The emotions that I feel on the eve of my departure are a mixture of excitement, nervousness, curiosity and a rising sense of amused bewilderment. This project contains many challenges, but perhaps none will be greater than conducting an effective overview of the Caribbean’s musical evolution, while avoiding generalized statements that gloss over each island’s unique experience. The intricacies of the region’s ethnomusicology do not lend themselves well to oversimplification, but my preliminary research has taught me a few broad truisms which are relevant to the study at hand: first, due to the brutality and greed of their European conquerors, most of the islands’ original inhabitants were eradicated within eighty years of Columbus’s arrival in the new world. As a result, the local Taino, Arawak and Carib Indian populations left almost no cultural legacy behind to impact future generations. Second, because these Native Americans died so quickly, the new world’s colonial masters began importing African slaves en masse to work their plantations and mines. The frequency and urgency with which this human cargo arrived reflected how much revenue the overseers hoped to squeeze from their territories, but it also had a direct impact on each island’s relative level of “Africanization.”
Consequently, Trinidad, which became a British settlement in 1797, imported far fewer slaves than Spanish plantation colonies like Cuba and Puerto Rico, and its national music style reflects this more moderate experience. Read More »
Posted by adena on June 26, 2009 – 2:16 pm
The tantalizing stories on TripShake Magazine this month truly have my travel bugs titillated. (How’s that for alliteration? Thanks.) Let’s discuss some of the most interesting posts, the ones I recommend you read the most.
SoloRoadTrip travels to China’s Wild West, the provinces of XinJiang and Gansu which lie along the ancient Silk Road. It’s a far from the typical tourism hotspots of China; as far off the beaten path as one can fall, really. The West has a harsh climate, and it’s difficult to even get there according to this traveler, but I guess it’s one of those experiences where you actually realize the journey is the destination…and isn’t that the core philosophy of every serious travel lover?
Janice Hough shares her frustration with ignorant tourists in Hawaii who, while on vacation, apparently leave their common at home.
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Posted by adena on June 25, 2009 – 12:34 pm
The first week of July welcomes beers and barbecues across North America. Canada Day falls on Wednesday July 1st, and Independence Day in the US is on Saturday, July 4th.
Canada Day marks the anniversary of the date that the provinces of Canada united. Though it is celebrated much like an independence day, Canada was not completely legally independent until 1982! Details aside, Canada Day celebrates Canadian nationalism and pride.
The city of Toronto will celebrate Canada Day at Mel Lastman Square on Wednesday. This event will feature musical performances by top Canadian artists and a fireworks show. Most other cities and small town have their own parades and fireworks displays!
Similar celebrations occur in the United States on July 4th, Independence Day. Some of the biggest celebrations occur in New York City. The Macy’s Fireworks Spectacular, shot over the East River in Manhattan, boasts being the largest fireworks display in the world. Another of the best displays occurs over the Capital Building in The Mall in Washington, DC. Read More »
The public bath house has been a part of Japanese life for centuries; a place for families, friends, and strangers to unite for a relaxing hot soak. Not so different from a jacuzzi night, but some visitors balk at experiencing a public bath because, in Japan, public bathing is done in the nude. Don’t let your cultural convictions – or cluelessness – rob you of this typical Japanese experience. Just let go and … jump in? Swim in? How does one use a Japanese bath house anyway?
Do:
Know that there are two types of bath houses – sentos and onsens. Sentos are indoor spas. Find them just about everywhere by scoping out the neighborhood for flags emblazoned with ゆ (hot water). Onsens, however, are a bit less handy because they’re outdoor, natural hot springs. A typical onsen scene: mountains, rock-lined pools, and flowering trees overhead. Bliss.
Leave your shoes at the entrance of the bath house. Same goes for homes and carpeted rooms. That’s Japanese Culture 101. Stash shoes in the lockers; clothes come off in the dressing rooms.
Take note of the Japanese symbols for “man” and “woman.” The baths are sectioned by gender so if your Japanese (or people following skills) aren’t up to snuff, you could be in for an unpleasant eyeful. 男= man and 女 = woman. 電気風呂= electric bath, presumably helpful for muscle relaxation. You’ve been warned. Read More »
Posted by adena on June 23, 2009 – 12:30 pm
Planning a summer trip and want to get out in nature? tripwolf’s top ten national parks might inspire you.
From the United States to Croatia or Australia, our list of national parks reflects a wide influence from tripwolf travelers. These parks have each been voted on by our community to earn their place in this list. Have you visited a national park that you just need to share with other travel lovers? Leave a comment, or vote for your favorite on this list!
Posted by maglayas on June 22, 2009 – 11:01 am
When I left New York a couple of years ago to go traveling, life seemed to be at its peak – most people I knew were gainfully employed and not too worried about their futures. People were still trying to hold onto the decadence of NYC summer, boozing on rooftops and eating out most nights at hip restaurants. When I came back to NYC this past winter, things had taken quite a turn. Six months later, the mood isn’t much different – when my friends and I are trying not to dampen the mood by talking about the latest person to lose their job, we’re pre-gaming at someone’s apt and eating falafel for dinner.
This might seem depressing, but in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t have to be. When I was in the Philippines a few years ago, my cousin, Cielo, really put things in perspective. One afternoon I found myself eating for the 4th time that day, feeling bloated and wondering aloud how Filipinos could stand to eat so often (breakfast, morning merienda [snack], lunch, afternoon merienda, dinner, nighttime merienda seems to be the general idea), and Cielo told me that in a country where the majority of people make less then $6/day and can’t realistically aspire to material wealth, they find solace in food. No matter how tough life becomes, people might cut back on going out or shopping, but food is never compromised; they could rest easy knowing that their families were well-fed. Eating is also a way of bringing community together - even merienda, a seemingly trivial thing to me, was rarely taken alone. Really though, why miss out on quality time with your loved ones, or catching up on the latest neighborhood gossip?
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In less than three weeks from today, I am leaving my life as a New York City writer, guitarist and high school teacher behind to embark upon an adventure of musical understanding through the Caribbean Islands. The essays that appear in this space will chronicle my experiences on the road, as I combine three of my life’s passions—travel, music and history—to journey in search of the ethnographic factors which are responsible for the region’s astonishing musical diversity. The central questions to be asked in the course of this voyage include: (1) In what ways did the combination of Native American, African and European cultures contribute to the emergence of Caribbean music; (2) How did each island’s colonial heritage (i.e. English, French, Spanish or Dutch) and economic orientation (slave plantation or settlement colony) impact the development of its own unique form of music; and (3) To what extent do these distinct traditions continue to influence each other?
My first destination is Trinidad, home to the musical styles of Calypso, Soca, Rapso and Chutney, among others. From there I will head northeast…
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For all of the advantages to traveling solo – dazzling independence, the freedom to do, eat, and spend whatever you want – your friends and family will quickly remind you of all the dangers. Suddenly, that fantastic one-woman holiday in Bangkok can seem like a brief pit-stop on the way to a Thai prison.
Relax. Your loved ones don’t mean to dampen your excitement – it is true that traveling alone can threaten your safety. But you knew that. You also already know how to take care of yourself. Be aware of your surroundings? Check. Keep your cash, gadgets and jewelry out of sight? Check. Don’t broadcast the fact that you’re alone? Check.
Taking care of yourself abroad builds upon your common sense. In new scenarios, knowledge is the ultimate weapon. Learning as much as you can about unfamiliar surroundings will help you stay calm and avoid unpleasant situations. A wealth of news articles, travel guides, message boards, and blogs exist to make your transition easier. Focus your research on these things:
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Posted by avqu on June 16, 2009 – 8:16 am
The music industry has long realised that physical distribution of CDs is not exactly paving a sucess-loaden path into the future… But what do music labels, like, in this case, Cheap Records and digital distributors like Ordis, both based in Vienna do, to strutt their musical stuff?
The Vienna based tripwol team had the ambitious idea to send a special viral film along with our brand new iPhone app for travelers. In order to succeed, we, as a start-up, needed to find the right people to work with and who would understand the power of impact such a film could develop amidst the place where target groups of today hang out – the internet.
© Copyright 2009 by Daniel Gebhart: Alex/tripwolf, Philip/Ordis and Erdem/Cheap.
Your favorite travel guide tripwolf spoke to Erdem Tunkan, boss of Cheap Records and Patrick Pulsingers comerade in the time of Vienna’s musical haydays in the late nineties and Philipp Dorfmeister, musical visionary and founder of Ordis, a digital distribution service for young talented artists. Along, we took super-talented Photographer Daniel Gebhart (check out his webspace), who captured the entire afternoon mood on film.
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Posted by maglayas on June 15, 2009 – 11:35 am
Since coming back last weekend from my honeymoon in Panama, friends always ask me, “What was your favorite part of the trip?” Sure, I tell them that it was awesome to hang out with my new husband and discover the joys of newlywed life, but deep down, I want to shout to the heavens, “Oh. my. god. THE PLANTAINS!!!”
I’ve always had a soft spot for anything sweet or deep-fried, most recently proven at the wedding when we had not one, but five wedding cakes. The more calories, the better, and if there’s a fry-daddy involved, well god bless ‘em. So the simple plantain - with its variations of sweet or savory, but always fried - was a bit of a revelation for a girl like me. It made its ever-popular cousin, the banana, look like a lame one-trick pony in comparison.
Read more for recipes and pictures!
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