Tambú represents a ritual from Curaçao, largest of the Netherlands Antilles, employed by the island’s African peoples as a religio-spiritual vehicle. In Dutch mainland cities, however, the Tambú has developed into a type of party music, with Curaçaoan immigrants joining other African and Afro-Caribbean immigrants to explore and express complex collective identities. These reinvented tambú parties constitute new sites of cultural reproduction as well as contestation, of solidarity as well as difference, providing the rare occasion to observe diasporic belonging among Afro-Caribbean communities in the Netherlands. These contemporary tambú parties provide a needed space to negotiate competing and overlapping identities, enabling both a specific Antillean identity as well as a more inclusive diasporic identity.
Argues that Haitians used music, and particularly religious singing, self-reflexively, in a culturally patterned way, to orient themselves in time and space, and to construct a frame of meaning in which to understand and act in the devastated Haitian capital. Non-Haitian observers noted with astonishment Haitians’ widespread use of song, but could not make sense of the singing.
Compares memoirs by Maya Angelou, Barack Obama, and Caryl Phillips. The Caribbean-born Afro-Britain Caryl Phillips published The Atlantic Sound (2000), an account of African diasporic identity that moved between understanding, compassion, and a harsh belief that Africa cannot take on the role of a psychologist's couch, that "Africa cannot cure." These three memoirs offer insight into the complex and highly contested nature of identity throughout the African diaspora, and present very personalized reflections on the geography, politics, and history of Africa as a source of identity and diasporic belonging.
The combination of rice and beans was introduced in the nineteenth century by Afro-Caribbean migrant railroad workers. Notwithstanding elite self-perception of Costa Rica as a white, European nation, economic necessity during the Great Depression helped gallo pinto gain middle class acceptance. This case illustrates both the importance of social and economic history in shaping cultural symbols and also the ways that lower-class foods can become central to national identities.
The dry Caribbean is a place in Colombia where some black communities have lived since decolonization. The text tackles the pedagogical sense of the Catedra de Estudios Afrocolombianos. The historical, territorial, juridical, educative, and organizational contextualization is followed by the emphasis in the necessity of creating a cultural production policy based on the black communities' life.
Develops a theoretical framework of biopolitical performance with which to approach the 1957 televised broadcast of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn's A Drum Is a Woman. Presented on the drama anthology program The United States Steel Hour, this theater-music-dance suite fused elements of Afro-Caribbean rhythm with swing and bebop to tell a history of jazz, featuring acclaimed performers such as Carmen de Lavallade, Margaret Tynes, Joya Sherrill, and Talley Beatty. Argues that through their experimentation Ellington and Strayhorn created a hybrid performance in the mode of "calypso theater": a formal and thematic engagement with an Afro-Caribbean performance history.
[Stephanie Balmir-Villedrouin] said the site of the village is known for its historic values to Haiti "and the idea is to create another form of attraction and give a value to the visitors when they go to the destination".
"This is a historic day for the state of Florida," [Jeb Bush] said. "But this appointment goes beyond symbolism. It represents a coming of age of a population that has made significant contributions to the state of Florida. Dr. [M. Rony Francois] joins an incredible group of aspiring Haitian Americans who are making a difference in our state." Francois, who will make $155,000 a year in the state post, will succeed Dr. John Agwunobi as secretary of the Department of Health. Agwunobi is leaving Tallahassee to become an assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Francois will take over on Monday. A native of Port-au-Prince, Francois first came to the United States in 1979 and eventually earned a medical degree from USF in Tampa, as well as a master's degree in exercise physiology from the University of Central Florida and a doctoral degree in toxicology from USF.
Haitian konpa groups have developed a reputation as one of the liveliest facets of the West Indian celebrations. "Everybody agreed to bring costumes, which could mean that they will be all in uniformity and coordinated with the leader of the group of whichever band it is," said Jean Alexander, spokeswoman for the Carnival Association. "They are going to be visited by some of the members, to see what it is they are portraying." Haitian konpa groups have developed a reputation as one of the liveliest facets of the West Indian celebrations. "Everybody agreed to bring costumes, which could mean that they will be all in uniformity and coordinated with the leader of the group of whichever band it is," said Jean Alexander, spokeswoman for the Carnival Association. "They are going to be visited by some of the members, to see what it is they are portraying."
The recent push to add a seat to the Miami-Dade County Commission for Haitian Americans should be lauded. However, the proposal made by a coalition of Haitian Americans should to be researched and analyzed more. The proposal just may tip the balance of power away from the Black community it intends to help. In December the Haitian American Grassroots Coalition proposed the charter amendment aimed at carving out two new districts -- one for Haitian Americans and the other for hispanics. The group's proposal would increase the number of commissioners from 13 to 15.
Bennie G. Rodgers left us recently. Bennie G. Rodgers, 86, longtime executive editor and columnist for the St. Louis American, one of the leading black community newspapers in America. Jean Leopold Dominique (1930-2000) was violently snatched from our lives. Jean Léopold Dominique was a Haitian journalist who spoke out against successive dictatorships. He was one of the first people in Haiti to broadcast in Haitian Creole, the language spoken by most of the populace.
This year's Miami concert is a continuation of this ongoing goodwill project, bringing together a host of internationally renowned celebrities, reggae, R&B, and hip-hop artists in an all-day Carnival event with food, arts, crafts, and a vast array of entertainment. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Wyclef Jean Foundation and be donated to charitable organizations. Proceeds from last year's Miami Carnival were given to VHI's "Save The Music" and Oeuvres de Petites Ecoles de P. Bohnen (through Fondation Artistes Creation, a not-for- profit Haitian organization). "Guantanamera," a single from "Wyclef Jean Presents the Carnival," featuring Celia Cruz and Jeni Fujita, was nominated for the Best Rap Performance By A Duo or Group. The following year, Wyclef Jean's single, "Gone Till November," was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Rap Solo Performance category.
"Gonaives... my heart is being torn apart, too many mothers have lost too many children," [Wyclef] sings in Creole, while distributing WFP food rations. "We wanted to capture the raw essence of Gonaives and give people inspiration. Not like: 'Be sad for us,' but asking how can we as people really help Gonaives," he said.
208 p., Recent prevalence rates of clinical depression in African Americans seeking services from primary care facilities reveal that African Americans are presenting with more depression symptoms than any other group. Although there is research on depression among women in general, the research among women of African descent is very limited while research on subsets of this population (Afro-Caribbean) is even more limited. Women of African descent residing in the United States are treated as a homogeneous population. Although some Afro-Caribbean women may share similar experiences with their African American counterparts, their immigration status may create unique concerns. Thus, categorizing all women of African descent as African American may provide a biased and inaccurate description of the problem.
Toussaint L'Ouverture: The Other Bonaparte! When the friction of social injustice and deprivation ignite that fuel, glimmers of hope begin to surface. So it happened with the baby boy who came on the world scene as Toussaint L'Ouverture. Acts such as these stirred [Toussaint]; he felt destined to remedy the societal ills. He also knew the time was not yet right, so he waited and learned. Toussaint became the most humble, obliging slave. He was held up as a model to other slaves.
State Rep. Marie St. Fleur, lauded by Haitians across the U.S. for her pioneering role as the nation's first Haitian-American lawmaker, gained further strides in the Massachusetts Legislature in 2003. A key lieutenant to powerful House Speaker Tom Finneran, St. Fleur was once again elevated to a leadership position, this time as chairwoman of the Legislature's Committee on Education.
"The launch event in March was really successful. Everything came together for a totally perfect night," Laura Quinla, Rhythm Foundation Director said. "What was especially cool was that it was a lot of different kinds of people of all backgrounds and ages having a great time together." "It is important to focus on the wealth of culture that Haiti has great music, art, dance. The culture is so rich. Little Haiti also has a lot of nice experiences to offer the general public," Quinla said. "We are hoping our night grows and encompasses all the artist studios, cultural venues, shops and restaurants in the area. I think it will be something people throughout South Florida will look forward to every month."
Who are they? [Raoul Peck] works primarily with an ensemble made up of [Sarah]'s family and members of the infamous TonTon Macoute. It's these men operating outside civilian and military law, who imbue "The Man By The Shore" with its thick taste of dread and fear. For it quickly becomes obvious that they can threaten, maim, even kill anyone at anytime for the least of slights. Janvier (Jean Michel Martial), the chief of the Macoutes here, wields unbridled power, making him one of the most fearsome screen villians in recent times. "The Man By The shore" combines the terror of the Duvalier regime and Haiti's natural beauty in a gripping story. Audiences may leave questioning whether it's better to remember or to forget!
Needless to say, it would take more than this short column to list all her accomplishments and all the legislative activities she had been involved in. Suffice it to say, however, she fought very hard, not only for her constituencies, but also for what was right. And this is the point that requires a reflective pause for the Haitian community. The Haitian community, along with some non-Haitian observers, has always felt that it has been discriminated against by U.S. immigration policies. Back in the 1980's and the early 1990's, there were many Haitian activists who took to the streets and to the airwaves to decry these discriminatory policies. However, none of the Haitian activists were elected officials. Certainly, the efforts of these activists were very important and sometimes fruitful in the context of exposing the inequality of these policies to the larger American public.
On Saturday, February 24, at Artisan's World Art Gallery in Cambridge, Professor Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban of the University of Rhode Island, presented on Haitian anthropologist Anténor [Firmin]'s book, De l'Egalité des Races Humaines (Anthropologie positive) (Paris, Librairie Cotillon, 1885), a powerful refutation of the work of prominent 19th century French anthropologist Arthur de Gobineau, who had argued the "natural" inferiority of the black race in the The Inequality of Human Race.
