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La Fiesta Del Espiritu Santo: An Original Work For Choir, Soloists, And Small Ensemble Influenced By The Santeria Music Of The African-Dominican Community In The Dominican Republic, Rafael Scarfullery

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This study examines the role of Santería music as practiced by African Dominicans in Villa Mella, a neighborhood of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. This musical tradition comes from the culture and religion of the Yoruba people who were brought as slaves from Africa, and features complex drum rhythms and call-and-response chants. This paper deals with the historical and social context of Santería music within the Dominican Republic, but its principal objective is to adopt the musical language of this tradition and use it to create a new contemporary work for mixed choir and small ensemble.

One of the most …

Charlie Wilson's First War: Challenging Carter's Human Rights Policy Through His Support For Anastasio Somoza Debayle, 1977-79., Sherman J. Sadler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the support of Congressman Charles Wilson, D-TX, for the Nicaraguan government of Anastasio Somoza Debayle from March 1977 to July 1979. A narrative of Wilson's actions and motivations it relies heavily on his congressional papers for primary sources. This work argues that Wilson was motivated by his personal anti-Communist beliefs to challenge the perceived biased application of the Carter Administration's human rights policy against the Somoza regime. He saw the administration's abandonment of Nicaragua, a traditional Cold War ally after four decades of loyal support, as directly contributing to the rise of …

"Portraits Of Freedom" Opening Reception And Art Exhibition Grant Report For Humanities Texas, Kyle Ainsworth

Librarian and Staff Publications

The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, on behalf of the East Texas Research Center (ETRC), Ralph W. Steen Library, Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA), was awarded a Humanities Texas mini-grant to provide programming for the opening reception of the Portraits of Freedom art exhibition, June 11, 2015. A $1,000 grant from Humanities Texas paid the honoraria for two guest speakers, Dr. Douglas Chambers from the University of Southern Mississippi and Dr. Daina Berry from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Chambers spoke about runaway slaves in the Atlantic World and Dr. Berry about Juneteenth and the Civil …

Where Africa Meets Europe: Afro-Colonial Influences As Seen In The Tradition Of The Mirrored Devils Of Panama, Elizabeth Rhodes

Textual Resources

The Republic of Panama is rich with folklore traditions which include as many different kinds of devils as there are provinces. Diablos sucios (dirty devils) and grandiablos (grand devils) can be seen in festivals across the country. Less visible are the diablos de espejo, or devils of the mirrors, which dance each year in the village of Escobal for the celebration of Corpus Christi. The dance movement performed throughout the day and the culminating drama which occurs in the local Catholic church at the end of day demonstrate a clear melding of African and Spanish colonial influences.