Palenquero boy with his drum. San Basilio de Palenque was declared Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO and is considered the first free town in America.The word 'palenque' means 'walled city' and the Palenque de San Basilio is only one of many walled communities that were founded by escaped slaves as a refuge in the seventeenth century.It is the only one that survived .Many of the oral and musical traditions have roots in Palenque's African past..