Bullerengue and Beyond: Learning the Palenques of the Southeast Caribbean through Sound

WGSAC is expanding the definition of American by looking beyond the borders of the United States and into communities along the Caribbean coast of Colombia and Panama, and looking beyond the canonized forms of approaching who is a composer. Maroon towns were developed by runaway enslaved Africans and continue to be occupied by their descendants today. Palenque is the name of these communities in the southeast Caribbean.

Ignoring the colonial lines drawn to indicate Colombia and Panama, the focus is on the music of the self-liberated formerly enslaved Africans and their descendants in these areas.

This year’s exhibition, Bullerengue and Beyond, explores the impact of music from the palenques, which are the Maroon towns of the South East Caribbean. This music which draws from the Congo, Angola, and West Africa and centers the voices and hand clapping of women. Join this in-depth examination which connects modern and contemporary music such as cambia, vallenato and salsa and how those sounds and polyrhythms revere those found in nature.