Music

Our expert Guadelupe

Music

Music A cultural melting pot of African, European, and American influences, it's hard to imagine the West Indies without their music. © Wilfried Louvet

Gwo-ka is the island's traditional music, a captivating rhythm coming out from what were once the slaves' wooden drums. Today, you can hear its sound during the carnival, in the streets crowded by dancers that let themselves be carried along by the jerky tempo of the percussion.
Beguine dance was created some time after, and then zouk music in the 60s. Inspired by the tempo, a Haitian music that combines gwo-ka and beguine, it has been made more in the style of the music of Guadeloupe and made lively by the Kassav band.