This is Gwoka, a vibrant tradition from the French Caribbean Islands of Guadeloupe 🇬🇵.
The creolized expression by enslaved African people during the seventeenth century, Gwoka was used as a form of communication and expression via music, song, dance, and cultural practices to celebrate and pass on the stories of Guadeloupean people and society.
Looks familiar?
As President, I would read 10 letters a day sent to me by ordinary Americans. At the Obama Presidential Center, we’ll have some of the letters I read — and responded to — every night. I still get emotional reading them, and it’s one of my favorite exhibits.