Beautiful Dominica: Creole Culture on the Nature Island [LargeUp TV]

Words by Jesse Serwer
Photos by Martei Korley

Last fall LargeUp spent nearly two weeks soaking up the sights and sounds of Dominica. We were there to cover the World Creole Music Festival, the unique music fest which has become a major cultural draw for the Eastern Caribbean nation, but we spent as much time as we could getting to know the people and places of the Nature Island. We left with hours and hours worth of footage— of everything from the rich music community in Dominica’s “South City” Grand Bay to the mysterious and awesome Boiling Lake to boatbuilders in the Kalinago (Carib) territory—and the makings for an entire series of webisodes dedicated to the various corners of this most wondrous place.

Today being Creole Day—on which Dominicans celebrate their heritage by taking to the streets in traditional Creole attire—we thought it would be an appropriate time to jumpstart the series with “Creole Culture,” a look at how the island is preserving these traditions.

We followed the Creole Day Parade through the streets of Roseau, visited “Market With a Day Difference” (a special edition of the weekly Market Day in Roseau held during the Independence celebrations) and sat down with Dominica’s chief cultural officer (and also Chairman of the Independence Celebrations) Raymond Lawrence at the Old Mill Cultural Center, a historic sugarmill that has been converted into a cultural hub for all things Dominica.

Watch the webisode below, see Martei Korley’s Impressions photo series for a further look at the faces and styles of Creole Day, and stay tuned for the next installment of LargeUp’s “Beautiful Dominica” series.