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Category: Caribbean Americans

A man plays fiddle and a woman plays cello

Louis Michot and Leyla McCalla: Homegrown Plus

Posted by: Stephen Winick

Welcome to our latest post in the Homegrown Plus series, featuring Louis Michot and Leyla McCalla, an outstanding duo performing traditional French-language music from Louisiana. Just like other blogs in the series, this one includes a concert video, a video interview with the musicians, and connections to Library of Congress collections. Louis Michot is a fiddle player and lead singer for the Grammy-award-winning Lost Bayou Ramblers. In addition to fiddle and vocals, Louis plays guitar, bass, ti-fer (triangle), and accordion--all the instruments of a typical Cajun band. Leyla McCalla was born in New York City to Haitian emigrants and activists. McCalla is a master of the cello, tenor banjo, and guitar, as well as a multilingual singer and songwriter. She is a founding member of Our Native Daughters and has appeared at the Library of Congress as a member of the Grammy-award-winning Black string band The Carolina Chocolate Drops. This event spotlights the New Orleans-based Nous Foundation and their Community Collections Grant project, "La Musique Nous Réunit: Documenting Louisiana French Music."

Five men stand on stage. One sings into a microphone.

Caught My Eye and Ear: Calypso Photos and Recordings, 1946-1947

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.

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

New AFC Latinx and Latin American Research Guide : Navigating AFC Collections During National Hispanic Heritage Month

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.

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

AFC’s Community Collections Grants: Foodways in Chicago with Jorge Félix

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 …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

AFC’s Community Collections Grants: Puerto Rican Coffee Traditions with Russell Oliver

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 …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Puertorriqueños de Estados Unidos: Identity, Arts, and Culture

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 …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Homegrown Plus: Grupo Rebolú’s Afro-Colombian Music

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 …