Episode 31: Hidden Neighbors

The name of today’s show is Hidden Neighbors. We are going to focus on some music produced in our own backyard, and yet so very far away from us, in places that are either unknown to gringos, or terribly misunderstood. I’ll start with some numbers: 1,457 miles… 1,367 miles… and 706 miles. That is the distance from Miami to each of the Caribbean countries featured on today’s episode. The farthest point away from Miami is about the same distance as flying from Miami to Chicago, so yes, these ports of call are close to home. These countries are part of the ring of islands that confines the Caribbean sea, stretching East from Florida and Cuba before turning right at Puerto Rico and trailing Southward to the coast of Venezuela in South America, a grouping still known as the West Indies, continuing to troll Columbus for thinking he had sailed to the coast of India. Finally, the clincher clue: all the nations represented on today’s show are French speaking, which narrows things down considerably in the Caribbean. The answers and the theme for today’s episode: Guadeloupe, Martinique, and misunderstood Haiti… neighbors we really don’t know at all.