AlterNative Archipelagos and the 1952 Caribbean Festival: Musical Mobilities Escaping ALCOA’s Extractive Tourism

Caribbean cultural tourism is deeply entwined with American empire and its transoceanic mobilities, yet transnational production constantly exceeds escapes such limiting constructs. In this article, we combine the insights of a sociologist (Sheller) musicologist (Martin) to interrogate meanings first Festival Arts, held in Puerto Rico 1952, shaping divergent archipelagic spaces competing musical itineraries that formed Black Atlantic soundscapes, both imperial anti-imperial. Following travels production, dance performance, marketing around into North America, argue beneath currents consumption there were also countermobilities forming an “alterNative archipelagic” imaginary connected Africa America. We trace ways which music entered bodies, musicians bringing surprising trends as steelpan Calypso United States performance circuits beyond tourism. The itself, well, changed culture moved people, all over world, forging other kinds mobilities connections contra imperialism. Music inspired vision for radical Pan-African unity against interests extractive industries region. This tale archipelago countervailing alterNative archipelagoes suggests formations are open definition, difficult stabilize, always extending outwards horizon. Constituted by much islands, matrix cultures capable remixing, expanding, resisting power.