Reggae Español: Jamaican Music in Spanish-speaking Countries
With its close geographic proximity to the Caribbean and Latin America, Jamaica has not only received influences from these cultures, but has also been influential on molding and forming an integral part of Spanish-speaking nations. The growing popularity of reggae and Jamaican culture as a whole is apparent all over the world, and is catching on quickly. Although there are reggae groups found in many of the Spanish-speaking countries worldwide, there is not much literature that has focused on their history or followed their progress, just like there is not much published work about reggae and Rastafarianism. This paper intends to focus on the Spanish involvement in Jamaica and also chart the musical influence of reggae in these aforementioned regions.
Although there is not much evidence regarding the Spanish involvement of Jamaica, the Spaniards were supposedly the first to arrive on the island, and settle it shortly thereafter. Christopher Columbus veered off his path and came upon the small island in the Caribbean on his second voyage in may of 1494. The island was already inhabited by the indigenous people called the Arawaks, who supposedly came from Venezuela and had already named the island Xaymaca. Not unlike the other Caribbean islands the Spaniards inhabited, their presence decimated the indigenous population. The influx of disease and mistreatment of the indigenous people by the newcomers led to their eventual demise, 70-80 years after the Spanish arrival. (Musgrave). Only a few artifacts remain of what was once the Arawak culture, a people that at one point numbered 60,000. (Barrett, p. 20).
15 years after the Spaniards first encountered the island, they founded a settlement and were quickly establishing dominance in the region. In 1509, the Spaniards built a town named after an existing Spanish town, Sevilla La Nueva, New Seville. It was located near what is now St. Ann’s Bay on Jamaica’s north coast. With the local indigenous population declining due to disease, Spaniards began bring Africans to the island to work as slaves and perform hard labor. When the Spaniards left and the English took over, many of the salve fled, which became known as Maroons, and settled in what is now known as The Cockpit Country, located in the center of the island.
The Spanish presence in Jamaica was relatively brief, and never flourished under Spanish rule. They handed it over to Britain in 1655, after engaging in battle with the British.
Jamaica’s land was formatted about twenty-five million years ago. It was formed from two tectonic plates. The plates were the American and Caribbean plates.
Another symbol of Laura not belonging to the world is the nickname “Blue Roses” given to her by Jim. When she was young, she suffered from pleurosis, meaning she had to have a brace around her leg. Her leg never returned to normal, so she has a small limp. Jim misheard her saying pleurosis for “Blue Roses,” so he always called her by that phrase in high school. The nickname, “signifies her affinity for the natural—flowers—together with the transcendent—blue flowers, which do not occur naturally and this come to symbolize her yearning for both ideal or mystical beauty” (Cardullo, 161). Like blue roses, Laura is naturally beautifully but also mystical, meaning she seems not from this
Marcus Garvey once said, “The Black skin is not a badge of shame, but rather a glorious symbol of national greatness,” exemplifying not only that the African blood that flows through our veins is indeed wonderful, but is more a national treasure than a national tragedy. Countries across the world, in some form have been altered by the touch of the African influence whether that is socially and/or culturally. The same fate lies with the islands of the Caribbean, especially the island of Puerto Rico located in the Greater Antilles. Of all the African influential branches, Puerto Rican music would be one social phenomenon to be ultimately shaped and modified by African influence directly. Beginning with the African slaves, this paper covers the musically genres created over time containing West African elements, as well as covering the ways in which the Puerto Rican society influenced the music as well as how the music effected the society. This paper will also include the ways in which African descendants in Puerto Rico [musicians] would rise to fame despite existing in an era of open racism. Ultimately, explaining how the music and the people go hand in hand.
Change has always been a part of life. Certain periods of time have more changes than others, but change has always been a constant in history. Civilizations and leaders rise and fall, and when large civilizations, like Rome, fall, they usually take a large part of the world with it. After Rome fell, the western world as it was back then collapsed and entered into what is known now as the Middle Ages.
Although there is a variety of music that could be examined to trace its evolution through time, there is one genre in particular that is quite interesting to examine. Though it differs from other types of music, it will be looked at in conjunction with Reggae music as they have similar ties. Reggae music is quite prominent today in the United States, parts of Africa, and of course Jamaica. Reggae is notoriously known for its most influential artist Bob Marley, and it is not unusual for one to have heard a few, if not many of his songs. Reggae’s popularity is steadily increasing and is doing so through both expansions of the music as well as increasing knowledge on the genre.
In Tennessee William's play, The Glass Menagerie, the character of Laura is like a fragile piece of glass. The play is based around a fragile family and their difficulties coping with life.
Perry Henzel's The Harder They Come is credited with a significant and unique role in introducing American audiences to reggae. Whereas earlier cinematic crossmarketed films like A Hard Days Night or Help! were adjunct to and dependent on a group's previous commercial musical success, Henzel's film was for many an introduction to reggae and both precursor and impetus for its international impact and commercial popularity. The film's status as a cult classic and phenomenon, to the extent a phenomenon can be explained, perhaps rests on its lack of commercial pretentions or promotional glitz, and thus its authenticity. The rhetoric of this film -- its images, words, and music in complementary array -- is rhetoric in the best sense because it uses the power of language to reveal, not to disguise, the unconscionable constraints on the lives of poor Jamaicans. Principally it's a film by a Jamaican artist about some musically and culturally significant events happening in Jamaica at the time, and though it is formulaic as films tend to be, it also encompasses all of the majors themes and conflicts that define and swirl around reggae music: spirituality, sensuality, commercialism, social justice, the messiah, and even Armageddon, though its tenor is decidedly secular
Malory, Sir Thomas. “The Crowning of Arthur.” Literature. Ed. Applebee, Arthur et. al. NY, New
Before Haiti was called Haiti, it was called Quisqueya by its original inhabitants the Arawaks, the Tainos, and Caraibes. These Indians were taken advantage of by Christopher Columbus, He took their Gold, and renamed the island Hispanola, because Spain was financing his explorations. The Indian pop...
Although King Arthur is one of the most well-known figures in the world, his true identity remains a mystery. Attempts to identify the historical Arthur have been unsuccessful, since he is largely a product of fiction. Most historians, though, agree that the real Arthur was probably a battle leader of the Britons against the Anglo-Saxons in the sixthth century. In literature, King Arthur's character is unique and ever changing, taking on a different face in every work. There is never a clearly definitive picture that identifies Arthur's character. It is therefore necessary to look at a few different sources to get better insight into the character of Arthur, the once and future king.
Coral, which is a sedentary coelenterate of warm and tropical seas, comes in two forms: either hard or soft. According to reefed.edu, soft corals are “soft bodies made up of a large number of polyps connected by a fleshy tissue.” Meanwhile, hard, or “stony,” corals consist of a solid, limestone skeleton. Hard and soft coral can also be easily distinguished by the number of tentacles a coral has. Soft corals have eight tentacles on each polyp, while hard corals have multiples of six tentacles per polyp (ReefED, “Hard Corals”). Hard corals are also able to come together to form the basis of coral reefs, while soft corals cannot build reefs (ReefED, “Soft Corals).
"The Rastafarians emerge as a loosely organized inspirational group (or groups?) of men and women concerned at the plight of black people, especially the plight of those whose ancestors were forcibly removed from Africa to become the slaves of the white man on his plantations in the islands of the Caribbean"(Cashmore, 1). The English takeover of Jamaica in 1660 started the terrible beginning of the African Diaspora. Millions of Africans were stolen off of their continent and were shipped over to the Caribbean where they were fashioned to do slave labor so the Europeans could make money. Over 80 million Africans died in the process of departing to the islands. The slaves were denied any form of religion and were treated like animals. They were also denied food and were made to grow their own food so they could feed themselves. Many years went by till the slaves started to rebel. The 'Maroons' were a group of runaway slaves who started a powerful group of guerrilla warriors who lived in the most dangerous woods in Jamaica. But the Maroons gave in and signed a peace treaty in 1738 and were paid to catch the runaway slaves and became supporters of slavery.
As the Hispanic Caribbean has evolved it has managed to grow and thrive beyond belief, whether one is discussing art, music or just the culture alone the Hispanic Caribbean is truly reaping the benefits of allowing themselves to be influenced by many other cultures. While the Hispanic Caribbean is thriving they are still facing the many new found struggles that come along with the territory of becoming more affluent as well as more accepting to other cultures and their beliefs. Often with the growth of large proportions comes many problems, problems also can come about when incorporating of different cultures as a whole as well as just bringing in their beliefs and mannerisms. None the less it can be argued that the struggles being faced in
Many listeners of reggae music classify it as island music. However, reggae music means a lot to the Jamaican community back home and abroad. Reggae music in particular has influenced the Jamaican expat community in the United States. Non-Jamaicans hear the tunes of Bob Marley and quickly relate the Jamaicans to people who say “No problem Mon” but as outsiders, we truly don’t understand the lyrics. The purpose of this paper is to examine how reggae music has affected the understanding of expat Jamaicans. Jamaicans that have migrated to the United States are sometimes categorized by non-Jamaicans as people who are Barbarians that practice hatred towards homosexuals. Because of hearing lyrics produced by certain dancehall artists such as Vybez Kartel and Buju Banton. However expat Jamaicans believe reggae music has glorified the Jamaican expat community through unification of culture, people, and language.
There are strict regulations required to raise certified organic meat. The USDA defines “natural” meat as: “All meats raised for human consumption without additives and minimally processed” (Topline Foods, 2014). According to USDA regulations, any meat can be labeled “natural” if it contains no artificial flavoring, coloring, preservative or any other artificial ingredients. This means that producers raising natural meats may choose to eliminate the use of steroids, growth hormones and antibiotics from their animals. They may also be producing their animals in conventional feedlot situations full of steroids, hormones, antibiotics and GMO feeds. It’s all about the processing (USDA Organic,