Documenting Island Lifestyles

The culture of the San Andres Archipelago is intimately linked to its people, who have diverse origins. There are three main groups: the Raizal people of African and British origin speaking Creole and English; the Continentals who preserve the Colombian culture and speak Spanish as their mother tongue; and foreigners. Because of the complex history of the Archipelago, the Continentals far outnumber the Raizales and there is a real danger that the traditional lifestyle, culture and language of the Raizales will be lost.

Starting in 2005, Small Islands Voice assisted CORALINA to involve youth and older community members in an inter-generational exchange, to gather information - using video, audio recordings and photographs - on traditional practices, stories, legends and lifestyles of the Raizal people in San Andres, Old Providence and Santa Catalina.

Three generational interchanges took place in different sectors of the island: San Luís, Barrack and Shingle Hill. In these interchanges the community and young people from the education institutions, including some of the young reporters, participated. These interchanges were carried out on 25 May, 16, 29 June 2006. A video called, Pickninny Heritage, was recorded at the traditional cane milling site on the island. Diverse cultural activities were shared, these included dances and traditional music, food preparation, an open space for jokes and riddles that comprise the oral tradition of the Island. Besides the video recording, dialogue between adults and young people about oral traditions, lifestyles and stories were recorded. More information is available in the 2006 Small Islands Voice report.