In 1984, the association opened an expanded Historical Museum at the Miami-Dade Cultural Center in downtown Miami. This 40,000-square-foot facility includes a permanent exhibition that traces the history of South Florida and the Caribbean, a temporary exhibition gallery that features several new exhibitions each year, a theater and classroom area for variety of educational programs, and storage areas for the museum's extensive collections of artifacts and archival materials, including books, manuscripts, maps and more than one million photographs related to the region. In recent year, the Historical Museum has directed increasing attention to Miami's role as a gateway of the Americas. To explore Miami's multifaceted connections with the Caribbean and Latin America, a new program series, Miami: The Gateway City, was introduced in Spring 1999. The objective of the 12-month series is to use the museum as a central forum for public dialogue about current issues facing Miami and as a space for related artistic presentations.
It is not surprising that the Caribbean woman pushes her daughter toward higher education, for she sees education as the greatest tool for social mobility. Education becomes more than just a means of expanding one's realm; it is seen as an armor of protection against hostile forces, an opportunity to be successful so that no one can "tek step wid yuh." Traditionally, women have been the custodians of culture. The Caribbean woman must continuously face this question: "How can I keep the culture intact, maintain our song and dance in these changing times, this electronic age of computer, when our children are struggling against the reins of our value system and often we are so perplexed, not knowing what to do? This, then, is the most valuable lesson the Caribbean mother passes on to her daughter: how to be firm in the midst of society's pressures and remain her individual self and nurture her talents and resources to love her mate and nurture her children, even while she pursues her own dreams. The songs and dance continue.
The genesis of these carnivals carries the intent of resisting on some level, by Caribbean migrants, the otherwise alienating conditions of life in migration, to "carnivalise" these landscapes with some of the joy and space commensurate with Caribbean carnival. Indeed, Caribbean intellectual contributions have had successful impact on the development of U.S., European and African thought. Still, the Caribbean in most imaginings, and in particular to those who do not know it well, is the place of "sun and fun," a vacation land devoid of serious engagement with the world. Caribbean carnival then is the climax of all those "sun and fun" constructions. Yet, there is a history and politics to carnival - a "carnival of resistance" beyond the outer face of "carnival of tourism" - that demands exposure.
Friday, Oct. 29 was Kweyol Day, a celebration of island identity and culture. While the official language of the Commonwealth of Dominica is English, 80 percent of the population speak Kweyol, a legacy of early French settlement. Kweyol language and folk culture, after being sidelined, dismissed or denigrated during the British colonial period, has played an important role in forging the identity of independent Dominica since 1978. People's irritation with a late start was quickly dissolved. After the Stars, the Vodou rhythms of Haiti's seminal roots music band Boukman Eksperyans reverberated through Festival City. Named after the Vodou priest who presided over the ceremony that ignited Haiti's slave rebellion, Boukman Eksperyans has been at the forefront of taking the Vodou beat into the arena of world music. Tabou Combo, the most famous and long-lived Haitian Konpa band, seemed reluctant to leave the stage, but from 5 a.m., Festival City was overrun by WCK, [Dominica]'s marathon bouyon band, with whom I was still chipping at breakfast time. Not even a large pot of extra-strong Dominican coffee could revive me, and I retired battered and rambling in Kweyol, to recover in Trinidad.
Mocko Jumbie, as it is called in the Caribbean, has been a part of the Virgin Islands culture for more than 200 years. The phrase "Mocko Jumbie" may have different meanings according to the different tribes that practices the art. "Mocko" could mean "Mock" or it could mean "Good God."
There's tendency among some reggae fans to tune out most of today's dancehall deejays, dismissing them as untalented shysters. While that's an essentially justifiable reaction, there are deejays - mostly of the conscious variety - who are worthy of our attention. One in particular is Prezident Brown. Tune out his new release - To Jah Only - and you'll deprive yourself of a relevant body of work that's likely to sway and have you listening for more of this style. To Jah Only is a neat package that adroitly intertwines the traditional with the contemporary. The title track, which leads the album, gently combines slow guitar picks with Nyabinghi drumming, amid Brown's assiduous delivery of some trusty Rasta melodies. The familiar Duppy Conqueror rhythm by Bob Marley is acquired on In This Life, and it's superimposed with a message that counsels mankind about his covetous ways. This theme is also continued with Pomps and Pride. One of the livelier tracks is Micro Chip, and Brown does a nice job keeping pace with a very demanding tempo. But the strongest is undoubtedly Faith - an instant classic that unveils Brown's versatility and true talent. His encyclopedic expressionism sets him apart from the ordinary, and he's truly one of our best links between the past and the present. [Dean Fraser]'s latest album - Retrospect - is a delightfully appetizing reminiscence of classic hits that are masterfully reproduced for everyone's listening pleasure. With 12 tracks, this album takes you back to mento, through ska, roots, and up to the present.
"We're not a Jamaican station. We're not a Trinidadian station. We're not a Bajan [Barbadian] station. We're not an African-American station," [Carl Nelson] says of his station, which broadcasts from Davie, near Fort Lauderdale. "Our target audience is the entire Caribbean [community], and that includes second-generation Caribbean Americans and people [of other nationalities] who like Caribbean-American music." Nature of service "We don't see the radio as a juke box," he says. "We're here to serve the community and just because you put some music on the radio doesn't mean you're serving the community." "Everybody who's advertised with us has reported good results," he says. "That's because they're getting a mix of people. They [reach] people from all the different islands. They get African Americans. They get whites. For them [the advertisers]it's a plus."
One basic but tremendously important strategy is becoming and staying involved in our daughters' education. Our girls need to be told and reminded that all professions are open to them and that they must begin from an early age to prepare for these professions. Historically, girls do not take as many math and science courses as boys do, yet many top-paying professions require these subjects. Let your daughters know that math, chemistry, physics, etc., are not boy' exclusive domain but that girls have the aptitude to do just as well in these areas. These are women whose lives speak eloquently of courage, determination and achievement. Contemporary women also provide striking examples of qualities our own daughters can emulate. Within our churches, schools and communities are countless women with stories worth sharing.
