· December, 2011

Stories about Arts & Culture from December, 2011

Online Highlights from the Portuguese-Speaking World in 2011

  31 December 2011

2011 has been another year in which bloggers and activists from a number of Portuguese-speaking countries have come together to report, translate and promote blogs and citizen media from all over the world. This article selects the highlights in the coverage of Lusophone countries on Global Voices over the last year.

Africa: 10 West African Club Tracks

  30 December 2011

This is Boima Tucker's 2011 10 club friendly Afropop tracks: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen one song dominate a nation’s psyche like Junior Freeman and African Soldier’s “Dumyarea” did in Liberia this summer. Maybe it was because it was an election season, and all the politicians co-opted the song...

Ghana: Azonto Dance Craze Goes Global

  29 December 2011

A Ghanaian dance called Azonto is making waves around the world and threatening to spawn its own YouTube industry as dance enthusiasts try to out do each other by posting the most hilarious and most accomplished Azonto moves on the video channel.

Cape Verde: The Musical Legacy of Cesária Évora

  29 December 2011

After the death of Cesária Évora, symbol of Cape Verdean music, on December 17, there was an abundance of tributes and declarations by her faithful audience from almost every corner of the globe. With the singer and Cape Verde in the spotlight, the blogosphere discussed who might take her place as musical spokeswoman for the country.

Dominican Republic: The History of Bachata

  28 December 2011

Deepak Lamba Nieves, PhD student who investigates Dominican transnational migration, writes about the show in Boston of famous bachata singer Luis Miguel del Amargue, and also about the history of this music genre [es].

Cuba: on writer Achy Obejas

  28 December 2011

Montague Kobbe profiles Achy Obejas, a Cuban-American writer who “constantly challenging her readers to (re)think their positions in relation to the most basic principles that govern our attitudes towards each other.”

Puerto Rico: The Local Music Scene Live

  28 December 2011

The music blog Puerto Rico Indie has launched “Archipiélago,” a series of videos of live sessions of some of the “best artists in the local music scene” in Puerto Rico. “Archipiélago 101″ features the band Campo-Formio.

Lebanon: Electric Xmas Decorations

  28 December 2011

From Lebanon, Habib Battah draws our attention to Christmas decorations in Lebanon, where the decorations are lit and and the electricity in the street lamps is switched off during the night, and on during the day. Check out the photographs accompanying the post.

Southeast Asia Indie Music

  28 December 2011

Southeast Asia Indie aims “to unite and promote the great indie scenes in the Southeast Asian Region: Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.” It specializes in releasing free digital mp3 compilations and singles that include indie tracks from the region.

Peru: Afro-Peruvian Christmas Music

  27 December 2011

Christmas, a Christian celebration that arrived in Perú with the Spaniards at the beginning of the sixteenth century, was adapted over the years by different Peruvian communities. The black community also managed to incorporate its own individuality in the festivities, expressing its particular experiences in the artistic creations made to honor the holiday.

Cuba: Dance Flash Mob in Plaza Vieja

  24 December 2011

To celebrate the end of the year long activities around the 20 years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Unicef, ballet and dance students worked together to produce a colorful flash mob in the Old Square of La Habana as seen in this video.

Czech Republic: A Tribute to Václav Havel

  22 December 2011

A tribute to Václav Havel, by Luboš Motl of The Reference Frame: “[…] Havel has been an unusually strong moral autority that has influenced even people such as me who ultimately found out that they disagree with him about many pretty fundamental things. He's been proposed for a peace Nobel...

Armenia-Azerbaijan: Garlic Wars

  21 December 2011

With tensions high between Armenia and Azerbaijan as a result of a still unresolved territorial dispute, the appearance of Azerbaijani garlic in Armenian supermarkets has made some local media hysterical.

Cuba: thinking about the film festival

  21 December 2011

Havana Times asks whether the Havana Film Festival has strayed from its original ideals — “Much has happened since its inception in 1978, since which time its revolutionary and emancipatory ideals have faded considerably” — and wonders if the festival could once more “encourage revolutionary and popular cinema (in the...

Jamaica: when poets join academia

  20 December 2011

UK-based Jamaican writer Kei Miller muses on the consequences of poets joining the academic world. “Poetry is certainly not known for its plain-spoken-ness and in fact is accused, just as much as the academy, for its obscurity and its pretensions. And this is as it should be!”