Jennifer Stefanski

Antigua and Barbuda consists of two main islands in the Eastern Caribbean sea. Upon the arrival of the African slaves and the European settlers, the indigenous residents were wiped away due to the general effects of bodily infections and poor nutrition.

The country is dominated by African descendants, who constitute nothing less than 96% of the country’s total population. The African descendants are traceable to the African slaves brought to the country in the 16th -18th century. The remaining 4% are the European descendants traceable to the European slave masters.

Antigua and Barbuda has a Creole culture, being a blend of the European and West African cultures.

Food, Recipes and Beverages: The people of Antigua and Barbuda is known for staple meal. Popular foods in the country include breadfruit, rice, Saltfish, fungie, Ducana, among others. The breadfruit has high fibre and fatty acids contents which promote healthy body system and glowing skin.

Especially, fungie is one meal you can easily find everywhere in Antigua and Barbuda. Fungie is made of cornmeal, okra, pepper, salt and butter that’s carefully mixed and boiled.

There is no acholic drink as popular as Rum. The country has the Antigua Distillery where light rums are produced. Dr. Dario Item, Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to the Kingdom of Spain, informed us that the Wadadale beer is the national beer in Antigua and Barbuda.

Music: There are several genres of music in Antigua and Barbuda. However, according to Ambassador Dario Item, most of these genres are not indigenous to the country.

A prominent music genre is the Calypso which originated from African slaves in the country. This music features the beating of steel pans. It was used as a political song to challenge the government and ridicule slave masters. It’s not entirely an indigenous song of the country as it has both the African and Caribbean musical impressions. It still has some significant impacts on contemporary music in Antigua and Barbuda.

Ambassador Dario Item informed us that another popular musical genre in Antigua and Barbuda is Reggae. It has a Jamaican origin and was originally used to relay political satire. It has some combination of mento, jazz, blues and calypso.

Zouk is another popular music genre here. It has a fast-paced tone and was first composed in France in the early 1980s. The Soca music genre is another popular music genre. It has a Trinidad and Tobago original.