Haiti

Juliette Gréco, Icône de la chanson française, est morte

admin — Thu, 24 Sep 2020 05:20:01 +0000

Juliette Gréco, Icône de la chanson française, est morte admin Thu, 09/24/2020 - 05:20

Wednesday, September 23, 2020

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Culture – Rezo Nòdwès

Original Article

Juliette Gréco, Icône de la chanson française, est morte

par Amélie BOTTOLLIER-DEPOIS

Mercredi 23 septembre 2020 ((rezonodwes.com))– Icône de la chanson française, Juliette Gréco est morte mercredi à l’âge de 93 ans après plus de 60 années d’une carrière où elle a interprété les plus grands, de Vian à Prévert, en passant par Aznavour et Gainsbourg.

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« Juliette Gréco s’est éteinte ce mercredi 23 septembre 2020 entourée des siens dans sa tant aimée maison de Ramatuelle. Sa vie fut hors du commun », a déclaré la famille dans un texte transmis à l’AFP.

« Elle faisait encore rayonner la chanson française à 89 ans », a-t-elle ajouté. Jusqu’à l’AVC (accident vasculaire cérébral) qui l’avait frappée en 2016, année où elle également perdu sa fille unique Laurence-Marie.

Encore tout récemment, celle qui a également triomphé à la télévision dans la série « Belphégor » en 1965, proclamait son amour inconditionnel de la chanson.

« Cela me manque terriblement. Ma raison de vivre, c’est chanter ! Chanter, c’est la totale, il y a le corps, l’instinct, la tête », déclarait-elle ainsi dans un entretien publié en juillet dans l’hebdomadaire Télérama.

« C’est une très grande dame qui s’en va », a réagi auprès de l’AFP Alexandre Baud, producteur de sa dernière tournée.

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Née le 7 février 1927 à Montpellier, elle commence sa carrière dans l’après-guerre, dans un Paris libéré où la toute jeune femme séduit alors, par sa beauté et son esprit, les intellectuels et artistes de Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

« Saint-Germain a perdu sa muse. Saint-Germain a existé par Juliette. Saint-Germain est deuil et la pleure. Je suis très triste. Juliette était une interprète plus encore qu’une chanteuse. Elle disait les poètes », a déclaré Line Renaud à l’AFP.

– « Transgressive » –

Sur scène, Juliette Gréco chante d’abord Raymond Queneau ou Jean-Paul Sartre à qui elle doit ses premiers succès, » Si tu t’imagines… » et « La Rue des Blancs-Manteaux ». Dès 1954, c’est la consécration avec un premier passage à l’Olympia.

Elle élargit au fil du temps son répertoire avec Prévert, Desnos, Vian, Cosma. Ou encore Charles Aznavour qui signe « Je hais les dimanche », Léo Ferré sa « Jolie môme » ou encore Serge Gainsbourg qui lui offre « La Javanaise ».

« Elle était l’élégance et la liberté. Juliette Gréco a rejoint Brel, Ferré, Brassens, Aznavour et tous ceux qu’elle interpréta au Panthéon de la chanson française. Son visage et sa voix continueront à accompagner nos vies. La +muse de Saint-Germain-des-Prés+ est immortelle », a réagi Emmanuel Macron sur Twitter.

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Beaucoup plus récemment, celle qui a survécu aux modes chantait aussi Olivia Ruiz et Benjamin Biolay, ou encore Miossec, qui avait écrit sa toute dernière chanson, « Merci », présentée en 2015, année où elle entame sa tournée d’adieux.

« Mon coup de cœur c’est évidemment la chanson +Déshabillez-moi+ », a commenté sur RTL la ministre de la Culture Roselyne Bachelot. « Juliette Gréco fait de tout un chef d’œuvre, elle a fait de sa vie un chef d’œuvre et cette chanson transgressive, c’est le symbole de cette casseuse de code, de cette casseuse d’image », a-t-elle ajouté.

Un « Déshabillez-moi » qu’elle chantait encore en fêtant sur scène à Paris, début 2016, ses 89 ans: « Je ne devrais pas le chanter, je sais, je sais mais je vais le faire », disait-elle alors, espiègle, au Théâtre de la Ville, où elle avait créé cette chanson en 1968.

« Juliette était une très grande dame de la chanson française, iconique du Paris de Saint-Germain-des-Près. C’est une merveilleuse et fabuleuse interprète qui nous quitte », a déclaré à l’AFP la chanteuse Mireille Mathieu.

Divorcée du comédien Philippe Lemaire, père de sa fille unique, puis de l’acteur Michel Piccoli, Juliette Gréco avait épousé en 1988 son pianiste et arrangeur Gérard Jouannest, décédé en 2018.

« Juliette, mon cœur est lourd mais il s’allège en pensant à celui de Gérard qui frétille de te retrouver », a commenté la chanteuse Olivia Ruiz sur Instagram avant d’ajouter, « Merci mademoiselle. Pour tout ».

Haiti

Caribbean

Culture

Comissiong cops Presidents’ Award St Martin Book Fair

admin — Mon, 20 Jun 2022 14:50:01 +0000

Comissiong cops Presidents’ Award St Martin Book Fair

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admin Mon, 06/20/2022 - 14:50

Friday, June 17, 2022

Original Publisher

Barbados Today

Original Article

Comissiong cops Presidents’ Award St Martin Book Fair

MARIGOT, St. Martin — His Excellency David Comissiong, Barbados’ Ambassador to CARICOM, recently received The Presidents’ Award from the St. Martin Book Fair. The annual Award is the final highlight of the three-day St. Martin Literary Festival, said book fair coordinator Shujah Reiph.

“The Presidents’ Award is presented to individuals and institutions whose work is noted for its excellence and for combining literary, cultural, and liberation components in the service of progress, of their people or nation, and of humanity,” said Lasana M. Sekou, House of Nehesi Publishers’ consultant to the festival.

“This is an unexpected gift,” said Comissiong while accepting the ebony statute award before the 120 plus guests that filled the literary big tent.

The festival’s main book launch and closing ceremony — dedicated to noted Bajan novelist and political thinker George Lamming (8 June 1927 – 4 June 2022) — was held at the Port of Galis Bay, overlooking Marigot Harbour with the night lights of Anguilla in view across the channel.

The theme of book fair 2022, “The Rebirth” had already been elaborated on by Comissiong in his keynote address at the opening ceremony of the festival in the garden of the Government administration building in Philipsburg.

Over the three book fest days, some 38 guest authors from Canada to Australia, the St. Martin public, and visitors to the island at book fair activities, had come to know David Comissiong as Barbados’ Ambassador to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and to the Association of Caribbean States.

“Few knew that he was a former senator in the government of Barbados and that he was born in St. Vincent,” said Reiph. Comissiong is also a founder-member of the Caribbean Pan-African Network; the Clement Payne Movement of Barbados; the Caribbean Chapter of the International Network in Defence of Humanity; and the Global Afrikan Congress.

Comissiong was an architect and the first director of the Barbados Government’s Commission for Pan-African Affairs. He also represented the Caribbean region at the 7th Pan-African Congress in Uganda (1994).

Comissiong played a key role in the United Nations’ World Conference Against Racism in South Africa (2001) and has represented the Diaspora on the African Union’s Economic Social and Cultural Council.

Since 2012, the alumnus of The University of the West Indies (UWI) has served as a member of Barbados’ National Task Force on Reparations.

An attorney-at-Law since 1984, Comissiong is the author of The Wide Streets of Tomorrow: Essays and Speeches, It’s the Healing of the Nation: The Case for Reparations, The Pan-African Love Story of Arnold and Mignon Ford; and The Year 1953 and The Shaping of the Soul of Guyana (pamphlet, 2022).

Among past recipients of the St. Martin Book Fair Presidents Award are Edwidge Danticat (USA/Haiti), Computech (St. Martin), Benny Wenda (West Papua), Norman Girvan (Jamaica), Casa de las Americas (Cuba), George Lamming (Barbados), Quince Duncan (Costa Rica), Nicole Cage (Martinique), Kamau Brathwaite (Barbados), Will Johnson (Saba), Drisana Deborah Jack (St. Martin), and Derek Walcott (St. Lucia).

The Presidents’ Award is named after the presidents of Conscious Lyrics Foundation (CLF), House of Nehesi Publishers (HNP), and the University of St. Martin (USM), said Reiph. (PR)

Caribbean

News

Dominican Republic seeks help for Haiti, again

admin — Mon, 20 Jun 2022 13:50:01 +0000

Dominican Republic seeks help for Haiti, again

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admin Mon, 06/20/2022 - 13:50

Thursday, June 2, 2022

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Poverty – Dominican Today

Original Article

Dominican Republic seeks help for Haiti, again

Santo Domingo.- The United States assured Wednesday that it plans to discuss the Haitian crisis with the leaders of the region at the next Summit of the Americas, among the issues are access to health and migration.

When asked about the issues they want to address about the multiple crises Haiti is facing, Brian A. Nichols, Under Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, said they are focused on addressing various elements that can benefit the Haitian people.

“Access to health is one, changes in the way we approach some economic issues, obviously migration, which is an area where we have to do more to support and engage Haiti, there are many interesting things in that area.”

Years of pleading

For years Dominican Republic has pleaded for help for its impoverished neighbor in Hispaniola.

Caribbean

Living Standard

Less talk more action, Dominican leader on Haiti

admin — Mon, 20 Jun 2022 13:50:01 +0000

Less talk more action, Dominican leader on Haiti

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admin Mon, 06/20/2022 - 13:50

Wednesday, June 8, 2022

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Poverty – Dominican Today

Original Article

Less talk more action, Dominican leader on Haiti

Santo Domingo.- President Luis Abinader asked the international community this Wednesday to stop so many speeches and come to the aid of Haiti.

Speaking to journalists upon his arrival this Wednesday in the city of Los Angeles, United States, to participate in the ninth Summit of the Americas, the Dominican president emphasized that the international community has already held too many workshops in relation to Haiti.

“We are going to touch on the migration issue basically that the international community has to pay attention to Haiti. Since they stop so much talk, stop so many opinions, they have already done too many workshops, they have to act in relation to Haiti”, he said.

Abinader maintained that the Dominican Republic “has already done too much, it has already done a lot for Haiti.”

“Now the international community has to go to pacify that country and we are going to speak and insist on that,” said the president

Caribbean

Living Standard

Binational market develops normally despite threats of civil war in Haiti

admin — Sun, 19 Jun 2022 22:50:01 +0000

Binational market develops normally despite threats of civil war in Haiti

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admin Sun, 06/19/2022 - 22:50

Friday, June 17, 2022

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Local – Dominican Today

Original Article

Binational market develops normally despite threats of civil war in Haiti

Pedernales. – The binational market was very active on this border, despite the threat of the gang leader Fanton Susan Nef (509) to provoke a civil war in Haiti due to the military persecution against him.

Commercial activity is dynamic with the flow of Haitians who pass to this site in search of food for humans and animals and the purchase of rebar, cement, sand, and other construction materials.

Likewise, thousands of Haitians are seen circulating in this area’s streets, doing motoconcho, venduteras, construction, and other activities.

Meanwhile, the immigration and military authorities of the Dominican Republic activated actions against undocumented immigrants and increased their presence in the border division.

Caribbean

News

Linguistics and Economics in the Caribbean:

admin — Sun, 19 Jun 2022 19:30:01 +0000

Linguistics and Economics in the Caribbean:

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admin Sun, 06/19/2022 - 19:30

Friday, June 17, 2022

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Searchlight

Original Article

Linguistics and Economics in the Caribbean:

by: Ianá Ferguson

Due to our shared histories, we all, Caribbean nationals, are familiar with Creole languages. Yet due to variances in our respective geographies and colonial histories, each Caribbean community speaks a different Creole language—from Kreyòl in Haiti, to Vincentian Creole in St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Kwéyòl in St Lucia and Dominica to Creolese in Guyana. Creole and European languages are in constant, if uneasy, tandem in the Caribbean. While the “importance” of standardized international languages is accepted, this does not explain why Creole languages have been devalued. Hence, we need to analyze the socio-economic power-play among the languages that co-exist in our communities.

Let’s first consider how we present ourselves to others. As Peter Roberts says in his book From Oral to Literate Culture: Colonial Experience in the English West Indies, “West Indians [in English-speaking countries] tried to modify their speech in the direction of the host country in order to be more easily understood…” hence giving others control of our self-perception. Despite the fact that Creole languages are natively spoken by most in the Caribbean, formal education tests our ability to master European languages. The usefulness of multilingualism in today’s global economies is not lost to Caribbean nationals. However, the pressing question is: How do socio-economic factors affect language use in the Caribbean?

The perception of Creole languages is often related to the socio-economic profile of the speaker. For example, sociolinguistic surveys in Haiti have shown that participants of higher socio-economic status have more positive attitudes towards French (the prestige language) than those of lower socio-economic status. In these surveys, participants with lower literacy levels have more negative attitudes towards French than highly literate individuals. In the “(Post-)Creole continuum” construct by creolists like David De Camp, “acrolect”, “mesolect” and “basilect” are Creole varieties that are relatively close to or remote from the European “superstrate” language. In some countries, people who are viewed or who view themselves as upper-class tend to speak a variety (an “acrolect”) that is closer to that of the colonizing nation, while those of a lower socio-economic status tend to speak a “basilect”. Evidently, the languages that we speak or do not speak have been enlisted as tools for social stratification and political control.

It is one all-encompassing hierarchy of power that continually self-replicates— often through education. In earlier times, exposure to European languages were mostly afforded to descendants of European plantation owners, their indentured servants and others in their social circles. These people would have benefited from higher standards of living and by extension better educational prospects. This reality filtered through future generations, along with a system whereby wealth feeds into the production of knowledge, and knowledge feeds into power and vice-versa. This means that persons with higher socio-economic standing could afford “education” that is perceived to be of higher quality. This would have led to business ownership, capital investments and other advantages that would have deemed them successful, hence, prolonging the fallacy (convenient, for some) that speaking a “prestigious” language is a guarantee of intelligence and success.

Based on these observations, one can say that, socio-economically, the Caribbean tends to mirror the slavery period (1600s-1800s). That is to say, Caribbean societies are still mimicking a somewhat subconscious state of mental slavery. (Although some Caribbean nationals disagree, proclaiming their hard-won freedom to speak the language they are comfortable with, this begs the question what makes them feel comfortable in said language.) With globalization favouring international languages such as English, French, Spanish, Portuguese etc., linguistic bias is not localized to the Caribbean only, but this bias exists throughout the world.

We must, then, ask: Are Creole languages overpowered by European languages because of historical wrongs or present-day prejudices… or both?

There are many motivational quotes like “Your past, no matter how bad it was, does not define your future.” Though endearing, those sayings are usually enlisted for self-deception in order to superimpose, in our minds, kinder and more likeable versions of ourselves— “kinder” and “likeable” by societal standards. Much of the power given to European languages is a result of us, Caribbean nationals accepting what has always been, due to colonial power devaluing our minoritized languages and identities. While we may think that a European language represents the upper end of some hierarchy of prestige, one should realise that the person who accepts Creole and even switches between both languages is the most “successful” person. Not only are they able to view the world from multiple viewpoints but they have accepted who they are and where they are from. They are fighting age-old biases, which is no small task, given the pernicious global standards of “excellence” that favour the interests of the few (the rich and powerful) to the detriment of the majority.

Ianá Ferguson is a rising junior at MIT with an intended major in the physical sciences. This paper is a subset of a project which explored the theme “Creole languages and Caribbean identities” in fulfilment of a Communication course taught by Professor Michel DeGraff of MIT’s Linguistics and Philosophy department and a co-director of the MIT-Haiti Initiative.

Caribbean

News

Charter business thrives as US-expelled Haitians flee Haiti

admin — Sun, 19 Jun 2022 17:10:01 +0000

Charter business thrives as US-expelled Haitians flee Haiti

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admin Sun, 06/19/2022 - 17:10

Wednesday, June 15, 2022

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Business

Original Article

Charter business thrives as US-expelled Haitians flee Haiti

With jokes, upbeat Caribbean music and vacation scenes of sun-kissed beaches and palm trees, Haitian influencers on YouTube and TikTok advertise charter flights to South America. But they are not targeting tourists. Instead, they are touts for a...

Caribbean

Business

Hostages freed

admin — Sun, 19 Jun 2022 03:50:01 +0000

Hostages freed admin Sun, 06/19/2022 - 03:50

Sunday, June 12, 2022

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Headline News – cananewsonline.com

Original Article

Hostages freed

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, Jun. 12, CMC - The 38 peopl...

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Is this the Caricom we want at 50?

admin — Sat, 18 Jun 2022 23:20:01 +0000

Is this the Caricom we want at 50?

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admin Sat, 06/18/2022 - 23:20

Sunday, June 5, 2022

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Politics | NOW Grenada

Original Article

Is this the Caricom we want at 50?

by Dr Kai-Ann D Skeete

49 years ago, regional prime ministers agreed to the establishment of the Caribbean Community (Caricom).

Since then, the region has had numerous successes and advancements in deepening regional integration. As the region counts down to Caricom’s 50th Anniversary, the author is pondering: What is in store for Caricom at 50? Will there be an acceleration of integration? Or, will there be a meaningful pause on our progress? This current generation of leadership inherited several trade barriers as a result of outdated legislation prohibiting intra-regional trading within the region. We need to prioritise trading within the region and remove the outdated barriers to regional trade so that goods may move freely.

We continue to speak about achieving food security but the only way this can be achieved is by comprehensively determining the external and internal factors affecting our countries’ food system. Within Caricom, the regional Presidents and Prime Ministers comprise the main decision-makers, however, they are guided by several technical organs. There is a need to move beyond the ministerial meetings and convene business to business meetings, distributor sessions, trade missions and establish regional consumer watchdogs. The region has been missing a dedicated voice of the people, for the people, by the people who will argue that we do want cheaper chicken in our supermarkets from Guyana or Trinidad. The regional consumer watchdog should be the entity to argue that we want access to the cheapest high nutrient fruits and vegetables across the region, even if it means we can get Belizean oranges that usually sell 10 for US 50¢ or Trinidadian locally grown pineapples that dwarf any imported ones. We need an entity that is truly interested in working around trade barriers to ensure that a basket of goods for a 4–person household in any single Caricom member state should not exceed a week of minimum pay.

The private sector would argue that trading within the region has its unique challenges due to logistics and its desire to trade in large volumes via containers. I would argue that regional businesses should first establish demand within the CSME Member States and settle on at least 2–3 pallets per destination rather than a container load. Rather than imports from the Canadian manufacturer, Lassonde Industries, the owner of the popular Adam and Eve Fruit Juices, our supermarkets should stock the entire TruJuice line owned by TradeWinds Citrus Limited from Jamaica. Larger private sector entities should consider establishing intra-regional distribution points as a means of sharing the contents of a bi-monthly container which should then be distributed across the Caribbean.

The future must include the reduction of regional asymmetries. I remain concerned that the majority of the Caribbean population does not have access to affordable and modern medical science or health care. I’m concerned that in Haiti, the Covid-19 pandemic will live on past the 2022 regional timeline because of the lack of data being collated as to the number of Covid-19 patients and survivors. I’m concerned that in Jamaica the ordinary man’s access to vaccines will be determined by a capitalist way of thinking rather than a welfarist position and I’m concerned that in St Vincent and the Grenadines, the right of a mother to safely deliver a baby in the public system is woefully inadequate and does not meet a basic regional standard. Could it be that we’ve dropped the ball and refused to impose standards or even regulations? Could it be that we’ve stopped being our neighbour’s keeper and prefer to operate as islands alone in the big Atlantic Ocean? Could it be that we’ve stopped prioritising our Caricom Community?

There must come a time when we choose to look within the region first, research and determine what services and goods can be provided within the region. Formal policymakers may not consider this, but it is hoped that this message reaches them that the Caribbean region can provide for our needs and wants. Let us not venture out extra-regionally to Third States but consider what can be found intra-regionally. A perfect example of this, the enterprising Barbadian fishermen are now forced to venture 178 km to Kingstown, St Vincent and the Grenadines to refuel their fishing boats with cheaper diesel than in Barbados.

We need immediate bridges, whether air or via sea or physical bridges connecting the landmasses of the Caricom region. We need immediate 24-hour connectivity for our goods, people and services to move. With this connectivity, we need a single domestic space to reduce pressure on the ports of entry to ensure that they can truly function and focus on our regional development. Let us create spaces for those amongst us who work directly with cargo; we need to train stevedores and truckers who can facilitate this hourly movement across and within our borders. We need businesses and service providers specialising in sustainable transport and the blue economy.

As the Summer of 2022 approaches and the Caribbean Community plans to launch the 50th Anniversary Celebrations, the region is at the proverbial fork in the road. To the left, we continue doing business as usual and failing to implement and advance the regional initiatives. To the right of the fork, we build on our initiatives and chip away the national sovereignty and forever build the regional pool of sovereignty. Choosing the unbeaten path will be difficult but it will be worth it due to our countless gains in the areas of functional cooperation and collective security.

Caribbean

The Martinican bèlè dance – a celebration of land, spirit and liberation

admin — Sat, 18 Jun 2022 22:40:01 +0000

The Martinican bèlè dance – a celebration of land, spirit and liberation

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admin Sat, 06/18/2022 - 22:40

Friday, May 20, 2022

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African diaspora – The Conversation

Original Article

The Martinican bèlè dance – a celebration of land, spirit and liberation

On May 22 each year, when the eastern Caribbean island of Martinique observes Emancipation Day, drums beat from sunrise until the break of dawn the next day.

Participants at open-air, starlit gatherings dance, sing, play drums and feast for ancestors who fought to break the chains of bondage. The uprising that eventually led to the abolition of slavery on the island in 1848 was sparked by the arrest of Romain, an enslaved man who refused to comply with his master’s ban on beating drums.

Today, drums are still a symbol of rebellion and freedom. The traditional dances that span the island each May 22, at performances called “swaré bèlè,” are filled with an electrifying aura of reverence and honor.

But the bèlè is not only a genre of ancestral Afro-Caribbean drum-dance practices. Rather, it is “an mannyè viv:” a lifestyle and worldview through which many people find healing and empowerment for themselves and their communities.

My first encounter with bèlè occurred when I was a graduate student in anthropology, conducting fieldwork in Martinique. As a former dancer, I was drawn to how bèlè drummers, dancers and singers experience spiritual and cultural freedom. Performers tell me their participation feels transformative, sacred and otherworldly.

Bèlè linò

Martinique is an overseas region of France in the Lesser Antilles islands. Most of the 400,000 people living there are descended from Africans brought to the islands by the slave trade, whose traditions have left a deep imprint on Martinican culture.

Centuries of history have given bèlè a complex set of symbols, only understood by those deeply immersed in the practice.

Swaré bèlè gatherings typically begin with a few matches of “ladja/danmyé,” a martial art tradition between two combatants in the center of a circle, which warms up the energy of the space as guests are arriving.

The remainder of the event involves an improvised rotation of performers playing and dancing sets from the “bèlè linò” repertoire. These square dances use the quadrille configuration, with four pairs of female and male dancers. After the opening sequences, each pair takes turns dancing in a playful exchange in the center of the circle, then dances toward the drummers to salute them.

Bèlè traditions use the “tanbou,” a goat-skinned conical drum. There is also the “tibwa”: two wooden sticks beaten on the side of the drum with a steady tempo.

The ensemble of dancers, drummers and singers is normally encircled by a crowd of spectators who clap their hands, sway their bodies and join in the song’s refrain.

All dancers master the base repertoire. Yet the order and style of interactions between partners is improvised – making it remarkable that the drummers can match their rhythm to the dancers’ intricate footwork.

In the playful, flirtatious and at times competitive game of certain bèlè styles, the woman is the object of her male partner’s pursuit, and she ultimately decides if she will welcome his affections. This aspect of bèlè performance, whereby women are admired and praised for their sensual dance prowess, brings female performers a sense of affirmation.

Repressed, then embraced

Martinique has been under French control since 1635. Even during the post-colonial era, many Black Martinican folk traditions faced repression, as leaders imposed mainland French culture on the population. For example, bèlè practices were often denigrated as “bagay vyé nèg,” “bagay djab” and “bagay ki ja pasé”: primitive, indecent and outdated, in the Martinican Creole language. To many in the church, traditional drumming and dance symbolized heathenism. In a country where the vast majority of people belong to the church, it was difficult for devout Catholics to support bèlè.

Many practitioners see bèlè as a dance of the earth that reinforces human connections with the land, divine spirits and ideals of freedom. Touted as a fertility ritual for both humans and the land, the dance reflects sensuality between partners. Other symbolism suggests sacred connections with the soil, vegetation and water on which Martinicans’ enslaved ancestors labored and survived. Many dance movements represent agricultural labor.

During the 1980s, student activists and youth groups led initiatives to revive traditions that had nearly dissolved as a result of French pressure to assimilate. Today an ever-growing community has embraced bèlè as they challenge the legacy of colonialism and racism in Martinique.

Bèlè performance is increasingly visible in the Catholic Church. “Bèlè légliz” or “church bèlè” fuses the liturgy with references to Martinicans’ African and diasporic heritage.

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