Culture of the Caribbean
As a collection of settler nations, the contemporary Caribbean has been shaped by waves of migration that have combined to form a unique blend of customs, cuisine, and traditions that have marked the socio-cultural development of the area.
[citation needed] Although not without conflict, the Caribbean's early interactions between incoming settlers and the indigenous populations were relatively short-lived, compared to the experience of native peoples in (say) the United States or Brazil.
Combined with relatively late economic development in many regions, this difficult history has disallowed Caribbean native peoples from having any strong influence on emergent national cultures, even destroying their remaining identity.
While French Caribbean culture is the most obvious example, Spanish influences have allowed the survival of non-English dialects.
[4][5][6][7][8] The East Indians brought to Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica, and other parts of the Caribbean indentured laborers to work on the sugarcane, rice, and cocoa estates brought with them the many languages of India and developed a lingua franca: Caribbean Hindustani.
For example, The Cayman Islands now uses National Symbols that include their indigenous Parrot, Silver Thatch, Palm and the Wild Banana Orchid.
The Washington Organizations of American States (inaugurated in 1976) houses one of the oldest 20th-century art collections representing the Caribbean.
For example, one exhibit showcased works included two important pieces by women artists of the Caribbean: El vendedor de andullo (Tobacco Vendor), 1938, by modernist Celeste Woss y Gil of the Dominican Republic, and an oil painting entitled Marpacífico (Hibiscus-Marpacífico is the name used in Cuba for the hibiscus flower), 1943, by Cuban modernist Amelia Peláez.
Mark McWatt won Best First Book Award (2006) and Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Suspended Sentences: Fictions of Atonement.
Traditionally, most Caribbean islands celebrate carnival on Ash Wednesday or the days leading up to Lent.
Since Italian explorer Columbus arrived and established the permanent colonies, the islands have produced their own composers, musicians and ensembles.
The Caribbean has also produced many notable composers, who have contributed in a variety of ways to the history of Western classical music.
Filmmakers from the Caribbean began to challenge Hollywood by making innovative and relevant documentary, dramas and feature films.
Also, the distinct French-Caribbean and Spanish-Caribbean society permits the work of directors to contribute very different film-forms.
French- and Spanish-language television, is buffered from excessive American influence by the fact of language, and likewise supports a host of home-grown productions.
The success of French and Spanish-language domestic television and movies in Caribbean often exceeds that of its English-language counterpart.
These houses are often constructed with steeply pitched roofs and deep overhangs to guard against the region's notoriously heavy rains and strong winds.
[22] Large, open verandas are also a frequent trait of Caribbean homes, taking advantage of cooling breezes in a region with a lot of heat and humidity.
While these traditions are distinct and at times very different, there are common themes that relate to Caribbeans' shared history and geopolitical situation in North America and the world.
Satire is arguably the primary characteristic of Caribbean humor, evident in each of these threads, and uniting various genres and regional cultural differences.
Even the most solemn song, like 'Las Kean Fine' ('Lost and Can Not Be Found'), which tells of a boiler explosion on a sugar plantation that killed several of the workers, their natural wit and humor shine though.
However, the most popular sport in Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Aruba and Curaçao is baseball.
In the Pan American Games, Cuba has won 12 editions and Dominican Republic once, whereas Puerto Rico earned the silver medal twice.
At the Central American and Caribbean Games, Cuba ranks first, Puerto Rico fifth, Dominican Republic sixth, Jamaica seventh and Trinidad and Tobago 11th.
Other notable Caribbean competitors at the Winter Games are Erroll Fraser, Dow Travers, George Tucker and Anne Abernathy.
Popular dishes in the Caribbean reflect the cultures that have influenced the region - Indigenous, African, European, Indian and Chinese.
