Historia de Bahamas.

The traditional music of the Bahamas is the goombay, blending the musical traditions of Africa with European colonial influence. The goombay, is a word bantu to "rhythm", also is refers to the instrument of percussion with skin of goat used to produce the rhythm of this type of music.

Bands rake and scrape touch the goombay since the time of the slavery, when the slaves African had few resources to create instruments musical.

Normally them bands rake and scrape have with a drum made from a barrel of meat of pork and skin of goat, a saw of Carpenter that was touched with a lima of metal, maracas, sticks and a violin low home (a tank of washing clothes with a rope passing by it dam to a rod of a metro).

Traditionally, the music rake and scrape is used to accompany them dances traditional of the Bahamas and the polka heel and toe-another example of as them influences African and European is mixed.

The current bands of rake and scrape used saxophones, electric guitars and other instruments, as well as the mountains and goombay drums. But they still maintain the style original rake and scrape.

If you go to a parade Junkanoo, can listen a version more high and hectic of the goombay. You will also see the rushin' parade participants.

Not comes to be a dance, the rushing, and if a March of parade animated that consists of two steps to forward followed by a step to back.

As well as the rushing, the jump-in-dance had its origins in East Africa. Dancers - led by a person - dance in a circle while one of them occurs only in the Center. With palms, singing and sometimes a battery.

After a few minutes, the Centre dancer chooses a different (generally of the opposite sex) to take his place and so the dance continues in this way.

Some consider the sacred music of the Bahamas, which was influenced by the cultural domination and American culture, as being its best cultural expression.

Anthems religious remember the songs of the slaves American introduced during the period legalistic.

It is also common to hear contemporary African American gospel music and European classical harmonies in the buildings of worship.

In all them local, except in the churches more rigid, the canto in the temples is accompanied with palms, transe rhythmic and dance spiritual.

With their dresses, dances and music inspired in different themes in each occasion, the preparations for the Boxing Day (day of Christmas), the day of year new and the Junkanoo summer, require literally months of work and meet to men and women of all condition.

The history of Junkanoo

Legend has it that an excuse is not required to hold a party in the Bahamas for more than 500 years; but ask to the people of here in the area north of the Caribbean how began our tradition of Junkanoo and all you will have a history different; many believe that was John Canoe, a legendary Prince of the Africa West who it established, that got mock to them English and that would end up making is in a hero local; others, however, suspect that come of the French "gens inconnus", that is would translate as "unknown" or "people masked".

Man playing a trumpet for the Junkanoo festivities in The Bahamas

The most widespread belief is, however, that it developed from the time of slavery. The influence of the loyalists to end of the century 18th brought to many people enslaved to which is granted three days of holiday in Christmas, which held with sing and dances dressed in with colorful masks, going of House in house, often with stilts. Junkanoo almost disappeared after the abolition of the slavery, but the revival of the festival in the Bahamas continues providing fun to many thousands of people.

What happens during Junkanoo

Long before the spectacular 'rush-out' (parade), exuberant dance of Junkanoo - groups of up to 1,000 participants - groups have been rehearsing his dazzling steps; the musicians have perfected the hypnotic rhythms that will perform day and night in a cacophony of drums of skin of goat, bells, whistles and wind instruments, and imaginative clothing designers have worked tirelessly to weave their special magic using paper crepe and cardboard of beautiful colors.

As it progresses parade through the streets of the center of Nassau during the first hours of the day (usually 2 to 10 am), the energy of the dancers and the rhythm of the music encourages the crowd of fans and spectators dancing in their seats, foot, in trees or on the balconies, there where found a place from which to observe this festival that shakes the soul. At the end of the procession of Junkanoo, the judges will be awarded cash prizes to the best music, best costume and best overall Group presentation.

CLIMATE

The trade winds that blow almost continuously by the Bahamas give the Islands a warm and pleasant climate that varies little throughout the year. The coolest period is from November to March, when temperatures range between 21° C and 24° C. The rest of the year is hotter, with temperatures between 26° C and 29° C. The Bahamas have a climate tempered that varies of them 26 ° C to 32 ° C, with high humidity in them months of summer, and of 21 ° C to 26 ° C in the months of winter. In the night the temperatures usually fall and be a bit more fresh. In the Islands more to the North, the temperatures are approximately 2.5 ° C more low that in the Islands more to the South. The temperatures of the surface of the sea varies from 23 ° C in February to 29 ° C in August.

The trade winds that blow almost continuously by the Bahamas give the Islands a warm and pleasant climate that varies little throughout the year. The period more fresh is between November and March, when the temperatures oscillate between them 21 ° C and 24 ° C. The rest of the year is more hot, with temperatures between the 26 ° C and 29 ° C. The Bahamas have a climate tempered that varies of them 26 ° C to 32 ° C, with high humidity in them months of summer, and of 21 ° C to 26 ° C in the months of winter. In the night the temperatures usually fall and be a bit more fresh. In the Islands to the North, temperatures are approximately 2.5 ° C lower than in the Islands more to the South. The temperatures of the surface of the sea varies from 23° C in February to 29° C in August.

Kitchen bahamense

Regardless of where is, not will be difficult to find an abundance of restaurants serving dishes bahamenses and products of the sea local fresh to prices reasonable.

The products of the sea are the base of the diet of the Bahamas. The conch ("cobo", "shell") is a type of mollusc large ocean that has meat white, firm, crumbled. Fresh, raw conch is delicious; the meat from conch is cut with knife and juice of limon-dulce, seasoned with spices.

This meat also can be fried (called "cracked conch"), boiled, added to soups, salads, cooked or croquettes. The lobster red of the Bahamas is a variation espinosa and without claws that is served to the iron, minced or put in salads.

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