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The Impact of Creolization in the Caribbean: The Spanish-Speaking Caribbean

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This blog will explore the ideas and relevant media surrounding creolization in Spanish-speaking Caribbean countries. Pssttttt...this is my chance to finally dive into Puerto Rican music! Sorry, DR and Cuba. I promise I love you both too and as much. (I think so anyway...) I'm feeling... BOMBA! Within the reading, authors mention that some of the most important African-derived genres are plena, baquiné, and bomba . I chose to focus on bomba since I am drawn to the rhythm of the drums. By now, you should know any of the African styles would've caught my ear like earring photography. Whew! Practiced in the Puerto Rican lowlands, Bomba is a traditional music style (as well as a dance) that stemmed from African slavery and contact with the Spanish. Want to hear something cool? We know that people sing and dance to express themselves, but what if they used it to communicate? Remember I said that the style stemmed from African slavery? Bomba was created in the sugar plantations by s...
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The Impact of Creolization in the Caribbean: The Dutch-Speaking Caribbean

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This blog will explore the ideas and relevant media surrounding creolization in Dutch-speaking Caribbean countries. Before we begin this exploration together, did you know that there were Dutch speaking countries in the Caribbean?  I surely didn't! This will be fun! Let's get started, shall we? Say It Louder!: Talk The Talk ABC Islands Within Tour de Force , the authors made mention of the language native to the ABC Islands. Well, it depends on which of the three you visit. The language is called Papiamentu (for Bonaire and  Curacao) or Papiamento (for Aruba). According to the text, Dutch colonists decided not to speak Dutch to the enslaved (major difference from what we've seen thus far from other Caribbean countries), yet this creolized language was born. Birthed from encounters between Dutch settlers, Spanish missionaries, Portuguese traders, Jewish emigrants, enslaved Africans, and the indigenous remnants of the Arawak population (the Caquetios), the ABC i...
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The Impact of Creolization in the Caribbean: The French-Speaking Caribbean

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This blog will explore the ideas and relevant media surrounding creolization in French-speaking Caribbean countries. Ready Those Vibes Martinique!: Let's Talk Music Within the text, the authors of Tour de Force gave their readers an overview of the three major styles of music in Martinique. These styles are that of Bèlè, Zouk, and Beguine/Biguine. Though each of the three is derived from a creolized nature (especially due to French colonization), each style has its own flavors, substyles, and additional modern or historical influences.  Bèlè! This style is described by the authors as a form of music influenced by African culture. Personally, j'adore la musique de Bèlè parce qu'elle me donne envie de bouger! Oops, translation. I love bèlè music because it makes me want to move! The style is very rhythmic, easy to follow, and based on the music traditions of the slaves that were settled in the country many years ago.  Movement: Bèlè dance (Photo taken from http...
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The Impact of Creolization in the Caribbean: The English-speaking Caribbean

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This blog will explore the ideas and relevant media surrounding creolization in English-speaking Caribbean countries. The Performing Caribbean Within Tour de Force , there are many examples of creolized cultural components in the English-speaking Caribbean. The main aspect that instantly makes one like myself go "Ooooo that's pretty interesting to know!" is that of the performance nature. Whether still, heard, moving, perceived, or uniquely expressed, the "Performing Caribbean" [as I call it] is clothed in creolization and modern expansion of those ideas. I will be focusing on two aspects of the performing Caribbean represented within the text.  Music A Look Into Jamaican Music: Reggae, the midpoint of the musical culture Photo of Bob Marley Performing (Photo taken from  https://jamaicansmusic.com/learn/origins/reggae ) The authors of Tour de Force  depict Reggae as a basis for Rastafari dialect and Jamaican patois representations within lyrics alongside more ...
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The Impact of Creolization in the Caribbean: Introduction

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This blog will explore the ideas and relevant media surrounding one of the major themes of Tour de Force, creolization. Defining Creolization Within the text, the term creolization , also known as “ syncretism ,” is considered as the blending of cultural aspects and/or traditions from other regions (such as African or European) for a unique, novel cultural product. While defining this, the text references examples of creolization such as in language. The Sugar Plantation in Haiti (Photo taken from https://voxeurop.eu/en/blame-it-on-france/) Kreyol (which is also known as Haitian Creole) is a common example of creolized language. It is known as broken French, described as a blend of French and other languages spoken in Haiti, and was developed as a product of contact between French colonists and the persons enslaved to work the sugar plantations.   Like language, music evaluated in the Caribbean, though unique to each country in its ways, is a collective of influences from aro...
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