Like the entire Dominican Republic celebrate the opening from the New Year on January 1st, some Dominicans hold events that give importance to perhaps one of the dying yet very prominent traditions inside the land inside a feast known as Cocolo Festival.
Once the wave of African immigrants moved into Hispaniola during and once the Spaniards have settled inside the land, they‘ve brought many traditions with these that now compose the fibers from the Dominicans' culture. Among the many groups of ethnic immigrants was the Cocolo tribe which originated coming from the Bahamas and also the Greater Antilles. They‘re largely referred to as English-speaking Caribbean people that brought with these a culture that has got the elements of both the European and African cultures. It‘s, as so many have said before, the culmination from the merging from the cultures from the African slaves and also the European colonizers. Although they still have retained their political and social economic authority.
Years after they‘ve settled in Hispaniola, the Cocolo dancing drama tradition have developed. It was eventually, among their very own educational system and religion, the foremost distinct expressions of the culture. It was eventually its peak throughout the mid-nineteenth century. In recent times, the assimilation from the Cocolo descendants using the majority from the Dominicans have caused the disintegration from the Cocolo's culture. Although, as is apparent in certain areas inside the Dominican Republic, the Cocolo dancing drama tradition remains greatly alive.
In its original form, the dancing drama is performed on Christmas as well as on Carnavals. Nowadays, It‘s performed only in January in San Pedro de Macoris, a province inside the Dominican Republic in which the Cocolos originally settled.
The Cocolo Festival features the music, dances and songs which are patterned inside the tunes of the initial Cocolo music. These have African and European influences which get them to very unique inside the Dominican Republic, otherwise distinct from several music in the planet.
The music, for instance, is patterned following the African pace and also the dances possess the steps and movements particular towards the African court. Although when these are generally dramatized, they become an entirely different art form. They become almost exclusively European due to the themes and stories adopted. Among the foremost typical stories performed inside the Cocolo Festival is that the Mumme's Play, thus the Festival has grown to be related to street dancers and performers known as 'Mummers'. This tells from the story about St. George and his enemy. In summary, this reflects the most theme from the Cocolo dance drama – the battle between good and evil.
Other dance dramas and games usually performed in the Cocolo Festival will be the 'Guloyas' and also the 'Baile del Buey'. The 'Guloyas' include several groups of dancers who perform a number of dances. Among the many many they showcase is that the 'Dance of Stilts' which requires dancers to dance on high stilts while wearing pompous jackets. The 'Baile del Buey', meanwhile, is performed using a festival character whose main features are identified using the bull.
The Cocolo Festival, although less popular than any other Dominican Republic holidays, is indeed among the many nation's more important heritage. It‘s no wonder that UNESCO has chosen it being an Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
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