‘Caribbean Voices’ podcast explores community and culture

A podcast, “Caribbean Voices,” created by Leara Rhodes and sponsored by Grady College in partnership with the Latin American-Caribbean Studies Institute (LACSI) at the University of Georgia can be found online on the Caribbean Voices website.  The podcast aims to share the lifestyles and traditions of the Caribbean Basin and serve as an outreach for the LACSI community. The program includes music, interviews and discussions surrounding issues involving the Caribbean nations.

“Most people when they think of the Caribbean envision cruises or resort areas,” explained Rhodes, who has researched, worked and visited many of the island nations in the Caribbean. “My experience has been that the Caribbean offers so much more and by sharing their culture, traditions, thought and insights, the region might be viewed differently.”

Topics presently on the “Caribbean Voices” podcast include four episodes of drumming: about community, building drums, entertainment and prayer. Other episodes include:

• Vodou: Religion, Music and Festival
• Day of Gede (November 2, also known as All Souls’ Day)
• Caribbean Dance Party as a benefit for the children at the Holy Trinity Music School in Port-of-Prince, Haiti, to show gratitude during our Thanksgiving week.

Episodes in production include:

• Literature—featuring Puerto Rican guest Mayra Santos-Febres who will talk about her work as a writer, literary critic, essayist, radio and television personality and community activist
• Music—with Curaçao musicians, Toni Sherman and Maruja Bogaard, who will talk about the difficulty of recording albums and sharing music
• Sports—featuring a Jamaican long jumper, Chanice Porter, who will talk about being a female athlete in the Caribbean competing in world events
• Environmentalists—with Trinidadian activists, Molly Gaskin and Karilyn Shephard, who will talk about the problems of protecting the red ibis in wetlands
• Science—featuring geoscientist, Xavier Moonan, who will talk about mud volcanoes in Trinidad and Dominica.

The podcast is available for listeners to stream on the hosting website Podbean.