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Caribana

Caribana

The African-Canadian community is definitely evident in Caribana, which is less a gift book than a souvenir album. Cecil Foster and Chris Schwarz have collaborated to produce a big, splashy, colourful book that explores the origins and events of the Caribana festival that is held every August in Toronto. In early years the festival occurred in an atmosphere of radicalism but also in one of hope for change in attitudes. This was a time of visits to Toronto by Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture), Martin Luther King, and a young Derek Walcott, whose play “Dream On Monkey Mountain” was produced as part of the first Caribana festival.
The authors capture the excitement and energy of the parade/street dance/celebration, and also go behind the scenes to capture the invisible hands and faces of those who make the elaborate costumes and provide support to the performers. This book is sure to bring smiles of recognition to Caribana “regulars” and to pique the interest of those of us who’ve never been there, done it, got the T-shirt.
Diana Brebner (Books in Canada) — Books in Canada

About the Author

Cecil Foster is a Canadian novelist, scholar and journalist. Foster is a professor in the Africana and American Studies department (formerly known as Transnational Studies) University at Buffalo. He has published extensively on Canadian “multiculturalism,” and his works explore the historical and contemporary experiences of Black Canadians.

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