Caribbean Culture

Becoming acquainted with the history and heritage of the Caribbean goes a long way towards
understanding its culture. Each of the Caribbean islands has a unique and distinct cultural identity that was
molded by early European colonialists, the African slave trade, as well as indigenous Indian tribes. Its rich
culture, set against a backdrop of crystal clear waters and never ending sunshine is what gives the Caribbean its
lasting influence on travellers who visit the islands.

Notwithstanding, its rich culture and heritage, the Caribbean lifestyle - as most tourists experience it is
unquestionably a product of its exotic, tropical setting. The architecture, music, attitudes and local customs
have, in many ways, been influenced by the unique physical landscape and climate of the Caribbean. Today the
cultures of the Caribbean are a harmonic mix of colonial mainstays as well as influences by major ethnic groups
including the Africans and East Indians.

Caribbean culture is at the heart of the Caribbean experience. While many tourists arrive in the
Caribbean in search of the perfect paradise many leave with an appreciation for everything that the Caribbean
truly has to offer - other than its unparalleled landscape. If you want to have an unforgettable Caribbean
experience take the time to experience the Caribbean culture on your next trip.

Caribbean Festivals & Events

Festivals are constantly being held on most Caribbean islands. Not only are Caribbean celebrations fun,
it is a great way to learn more about native cultures. The following are some of the more popular festivals held
on select Caribbean islands.

Top Caribbean Festivals

Carnival, Trinidad & Tobago

Carnival, the rowdy and flamboyant February festival, is held annually in many regions in Latin
America, South America, and the Caribbean. The largest Carnival celebration in the Caribbean is held in
Trinidad. Locals spend a lot of time preparing for the annual festival by rehearsing with band mates, preparing
food, and setting up street decorations. Once the celebrations begin, there a number of parades, musical
performances, and other celebrations held. The various ornate costumes worn during celebrations are another
major draw to the events of Carnival.
 Junkanoo Festival, Bahamas

The Junkanoo Festival, held in the Bahamas and other former British colonies, is an annual
celebration inspired by African culture. The biggest celebrations are sponsored in the Bahamas. Similar to
Carnival, celebrators perform various dances, dress in consumes, and ring cowbells throughout the streets.
However, the celebrations begin midnight of the designated festival date, a unique feature of the Junkanoo
Festival.

New Year's Eve, Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands

One of the best New Year’s parties in the world is held in the British Virgin Islands on Jost Van
Dyke. Many wealthy party goers decide to spend the New Year on a private yacht docked in the harbor. The
bars on the island stay open through the early morning hours, so it can get pretty jovial and rowdy on the island.
It is not uncommon to see some partiers sprawled out on the beach from enjoying the New Year a little too
much.

St. Patrick's Day, Montserrat

Since many Irish migrants made their home on Montserrat, St. Patrick’s Day on the island is full
of festivals, musical performances, costumes, and partying. The parties do not end once the day is over;
celebrations carry on throughout the week. Ireland and Montserrat are the only nations where the holiday is
recognized as a national celebration.

Origins of Caribbean Food

Caribbean cuisine is influenced by Chinese, Indian, Dutch, French, Spanish, British, and Amerindian
food. Local residents have also developed distinct dishes.

Caribbean Food Glossary

Ackee - is grown on evergreen trees that were brought to the island from West Africa. The fruit is easily
recognizable from its reddish and yellow appearance. It is often called vegetable brains since the fruit lies within
the red section. The flavor of the yellow section is similar to scrambled eggs. Ackee is popular in dishes featuring
saltfish, onions, and hot peppers.

Asopao - translated into English means soupy. This famous Puerto Rican soup is comprised of capers, olives,
peas, ham, bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, rice, and chicken.

Boniato - is a partially-sweet potato grown throughout the Caribbean.

Calabaza - is a Caribbean squash with a very sweet taste. It is commonly found in pumpkin soups and meals with
a lot of vegetables.

Carambola - is often called star fruit since it looks like a star when cut a certain way. Carambola is tasty and
crisp and very popular in salads and desserts.

Ceviche - is a seafood dish prepared in citrus juices and served with herbs and onions.

Chayote - is a melon like fruit. It is commonly called Cho-cho and frequently used in salads.
Chutney - is a mixture of spices, peppers, vegetables, and tropical fruits. Mango chutney is often served with
different curries.

Coconut - a freshly picked coconut will be full of liquid, so people looking for a fresh one should shake it prior to
purchasing it. To reach the sweet juice, stick a knife into the dark dots on the bottom of the coconut and let the
fluid drain out while slightly tapping the shell with an object. To reach the coconut’s fillings, shatter the shell by
striking it with a hard object.

Curry - is a spicy or very seasoned sauce that originally comes from India. Curry is popular in Tobago, Trinidad,
and Jamaica since immigrants from India migrated to these countries during the 1800’s. Common curries are
seasoned with cayenne peppers, turmeric, cumin, coriander, and allspice.

Escabeche - is known by Jamaican citizens as Escovitch. It is a seafood dish poached or cooked in a pan before
being marinated in herbs and citrus juices.

Guava - is a small tropical fruit with a vivid orange coloring. It is common to see guava in jellies, sauces, and
compotes. Guava sauces from the Spanish speaking islands are very tasty and often spread over bread.

Jerk – is tender meat preserved by saturating it in hot peppers and spices. Jerk meat is very popular in Tobago,
Barbados, Trinidad, and Jamaica. Jerk money is frequently seasoned with garlic, onions, peppers, allspice, and
thyme. To make the meat sweet, it is often seasoned with molasses. Common jerk seasoned meats include fish,
pork, and chicken.

Jicama - this large root vegetable is crunchy and tasty.

Mango - is a brightly colored fruit with a thick covering. This fruit is very sweet and often made into sauces,
marinades, and sorbets. Green colored mangoes are an important ingredient in different soups and chutneys.
Mauby (or Mawby) - is a tree bark often boiled with flavoring to create a drink alleged to decrease cholesterol.

Mojito - is an alcoholic beverage consisting of soda water, lime juices, and rum. It originated in Cuba.

Okra - is a small green fruit used to thicken soups or cooked to be eaten whole. Slaves from Africa introduced
okra to the region.

Paella - is a Spanish influenced dish where clams, shrimp, sausage, pork, chicken, and other items are placed on a
stack of rice. Since a variety of ingredients can be used in this dish, chefs usually develop their own unique paella
recipes.

Papaya - is a big melon like fruit with a tasty orange colored filling. It is called PawPaw by many island natives.
Papaya comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. Papaya is used in desserts, salads, and drinks. Pick-a-Peppa Sauce
- this Jamaican sauce is very spicy and mango flavored.

Plantain - is a staple food throughout the region. Plantains must be properly cooked before eaten, but it is not
required that plantains be ripe. Green plantains are frequently fried to be served with fritters. Thinly sliced and
fried plantains are a crunchy treat similar to potato chips.

Ropa Vieja - is prepared by cooking shredded beef in a sauce full of spices.

Roti - is one example of a Caribbean dish with Indian influence. Roti is made from wrapping a piece of flat bread
around vegetables or meat.
 Salsas - are flavored sauces loaded with chili peppers, herbs, spices, and fruits. These tasty condiments are
usually spicy and add great flavor to any meal.

Saltfish - is dried fish, usually cod, coated with salt. Haddock, herring, and mackerel are other popular meats used
to make saltfish. Ackee usually accompanies a dish of saltfish. Saltfish is known as Bacalao in the Hispanic
Caribbean nations and Morue in the French Caribbean nations. A popular salad called Bujol consists of peppers,
onions, and salted codfish.

Sofrito - is a sauce made with herbs, chilies, tomatoes, garlic, onions, bell peppers, and cilantro. It is an important
ingredient in soups found in Puerto Rico, including Asopao.

Sorrel - is a flower that can be found throughout the Caribbean. Sorrel is often placed in a pan with ginger,
orange zest, and cloves and boiled to create sauces, jams, and drinks. During Christmas, many people in the
British Caribbean enjoy this sweet and tart drink.

Soursop - this large fruit is coated with soft spines and shaped like a heart. The sour juice from this fruit is a
common ingredient in many sorbets and drinks. Stamp and Go - these deep fried cod meat patties are seasoned
with chilies and annatto to create a distinct flavor. Excellent Stamp and Go can be found in Jamaica.

Tamarind - this fruit is an ingredient in Worcestershire sauce, curries, and other sauces.

Yuca - is also called manioc or cassava. Yuca is very tasty whether fried, baked, or boiled. Yuca is very starchy
and usually comes in long and slim strips. Yuca is a common ingredient in tapioca, syrup, and casareep. Yuca can
also be used to make bread.

Caribbean Foods

Seafood

All those islands, all that ocean. Seafood, whether swimming or in a shell, is a Caribbean highlight. Long a staple
of sailors crossing the Atlantic, flying fish are a firm and tender whitefish, best served grilled and hugely popular on
Barbados and the Windward Islands. Grouper, a large fish, makes excellent steaks and is good in stews while countless
varieties of shellfish is served in beachfront bars.

Jerk

The signature flavour of Jamaica and one of the Caribbean's most famous cuisines, jerk refers to a very spicy dry
or wet rub applied to chicken or other meat. After absorbing the flavours, the meat is smoked and/or grilled to fiery
perfection. Variations are many, with influences from Africa to Portugal to Latin America.

Roast pork

Ubiquitous across the islands, especially those with a strong Spanish heritage like the Dominican Republic and
Cuba, roast pork is often served with other regional staples like rice and beans plus plantains. Succulent and juicy, pork
drippings give everything on the plate a rich flavour. Roadside stands across Puerto Rico serve the much-loved lechón
asado, which is spit-roasted suckling pig.
Pepperpot

Simmered in huge pots across the Caribbean, this thick and rich stew can include aubergine, okra, squash,
potatoes and pretty much anything else that grows in the islands' rich earth. Beef is the most common meat, while fungi -
tasty cornmeal dumplings - add texture. It's called souse in the Bahamas, which may refer to the condition of the cook
given that no two recipes or even batches are alike.

Conch

A sort of sea escargot, conch is any of many different large sea snails that are housed in often beautiful shells
(piles of them in Bonaire form pearly pink mountains). Something like a huge clam, the meat makes fabulous fritters - a
staple in the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands and cruise-ship ports everywhere. Conch also appears in salads, soups and
stews. Farm-raised is the most sustainable.

Chicken with rice

Still craved by locals even decades after they've emigrated, Arroz Con Pollo is the ultimate island comfort food.
Wildly popular where Spanish influences remain strong, this deceptively simple dish is a savoury mix of flavours that
include tomatoes, garlic, peppers and more. Baked until the rich scents fill the kitchen, most would say their mother's
version is best.

Cuban sandwich

One Cuban export that has found favour across the Caribbean and Florida, this hearty sandwich was once the
lunchtime meal for labourers in Havana. Soft, crusty white bread is layered with ham, roast pork and some sort of mild
white cheese. Dill pickles and vinegary yellow mustard provide accents. A sandwich press makes everything gooey,
toasty and scrumptious.

Goat stew

"Got some?" is a conversation-starter on tiny Montserrat, where a thin, clove-scented stew called goat water is a
national obsession. The broth is heartier on islands like Aruba and Bonaire, where it is called kabritu (or cabrito) and
locals solemnly proclaim that their own mother's version is best. Mannish water, a Cayman Islands version, includes a
goat head and foot.

Callaloo

A vegetable dish with roots in West Africa, callaloo was brought to the Caribbean by slaves and is still a vital part
of diets on Jamaica and Dominica plus Trinidad and Tobago. Leafy greens (often from the namesake bush or from taro,
water spinach and more) are boiled into a thick stew, which may include peppers, coconut milk, okra and all manner of
meats and seafood.

Papaya

This tasty fruit staple grows wild and on farms almost everywhere. It comes in yellow and orange varieties and
when perfectly fresh is served plain with a squeeze of lime for a sweet and luscious breakfast. It also appears in salads and
even stews. However many prefer Papaya mixed into a cocktail with the Caribbean's great contribution to libations.
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Authentic Caribbean cuisine is truly an excellent representation of all the cultural influences the Caribbean Islands have experienced
since Christopher Columbus' landing in the late 1400's. With a fine mixture of French Island and African recipes, Caribbean cuisine is
widely prepared and enjoyed by people of all nationalities, in many areas of the United States and the world.

Caribbean food and culture was forever changed when the European traders brought African slaves into the region. The slaves ate
mostly the scrap leftovers of the slave owners, so not unlike the slaves in the United States they had to make do with what they had.
This was the birth of the more contemporary Caribbean Cuisine. The African slaves blended the knowledge of spices and vegetables
they had brought from their homeland and incorporated them with the precious fruits and vegetables of the Caribbean Islands, as well
as other staples to be found in the area. This created many one-of-a-kind dishes, because many of the produce on the islands at the
time was too fragile to make it through the exportation process. Fruits most often found in Caribbean cuisine include yams, yucca,
mangos and papaya fruits. Among the produce that is too fragile to be exported is the tamarind fruit and plantains (a fruit grown on a
tree that is similar to the banana).

Caribbean food, while spicy, is one of the healthier options among culinary traditions from different regions. As discussed, the lush
Caribbean islands are chock full of vegetables and fruits for healthy living. In addition to that, America introduced beans, corn, chile
peppers, potatoes and tomatoes to the islands, broadening their palate.

When slavery was abolished on the islands, slave owners had to look else where for help. Bringing in labor from India and China,
different types of dishes using rice or curry were introduced and blended into mainstream Caribbean cuisine. This is how the
Caribbean favorite curry goat was born.

The Caribbean islands are in a prime location for one of their specialties--seafood. Salted codfish is a specialty on the Caribbean
islands. It is usually served in a salad or stew, or at breakfast in scrambled eggs. Lobster, sea turtle, shrimp, crab, and sea urchins are
also specialties on the islands. They are used to make such exotic, spicy Caribbean dishes as Antillean crab pilaf and curried coconut
shrimp.

Desserts are an integral part of the Caribbean culinary experience. Sugar cane is one of the area's chief products, so there are always
an abundance of cakes, pies, and dumplings. Caribbean natives incorporate dessert into almost every meal. At Caribbean restaurants
you may notice the emphasis they put on their desserts; in their culture, dessert is just as important as the main course.

Caribbean cuisine incorporates flavors from all of the different cultures that have ever graced the shores of the islands, from Africa to
China to India. The flavoring in Caribbean cuisine is intense and rich, strikingly similar African and Creole food.

A Caribbean island is a fun place where you shed all your stress and have the time of your life. Good food is a requisite for such a fun-
filled vacation and the Caribbean islands will not let you down in this matter. Caribbean fare is a melange of cuisines from a diverse
range of countries, namely Spain, France, Africa, India and China, to name a few.
Each of these countries added an ingredient to produce a touch of excellence to the Caribbean cuisine. Caribbean food is derived from
the diverse cultural influences that were bestowed on the Caribbean islands. Various people and cultures (Arawaks, Caribs, Dutch,
Spanish, Scottish, British, African, Asians ) have added their own touch to Caribbean food, transforming it into an ultimate exotic
indulgence
Caribbean Festivals & Events

When most people consider visiting the Caribbean the immediately think of crystal clear waters, scuba diving, sailing and

laying out on white sandy beaches. If you really want to experience the Caribbean we recommend setting you sights a little bit

higher. Don't get us wrong, the Caribbean offers some of the most spectactular scenary and outdoor experiences in the world

but it also offers some of the most unique festivals and events in the world as well. Planning your next vacation in conjunction

with Caribbean festivals, events or carnivals is an opportunity turn your Caribbean vacation into the experience of a life time.

Caribbean Culture

Becoming acquainted with the history and heritage of the Caribbean goes a long way towards understanding its culture. Each of the
Caribbean islands has a unique and distinct cultural identity that was molded by early European colonialists, the African slave trade, as
well as indigenous Indian tribes. Its rich culture, set against a backdrop of crystal clear waters and never ending sunshine is what gives
the Caribbean its lasting influence on travelers who visit the islands.

Notwithstanding, its rich culture and heritage, the Caribben lifestyle - as most tourists experience it - is unquestionably a product of its
exotic, tropical setting. The architecture, music, attitudes and local customs have, in many ways, been influenced by the unique
physical landscape and climate of the Caribbean. Today the cultures of the Caribbean are a harmonic mix of colonial mainstays as
well as influences by major ethnic groups including the Africans and East Indians.

Barbados, sometimes referred to as "Little England", has retained enough of its British heritage to be perceived as more of a "western"
culture. Aruba, has also retained British customs but tends to be more laid-back than Barbados.

Other islands, most notably Jamaica, retain very few of their orginal colonial customs. These islands rely heavily on their pre-colonial
heritage and have distanced themselves from colonial influence or rule. Jamaica is a purely democratic state that is passionaly self-
sufficient but maintains a very peaceful existence amoung other Islands that are heavily influenced by Colonial heritage and
governance. Its residents include a wide spectrum of characters, from staid English aristocrats to animated Rastafarians.

Aruba, once a Dutch colony, today retains only the slighest Dutch influence. The U.S. Virgin Ilands (St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas,
etc.), acquired from the Dutch in the early 1900s, exude an American feel with a few lingering remnants of Dutch culture.

Unlike many of the Caribbean islands colonized by the early europeans, the Dominican Republic is largely underdeveloped except for
its capital Santo Domingo. Santo Domingo is home to more than two million people and has many of the modern luxuries, as well as
developed infrastructure, found elsewhere in the Caribbean. The Dominican Republic is a mountainous country (located due east of
Haiti) whose past is story of ongoing political turmoil.

In contract, Puerto Rico, located directly east of the Dominican Republic, is one of the most modern and well-developed islands in the
Caribbean. Both American and Spanish influences are evident throughout the island which is covered with modern buildings and
abounds with western culture. Guadeloupe, another popular tourist destination located southeast of Puerto Rico, first colonized by the
French remains a French possession today. While you'll find signs of African heritage on the island, the predominant customs, culture
and language are French.

Caribbean culture is at the heart of the Caribbean experience. While many tourists arrive in the Caribbean in search of the perfect
paradise many leave with an appreciation for everything that the Caribbean truly has to offer - other than its unparalleled landscape. If
you want to have an unforgettable Caribbean experience take the time to experience the Caribbean culture on your next trip.