Bury me with the band. Do not mourn my death. Celebrate my life. The lyric comes from the Belizean classic, “Naguya Nei” (“I Am Moving On”), written by the King of Paranda from Punta Gorda, Paul Nabor. The song was inspired by Nabor’s sister sharing her dying wishes: don’t worry about anything but taking care of the young ones, and…
I hear the word tourism and think awful things: foreign places packaged in plastic for those incapable of digesting true culture. I think of long lines to expensive landmarks crowded with people frantically scrambling to get a selfie before rushing on to the next thing. And surrounding those landmarks, you are bombarded by massively produced trinkets shoved in your face…
Throw it out and change it up. Literally meaning “throw it long shore,” this expression is often called out during Sambai, a Creole music and dance tradition taking place around a fire during the full moon. Attendants of this fertility dance will chant “hibam lang sho” to call for a change in the music. As drum instructor of Maroon Creole…