· July, 2010

Stories about Music from July, 2010

Peru: Songs to Celebrate the Independence

  30 July 2010

On July 28 and 29 Peruvians celebrated their independence festivities. Juan Arellano from Globalizado published a post [es] with a song that seems to summarize what being Peruvian is all about. He later published another post [es] with more songs. Both posts represent a summary of some of the musical...

Angola: A short lesson in Angolan music

  29 July 2010

A short lesson in Angolan music from Isacorreia: “Semba is a typical Angolan genre rooted in traditional carnival rhythms, such as kilapanga, rebita, kazukuta and kabetula…Kizomba is a new Afro style and semba is an old one.”

Venezuela: Foundation for Urban Culture Shut Down

  26 July 2010

The Foundation for Urban Culture - a fund that promoted culture through books, photography, music and ideas - was recently shut down, allegedly due to financing from the brokerage firm Econoinvest which was raided by the government in May. Bloggers who support the Foundation, accuse the closing of being illegal and unrelated to the company.

Barbados: disillusioned by Crop Over

  23 July 2010

“Crop Over … is a festival which has morphed from a cultural expression of a people to a wukup, mash up, drink up party.” Barbados Underground says “culture” has been “squeezed out” of the national festival.

Jamaica: Sumfest report

  23 July 2010

Annie Paul reports on “Dancehall Night” at the 2010 Reggae Sumfest, which featured an appearance by the recently imprisoned performer Vybz Kartel, who “dressed as a prisoner complete with handcuffs which had to be unlocked before he could perform, a literal reference to his arrest and two-week detention by security...

Jamaica: Abuse of Power?

  21 July 2010

Jamaica Salt thinks that the recent detainment of dancehall artist Vybez Kartel “does not look good any way you look at it. In terms of the justice system, human rights, detention powers, use or mis-use of emergency powers.”

Cameroon: Capoeira in Cameroon

  19 July 2010

Linda writes about capoeira in Cameroon: “I do quite a lot of traveling in different parts of Africa, and I’m always on the look-out for pieces of capoeira. In Togo, I saw Evala, where young men wrestle and women sing and egg them on.”

Jamaica: R.I.P. “Sugar”

  13 July 2010

ttgapers.com and The Caribbean Review of Books acknowledge the passing of Jamaican reggae and dancehall musician, Lincoln Barrington “Sugar” Minott.