The Fertile Crescent of Music: Haiti, Cuba, and New Orleans

In 1809, the population of New Orleans doubled almost overnight because of French-speaking refugees from Cuba. You read that right-- French-speaking refugees from Cuba -- part of a wave of music and culture that emigrated from east to west in the wake of the Haitian Revolution. We'll look at the distinct African roots of these three regions, and compare what their musics sound like today. This Hip Deep program, originally broadcast in 2005, is being repeated in memoriam the pathbreaking historian Gwendolyn Midlo Hall (1929-2022), who gave us the tools to understand the making of Afro-Louisiana. Produced by Ned Sublette. APWW #467