Guadeloupe ‘s culture has followed Gwo-Ka since the days of slavery. This is simple music played on a percussion instrument called the “Ka”.
Creole music and dance
Back to our roots
Gwo-Ka enabled black slaves to communicate with bushmen. Transformed into a "tam-tam", it gave rhythm to all the important moments of daily life: birth, work, revolts, funeral wakes.
It is the symbol of ritual dances and incantatory chants.
But couple dances are more popular, such as the quadrille and biguine. Lively and lascivious, the biguine has become a national sport in the French West Indies. Even hotter, zouk or zouk-love, where you have to dance "glued-together", is played over and over again on many radio stations.
The return to the roots with Gwo-Ka has given rise to certain variants in the Greater Antilles: salsa, reggae...