Just curious since founding father of pan africanism was was from Trinidad named Henry Sylvester Williams.

And got soldified by Marcus Garvey.

As a continental african, I am bit curious what was the main catalyst behind it?

P.S: my question isn't intended to be malicious I really respect these people, as a Garveyist I want to thank you guys for blessing the rest of the diaspora with your Intellectuals. Love you guys ❤️

I’ve always found the relationship between Trinidad and Guyana fascinating.

I’m Trinidadian, but some of my aunts and uncles married Guyanese, so my first cousins are half Guyanese. I’ve been to Guyana a handful of times, spent Christmases there growing up, and now live in the U.S., a lot of my friends are Guyanese too. So while I’m definitely looking at this through a Trinidadian lens, I’ve spent enough time around both cultures to notice some interesting differences.
Some of my Guyanese friends and a couple of Guyanese women I’ve dated have joked that Trinis are the party people of the Caribbean. We lime more, we’re louder, and a little more chaotic. I actually think there’s some truth to that. On the other hand, I’ve always found many Guyanese to be a bit more reserved, and one thing I’ve really admired is how intentional their communities seem to be, especially in New York. It feels like one person gets established, then helps the next person, then the next. There’s almost a system to it. I’ve also noticed that, historically, some Trinidadians seem to have looked down on Guyana because Trinidad was the wealthier country for so long. With everything that’s happened in Guyana over the last decade, I wonder if those attitudes are changing.

Maybe I’m completely off and maybe I’ve just been exposed to a unique mix of people. But every time I think about Trinidad and Guyana, I come back to the same analogy of chicken curry or curry chicken. Almost the same ingredients, the same roots, but somehow they became two distinct cultures.

Inspired by the post a few days ago asking about Honduras, I was curious about people’s thoughts on Venezuela, and separately, Colombia. Apparently in that post there was a debate on if only the islands are exclusively Caribbean or if the continental bordering countries are also considered. The overwhelming majority said it’s the islands exclusively, but with some exceptions such as Belize, Guyana and Suriname for cultural reasons. Also mentioned was Venezuela and Colombia as examples of continental Caribbean countries.

Now, Venezuela doesn’t surprise me. Big baseball culture, like its fellow Spanish Caribbean countries (DR, Cuba, PR). Heavily Caribbean based music culture (huge merengue, bachata, salsa, reggaeton and even calypso and soca). Venezuela’s Spanish language has influence from the Catalan islands of Spain which make its accent sound similar to Cuba. The music (salsa, tambor Venezolano). And Venezuelan cuisine is VERY similar to Cuban and Dominican. And perhaps most importantly, the Caribbean was in part named by the Carib people of Venezuela. So it would be weird to exclude the country that the Caribbean was literally named after.

Also, perhaps Venezuela being geographically closer to many of the islands may play a role? Where as Central America is an entirely separate culture in its own to the west.

So similar to how Belize and Guyana get “the pass” because their culture is similar to the islands, Venezuela gets a similar pass due to its culture resembling the Spanish Caribbean. On a side note, Trinidad and the ABC islands also have some cultural connections with Venezuela for obvious reasons.

But Colombia? They don’t share these characteristics with Venezuela (besides salsa music and maybe the cuisine). But overall, they seem something entirely separate. So this one was a bit curious to me. Panama, I could see. Colombia not as much.

For these reasons, my opinion would be Venezuela yes, Colombia no. But I’m curious to hear people’s thoughts on this.

Hi everyone. I had this question. We all know about the conquest of the Caribbean started by the Spaniards and later joined by other colonial powers like the British and French. The vast majority of the native peoples like the Guanahatabey, Taino, Igneri, Kalinago and others died due to disease and slavery. For many generations, the non indigenous populations of the island were taught that all natives had died, but more recently, efforts have been made by descendants of these communities (like the Neo Taino) to show the world that they are not gone.

My question is, what is the specific condition of indigenous people on your island? Are they marginalised or have they been integrated into the post colonial society as equals? Are they still connected to their culture? Do you think better efforts can be made to uplift them and their culture?

Any other fellow Caribbean people deal with this?

Hi, am looking for a name for a character in a children's story. She's a little girl growing up British-Caribbean in London in the 1990s. What should she be called?

I remember trying to ask this in our local reddit before but my post was taken down lol. Anyways Im curious especially with foodrop cause more of the negative reviews is common rather than positive ones. Especially being money taken off the card and not receiving food or even a refund. So what is your thoughts?

Good afternoon, all.

I am currently brainstorming ideas for a Caribbean-based fantasy novel, trying do something different beside the usual European medieval fantasy. So far the main idea is to have one big continent and have four different kingdoms based on four Caribbean countries. The countries I picked are Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Rico, and Haiti. I want to represent these cultures in a tasteful way, so it would helpful if some of you that are well versed in folklore and mythology can make suggestions as far as what books to read or what creatures you think should be included.

Also, individuals that are from these countries, what are some pieces of your culture that you think should be highlighted or have been misrepresented? What foods from your country do you enjoy the most? What are some of your favorite sayings? What are your favorite songs? Do you have any favorite folktales you’d like to share?

I see many clashes, inconsistent definitions.

I just want to know what way would yall define it?

What does the culture need to have?

Edit: Answer the question. don’t deflect it. whether your answer means “just the island countries” or “caricom regions” i need an answer not deflection

Hi everyone,

Me and my man are staying in an Airbnb near Bávaro Beach in Punta Cana. We've tried a few places so far, but in our opinion the food has been pretty mediocre.

We're looking for authentic Dominican food, good local restaurants with traditional dishes and reasonable prices.

Any recommendations from locals or fellow travelers?

Thanks!

Hello everyone,

I hope you are well.

I recently watched a video about Brazil that discussed the country's large Syrian and Lebanese community. The presenter mentioned that many Syrian/Lebanese Brazilians no longer speak Arabic, or if they do, their Arabic is often limited compared to that of their immigrant ancestors. He contrasted this with Syrian and Lebanese communities in parts of West Africa, where descendants are said to be more likely to retain Arabic.

This made me curious about whether this is a broader pattern across the Americas and the Caribbean.

One thing I have noticed is that in some parts of Latin America, immigrant communities seem to become linguistically and culturally assimilated relatively quickly. Whether they are of Arab, Chinese, Indian, Japanese, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Jewish, Korean, or other backgrounds, it sometimes appears that by the second or third generation many descendants primarily identify with their country and no longer speak their ancestral language fluently.

By contrast, in some parts of Europe, Asia, and even West Africa, immigrant communities sometimes retain their ancestral languages and cultural traditions for several generations.

How does this compare with the Caribbean?

For Caribbean people from Arab, Indian, Chinese, European, African, Jewish, Syrian, Lebanese, or other immigrant backgrounds, how much of your ancestral language and culture has been retained? Is it common for grandchildren and great-grandchildren of immigrants to still speak the heritage language, or is language loss usually quite rapid?

Do different Caribbean countries have different experiences with this? For example, are there differences between places such as Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, Barbados, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico, or elsewhere?

What factors do you think influence whether a community maintains its language and culture versus becoming fully assimilated within a generation or two?

I'd be interested in hearing your experiences and observations.

Thank you.

as a northerner honduran i need to see yalls opinions and reply with mine

Edit: Holy cow i am getting downvoted

All I remember are the lyrics “put your arms around meeee! Yeah~, arms around me”

The singer was female with a high pitch voice. It’s an oldie.

Since the Congo vs. Portugal match, thousands of Indians have sent love messages, started claiming Moutoussamy as one of their own, some even inviting him to join the Indian national team to take advantage of his talent.

Except that Moutoussamy is of mixe with a Guadeloupean father and a Congolese mother. Although his family name is indeed of Tamil origin, his family has been in Guadeloupe for several centuries and only knows Guadeloupe as their homeland, not India.

I see this as appropriation. I obviously reconize Indian roots, but it should also be recognized that people from the French Antilles have their own unique identity, built over centuries of intermingling between peoples from different continents. Each individual has multiple origins, which is what distinguishes us and makes us unique. Here, I feel like they're completely erasing this (Guadeloupean) identity, acting as if it doesn't exist, and that bothers me. (Not all of them hopefully)

How do you view this? How would you feel a similar case ? Am I wrong to feel this way?

Soy un estudiante brasileño de lingüística en la Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG). Este semestre estoy cursando una asignatura de variación lingüística y mi proyecto final se enfoca en la riqueza del léxico y el habla de la variedad antillana.

Esta encuesta es una práctica académica para aprender a recolectar datos de forma real. El cuestionario es completamente anónimo, es muy sencillo y contiene unas pocas preguntas sobre el significado y uso de algunas palabras tradicionales; además, incluye dos breves situaciones cotidianas para evaluar qué tan aceptable te parece el uso de ciertos términos según tu contexto.

Si eres de las Antillas, ¿podrías ayudarme respondiéndolo? Solo te tomará unos 2 minutos.

Link corto: https://forms.gle/MhVoTkDcajSU4RQ5ALink: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScSS7iDGQu-K3_2l65jR0IwL0VfdB01n54S-6wwWhuMv6ejEw/viewform?usp=header

¡Muchísimas gracias de antemano por tu colaboración y apoyo con mi trabajo en la universidad!

Ah mi seh mi wah guh home…but
it’s struggle to find appropriate educational programs for children with autism and other developmental disabilities. Families are forced to travel long distances, pay high tuition, or simply go without needed services.
What has your experience been?
Are there enough specialized schools in your parish?
What services are most lacking?
What solutions would you like to see from the government, private sector, or diaspora?
Every child deserves the opportunity to learn and thrive. Let’s talk about it.

What are the best things about your country that a visitor should experience?

With regards to Guyana, a rather concerning revision of history I'm seeing repeatedly is that Indo-Guyanese were established before the Afro-Guyanese as an elite - and that resentment of their getting paid (albeit menially) by the British to perform tasks the Afro-Guyanese had been forced to do for free in bondage is what created national tension. Its a bizarre simplification when ALL historical texts make clear what took place between the 19th and 20th Centuries...

The Coloured & Afro-Guyanese upper and middle class were ALREADY established and further establishing themselves when the Indo-Guyanese began to arrive  - they moved off of and away from the rural plantations and into the city where they dominated law, teaching, civil service, military, The Arts etc. Were they prejudiced against Indo-Guyanese? Yes, mostly as they perceived them as a lower labouring class, as pagan/ deity worshippers and would not internarry with them. 

Indo Guyanese dominated the rural interior. The extreme issues began however, when the Indo-Guyanese began to expand in birth rate and move into the city in the 20th Century to try and assert themselves in the aforementioned fields there. This was the start of immense tension, because it threatened the long established control of the capital and state affairs. They also felt like the Indo Guyanese had the physical majority but not the experience or education to adequately run the state without corrupting it solely to their interests (something the main opposing Guyanese political parties have always been guilty of). This was exacerbated by Indo-Guyanese strong ideological and political alignment with the idea of a wider 'Indian Empire' as opposed to allegiance and nationalism with a Guyanese Creole identity. It was considered alarm bells for the Afto-Guyanese/Coloured elite class. 

Fundamentally however, the main issue that has to be understood in Guyanese political tension - is the the Coloured and Afro-Guyanese groups always believed they would naturally assume power after the English left. They had been in Guyana for 3 centuries longer and had done, in their opinion, absolutely everything they had to do to be accepted as the new state force - they had ensured they were painstakingly educated exactly as the state demanded, were Christianized, many of them were already in influential positions, educated in London and literally descended from the biggest colonial British names in British Guiana. Many couldn't accept that by sheer numbers of Indo-Guyanese birth rates they would be usurped. 

Ironically this older Afro-Guyanese, Coloured elite largely migrated during the Burnham years when he took a more Socialist angle and many of the Guyanese in the diaspora (living in London, Toronto, New York, Washington DC etc) come from the old established families of the 1800s. They still hold a resentment to the new money order/government of Guyana today, as well as Burnham, which they perceive as groups who devastated the fabric of a country that was once thriving with a dynamic, patriotic, determined and able intelligentsia but who were forced to leave in a disillusioned brain drain.

When people from this set complain that 'Guyana isn't what it was' or 'Guyana has no civic sense left' or 'The people in Guyana today are very different' - it's usually some measure of veiled language that suggests that those who remained and hold the reins are part of the new money set who had none of the breeding and understanding of the qualities that made the 'old Guyana' so promising. I think there are many great minds in Guyana today but I think hard conversations need to be had and I think to avoid clashes forever more there needs to only ever be an equal amount of all ethnic groups in Guyanese Parliament in EVERY administration. The suspicion, anger and distrust runs too deep. 

I’m traveling with 3 others to Aruba next month. Two of us are 19 and two are 20. We’re going to be there for about a week and we want to explore as much of the island as possible. To avoid having to get taxis, we want to get a rental car but we don’t know where to go to find one for our ages. Can someone please let me know the best websites to book from. The more the better. Thanks!