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December 23rd, 2007

Caribbean: Christmas Traditions

lingua → es

All over the world, people get together with friends and family to celebrate Christmas. They exchange gifts, and invite one another to their homes for parties, lunches or dinners, signifying the trademark Christmas message of peace and goodwill. In the Caribbean, this message is no different, and whether they’re based at home in the region or abroad, Caribbean people find a way to add their special touch to the festivities. Speaking with Caribbean bloggers, Francis Wade, Geoffrey Philp, Afrobella, Abeni, Bajegirl, and TriniGourmet, I get the sense that the festivities among the various nationalities share similarities, but also have unique celebrations.

For example, in St Vincent and the Grenadines, there is the Nine Mornings Festival. Abeni explains:

For nine days before Christmas (excluding Sundays), we get up in the wee hours of the morning and participate in church services, fetes, go to the beach and/or head into Kingstown where there are organised competitions in the form of singing, recitals, and other fun competitions. There is also a carol competition hosted by the National Broadcasting Corporation that attracts thousands. The format is such that you sing a traditional song and then do your own creation to the tune of any popular song. There are also string bands playing music on the streets, Police bands playing music in communities throughout the island, community singing and the lighting of the Christmas tree. However, serenading is dying though.

Generally, music plays a huge role in making Christmas, well, Christmas. Throughout the region, one can hear traditional carols, many of which originate from America. However, in Jamaica, Christmas carols are sung to a reggae beat. In Trinidad and Tobago, Christmas music belies the country’s Spanish heritage with Parang, indigenous music that has Latin rhythms and is sung in Spanish, filling the airwaves. Soca parang is also another spinoff from the Parang genre, with an extensive playlist in existence.

“In Trinidad, Christmas is the time when the Spanish cultural influences really come to the fore,” says Trinigourmet:

Through the traditional tunes (parang) or foods (pastelles), several of the Spanish influences help to make a Trini Christmas unique, especially amongst the English speaking Caribbean islands.

The cuisine at this time of year makes for a great feast. A typical Vincentian Christmas dinner will have sorrel, ginger beer, ham, green peas (if one can afford the going price), baked chicken, mutton (curried or stewed), beef, rice, pies, salads, and black cake (a rich, fruity, alcoholic concoction). Sorrel is a staple Christmas drink throughout the Caribbean. And according to Abeni, “Christmas is not Christmas without a bottle of locally made Black wine”.

Other countries have similarly grand feasts, but each has its own specialty. In Barbados, you’ll hear about jug-jug (a dish made from ham, guinea corn flour and peas). In Trinidad, pastelles and ponche de crème.

As expected, Christmas is a time of excitement with increased social events and parties.
“In Jamaica, people say it’s our Carnival,” says Francis Wade:

We also have a few traditions like Christmas morning market, and Jonkonnu (a little like Ole Mas). The Christmas spirit starts to set in from late October going into November. Tourists from the more temperate areas love the Caribbean as a warm alternative to the winter season, but you might hear a few locals talk of it being “cool” or “cold”. This “cool” is a sure sign that Christmas is coming. The Christmas breeze starts with a cool wind from the North…

Abeni agrees, describing the nights as getting “cooler”, with longer days. Bajegirl notices “a special breeze that blows at this time of year, but for sure the nights get a lot cooler”.

In St Vincent and the Grenadines, Abeni shares the telltale signs that Christmas is coming:

Barrels from North America start rolling in, people start talking about plans to fly to Trinidad for bargain hunting, the nights get cooler and the days longer, carols play on the radio, stores begin to entice us with offers, banks and other financial institutions promote Christmas loans, the string bands begin to make their music on the streets of Kingstown, and the place just gets busier. It's a joyous time for the most part. It's very community-oriented with people still taking time out to spend time with neighbours. Lately, we have been lighting up our homes in a big way - so much so that there are competitions for the best lit house.

In Barbados, Christmas is a time for family, says Bajegirl:

The major town centres are all lit up and people drive around to admire each others’ decorations. It’s also a time for food and parties, with popular dishes such as jug-jug, sweet potato pie and ham on all menus. Late night shopping in Bridgetown begins and everywhere people are painting and cleaning their homes. The thing is we try to be patriotic and wait till December 1, since our Independence Day is November 30th, but the stores put up their Christmas decorations mid-November, and carols begin playing around that time too, so you can never begin sprucing up your home early enough.

Jamaican Francis Wade says that a key part of a Caribbean Christmas is that members of the diaspora “come back to visit and spend time, so the social scene is quite active.” After living abroad himself for nearly twenty years, he feels that in the US there is less of a connection between people who aren’t family, and that the social side of the Christmas festivities is small compared to the Caribbean.

Like anywhere else, Christmas is a high profit generating period for businesses. Caribbean people are known for their love of shopping, which is seen by some as one of the effects of the Americanisation of Caribbean Christmas celebrations. Nevertheless, Abeni feels that “we have still retained the warmth and goodwill for the most part”, but Trinigourmet notes that in addition to the traditional songs of American origin, there are Santa Claus and “snow–themed” decors, which are “definitely not indigenous in origin”.

Caribbean-born bloggers (such as Geoffrey Philp) learn to integrate the culture of their adopted home with that of their homeland:

When I first came to America, I couldn't get into the Christmas spirit and I didn't know why. It wasn't that there wasn't any rum cake and sorrel or any of the traditional Jamaican dishes; it was the music. The feeling continued for a few more years until one year our church incorporated the song, “The Virgin Mary had a Baby Boy” and that did it for me. It finally felt like Christmas.

The Christmas feeling in my home is quite different from the Christmases I had in Jamaica. Home has become for me a metaphor for the important relationships in my life. So it doesn't matter where I am. As long as I am surrounded my wife, children and extended family, I am a happy man. That said, I will confess that I will always miss the hills that surround Mona Heights where I grew up and the physical aspects of being in Kingston when the cool Christmas breeze came tumbling down the hillsides.

According to Afrobella - a Trinidadian living in Miami - Christmas abroad isn’t nearly as festive:

I grew up in a big family, so when the season hit, it seemed like the air was filled with parang music and who wasn’t helping to paint the house or put up the Christmas tree had to help make pastelles, ponche de crème, or sorrel. Now I live with my American husband abroad, and we’re learning how to blend our traditions. My husband seems to enjoy traditional parang, like Daisy Voisin, but Americans don’t get the subtleties of Sprangalang’s “Bring Drinks,” for example. I enjoy my Christmases abroad a lot as well, but I definitely still believe that Trini Christmas is the best!

Her fellow Caribbean bloggers may or may not agree, but either way, Christmas in in the Caribbean is definitely special.

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July 26th, 2007

Why hasn't the Caribbean appeared on the Seven Wonders of the World list? Bajegirl at the Cheese on Bread blog lists the “Seven Wonders of the Caribbean”.

June 11th, 2007

Americas

Geoffrey Philp confesses that he had no intention of becoming a Caribbean-American, because he wanted to be known only as a Jamaican writer - but he now realises that Caribbean-Americans “have had a significant role in shaping the conscience of America”.

May 30th, 2007

One Caribbean; Many Identities…

Karel McIntosh · 20:55 · Americas

Calypsonian Lord Nelson once sang, “all ah we is one family”. Optimists in the Caribbean may well agree with these words, but the reality is that if you were to describe Caribbean states as a family, you would have to call it a complex unit - and one in which there is much sibling rivalry. Caribbean bloggers Geoffrey Philp (Jamaican writer), Guyana Media Critic aka Living Guyana and Francis Wade (Jamaican management consultant) recently shared their personal views about this complex region with me.

What it means to be Caribbean
“Caribbean means being a part of one of the most interesting, though unintended, social experiments in the world”, says Geoffrey Philp who lives in Miami. “Within this archipelago, we have people from all over the planet meeting and trying to live together without resorting to genocide…

“In Miami, we all tend to try to get along because we are in a minority, so we have to get along. That said, whenever the fight bruk out, they usually tend to be along the lines of stereotypes, which are really ways for not thinking for yourself. And some people don’t want to think for themselves.”

Living Guyana describes the Caribbean as “a unique collection of people strung together by a common history and increasingly and perhaps irreversibly influenced by Americana.

“It’s a usually change-resistant conglomeration in desperate need of real political and economic unification. One troubling feature of Caribbean life is that despite the obvious need for real political and economic fusion, there is a significant degree of resistance to this in some quarters.” While he admits that there is a common fun-loving thread which binds Caribbean cultural and social life, he says there are also subtle differences that define each particular island such as lingo, food and self-image. “But at the very core,” he says, “we are a singular people bound by a common and undeniable history.”

Yet not all people automatically buy in to the concept of “one Caribbean”. For Francis Wade to emotionally connect to this notion of “one Caribbean”, it took the persuasion of a Trini friend that “we were all one Caribbean people”, and a vacation to Trinidad, which felt familiar to him: “It looked like Jamaica; it felt like Jamaica.”

There are many answers to this question of Caribbean identity, as Caribbean Free Radio, and the BBC have discovered.

For some, national identity brings its own challenges. To Living Guyana, being Guyanese means “regrettably, inherent discrimination both internally and externally. It means being perceived as being disadvantaged but it simultaneously means having to be diligent and committed to perseverance in order to succeed. It means being resilient and more open to Caribbean integration. It means being naturally hospitable and warm. It means being proud.”

West Indian versus Caribbean
Many people use the terms “West Indian” and “Caribbean” interchangeably. Yet the question still remains, is there a distinction between the terms “West Indian” and “Caribbean”? Living Guyana thinks it’s “mere semantics”, while Wade uses the terms interchangeably: “Logically I know that Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, and Martinique are Caribbean,” he says. “Caribbean primarily means English-speaking, Caribbean Basin country, but I include Bahamas and Belize in there although they are not really a part of the Caribbean Basin.”

Philp, on the other hand, has a clear distinction about the terms:

“West Indies refers to the former colonies of England – mostly English speaking. ‘Caribbean’ refers to the whole gumbo: English, French, Spanish, patwa, what-have-you speaking archipelago of islands, and the coastal regions of South and Central Americas. You could even extend the definition to places in North America such as the recently colonized Miami and the older cities in Louisiana and the Carolinas or Plantation America.”

Caribbean Unity
In her Global Voices post Bombastic?, Janine Mendes-Franco writes, “The Caribbean, as a region, manages to operate quite well when it comes to endeavours like The University of the West Indies and West Indies Cricket (recent events concerning the latter notwithstanding).” Francis Wade attempted to provide an explanation about Jamaican attitudes:

“We don’t even think about fighting in Jamaica. We just want to do our own thing. We like to be together when it works, and we like to be apart when we’re apart. The Federation fell apart primarily because the DLP saw that opposing it was a way to win the elections. If they had been more enlightened they would not have pushed so hard for a referendum then, and history would have gone differently.

“Now, because of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) more Jamaicans are identifying with being Caribbean. Luckily, many Caribbean businesses operate across borders. It’s about when will it become easier to do business, when will barriers be moved? It’s a question of when, not if.”

Although Philp thinks that Caribbean people “don’t want them (Federation and CSME) to work”, he is quick to give an optimistic outlook on Caribbean people’s ability to work together.

“When we are united, we are unstoppable,” he explains enthusiastically. “Look at the work of that generation that fought for independence on a united front across the national borders. They fell apart once they gained independence, but the unity was tremendous and unparalleled.

It is a sad fact that humans rarely get together unless it is to fight a real enemy. We have no ‘enemies’ so we’ve decided to kill ourselves.”

There are those like Don Mitchell from the Corruption Free Anguilla blog who look forward to becoming part of “an integral part of the independent and sovereign nation known as the West Indies”. He describes the West Indies as “a country that is coming into existence. It does not yet have a flag or a national anthem”.

Economic Rivalry
While Francis Wade recently blogged about “some significant announcements related to acquisitions across the Caribbean region”,Living Guyana thinks that Caribbean people’s gripe with one another stem from “the varying responses to political and economic unification, and the stereotyping of each other without any initiative on the part of CARICOM or individual governments to redress this”.

Coming Together Despite Differences
Apart from some similarities stemming from their shared histories, a Trini is different to a Barbadian, who in turn is different from a Jamaican,” writes Francis Wade. Defined by its complex characteristics, the Caribbean brand is one that is often used by its states. Yet some see the need to distance themselves from it when it is attacked. According to Barbados Free Press, “When you have declared yourself to be a family member, your brother’s reputation is yours.”

Although Caribbean people’s differences can sometimes create division among them, they also know how to rally around each other and to feel proud of each others’ achievements. Philp, Wade and Living Guyana all agree that the Caribbean will benefit fro harnessing the strengths of its members. In fact, Living Guyana prophesies that:

”The governments of the Caribbean will find themselves in a situation where they are forced to formalize and institutionalize Caribbean people, through travel, work, business, trade, sex, and relationships, are already charting the course.”

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April 30th, 2007

Trinidad & Tobago: Akon Controversy Continues

Karel McIntosh · 14:35 · Americas

The recent scandal involving US hip-hop artist Akon brutally gyrating on a 15-year-old Trinidadian girl at the island's popular Zen nightclub has taken both the mainstream media and the blogosphere by storm - mere hours after the incident took place, the video was on YouTube - not to mention scores of blogs, many of which have been enjoying more hits than usual.

In a bid to stem the already extensive and continuous coverage of the event, the teenager’s family is seeking to legally bar the media from further publishing photos and the girl’s name, as she is a minor. Club Zen has apologized for the incident. But apologies have not appeased some bloggers, who remain outraged about the whole episode.

The Modest Goddess has seen the video and is

“not sure what’s more disturbing - the girl being flung and dragged around the stage, legs twisted into varying positions to facilitate his act until he abandons her crumpled on the floor? Or the cheering of the crowd, the roaring approval of the crowd, the screaming, clapping, appreciative crowd. The same crowd that now stands in judgement of what happened.”

She is also concerned about the fact that

“on the various blogs on which it appears, comments are being left that use the most derogatory of insults. The girl…has been universally labeled a ho. It reminds me of the age old excuses given for rape - she wanted it, she asked for it, she enjoyed it, she was dressed like a ho, hell, she is a ho.”

Disparaging comments were also the reason that Caribbean Public Relations decided to back away from the issue:

“I've deleted the post about the indecent dance between Akon and the 15-year-old girl, which has garnered this site at least 4,840 hits in just one week. Now one would think that I'd be ecstatic over this jump in readership. I'm not.”

In response to the Trinidad Express interview with the girl's father, The Manicou Report voiced his opinion on the behaviour of both parties:

“I don't know what you'd call that barely-there red top, matching heels, low-rider jeans and lower back tattoo, but “innocent” isn't the word that comes to mind. She's wearing a crucifix though, so I guess it's all OK. Secondly, Akon. There's not much I can say for Akon except that I'm more than just a little disgusted. I don't think I have ever seen anything more dehumanizing being passed off as entertainment. To see a big strong man like Akon treat another woman like a hump toy without any regards to her personal safety is appalling to me.”

By contrast, Colonise This! says:

“What is at issue here for me is not what Danah was wearing or the fact that she was underage, nor is it the practice of performers inviting members of the audience up on the stage to “wine” with them. What is at issue is what this affair represents: the consistent and constant erosion of social, moral, intellectual boundaries, that moves people of African ancestry closer and closer to the animal kingdom and makes us less and less recognisable as sentient and thinking beings.”

Afrobella is also disturbed by the racial implications:

“So then this Akon thing happens, and I can’t look away from the comments pages. And I find the same ignorant beliefs being spouted again and again. ‘This is a part of Caribbean culture, get over it.' ‘That’s how they dance in Trini.' ‘Those Caribbean girls get down like that.' And all of the old school disses delivered to dark skinned people that you might expect…Yes, scandalous dancing is celebrated throughout the Caribbean, all you need to do is do a You Tube search for ‘dutty wine' or ‘dancehall queen' to find an array of NSFW videos of women getting down on all fours to degrade themselves. But Akon took it to a whole ‘nother level.”

The incident has sparked considerable discussion over what has become a basic tenet of Caribbean culture - wining. Barbadian blogger Eemanee at What crazy looks like agrees that Akon…

“was perhaps a bit over-zealous and dishonest (there being no trip to Africa) but just how does his performance differ from that of many of our Caribbean performers or your average drunken revellers at Crop Over or Carnival; or that of the dancers in the latest passa passa video? If Akon has disrespected us it means we have been disrespecting ourselves for quite a long time.”

But Caymanian Mad Bull saw nothing out of the ordinary in Akon's behaviour, making the point that many of the region's soca stars behave in a similar fashion onstage. Gallimaufry disagrees:

“I’ve been to plenty (well, enough) fetes and soca/reggae shows and I’ve seen revellers at Kadooment and thing, so believe me, I’ve seen raunchy, but that isn’t just raunchy, that is brutal and scary.”

Posting from Trinidad, Dre at Allyuh.com was just as appalled at what he calls “Akon's Party Politics, producing a comprehensive roundup of politicians' (including the country's Prime Minister) comments on the issue:

“Patrick Manning is now looking into the issue, pointing fingers in Zen’s direction and asking for the nation to forgive Danah:

‘I have taken very careful notice of this matter and the owner of Zen owes it to the public to take responsibility. I will be interfacing with Zen because that kind of thing should never be allowed to happen in this country.

‘The owner (of Club Zen) should not be allowed to have such a kind of scene, (and) the public should forgive Danah.'”

Meanwhile, Trinidad Carnival Diary reports that Club Zen has been shut down indefinitely on the heels of another unsavoury incident involving a music star - but
Trinidad and Tobago News Blog reports that the closure was short-lived, perhaps making Genie X's comment about Akon all the more relevant:

“But what of Akon? He was deceitful, egotistical, misogynistic, disrespectful and contemptuous. What price has he paid for his behaviour? What have been the repercussions of acting like an animal? Well, the only one I have seen so far, is that his record label has rallied to protect its ‘investment', by attempting to hide the evidence of his despicable acts by having it removed from You Tube. Any and every behaviour by black people against black people is okey-dokey with them as long as the music keeps selling. Beyond this one disheartening act, there is the loud and eloquent sound of silence.”

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