Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Spring 2012

Publication Title

Biography: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly

Abstract

In this essay I argue that Haitian-American artists Edwidge Danticat and Wyclef Jean employ Carnival symbolism to explore the practices and politics of belonging in "global" cities. While meditating on the cultural and social dynamism produced by transnationalism, they resist the impulse to idealize its effects. In song and nonfictional narrative, they reflect also on the ways that historical and structural violence shape the lives of Haitian migrants in creolized cities.

Keywords

Carnivals, Dance music, Rap music, Celebrations, Hip hop dance, Creoles, Globalization, Cultural identity, Multiculturalism, Neighborhoods

Volume

35

Issue

2

First Page

360

Last Page

374

Rights

Biography © 2012 University of Hawai'i Press

Comments

Life Stories in the Creole City (special issue), eds. Cynthia Dobbs, Daphne Lamothe & Theresa Tensuan

Archived as published.

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