Rara

Originating in Haïti, rara is a form of festival music used for street processions, typically during Easter Week. The music centers on a set of cylindrical bamboo trumpets called "vaksen" (which may also be made of metal pipes), but also features drums, maracas, güiros (a percussion instrument), and metal bells, as well as sometimes also cylindrical metal trumpets which are made from recycled metal, often coffee cans. The "vaksen"-s perform repeating patterns in hocket and often strike their instruments rhythmically with a stick while blowing into them. In the modern day, standard trumpets and saxophones may also be used. The genre though predominantly Afro-based has some Taino Amerindian elements to it such as the use of güiros.

The songs are always performed in Haitian Kreyòl and typically celebrate the African ancestry of the Afro-Haïtian masses. "Vodou" is often implemented through the procession. The genre was imported to the Dominican Republic and is now an integral part of the Afro-Dominican music scene, where it is known colloquially as Gaga. In the Dominican Republic, the music is often played by the Afro-Dominican population as a cultural tribute to their African ancestors in the same manner as their counterparts in Haiti. Rara in Haiti is often used for political purposes, with candidates commissioning songs praising them and their campaigns. Rara lyrics also often address difficult issues, such as political oppression or poverty. Consequently, rara groups and other musicians have been banned from performing and even forced into exile—most notably, folk singer Manno Charlemagne who later returned to Haïti and was elected mayor of Port-au-Prince in the 1990s.

Rara performances are often performed while marching, and are often accompanied by twirlers employing metal batons. Performances generally begin on Ash Wednesday and culminate at Easter Weekend.

Discography

*1978 - "Rara in Haiti - Gaga in the Dominican Republic". Produced by Verna Gillis. Folkways 4531.

Films

*"Rara". Produced by Verna Gillis and Gail Pellett. Researched between 1975 and 1978.
* "The Other Side of the Water" http://www.othersideofthewater.org Documentary on Haitian Rara in Brooklyn

External links

* http://rara.wesleyan.edu Rara: Vodou, Power and Performance in Haiti and Its Diaspora
* http://www.djarara.net Rara band in America
* http://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/rara.htm Observation of a rara band in Haiti