Today I watched my first movie on my PC without it buffering after switching over to VI Broadband. I am elated and feeling ready to take on some challenges and to blog more. Below are some examples of the wonderful music and dances indigenous to St. Croix that I have discovered. Enjoy!Qiyamah
Bamboula Dancing
Quelbe Music
"Jamaica defines itself with Reggae. Bachata fires the Santo-Domingan's soul, and Calypso is synonymous with Trinidad & Tobago. World, take notice of this musical expression: Quelbe of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Quelbe is a synthesis of Africa and Europe in the Virgin Islands expressed through music and shaped by the social conditions in the 18th and 19th centuries. "Enslaved Black people were denied their own music and dance so they adopted the styles of their masters and added their own elements. This fushion led to the creation of a sound known today as Quelbe. Quelbe, pronounced 'kwail-bay,' comes from bamboula rhythms and chants, cariso songs and melodies, mixed with old European military fife and drum bands. Quelbe instruments were homemade flutes, bass drums and European made snare drums, somtimes with percussion. Eventually guitars, triangles, tambourines, and a squash - a dried gourd with serrated sides that is scraped with a wire pong, were added. Dancers, adapted the structure of European quadrilles and Quelbe was born. "Today, more instruments have been added, like the 'pipe,' a cylindrical metal tube, sometimes the exhaust pipe from a car, that is bent at both ends and blown. A small banjo and European-made pomp-flute can be part of the ensemble. The alto saxophone was introduced in the late sixties and has practically replaced the flute as lead instrument. In the seventies, the electric bass guitar added a modern and sophiticated sound, and drums made a re-entry as modern conga drums. "In 2003, the 25th Legislature of the Virgin Islands passed Bill No. 25-0056 to designate Quelbe as the official music of the Virgin Islands. It was signed into law by Governor Charles W. Turnbull at an elaborate ceremony at Government House on St. Croix. The law requires that Quelbe be taught in the public schools. (Adapted from a story by Dimiti Copemann and Senator Shawn Michael Malone that appeared in Destination/USVI 2005)." - See more at: http://activerain.com/blogsview/1726205/gotta-love-the-quelbe-music-of-st-croix#sthash.MPB8W79U.dpuf
Excerpted from: Gotta Love the Quelbe Music of St Croix By Kim Lucas
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