This article delves into the emergence of afro-descendant presence in Arica (Chile) from the sensitive, creative and reflective dimensions of the performance of the Tumbe Carnaval and the beginnings of the first Afroariquena troupe. Confronting the view that has tended to encapsulate the Tumbe Carnaval as an aid to the ethno-political movement, the article suggests that this performance with its 'movements' imprints a sensitive ability to the body that calls upon senses and memories opening the way to key cognitive processes for afro-descendant self-recognition, and where the action of think-feel, rooted in the experience of Tumbe Carnaval, is reflective and generative of the afro-Chilean cultural revival and the expansion of the ethno-political afro-descendant movement in Arica.