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Posted by: Michelle Stefano
Aarti Mehta-Kroll, co-leader of the 2024 American Folklife Center Community Collections Grant project, Documenting Goombay and Little Bahamas of Coconut Grove, discusses the project's focus and plans.
Posted in: AFC Awards, Caribbean Americans, Fieldwork
Posted by: Stephen Winick
This post looks at photos and recordings of some important calypso stars of the 1940s New York music scene, Macbeth the Great (Patrick MacDonald), Duke of Iron (Cecil Anderson) and Lord Invader (Rupert Grant). The 1947 photos are part of the William P. Gottlieb collection at the Library of Congress Music Division, while the recording of a full-length 1946 concert by the three performers is part of the American Folklife Center’s Alan Lomax Collection. These collections shed light on an interesting time in American music, before the emergence of rock and roll, when calypso and related Caribbean styles were vying for popularity with other folk music genres. In 1944, the Andrews Sisters had a major hit with Lord Invader's "Rum and Coca-Cola." In 1956, Harry Belafonte's "Calypso" became the first million-selling LP record. During the period between those milestones, it looked possible that calypso could emerge to be one of the leading styles of American pop music. Performers like Duke of Iron, Macbeth, and Lord Invader engaged in friendly competitions like the ones documented by Gottlieb and Lomax, using witty lyrics, catchy music, and personal charisma to fascinate audiences on stage and on record. Find the photos and a link to the concert audio in this blog post.
Posted in: African American History, Caribbean Americans, Caught My Eye, Folk Music, Folksong, Photographs
Posted by: Michelle Stefano
This post features an American Folklife Center Community Collections Grant recipient project focused on documenting Brooklyn, New York's J'ouvert Carnival traditions and community.
Posted in: AFC Awards, Caribbean Americans, Fieldwork
Posted by: Allina Migoni
The research guides from the American Folklife Center help researchers navigate the AFC collections by geographic region or by topic. One of our most recent guides, Latinx and Latin American Collections: Resources in the American Folklife Center, provides quick access to our Latinx and Latin American resources during National Hispanic Heritage Month.
Posted in: AFC Events, Caribbean Americans, Chicano/a, Cuban Americans, Día de los Muertos, Día de Muertos, Folksong, Haiti, Hispanic American History, Latin America, Latino/a, Narratives, Oral History, Puerto Rican Americans, South America, Storytelling
Posted by: Michelle Stefano
Below is an excerpt from a post on the Library’s Of the People blog highlighting artist, documentarian, and AFC Community Collections Grant recipient Jorge Félix and his project, Sofrito Conversations: Bridging the North and West of Chicago. Congratulations on the grant, Jorge! First, tell us a bit about you and your work. Thanks! It is …
Posted in: AFC Awards, Caribbean Americans, Fieldwork, Foodways, Latino/a, Puerto Rican Americans
Posted by: Michelle Stefano
Below is an excerpt from a post on the Library’s Of the People blog highlighting AFC Community Collections Grant recipient Russell Oliver and his project, Documenting the Stories, Agricultural Traditions, and Culture of Specialty Coffee Farmers in Puerto Rico. Congratulations on the grant, Russell! How did the idea for the project come about? Thank you …
Posted in: AFC Awards, Caribbean Americans, Foodways, Puerto Rican Americans
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean. Puerto Rican migration to the mainland United States has largely been driven by economic necessity, whether of individuals’ needs to earn more to support themselves and their families, or large scale economic events such as the Great Depression and other …
Posted in: Caribbean Americans, Folk Music, Folksong, Hispanic American History, Poetry
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
In the Homegrown Plus series, we present Homegrown concerts that also had accompanying oral history interviews, placing both together in an easy-to-find blog post. (Find the whole series here!) We’re continuing the series with a concert and oral history with Grupo Rebolú. Grupo Rebolú is an Afro-Colombian musical ensemble that includes some of the finest Colombian …
Posted in: African Americans, Caribbean Americans, Hispanic American History, Homegrown Plus
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
Between 1976 and 1978 Karen S. Ellis recorded the playground songs of elementary school students on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. She was teaching at the Ricardo Richards School and many of the children she recorded were her students. This work culminated in a book and recording, Domino, a resource for children and teachers, published …
Posted in: Caribbean Americans, christmas, Folksong, Hispanic American History