Nassau, Bahamas is rich with art and culture
Music and Bahamian folk tales add vibrancy to the city
![Chronicle logo]()
Updated: 8:30 PM EDT Apr 17, 2024
FIND IN THE BAHAMAS. IT’S ONE OF THE COUNTRY’S MOST RESPECTED HOMEGROWN TALENTS, IS WRITER AND HISTORIAN PATRICIA CLINTON MIKE A+. HER BOOKS RETELL BAHAMIAN FOLK STORIES. THE LUSCA SEA MONSTER FOR EXAMPLE, IS A SYMBOL OF A VENGEFUL JUSTICE. IT IS A PROTECTOR OF BEING. THE WHOLE THING IS IT PUNISHES PEOPLE WHO DO WRONG OR OFFEND THE ENVIRONMENT. LUSCA AND OTHER FOLK HEROES ALSO HAVE SOMETHING ELSE IN COMMON, SAYS CLINTON. MIKE A+. SOME OF THE MOST POWERFUL CREATURES, SIZE AND SHAPE CHANGES ARE WOMEN. YOU HAVE THIS WHOLE FEMME VIBE FROM WAY BACK. LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA. WE ARE REALLY FOCUSED ON KEEPING THE FOLKLORE OF THE BAHAMAS ALIVE, FOLKLORE ALIVE IN SONG AND DANCE, AND PERFORMED BY THE BAHAMAS NATIONAL YOUTH CHOIR. WE MEET CHOIR DIRECTOR DEXTER FERNANDER AND CHOIR SECRETARY JESSICA KNOWLES AT THE NATIONAL ART GALLERY OF THE BAHAMAS, WHICH SHOWCASES THE WORK OF BAHAMIAN ARTISTS. MANY TIMES WE WALK INTO THIS ART GALLERY TO GET SOME INSPIRATION AND SO WE ARE THANKFUL FOR THE SPACE. THE GALLERY’S OUTDOOR AMPHITHEATER IS A POPULAR PERFORMANCE SPOT FOR THE CHOIR. ITS MEMBERS RANGE IN AGE FROM 13 TO 25. ALL OF THEM REHEARSE OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL OR WORK. WE TRAIN REALLY HARD AND IT TAKES A LOT BECAUSE SINGING AND DANCING SAME TIME, LOTS OF ENERGY. BUT THIS OTSU THE BAHAMAS NATIONAL YOUTH CHOIR PERFORMS ALL OVER THE WORLD, INCLUDING AT NEW YORK’S CARNEGIE HALL. THE CHOIR’S REPERTOIRE COVERS CLASSICAL AND BROADWAY MUSIC, BUT BAHAMIAN MUSIC IS THEIR TRUE LOVE, SAYS FERNANDER. THE SONG OF PARTING, ACTUALLY WAS WRITTEN BY OUR DIRECTOR AS HE WAS LEAVING HIGH SCHOOL, AND IT’S IN THE TRANSITION OF THE COUNTRY FROM THE 1972 GOING TO INDEPENDENCE OF 73. THE HARVEY HYDE PARK WE TAKE SUCH JOY IN PRESERVING OUR CULTURE THAT PRESERVATION OF BAHAMIAN MUSIC AND OUR CULTURE, OUR FOOD, JUST BEING ABLE TO REALLY STUDY OUR CULTURE, EMBRACE IT, AND THEN TAKE THAT EMBRACING AND SHARE IT WITH OTHER COUNTRIES ALL AROUND THE WORLD. THAT’S ONE OF THE GREATEST JOYS FOR US AS A CHOIR. ANOTHER FAMOUS BAHAMIAN ARTIST, THE LATE, GREAT OSCAR WINNER SIDNEY POITIER. YEAH, THERE’S EVEN A BRIDGE NAMED AFTER HIM IN NASSAU. AND ONE MORE FUN FACT ABOUT VISITING THE BAHAMAS. YOU CLEAR U.S. CUSTOMS IN NASSAU AT THE AIRPORT BEFORE EVEN LEAVING THE ISLAND. IT’S NICE, I LIKE THAT. THAT IS CHRONICLE FOR TONIGHT. THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING US. I’M SHAYNA SEYMOUR AND I’M ANTHONY EVERETT. HAVE A GREAT EVENING. HOPE TO SEE YOU BACK HERE AGAI
Nassau, Bahamas is rich with art and culture
Music and Bahamian folk tales add vibrancy to the city
![Chronicle logo]()
Updated: 8:30 PM EDT Apr 17, 2024
Where to go in the Bahamas? Nassau is a good place to start.Learn all about the Bahamian tradition of Junkanoo and take a unique cultural tour. Tourists can visit both websites to learn about the intricate process of costume-making and choreography.The Baha Mar resorts draw hundreds of thousands of tourists a year, including celebrities and reality television stars. The complex has three hotels, 45 eateries, 14 art galleries, and an enormous, state-of-the-art water park. We meet a Massachusetts native who is second in command at the US Embassy, and we see Bahamians playing a popular sport not well-known to most Americans: cricket.We also spend time with flamingos and other colorful birds at a wildlife conservation center, and we talk to scientists and activists working to preserve Nassau’s coastline.Finally, we meet a renowned author specializing in re-telling Bahamian folk tales and we hear a beloved choir dedicated to performing Bahamian music.
NEEDHAM, Mass. — Where to go in the Bahamas? Nassau is a good place to start.
Learn all about the Bahamian tradition of Junkanoo and take a unique cultural tour. Tourists can visit both websites to learn about the intricate process of costume-making and choreography.
The Baha Mar resorts draw hundreds of thousands of tourists a year, including celebrities and reality television stars. The complex has three hotels, 45 eateries, 14 art galleries, and an enormous, state-of-the-art water park. We meet a Massachusetts native who is second in command at the US Embassy, and we see Bahamians playing a popular sport not well-known to most Americans: cricket.
We also spend time with flamingos and other colorful birds at a wildlife conservation center, and we talk to scientists and activists working to preserve Nassau’s coastline.
Finally, we meet a renowned author specializing in re-telling Bahamian folk tales and we hear a beloved choir dedicated to performing Bahamian music.
