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Versatiliy in the Spanish Caribbean

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 1. The chachach á  is a vibrant genre of Cuban music and enjoyable dance that gets you up and moving around the dance floor. Enrique Jorrn, a Cuban composer and violinist, is widely credited with developing chachachá. It combines elements of both the rumba and mambo to create something that is familiar yet simultaneously its own, standalone type of music. For beginner dance students, the chachacha has become a must-learn.  Due to its simplicity and intensity, it has grown in popularity throughout time and is very versatile. Its simplicity made it easy for any and everyone to learn while the vibrant rhythm incited a vigorous spirit of movement in those that heard the music. 2. José Julián Acosta was a journalist and abolitionist from Puerto Rico. Acosta joined the Liberal Reformist Party and launched the political newspaper El Progreso in 1870. In 1871, he was elected to the Spanish Courts as a delegate. He was a very important advocate that was able to see through a much needed change
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Versatility in the Dutch Caribbean

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 Looking at chapter 3 of Tour de Force, we discover a variety of things about the dutch -speaking Caribbean. Today, we will focus on the aspects of versatility that can be found in these six islands. The first example of versatility in the Dutch-speaking Caribbean are string bands. String bands are a perfect example of creolization seeing as they are the "merging of the melodies and instruments of Europe with the rhythms and playing styles of the Caribbean region." (Ganglehoff and LeGrand, ). Even still, there are few examples of versatility within them. For one, these bands play at a variety of occasions.  A photo depicting the members of the 'Tanny and the Boys' band. Below is a song from a well-known string band from St. Maarten, 'Tanny and the Boys'. Secondly, another prominent example of versatility in the Dutch Caribbean is Desiree Rollocks. Desiree is most commonly known by her stage name, Daisy Dee. Below is a video of Daisy Dee performing her hit song
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Versatility in the French-speaking Carribean

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Having any discussion on Chapter 2 of  Tour De Force  is hardly complete without mentioning the versatility of these Francophone Caribbean nations. Let's look at a few examples of versatility from the book and an extra example from an external source. 1) When looking for examples of versatility in the French-speaking Caribbean, Negritude is the first thing that pops out at me. According to Gangelhoff and LeGrand, "Negritude was a literary movement of African- and Caribbean-French writers and intellectuals that arose in the 1930s, inspired in some part by the Harlem Renaissance in the United States during the culturally rich 'roaring 20s.'" ( Tour De Force ) I consider this to be a very versatile movement because it accomplishes a variety of things. For starters, in  Tour De Force  it mentions, "the goals of the Negritude movement was to affirm pride in shared African heritage and retention of African cultural traditions in the diaspora." This encourageme
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Versatility within the English-speaking colonies of the Caribbean

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Versatility is a common theme that is seen again and again throughout the musical history of the Caribbean. In this instance, we will be looking for it amidst the past of a few English-speaking Caribbean nations.  1) When talking about Barbados, I don't believe that there is any name that fits the theme of versatility more than Roger Gittens. According to  Tour de Force: A Musical Journey of The Caribbean ,  "He composes in a variety of styles, from calypso and jazz to gospel and choral music." (37) If all of this was not enough, he also has a profound impact on music education in Barbados as a teacher. This promotional image gives but a taste of the number of skills that this artist has acquired over his lifetime. Image retrieved from "What's on! In Barbados" https://whatsoninbarbados.com/whatsoninbarbados_eventdetail/?eventKey=22611 Here is a video of Roger Gittens in church playing the keyboard. I chose this video because it shows not only Roger but peopl
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Versatility in the Caribbean: Introduction

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The theme that I have chosen is versatility. Essentially, versatility is the characteristic of being useful for a wide variety of tasks. A versatile person is a person that excels at multiple roles, being able to shift and adapt to situations. This image depicts a swiss army knife that has all of its tools out. This tool is often seen as the epitome of versatility because it has a wide variety of uses that may change depending on the situation. Retrieved from "The Lean Innovator" http://theleaninnovator.net/versatility/ This Youtube video entitled  " The Social Intelligence Minute - What is Versatility?" gives a brief description of what versatility is and how it is useful in social spaces. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7v6wL5m4XQ I chose the theme of versatility because I feel as though this one applies to me the most out of the three. Even though I am going to school for biology with a minor in chemistry, I work a job as a lifeguard and also sell snacks on the
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