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Culture
Culture
Guadeloupe's culture is probably best known for the islanders' literary achievements, particularly the poetry of Saint-John Perse, the pseudonym used by Alexis Léger.
Perse won the 1960 Nobel Prize in Literature "for the soaring flight and the evocative images of his poetry which in a visionary fashion reflects the conditions of our time." .
Guadeloupe has always had a rich literary production prolonged today by many living writers, poets, novelists, essayists and journalists, among them Mesdames Maryse Condé and Simone Schwartz-Bart, M.
Ernest Pépin.
Also culturally important are the arts, particularly painting and sculpture.
Famous painters and/or sculptors include Michel Rovelas, Claudie Cancelier, Jean-Claude Echard, Christian Bracy, Roger Arekian, les Frères Baptiste, Michelle Chomereau-Lamothe, Léogane, Pédurand, Nicole Réache, Victor Sainsily.
Guadeloupean visual effects artist compositor Karim Sahai of Weta Digital, New Zealand, has worked on the visual effects of many movies such as The Lord of the Rings, King Kong, and The Waterhorse.
Music and dance are also very popular, and the widely accepted interaction of African, French and Indian cultures has given birth to some original new forms specific to the archipelago.
Islanders enjoy many local dance styles including the quadrille "au commandement", zouk, zouk-love, kompa toumbélé, as well as all the modern international dances.
Typical Guadeloupean music includes la biguine and gwo ka à la base.
Kassav' and Admiral T embody the traditional and the new generation of music.
Many international festivals take place in Guadeloupe, like the Creole Blues Festival, the Marie-Galante Festival, Festival Gwo-Ka Cotellon, etc.
It goes without saying that all the Euro-French forms of art are also omnipresent in the melting pot.
Another element of the Guadeloupean culture is its dress.
Women in particular have a unique style of traditional dresses, with many layers of colourful fabrics, now only worn on special occasions.
On festive occasions they also wore a madras (originally the 'kerchief' from South India) head scarf tied in many different symbolic forms.
The headdress could be done in many styles with names like the "bat" style, or the "firefighter" style, as well as the "Guadeloupean woman." Jewelry, mainly of gold, is also important in the Guadeloupean lady's dress, a product of European, African and Indian inspiration.
Many famous couturiers like Devaed and Mondelo are Guadeloupeans.
Football (soccer) is popular in Guadeloupe.
Thierry Henry, a star of the French National Team and Spanish League club FC Barcelona, often visits, as his father Antoine was originally from the island.
William Gallas, whose parentage is Guadeloupean, visits the island when not playing for Arsenal or the French National team.
Lilian Thuram, a star football defender for France and FC Barcelona, was born in Guadeloupe.
The French national team and Everton F.C.
striker, Louis Saha, is also of Guadeloupean descent, as is MK Dons goalkeeper Willy Gueret.
Pascal Chimbonda of Sunderland was also born in Guadeloupe.
The region's football team experienced recent success, advancing all the way to the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup semi-finals, where they were defeated just 1-0 by CONCACAF powerhouse Mexico.
Many fine track and field athletes, such as Marie-José Perec, Patricia Girard-Léno, and Christine Arron are also Guadeloupe natives.
The NBA player Mickaël Piétrus and Mickaël Gelabale were born in this island.
Famed Bodybuilder Serge Nubret also hails from Guadeloupe.
Source: CIA Factbook, Wikipedia
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