Gaga Franco-Haitian – Dance
Gagá is a procession tradition that came to eastern Cuba with Haitian labourers in the early 20th century. In Haiti it is called rara, in the Dominican Republic gagá. It takes place in Holy Week.
Origin in Cuba
According to Yanique Hume, gagá became part of the cultural landscape of eastern Cuba with the arrival of Haitian labour migrants in the early 20th century. At first it was cloaked in secrecy and maintained only by the vodú societies (sociétés). In the Haitian settlement of Caidijé (Camagüey), gagá bands arose soon after the village was founded; a gagá society was formed there in 1926.
When
Gagá coincided with the week off that labourers were given in Holy Week (Semana Santa). After the rehearsals comes a procession through the cane fields on the Saturday before Easter Sunday.
Music and dance
- Instruments: the bamboo trumpets vaksin are the instruments most readily associated with rara and gagá. Drums, the tambourin, a hoe blade struck with metal and the lanbi conch shell also sound.
- Dance: the bands move through the cane fields. Machete twirlers (majó machetes) perform sword routines that can turn into possession, with mock battles around a bonfire.
- On stage: when folkloric groups brought gagá to the stage, much of its sacred meaning was lost, according to Hume. A former director of the Conjunto Folklórico de Oriente said: "We had to clean it and make it art."