La Caridad de Ramón

"La Caridad" is the folklore ensemble of a group of people of Haitian descendance living in a village called Ramón. It is located in a zone of coffee cultivation within the municipality of Palma Soriana. The hamlet lies above the banks of the Cauto river, which flows from the Sierra Maestre in the eastern part of Cuba. Like the groups "Gagá de Thompsón" and "Gagá de Barranca", "La Caridad" is a "grupo portador" - a safekeeper of Haitian popular traditions in the Cuban context.

The group was founded by the late Tomacito Poll in 1983, and several family members still belong to La Caridad (His son Pochólo -Victor- started another roots-band called "Ibó"). All these bands have links to the Casa del Caribe in Santiago de Cuba. Fundación Interchange and Revista Batey are making an effort to uncover the history of Haitian inmigration and processes of cultural transformation in Cuba. The idea is to publish a book with dvd next year. --www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7nAOPo0tc8