Creolization in the Caribbean

 The culture of the Caribbean countries has common origins. The experience lived by the Caribbean countries in terms of colonialism, slavery, and the movement of people from other regions at the end of slavery has created a unity of historical experience that defines it in the world. These experiences have created a new society and culture. This Caribbean culture can be explained through the theory of creolization, which will be the theme to be developed in this Blog.

In the book "Tour de Force: A Musical Journey of the Caribbean" the authors state that creolization is the mixture of musical or cultural traditions, this mixture is also known as syncretism, and as result creates a new and unique culture. Creolization develops from the discovery of the Americas by Europe, where the colonizing Europeans (Spanish, English, French, and Dutch), initially impose their culture on enslaved Africans and try to prohibit the African culture of said slaves. In this situation, the slaves are forced to assimilate the culture of their colonizers and thus begins the mixture of cultures. The Caribbean is internationally known for its wide cultural display. Its culture has been produced through creolization, which was initially represented by the cultural exchange between colonizers and African slaves and later by abolishing slavery, the incorporation of Asian and Indian cultures by providing labor from those regions to carry out Jobs in the Caribbean islands. However, it is important to know that creolization is related to the different elements of culture such as language, clothing, food, literature, music, dance, and social relations, which are affected by the interaction of the different cultures.

Music from Cuba.

Source: (2022)

Picture - Interpretation of the mambo that emerged in Cuba in the late 1930s and is a new form of danzón with African influences and syncopated rhythm.


Below you can see a video that shows the cultural mix in Cuba, produced by the interaction of the culture of the slaves and the Spanish. I chose this video since it is a tribute of remembrance of the victims of Slavery and the Slave Trade

The rhythm in Cuba, an inheritance left by the slaves

Source: (El Ritmo En Cuba, Una Herencia Que Dejaron Los Esclavos, n.d.)
Jah Music

The Rhythms of the Rastafari (Jamaica).

The Rastafari are not only among Jamaica's most African-oriented citizens, but they are also among its most inventive synthesizers. Rastafari music, both in its "roots" form, Nyabingi, and in its popular form, reggae, exemplifies this. From the late 1960s onwards, reggae has been associated with the internationalization of the Rastafari Movement, displaying continuing fusions of local folk music with popular strains from overseas.


Source: (Tschannen, 2015)

Bob Marley one of the representatives of Reggae Music

In this video, we show one more example of creolization now in Jamaica with Rastafarian music that is the basis of reggae music so widespread by Bob Marley

Source: (Samia Count Ossie & the Mystic Revelations, n.d.)


References

(2022). Onlinetours.es. https://onlinetours.es/blog/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/12/2041-01-1140.jpg

El ritmo en Cuba, una herencia que dejaron los esclavos. (n.d.). Www.youtube.com. Retrieved May 27, 2022, from https://youtu.be/kFC4Cq6PPdA

Samia Count Ossie & The Mystic Revelations. (n.d.). Www.youtube.com. Retrieved May 27, 2022, from https://youtu.be/csKG39I_DAM

Tschannen, R. A. (2015, August 13). In Jah we trust: how Reggae spread the Rasta word. The Muslim Times. https://themuslimtimes.info/2015/08/13/in-jah-we-trust-how-reggae-spread-the-rasta-word/

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