Alfonso Múnera was born in Cartagena de Indias. He has written articles on the history of the Colombian Caribbean in national and foreign magazines, and is the director of a series of ten short videos, accompanied by educational booklets on the history and culture of Afro-descendants from Cartagena, entitled Cartagena de Indias. Piel de cimarrones. His main works include El fracaso de la nación. Región, clase y raza, 1717-1821 and Fronteras imaginadas. La construcción de las razas y de la geografía en el siglo XIX Colombiano. He obtained a doctorate in Latin American and Caribbean history from the University of Connecticut, United States, in 1995, and was Dean of the Faculty of Human Sciences, Vice-Rector of Research and Director of the International Institute of Caribbean Studies at the University of Cartagena. He remains linked to this institution, teaching on the doctorate in the History of Education, in addition to other activities.