Within Brazil and the Caribbean lies a racial mixture of cultures. Since the 1930's the people have, overall, enthusiastically adopted the notion that racial and cultural mixture defines this regions national identity (Samba 1). This region consists of a very historic background which has shaped the beliefs and customs of celebration, music and dance.
Sugar cane was brought to the "new world" by Christopher Columbus on his second voyage in 1493 (Umbilical 99). The introduction of this new crop would bring about dramatic change the Caribbean. During the 1600's the Caribbean sugar industry thrived. The native people of Africa's western coast were targeted for slavery. The plantation owners needed slaves who could handle the work to keep sugar cane maintained. The African people were captured from their homes and brought to the Caribbean and America where they were sold. While in the Middle passage, from Africa to the Americas, millions died from the terrible conditions. This horrible journey could take months. When they reached the plantations the work was unbearable to withstand. This painful piece of history would add a new dimension to the rich African culture.
Music played a very important role during and after the slavery era. For example the slaves in the Virgin Islands used a form of song, Caruso, to pass messages among each other, without the slave owners or the overseer's knowledge (Umbilical 14). Because the plantation owners did not want them practicing their African beliefs, they combined Caruso w...
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... for the dead (Carnival 9). These ceremonies were called masked balls. Masks also are worn by the moko jumbies to hide their familiar faces. Moko jumbies originated as West African shamans. They are tall guardians that protect people from the evil jumbie spirits. During carnival they can be seen covered from head to toe and walking on stilts. Today the costumes are made of almost anything as long as the colors are bright and wild. Many of the costumes at carnival are enormous and need the right construction so they are light enough for the dancers to move around in.
The Caribbean and Brazil illustrate a culture with a rich emphasis of their significant past. The two share many similarities expressed in the peoples' identity.
Dance music and celebrations reflects the livelihood of this tropical region.
Brazil was and still is a country where the wealthiest live side by side to the poorest of the poor, conservative traditions exist side by side with extreme liberals, extreme beauty with grotesque ugliness, In an attempt to join these elements together the tropicalistas adopted many musical genres such as samba, frevo, Jovem Guarda, choro, bolero, Anglo-American pop and rock, and avant-garde art music, molding them all together to a single unit. The process the tropicalistas went through to create their songs has been called “cultural cannibalism” (Perrone, Dunn
What is culture? Culture is the characteristics that describe a certain group of people. Culture defines those groups of people through religion, language, food and arts among many more. Culture is made up of many long lived traditions passed on through different regions. Brazilian culture is one of the most diverse out there. Some would say it has similarities to American culture when relating it to a "melting pot". Over 75% of the country follows the Roman Catholic faith. The official language of Brazil is Portuguese due to mass Portuguese settlements in much earlier centuries. Brazilian culture has a main focus on family unity and most Brazilians have a large number of family members.
On the second leg of this trade slaves were transported to the West Indies, this leg was called the middle passage. This part was horrible for the slaves. About 50% of all the slaves on one ship would not make it to the West Indies because of disease or brutal mistreatment. Hundreds of men, women and children were cramped together for most of the journey, occasionally able to move an almost decent amount. On the third leg of the journey slaves were traded for sugar, molasses and other products.
This concept of racial democracy would significantly impact how Brazil addressed inequalities between White and Black Brazilians. On the one hand, Brazil’s effort in exhibiting a strong sense of pride among its nationals by adopting the customs and traditions of Africans, promotes this notion of racial democracy as the endorsed philosophy. As a result, all Brazilians were thought to be considered equal no one group was of better quality then...
Therefore, to endure the pains and sufferings the slaves had to use music. As illustrated above, the advent of music had far reaching results as it encouraged and gave them hope to continue working. The early music composers are the evidence of existence of early music which in turn has shaped today’s music like the blues and pop lyrics. In this case, the culture of the past has been rescued from getting lost.
This text also makes sure to add enough factual pieces to inform a reader who might have minimal knowledge about Rio and Brazil in a fluent and non-disruptive manner. This helps widen the range of the audience, from people who barely know anything about the city to the other side of the spectrum of people who are very passionate of it and would love to immerse themselves into the culture of the Brazilians.
The Caribbean, a region usually exoticized and depicted as tropical and similar in its environmental ways, cannot be characterized as homogenous. Each individual island has their own diverse historical background when it comes to how and when they became colonized, which European country had the strongest influence on them, and the unique individual cultures that were integrated into one. The three authors Sidney W. Mintz, Antonio Benitez-Rojo, and Michelle Cliff, all and address the problem of the Caribbean’s identity. They each discuss how the Caribbean’s diverse culture was created and molded by each individual island’s history, how its society was molded by the development of plantations, how the Caribbean dealt with the issue of slavery, and how miscegenation and the integration of cultures, as a result of slavery, contributed to the region’s individualism in regards to culture. Colonialism and acculturation and their impacts on the Caribbean islands were also important issues discussed by Mintz, Benitez-Rojo, and Cliff.
Brazil is the largest country in South America. The people who inhabit there are called Brazilians but are made up of different ethnic backgrounds, much like the United States. There was a large diaspora
Music played a very important role in the lives of people is diaspora communities. It served as a reminder for the immigrants of their homeland, which allowed them to proudly express their national and cultural identities. Diaspora refers to an international network of communities linked together by the identification of a common ancestral homeland and culture. People in these communities are no longer living in their homelands, with no guarantee of a return either. (Bakan, 19). Music played a large role in African diaspora communities. This was first started by the slave trades many years ago when slave traders traveled to the coast of West Africa to capture Africans and brought them back to the United States to be slaves on plantations. Slaves were more prone to loose a sense of their own culture because every new aspect of their lives was forced upon them, therefore they were undoubtedly forced to abandon their n...
Dominica’s culture is very unique as it has changed hands between European countries such as Spain, Great Britain, and France, who brought African’s as slaves to work the fields. As a result of this combination of different cultures, Dominica contains characteristics that combine to make what is called Creole. This Creole is the mixing of these cultures in language, music, art, food, architecture, religion, dance, dress, and sports. France has had the most noticeable affect on Dominica, which is seen through the majority of Dominicans practicing Roman Catholicism, the French based patois, and the French place names. The best example of this culture is seen in their Carnival, which involves an out pouring of Calypso as the islanders celebrate their heritage through dress, dance, and food.
Carnival, which everyone pronounced it as, cahneeval, which means no flesh, or no meat. It marks the last chance to celebrate before a period of restraint from meat for forty days of lent. There are many Caribbean American masquerades that participated in the parade called, “playing mas.” Playing mas means that you chosen a
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
Brazil is a beautiful country with an outstanding culture. Known for it’s vibrant colors, fun samba dancing, and their breath-taking carnivals. We often think about Brazil as a beach or a fun place to vacation, but it’s good to remember that Brazil’s culture is very diverse. Their roots are a mixture of African, Indian, and European blood. The many ethnicities and cultures are what make Brazil’s qualities so unique.
The remnants of colonialism in the Caribbean have created a history manifested in the imagery of society and culture. History in the Caribbean can be unveiled in skin tones and rumbas. The history of the Caribbean lives in architecture as well as behind church doors. Thus, in order to learn about the Caribbean, one must ‘unlearn’ or deviate from the Eurocentric rendition of history in the Caribbean. In the Caribbean, the present (culture and society) tells many truths about the past.
Caribbean culture is affected greatly by migration. The foundation of Caribbean culture was based on the forced migration of African people, indentured east-Indian workers, the migration and colonization’s of European powers like the Spanish, British, and FrenchThe history of each island is individually different but they all share the foundation of a syncretism for development each nation’s culture. Over time how individuals would migrate from country to country has change a lot, especially in the last one hundred years. . In modern times people have a tendency to move from one Caribbean country to another Caribbean country and from a Caribbean country to places in North America and Europe.