Haitian Migration and Danced Identity in Eastern Cuba
Haitian Migration and Danced Identity in Eastern Cuba
Grete Viddal investigates dance traditions brought to eastern Cuba by two waves of migration from what is today Haiti, the first from those fleeing French Saint Domingue during the Haitian Revolution and the second, much larger, in the early 20th century when Haitian laborers arrived to cut sugarcane. Descendents of enslaved people and free people of color of the early arrivals have maintained the tumba francesa, which combines African-derived drum rhythms, patterns from French contredanse, and African-style solo improvisation. Viddal also discusses tajona, a processional tradition associated with 19th century coffee plantations. From the later migrants, she focuses on gagá (rara in Haiti), a carnivalesque parade, and on choreographies derived from Vodú practice. She illuminates how Haitian Cubans have increasingly highlighted the value of their heritage through folkloric performance.
Keywords: Grete Viddal, Haitian Cubans, eastern Cuba, tumba francesa, contredanse, gagá, rara in Haiti, tajona, Vodú, folkloric performance
Florida Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us .
