Bye-bye Gwada

On the 4th of October my Gwada-friends threw me a truly unforgettable good-bye party at Le Caméleon, Gosier. Traditionally there was karaoke (I'm falling in love with this song, "Pa fe mwen lapenn"), but also Macarena-dancing, pool (for the kids), pizza (well, service was typically à la guadeloupéenne: waiting time = 30mins or more), ti-punch, and a cake.

The party was not a surprise so I could invite anyone I wanted. Chantal (2nd from the left in the 1st photo) was La Reine of the evening; she had actually been the one to put it all together - she reserved the place, configured the logistics, and suggested we bring a cake. With her came Michel and Océane. Then there was Paul; Annick with Juju; Martine, Dennis, and Tom; Luana & Andrei with their mom; Sophie with her daughter, and Victorio.

La fête a été inoubliable. J'en ai un tres bon souvenir que je garderai pour l'année.
De même que je garderai les souvenirs de mon séjour "Gwada 2008".

Voici quelques photos de la soirée:

Kassav' & Jocelyne Béroard

Kassav', the legend of the West-Indian zouk, came into existence in the late 70s. The group has since gone through various phases, from the carnavalesque fascination to the closer links with rock and funk. They are nevertheless famous for popularizing of the culture of the Antilles, and particularly its Creole language - so present in the Kassav' songs.




















As soon as I arrived in Guadeloupe in July 2008, I hurried to buy the ticked for the concert in Baie-Mahault, celebrating 30 years of the group. The concert was an unforgettable event. Although at the time I could only sing along: "Zouk la sé sel médikamen nou ni", the Kassav' music is so vibrant that after the 3 hours I immediately became a fan.















After its 30 years of existence Kassav' is present everywhere. Its artists, whetrher they are still members of the group or not, continue performing and encouraging other musicians to work on new innovative melodies. Jocelyne Béroard, Kassav' lead female singer, has had a flourishing group and solo career. While still in Guadeloupe, I saw her perform at the concert "Women Sing Gwoka"...




















...When I took the pictures abouve and below. Later on I also met Jocelyne in... Seychelles - where she was invited as a special guest of the cinema festival. What is more, one could hear the famous Kassav' rhythms on the radio - both in the West Indies, and in the Indian Ocean!

The Legacy of Aimé Césaire

I first heard about Aimé Césaire in the Francophone Cultures course that I took at Hamilton College my freshman year. We learned about the "Négritude" and the two other founders of the movement, Léopold Senghor and Léon Gontian Damas. We read Cahier d'un retour au pays natal. We watched a movie about Césaire's life. It was then that I heard the famous phrase for the very first time: "Il est beau et bon et légitime d'être Nègre."
As a senior at Hamilton I chose to examine Tropiques, a cultural revolutionary review published by Césaire, his wife Suzanne, and other intellectuals under the Vichy regime in Martinique. Tropiques were a collection of short texts, poems, and letters that portrayed the particularities of the West Indies, but at a closer look - criticized the regime. The authors used surrealist writings as a means to convey the "second meaning." Publishing of Tropiques was interrupted in 1943 and the review depicted as "révolutionnaire, raciale et sectaire." More issues came out of press by 1945.Poet, playwright, and politician, Aimé Césaire is one of the most influential authors from the French-speaking Caribbean. In his works he promoted his homeland, and his racial and cultural heritage. He aimed at "restoring the cultural identity of black Africans." (http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/cesaire.htm)

Below I am pasting Césaire's abbreviated biography
(based on: http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/594):

Aimé Césaire was born June 25, 1913, in Basse-Pointe, a small town on the northeast coast of Martinique in the French Caribbean. He attended the Lycée Schoelcher in Martinique, and the Parisian schools Ecole Normale Supérieure and the Lycée Louis-le-Grand. As a student he and his friend, Léopold Senghor of Sénégal created L'Etudiant noir, a publication that brought together students of Africa and the West Indies. Later, with his wife, Suzanne Roussi, Césaire co-founded Tropiques, a journal dedicated to American black poetry. Both journals were a stronghold for the ideas of Negritude.He served as Mayor of Fort-de-France as a member of the Communist Party, and later quit the party to establish his Martinique Independent Revolution Party. He was deeply involved in the struggle for French West Indian rights and served as the deputy to the French National Assembly. He retired from politics in 1993. Césaire died on April 17, 2008 in Martinique.

During my week-long stay in Fort-de-France in September, on numerous occasions I noticed that Aimé Césaire is still present in the life of the Martiniquais. Streets, cultural centers, and the Town Hall, all directly or indirectly carry the poet's thought. The selected photos are just a sample of this presence.