reggae was grown from an adaptation of the American R&B shuffle and has gone on to become one the most beloved styles on the globe. Later developments such as dancehall and ragga have found their way to international prominance as well. Trinidad has left its mark on the world as well with the mellow sounds of calypso and its upbeat descendant, soca (short for soul calypso).
Needless to say, the styles mentioned above just scratch the surface. There is a rich selection of music that hasn\'t made as large an international impact: funky zouk and jazzy beguine from the Antilles, African derived bomba and plena from Puerto Rico, perico ripiao from DR, Indo-Carribean chutney, Trinidadian steel band music, paranda and punta from the Afro-Amerindian Garifuna peoples, and Haitian compás, for example.
Beyond music that has actually been created in the Caribbean, music from the region has had a huge impact on other styles. Since Cuba\'s colonization, there was a great musical dialogue between Cuba and Spain, leading to the creation of Cuban-based styles of habanera and bolero now thought of as Spanish folk music. Spanish ships then brought music forged in the Caribbean to the rest of their colonies, such as Argentina, where habanera was further transformed into milonga and tango. African countries were very influenced by Caribbean music: Ghanaian highlife draws extensively their Anglophone Caribbean trade partners, while Francophone African groups from Orchestra Baobab to OK Jazz based their sounds on Cuban recordings, at times even trying to imitate the Spanish lyrics. Lastly, jazz itself, the ultimate American music and a direct influence on countless later musical innovations, has its origins in New Orleans, a Caribbean city in almost every sense of the word.
Contributed by: Marlon Bishop
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