Stories about Arts & Culture from February, 2023
The Rebirth of Rhumba and the musicians who are bringing the sound to a new generation of music lovers
The emergence of a new generation of Rhumba artists from the DRC, Kenya, and Tanzania who are infusing fresh styles into the Rhumba sound is making it more appealing to younger audiences.
Shakira: An unexpected feminist icon?
Shakira represents a model of hegemonic femininity and contradictions that are conceived and represented in her body.
Can Angela Merkel's receipt of the Houphouët-Boigny UNESCO prize contribute to the reconciliation process in Côte d’Ivoire?
The former German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to Côte d'Ivoire in connection with the Félix Houphouët-Boigny/UNESCO prize is a message of humaniarianism towards the duty of support for refugees.
After two long years, mas has come again in Trinidad and Tobago
[T]here is a fluorescence of joy and creativity like when dawn pierces a long and unnatural dark, splitting an entire horizon with a radiance that awakens.
Trinidad & Tobago's Carnival 2023 playlist revs you up, then cools you down
More fun and fabulous tracks from 2023's much anticipated Trinidad and Tobago Carnival, which takes place on February 20 and 21.
From nostalgia to a touch of ‘horn,’ Trinidad & Tobago's long awaited Carnival has a super soca playlist
With less than a week to go until Trinidad and Tobago Carnival, the festival's soundtrack is capturing a wide range of emotions.
Not forgotten: The 450th anniversary of the ‘Great Peasant Revolt’ in Croatia and Slovenia
The memories of the failed Peasant Revolt of 1573 continued to serve as a beacon of hope, inspiring numerous pro-freedom actions in the Balkans and beyond.
How one Hindu devotee is using Trinidad & Tobago Carnival's ‘Jab Jab’ character to invoke sacred, feminine power
[S]he is bringing a diasporic consciousness of Jab Jab mas as descended from India [...] defying indenture-descended, male religious prerogative over when and how she can be Indian, woman and Hindu.
Rihanna brings pride to Barbados in spellbinding Super Bowl performance
"Y'all [don't] understand the pride. #Barbados is 166 square miles. A ridiculous number of people live no more than a mile from where their ancestors were enslaved. And from all that...#Rihanna"
Trinidad & Tobago's 2023 Carnival regulations read more like respectability politics
"Who determines what or whose representation venerates the spiritual in the mas? The mas by definition IS the spiritual and the profane. And this is an act of war."
Queering the internet: anonymous online spaces for LGBTQ+ people
The threat of persecution, violence, and judgement is why many queer people turn to anonymous online spaces to build community and relationships, seek support, and share their experiences.
An iPhone perspective of Trinidad & Tobago's Panorama competition
Wanting to travel light, I decided my smartphone would have to suffice for photo-taking. The results offer an on-the-ground view of the 2023 Panorama experience.
Soca star Patrice Roberts’ tribute to calypsonian ‘Penguin’ is woman power’s new take on Trinidad and Tobago’s ‘Soft Man’
Roberts’ decolonial declaration of being human on African, female terms is defined through her contemporary engagement with sexuality, gender, intimacy, pleasure, and violence.
In Togo, singer Elias Atayi uses music as a vehicle for human rights
In Togo, the promotion of human rights is not only the work of civil society organizations. Artists also contribute to the cause.
Togolese music scene embraces globalization without abandoning its roots
Rich in musical and linguistic diversity, Togo is embracing the globalization of its music, which is being recognized on a national and international level alike.
Reel: The beauty of the Obatala Festival, an Orisha tradition in Trinidad & Tobago
Each year, Orishas participate in the Obatala Festival, which pays homage to the figure in Yoruba mythology who was charged with the task of creating the earth.
Ukrainian linguistic battlefields
A recent Facebook dispute about gendered names of professions in the Ukrainian language is about far more than gender.
