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World
The city is positioned so well for this cross-fertilization because of its location on the East Coast between New York and Washington. Although not the first destination for many first-generation immigrants, Philadelphia and its Pennsylvania and New Jersey suburbs are often a desirable secondary destination for immigrants or their American-born descendants who want a more peaceful and affordable lifestyle. And highly agricultural parts of Chester, Gloucester and Delaware Counties have for decades been home to Latino populations from Mexico and Central America.
Today, world music is more accessible than ever in Philadelphia. You can hear it coming from the stereos in the cabs driven by Nigerian, Haitian and French speaking West African immigrant cabdrivers. You can listen to Bollywood soundtracks in Indian restaurants in University City and Indian film nights in commercial theaters in Cherry Hill, Vietnamese pop songs in South Philadelphia, Ethiopian pop music along Baltimore Avenue, Portuguese and Cape Verdean fado and morna north of Fifth Street and Roosevelt Boulevard, and Haitian and Jamaican music in North and West Philadelphia stores and restaurants. A strong Celtic-folk scene exists in Philadelphia as well, spearheaded by Solas, the innovative but earthy Irish band co-led by multi-instrumentalist Seamus Egan, born in Upper Darby but raised in County Mayo.
But the predominant strains of world music in Philadelphia have, since the late 1950s, come from two areas – from Latinos in North Philadelphia and African Americans in West and North Philadelphia. In North Philadelphia, a large influx of immigrants from Puerto Rico and New York Puerto Rican communities transformed the area focused on North Fifth Street into El Bloque de Oro – the Golden Block – and brought their music with them. Centro Musical, a venerable record, sheet music and instrument store, as well as AMLA (Asociacion de Musicos Latino Americanos/Latin American Musicians’ Association), both located near North Fifth Street, are the two most important chambers of Latin Philadelphia’s musical heart. Music is also part of the programming at Taller Puertorriqueno (Puerto Rican Workshop) in the same area.
From the ‘60s until the present day, salsa, Latin Jazz, bugalu, as well as Afro-Cuban and Puerto Rican forms of religious drumming from the syncretic Caribbean religion Santeria have made a huge impact on Philadelphia, providing some of the purest African-derived music in our area.
In the late ‘80s, immigrants from other parts of the Latin Caribbean – the Dominican Republic, Panama, Colombia and Venezuela - diversified the music of the Philadelphia barrio, and a new style of Latin music – the mariachi, banda and other styles of music from Central America – also began emerging in Philadelphia, Chester, Gloucester, Camden and Burlington counties due to the huge influx of Mexicans, Guatemalans, Salvadorans and Hondurans in the mid-to-late ‘90s.
Meanwhile, a cultural revival was taking place in African American communities in North and West Philadelphia. Beginning in the early ‘60s, as African American musicians began reaching out for obvious African connections many of them had rejected earlier, they found solace in the ritual music and dance of West Africa. Agencies such as the Ile Ife Cultural Center, established by dancer Arthur Hall, introduced African Americans and other Philadelphians to African dancing and drumming, largely from Ghanaian and Nigerian Yoruba traditions. Drummers from this troupe, as well as those who learned to play from elders in Santeria or Haitian Voodoo traditions, formed the basis for today’s community of African drummers in Philadelphia. Spoken Hand Percussion Orchestra is an unique percussion ensemble who perform regularly in Philadelphia and can often be found at the Painted Bride Art Center.
The influences surfaced in many other places. Germantown-based keyboardist Sun Ra incorporated these African rhythms and motifs into his jazz performances. Many drummers played as session musicians on many of the top soul hits from Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff’s Philadelphia International Records. Grover Washington Jr., one of Philadelphia’s greatest jazz musicians, hired two master drummers – Leonard “Doc” Gibbs and Pablo Batista – as percussionists in his band.
To find a selection of other popular places to hear world music, check out the file on World Music Venues.
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