FT. LAUDERDALE – Members of the Jamaica Folk Singers were main performers at the Cultural Café which formed the culmination of the ten-day annual Pan Africa Bookfest held at the African American Research Library and Cultural Center in Fort Lauderdale last Saturday, April 22.
The Folk Singers led by its Director, Dr. Olive Lewin, also an ethnomusicologist and author, used the opportunity to creatively demonstrate to the audience the island’s rich culture and heritage through elements of song and dance.
Each presentation of song and dance was accompanied by a brief historical reference showing how the slaves used music as a form of communication during work, play and for ‘cleansing the spirit’. It was merely their way of resistance and survival, according to Dr. Lewin who has done extensive study on Jamaican folk music.
Dr. Lewin also reminded her audience that Jamaican folklore traditionally, was gentle in expression, and did not present any violence in any of its art form. Over the years, she added, those traditional forms of music and dance have evolved to its present artistic expressions. Any violence today, using those same art forms, was a modern phenomenon, she continued.
Nearly two hours of stage presentation had the audience entertained as they joined with the Folk Singers from their repertoire of traditional folk songs and dance, and attired in their traditional bandana costume, hand clapping and singing igniting nostalgia among those who attended the event.
Everyone swayed and sang to sample songs of work, lullabies, and love and play for adults and children and even those associated with celebrations and other significant events.
Dr. Lewin, who was also designated the first visiting scholar in residence at the Book Festival was among the several lecturers and panelists at the event which began on April 12th. She also visited several schools in Broward County during the week’s activities participating in cultural presentations and lecturing on Jamaican culture and heritage to those students.
Also included in the panelists was Jamaican professor, consultant and researcher, Dr. Imama Tafari-Ama who participated in a panelist on Women in the African Diaspora.
The Pan African Book Festival and Cultural Conference now in its fourth year. During the ten-day event, international authors and scholars partner with readers sharing forums such as panel discussions and presentations on history and culture of the African American Diaspora with emphasis on issues impacting countries in Africa and the Caribbean and Latin American region.
Included in the day’s activities were cultural expositions mounted by several participating foreign Consulates located in the South Florida area.
