Basseterre, St. Kitts (February 23, 2005): Director of Culture Creighton Pencheon recently returned from Dominica having represented the Federation at a regional conference organized by UNESCO.
Dominica was host to the conference on the convention for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage for Caribbean territories, held on February 18 and 19. The meeting was organized to promote the ratification of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, adopted by the Organizations General Conference in October 2003. It also marked the official visit of the Director-General of UNESCO Koichiro Masura to the CARICOM-member territory.
Director Pencheon told SKNIS that the Federations participation at this forum proved largely beneficial. He indicated that an audio-visual report on a pilot project to revitalize the masquerade, being implemented in St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis as well as Dominica, was presented and well received.
A gesture from the Dominican Republic however, was described as the highlight of the trip.
Anthropologist and Professor at a university in Santo Domingo Carlos Hernandez Soto gave Mr. Pencheon a DVD documentary of folklore modeled from St. Kitts. Locals migrating to the Spanish-speaking country in the 19th and 20th century aided the development and transplant of folk groups such as David and Goliath, Wild Indians and Giant and Spear. These performances are no longer practiced locally.
It was really delightful to see that these art forms are still being practiced in Santo Domingo, Mr. Pencheon said. We can use this as a measure to observe what we lost and determine how we can ensure the survival of the groups we still have.
The director revealed that efforts are being made to reintroduce these groups locally. Molineaux has been targeted for a pilot project for David and Goliath. Additionally, plans to develop different music for each art form is being reviewed.
