fighters to rescue the king and princess but are led into a trap and captured by Spanish soldiers. Yanga is taken aboard a Spanish galleon and transported to Veracruz, Mexico.
Yanga is put to work in a silver mine, but within weeks, he organizes a successful rebellion. Yanga and his rebel slaves escape to the safety of Mt. Orizaba where they establish a community comprised of Africans and Aztecs in a secluded mountain valley.
Yanga and his rebels, who become known as ‘maroons’, raid plantations and caravans to secure weapons and supplies and to free more Africans and Aztecs. He marries an Aztec woman named Tayanna and they have a son, “Gaspar Yanga”. Before long, Yanga has organized a formidable and well-armed fighting force.
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From the opening scene, Yanga is the toughest guy in the room; a Terry Crews look-alike. After his marriage and the birth of his son, his warrior side softens and he seeks peace with the Spanish for the sake of his family and community.
Yanga’s community is comprised of an equal mix of Africans and Aztecs. There are also Spanish soldiers, settlers and administrators.
“Yanga the Great” will require an African Village, a colonial settlement, the Viceroy’s office, a silver mine, and a jungle village with 17th Century-style stockade. It will require +/- 200 extras for battle sequences. Many scenes occur in natural, outdoor jungle settings.
Yanga is not an invented, imaginary hero or a product of historic revisionism. Yanga has enormous heroic potential because he and his story are real. The film will find an enormous audience in Mexico and throughout Africa. It involves three races: black, brown and white. For these reasons, the story of Yanga will appeal to a wide audience. One well-known producer has stated that the charismatic, swashbuckling Yanga presents a new and unique kind of hero that audiences are looking for.
