Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Palo de Mayo (May Pole) traditions in Bluefields, Nicaragua

The European May Pole dance combined with African traditions in Bluefields, a town on Nicaragua's Caribbean coast, to create a unique cultural blend. The May Pole Dance as celebrated in Bluefields during the month of May derives from African devotions to Mayaya, the goddess of fertility and maternity. It is believed that Mayaya taught the art of agriculture to the Africans. In some cases the songs or portions of the songs are performed in other parts of the Caribbean.

Musicians playing a May Pole song in Bluefields "as part of the forthcoming documentary by Bluefields Sound System which explores the struggle, survival and throbbing pulse of three generations of music from the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua": http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=7O4FJc8mlTc

The website on the Bluefields Sound System: http://www.bluefieldsound.com/

A report in Spanish on the Palo de Mayo dance traditions: http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=GJhNuQ9AQu8

An article in Spanish from El Nuevo Diario in Nicaragua on May 7, 2008 regarding the May Pole traditions in Bluefields: http://www.elnuevodiario.com.ni/opinion/15122

1 comment:

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