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There are many ways that one may describe the Caribbean. One such popular way  is that the Caribbean is washed by the Caribbean Sea. However, this is not a very accurate description of the Caribbean as not all Caribbean countries are surrounded by the Caribbean Sea. In determining what classifies a country as being part of the Caribbean one must look for a number of things. (1) If that country experienced the impact of European colonization, slavery, indentureship and the plantation system. (2) If they are surrounded by the Nazca, Cocos and South American plates and if they experience similar tectonic, seismic and volcanic features. (3) If they were defined by their colonial powers at the time. For example, the British Referred to the Caribbean as the British West Indies. Therefore, there are many different ways to define the Caribbean, however even though we may e from different Caribbean countries we are all united in some way whether it e in our history or culture.

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One thing that is particularly common between most of the Caribbean countries is the fact we all have a shared history of our ancestors being enslaved and our country being colonized by some European power, whether it be the British, French or Spanish. As many persons are aware, slavery originated in West Africa and then moved on to the Caribbean where it became known as Chattel Slavery. This type of slavery was purely based on race unlike in West Africa where you became a slave if you were a prisoner, by kidnapping or if you committed a crime. In the Caribbean, if you were of dark skin you were immediately considered a slave and treated as if you were property and your life did not matter. I believe that due to all Caribbean people sharing in having a history of enslavement even though present day society did not experience enslavement themselves, we can recognize that our ancestors experienced it and thus can relate to the fact that our ancestors were treated inhumanely by the planter class in the society and recognize that they had to fight for their freedom and be proud to be of African descent.

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What is culture?
Though it seems to be a simple word it is not quite as simple to define. Culture is the traits and knowledge of a certain group of individuals which include language, cuisine, religion, social habits, music and arts (Zimmermann). However, it is not only the traits and knowledge that the groups of people possess but also how these people understand themselves and the world and organize their lives accordingly. Culture is shared among members of a society and can be passed on from generation to generation. Culture can either be material or non- material. Material culture is things that you can touch created by members of a society whereas non-material culture is the thing that you cannot touch that have been created by members of a society.

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Carnival
Culture is what brings people together and though the Caribbean comprises of a number of countries all with different cultures, it is these different cultures that I believe unites us as one. One such culture is Carnival. Carnival is a major part of Trinidad and Tobago's culture. It is where masqueraders parade the streets in beautiful costumes, dancing to what is known as soca music. This festival not only attracts the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago to participate but it draws persons from other Caribbean countries and even persons from international countries such as the United States. During this time we see the joy and pride persons have in being from the Caribbean and putting on their costumes and dancing through the streets with their friends and family. Everyone's troubles and worries seem to disappear for the two day festival and we all come together, regardless of our race, religion, ethnicity or whatever political party we may be affiliated with, and everyone has an enjoyable time together. There are also Carnivals in other Caribbean islands such as Crop Over in Barbados and Carnivals in Jamaica and St. Lucia which all draw many persons from all Caribbean islands as well and is much similar to Trinidad and Tobago Carnival.

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Music
For Caribbean people, and the world in general, music plays a big part in our lives. It helps to relieve our stress, allows us to connect with our spiritual side and of course makes us feel good when we listen to it. In the Caribbean we have many different styles of music that we enjoy and the beauty about it is that all Caribbean people enjoy all the styles of music whether they are from the country native to the particular style of music or not. A perfect example of this is Reggae. Now what is Reggae? It is a style of music that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s and emerged as the country's dominant style of music. When we hear reggae Bob Marley immediately comes to mind. He was basically the pioneer of reggae music and made it as popular as it is today. Reggae is recognized all over the world not just in Jamaica for its lyrics that deal with aspects of poverty, love and Rastafari so it is very relatable to Caribbean people and we all enjoy it.

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Calypso is also another popular style of Caribbean music that is recognized all over the Caribbean and Internationally. Calypso is a type of folk song primarily from Trinidad and is also sung in other parts of the Caribbean. Calypso dates all the way back to slavery from West Africa as the slaves would use their own kinds of music to communicate with each other and to express themselves in ways that the planters would not understand. Calypso Rose, who won the Calypso King Competition, became the first woman to win the competition and she became very popular in the Caribbean and by extension the world.
However, though calypso is still very popular in Trinidad, soca music has become even more popular, especially among the youth. Artistes such as Machel Montano, took soca music regionally and internationally, making our style of music known to the world. Soca music is somewhat of a diluted version of calypso, where soca represents "soul of calypso". During Coachella, an American festival, Calypso Rose took the Coachella stage in 2019 to perform her hit songs with special guest Machel Montano and Nialah Blackman. Every Caribbean person felt extremely proud to be from the Caribbean when they saw Calypso Rose and Machel Montano on the Coachella stage. It did not matter if you were from Trinidad or not, just the fact that a Caribbean person was able to perform at such a big international event such as Coachella made every Caribbean person feel a sense of pride.

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Other Artistes from the Caribbean also come together to make hit songs especially for the Carnival season showing just how united we are as a region and how much we enjoy each other's culture. For example, Skinny Fabulous who is from St. Vincent has collaborated many times with Machel Montano who is from Trinidad. Thus the music is shared amongst the islands where every Caribbean person can enjoy it. There are other styles of Caribbean music such as chutney music. Chutney music is a form of music that came from India. It encompasses some Hindu language and Trinidadian creole. This type of music is popular in Trinidad but not as widely recognized in the other Caribbean regions.

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Food
One thing about Caribbean people is that we love food. In Trinidad, for example, we love to fill our bellies, someone is always 'bubbling ah pot" as we like to say. The lovely thing about the Caribbean is that every Caribbean country has a dish that is signature to their country. Trinidad has doubles that everyone loves and might I say it is very delicious! There are always large groups of people gathered around the doubles man or woman waiting to purchase hot doubles and eat it right there as we like to eat it as soon as we get it. In Jamaica it has ackee and salt fish that is known to be their native dish and in Barbados they have "Cou Cou" served with flying fish. The beauty about these dishes is that whenever a person from another Caribbean country visits these places they must have the country's most popular food dish. When someone visits Trinidad whether they are from the Caribbean or elsewhere they must try doubles, the same way when someone visits Jamaica they must have ackee and salt fish. This just goes to show the appreciation that Caribbean people have for one another and their native dishes alluding to the statement that "All Ah We is One" despite the differences in culture.

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Sports
"And he's out!" The crowd roars and persons are on their feet cheering. Cricket has become one of the most popular sports in the Caribbean. Cricket, being predominantly for the white and elite men, soon turned into a sport that could be played by anyone whether you were white or black, male or female. Cricket was introduced to the Caribbean by England and it was meant to show the difference between the whites and blacks as it was known to be a gentleman's game. This is representative of high culture. High culture refers to cultural patterns that distinguish a society's elite. However with the formation of the West Indies Cricket team this all changed. This team consists of players from all over the region coming together to play the lovely game of cricket. Whenever persons would hear that the West Indies were playing, stadiums would be packed with supporters from all over the Caribbean. It showed how united the Caribbean region was that even though we were from different countries we could still come together as one and play the game or support the team.
Though the West Indies has been on a losing streak, T-20 has been rising up and drawing the attention of many cricket fans. When T-20 is going on in the Caribbean everyone flocks to the stadiums to come out and support the team of their choice. It seems as though it's a big party as everyone has fun drinking, eating and cheering for their team. What is so great about it is that the teams consists of people from all different Caribbean islands and internationally as well and its not just one specific group of people. For example, the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR), yes it would consist of players from Trinidad and Tobago, but also it would have players from Jamaica, Barbados and other islands in the Caribbean. This points to the fact that "All Ah We is really One".

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The Caribbean is filled with many beautiful islands all with different cultures. However, despite this we all recognize that yes we may be unique in our own way but we can still come together and share an appreciate for our festivals, food, music and sports as yes we are different but 'All Ah We is One" at the end of the day.

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Cooper, Carolyn J. "Reggae". Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/art/reggae
"Soca: The Music of Trinidad's Carnival". The Record. 4 March. 2011, 6:30pm.
https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2011/03/14/134264326/soca-the-music-of-
trinidads-carnival.
The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. "Calypso". Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/art/calypso-music
"Coachella". Loop News. 20 April, 2019.
https://www.looptt.com/content/nailah-machel-joins-calypso-rose-coachella-stage
Zimmerman, Kim Ann. "What is Culture?". Live Science. 13 July, 2017.
https://www.livescience.com/21478-what-is-culture-definition-of-culture.html