Who We Are

Baila Negrita!: Afro-Colombian Music and My Roots

Colombia has the third largest population of African-descendant population after Brazil and the U.S., most originating from West Africa due to the slave trade in the 1600s. There are many styles of Afro-Colombian music as there are many regions that are densely populated with Afro-Colombians, each with unique experiences that translate into the music they produce. Afro-Colombian music is also influenced by indigenous Colombian music which gives Afro-Colombian music its unique style. There are so many variations of Afro-Colombian music that I can’t even list them all! Afro-Colombian music is very popular in Colombia and some of the most popular (and my favorite) are cumbia, vallenato, gaita, and porro. Champeta is another popular style and is the most similar to Afro-beats. One of the newest variations is salsa choke or, rass-tas-tas, which is modern Afro-Colombian music mixed into Colombian salsa.

The instrumentation that is generally used with few exceptions is the hand drums, bass drum, maracas, and shakers which play in an interlocking rhythm. Wind instruments include indigenous flutes like the gaita, then European instruments like the accordion, oboe, and in some cases the trumpet. African-isms that exist in many of the songs are call and response and group participation because of the nature of these songs, which are almost always accompanied with dance. The instruments are also played to mimic natural sounds, such as the animal sounds of the coast or the amazon. The gaita, in particular is made to sound like a female or male bird. Audiences and musicians always participate by hooting, wailing, clapping their hands with the rhythm, and yelling “huepaje!” which is a shout for joy or relation to the music. 

Most songs are about women, love, hardship, or having a good time with many Colombian innuendos that are specific to the regions. Traditional Cumbia is a slower paced music accompanied by the accordion and dancers illustrate a story of courtship. More African influenced music like mapale are faster-paced with erotic and sporadic dance movements, it is also about courtship. Cumbia and bullerengue are usually danced with women in a circle with long skirts that they hold to court and glide around. The music is also used as a catharsis as some songs are about loss, missing family members, work, or even the era of slavery.

Growing up and listening to Saturday morning cumbia has made me attached to this music and very attached to my roots as a Colombian. I hope you enjoy the links I have listed, huepaje!

Mapale: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkdpOvOnoP4

Gaita: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5A4Dx8jaYU

Salsa choke:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZVXQPiPwlw 

Source: http://www.lameca.org/dossiers/afro_colombian_music/eng/p1.htm 

                                                                                                  -Leslie Hoyos

 Liberian Roots

My mother’s side of the family originates from Liberia and Switzerland and my father’s side is from Jamaica and Alabama (US). Kind of an interesting mix if you ask me, but I love it! It wasn’t always that way unfortunately. As a child I didn’t like to identify my West African heritage because my peers in school would always make fun of other students if they weren’t from America. Years later after classes I took and places I traveled, I learned to appreciate who I am and where I come from.

I’ve never traveled to Switzerland or Jamaica, but I’ve been to Liberia twice so far. My first time was in 2006 and I went back again in 2012. In 2006 there was still a lot of damage from the 14 year long civil war and we couldn’t do much but stay in the house and take care of family business since we traveled during the rainy season. My trip in 2012 was completely different since I was older and accompanied by cousins and other Liberians who all came home for winter vacation. There was something to do every single day and night! I was able to go the clubs which were some of the nicest I’ve ever seen, go to the beach, visit family, eat great food, meet the President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for the second time, and really see the country where I am from and which holds so much history. 

Where our house is. It's actually the same house my mom and her sisters grew up in just remodeled

My cousins and I at the beach

Me and the kiddies in Kaka Town

One thing that I particularly took away from my time in Liberia was the music. I had never heard so much reggae and Afrobeats before. After writing down all of the names of songs and artists, I came back to America to download them all and ever since it’s been one of my favorite genres of music. Here’s a sample of my playlist from Liberia in 2012! 

 

 

                                                                                              -Paige Lispcome

My Haitian Roots - Kite Kompa Mache

Before I get into any discussion of Afrobeats, I just wanted to let you know why I want to talk to you about Afrobeats.

I come from a strong Haitian background. Both of my parents were born and raised in Haiti. I was born here, making me a first generation American, but being in America didn't stop the Haitian culture from shining throughout my household. Unfortunately, I do not speak the language, my parents never taught it to me, but my parents made sure I knew the history of their country. When I was younger, they always got me history books from the library to read and made me relay the facts that I learned back to them. The curiosity with my family’s culture always drove me to ask my parents questions at home, but it was hard to embrace my culture at school. When I shared my culture during an elementary school cultural day, kids would say things like. “ I heard everyone from Haiti is dirt poor and practices Voodoo. I thought you all were suppose to really dark, like coal.” I quickly stopped talking about my culture, because they made me believe it was something to be ashamed of. When I was home i still loved the food, I still loved hearing my parents speak the language I knew nothing about, and most of all I loved the music. Haitian music to me meant car trips, crazy family gatherings, my father making me dance with him even though I never wanted to, and my parents dancing and laughing together. Haitian music meant happy memories, and to this day I listen to the music whenever I am upset, and it always makes me feel better. By the time I was in the 7th grade, I stopped caring about the “cultural haters” and proudly embraced being a Haitian American in public. I never let anyone downplay my culture again.

In order to fully understand my culture, I have to understand its past too. One of the primary aspects of my culture’s past is African culture. I chose to study the correlation through music. There are many genres of music within the Haitian culture. The genres include, but are not limited to Kompa (compas direct), Zouk, and Mizik Rasin (roots music). Kompa and Zouk are the genres that are globally known, and they also happen to be my favorite. Here are some examples of each genre.

Kompa

Zouk 

Mizik Rasin

In my opinion, all of the music embraces everything that makes up Haitian culture Some of the primary aspects of Haitian music include African rhythms and many of the Africanisms such as group participation and call and response. These realizations  brought me to the genre of  Afrobeats. I thought it would be cool to share, not only thet influence of Afrobeats , but the history and current music in the Afrobeats genre with everyone .I hope you enjoy =)

- Diana Perpignan