Cultural Influence on the Caribbean AmericanCuba, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands BritishAntigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St Kitts- Nevis, St. Vincent, Trinidad and Tobago, Virgin Islands DutchNetherlands Antilles, Aruba FrenchGrenada, Guadaloupe, Haiti, Martinique, St. Lucia SpanishCuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico

Hispaniola An Island culturally divided

Haiti Haiti is a Creole - and French - speaking Caribbean country. Along with the Dominican Republic, it occupies the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antilles

Blending of Culture Mulatto – Mixed African and European descent Creole – Spoken in Haiti - Blend of European, African and Caribbean Indian Language Papiamento – Creole language that combines elements of Spanish, Dutch, and Portuguese Voodoo – Mix of African religious beliefs and Christianity – Good spirits, and bad spirits – found in Haiti Santeria – Blends African and Christian beliefs in Cuba

Haiti’s History Haiti's regional and historical position is unique for several reasons. It was the first independent nation in Latin America, the first post-colonial independent black-led nation in the world, and the only nation whose independence was gained as part of a successful slave rebellion. However, Haiti has remained the least-developed country in the Americas. Haiti now ranks 146th of 177 countries in the United Nations Human Development Index. About 80% of the population were estimated to be living in poverty in Haiti is the only country in the Americas on the United Nations list of Least Developed Countries. Haiti has few natural resources and about 66% of all Haitians work in the agricultural sector, which consists mainly of small- scale subsistence farming. The country has experienced little formal job creation over the past decade. Mangoes and coffee are two of Haiti's most important exports. With its political chaos, It has consistently ranked among the most corrupt countries. Why has Haiti had such a hard time becoming a good country?

Haiti - Poorest Country in the Western Hemisphere

Haiti Earthquake 2010

Rescue Efforts

Relief Efforts

Clean-Up

Haitian Immigration to the U.S.

Voodoo Dolls There is a practice in Haiti of nailing crude puppets with a discarded shoe on trees near the cemetery to act as messengers to the otherworld, which is very different in function from how puppets are portrayed as being used by voodoo worshippers in popular media and imagination, i.e. for purposes of sympathetic magic towards another person. Another use of dolls in authentic Voodoo practice is the incorporation of plastic doll babies in altars and objects used to represent or honor the spirits.

Santería A system of beliefs that merge religions of slaves imported to the Caribbean to work the sugar plantations with Roman Catholic and Native American traditions. These slaves carried with them various religious traditions, including a trance for communicating with their ancestors and deities, animal sacrifice and sacred drumming.

Caribbean Culture Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. Reggae is based on a rhythmic style characterized by accents on the off-beat. Reggae usually accents the second and fourth beat in each bar

Merengue Merengue is a fast, two-step dance from the Dominican Republic that emerged around the early 20th century and has European, African, indigenous and Creole roots. Through the decades to come, merengue evolved from its folkloric, rural origins to more modernized forms, and became the national symbol by the late 1930s, as well as one of the most popular Latin dance styles. music.html

Steel Drum Music Traditionally, steelpans have been built from used oil barrels. Nowadays, many instrument makers do not rely on used steel containers and get the resonance bodies manufactured according to their preferences and technical specifications.