Virgin isles, hotels and resorts. USA or British Virgin islands in the Caribbean. Virgin private accommodation free ...
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Caribbean virgin beaches at their best with TLC ...
Travel Link Coordinators 0845 22 50 49 2 (ABTA)
The U.S. Virgin Islands is a paradise with so much more to offer than the traditional
Caribbean beach vacation. Visitors wishing to immerse themselves in a profound cultural
experience can enjoy historical tours, culinary encounters, artisan fairs, parades, storytelling
and other special presentations. UNITED STATES VIRGIN ISLANDS ...
Walking tours on the famous Virgin islands of St. Thomas and St. Croix feature the diverse architecture,
evidence of nations that colonized the islands in the 17th and 18th centuries. If you’re feeling energetic,
walk one of the many street steps, the most famous being the 99 steps on St. Thomas,
a typical Caribbean way of getting to higher ground.
OTHER CARIBBEAN ISLANDS
Your cultural journey in the Virgin isles continues with a look at the life and creations of artisans
and crafter's who earned a living creating functional and decorative pieces.
Restored great houses now serving as museums, like Haagenson House on St. Thomas and Whim Museum -
on St. Croix, preserve this past, displaying masterfully created mahogany pieces, delicate linens and original
art. Local craft cooperatives, art galleries and artist colonies present the works of today’s
Virgin islands tradition-bearers. Annaberg Plantation ruins in St. John’s National Park offers daily
cultural demonstrations, including cooking the old-fashioned way – on a coal pot over an open flame.
"Quelbe, the vocal and instrumental style of the Virgin Islands' folk music which traces
its ancestry to Africa and Europe. Quelbe is a fusion of bamboula rhythms and chants,
cariso songs and melodies, and the official traditional music of the Virgin Islands."
Historically speaking, the scratch band sound that is Quelbe was created by slaves, self-taught musicians
who made their own instruments and who lived and worked on sugar plantations. Since strict Danish laws
forbade drum beating and dancing, slaves incorporated European sounds and dance steps into their practices.
The newly created rhythmic styles produced “persuasion bands” that used homemade bamboo flutes,
bass drums, steel triangles and squash (a dried gourd, grooved and scraped with a wire prong)
to produce the sound. As they evolved musically and instrumentally, a new kind of music was born.
Instruments changed through the years, including the addition of a guitar, tambourine, the "pipe"
(an old tail pipe) which replaced the bass drum and the ukulele. The music offers commentary on such things
as current events, cheating spouses and rum smuggling in ladies pantaloons. Modern-day Quelbe
or scratch bands have an additional instrument or two and enjoy more popularity today.
History of the US Virgin isles
Since African dance was also prohibited by plantation owners, slaves copied and adopted the Europeans
' quadrilles, lancers, jigs, mazurkas, schottisches and other dances, giving them their own interpretation.
The popular French quadrille was loved because of its hip swaying and rhythmic steps.
Today’s dancers wear madras costumes and handmade head ties. Groups like the St. Croix
Heritage Dancers, who dance the French form of quadrille, perform with local Quelbe bands at special events
and dances.
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