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VU Research Portal Sweet Breakaway Richardson, G.T.E. 2020 document version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication in VU Research Portal citation for published version (APA) Richardson, G. T. E. (2020). Sweet Breakaway: An ethnographic study of Aruban Calypso Music and the Narratives of The One Happy Island. General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. E-mail address: [email protected] Download date: 04. Oct. 2021 Sweet Breakaway An ethnographic study of Aruban Calypso Music and the Narratives of The One Happy Island Gregory T.E. Richardson 1 VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT Sweet Breakaway An ethnographic study of Aruban Calypso Music and the Narratives of The One Happy Island ACADEMISCH PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad Doctor aan de Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, op gezag van de rector magnificus prof.dr. V. Subramaniam, in het openbaar te verdedigen ten overstaan van de promotiecommissie van de Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen op maandag 17 februari 2020 om 13.45 uur in de aula van de universiteit, De Boelelaan 1105 door Gregory Timothy Emmanuel Richardson geboren te Aruba 2 promotoren: prof.dr. M.P.J. van de Port prof.dr. C.J. Hamelink 3 Committee members prof.dr. A.A. van Stipriaan Luïscius prof.dr. I.L. Stengs prof.dr. W. Modest dr. R.M. Allen dr. F.E. Guadeloupe dr. C.A. Granger Printing: Repro VU Amsterdam Cover illustration: Impressionist DLX still photo of Jouvert-morning parade in Aruba 2017. Based on footage of Red Sun Films. © 2020 Gregory T.E. Richardson Aruba 4 Table of Contents Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................................... 8 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 12 Section A .................................................................................................................................................... 12 Background ............................................................................................................................................... 12 Jouvert ..................................................................................................................................................... 12 The Calypso Controversy: Critical-Calypso vs Roadmarch-Calypso ......................................................... 17 Section B: ................................................................................................................................................... 24 Key notions of this study .......................................................................................................................... 24 Narratives of the One Happy Island ........................................................................................................ 24 The Breakaway, Plaisir and Jouissance ................................................................................................... 31 Jouissance vs Communitas and Liminality .............................................................................................. 37 Roadmarch-Calypso, the Body and the Dance ........................................................................................ 39 Section C: ................................................................................................................................................... 42 Research Aim, Style and Outline ............................................................................................................. 42 Relevance of this work ............................................................................................................................ 42 Note on methodology ............................................................................................................................. 47 Writing style ............................................................................................................................................ 50 Outline ..................................................................................................................................................... 52 PART I ....................................................................................................................................................... 55 CHAPTER 1 .............................................................................................................................................. 55 Research setting and position in the field ............................................................................................... 55 Aruba ....................................................................................................................................................... 56 Pariba versus Pabou ............................................................................................................................... 57 The San Nicolas Story .............................................................................................................................. 61 San Nicolas in calypso song ................................................................................................................... 66 Position in the field: San Nicolas Boy for Life .......................................................................................... 69 My people?...observations on endo-ethnography .................................................................................. 72 CHAPTER 2 .............................................................................................................................................. 76 The Calypso World, Calypso Music and the Calypsonian .................................................................... 76 5 The Calypso World .................................................................................................................................. 76 Calypso Music ......................................................................................................................................... 78 The Calypso Sobriquet ............................................................................................................................. 83 The Calypsonian as a Bad John, Sagaboy and Anansi ............................................................................. 85 Chapter 3 ................................................................................................................................................... 89 Caribbean thought and Calypso Music .................................................................................................. 89 Caribbean thought in perspective ........................................................................................................... 89 Calypso Music and Caribbean thought .................................................................................................. 93 The Creole perspective towards studying Calypso Music ..................................................................... 101 CHAPTER 4 ............................................................................................................................................ 107 Calipso di Aruba [Calypso of Aruba] ..................................................................................................... 107 Calypso arrives in Aruba ........................................................................................................................ 107 A closer look at the Calypso Festival on Aruba ..................................................................................... 110 Calypso’s struggle in Aruba ................................................................................................................... 114 Aruban Calypsonians versus SAC .......................................................................................................... 115 SAC versus the Aruban calypsonian ..................................................................................................... 121 Lack of unity amongst musicians .......................................................................................................... 122 Critique of the calypsonian and calypso music by the community ....................................................... 123 Calypso ta nos cultura…sometimes! ..................................................................................................... 125 PART II ................................................................................................................................................... 129 Chapter 5 ................................................................................................................................................