Konquest:

@Shaybebaby,

A-ha, your feedback here is insightful.

First off, my day has been LARGELY good, thanks for asking (I hope you're having a great time too in the wake of the UK elections that brought in a new Labor Party Prime Minister)... The only exception for me is that I got hit by the very annoying NL antispam bot on one of the older NL Politics Section threads. This is the reason by I couldn't respond to your first reply to me on that thread and I had to quote your feedback here.

Tbh, I absolutely see NO reason why the so-called antispam bot still exists on this Website. I've sent a message to the Supermods to UNTAG that my important hidden post and I'm hopefully looking forward to getting the post released for viewing. Sometimes you don't get your NL post back after the antispam bot ban has expired despite emailing the Supermods.

Back to the Canary Islands (Las Islas Canarias) adventures of Shaybebaby and her fam, that location called Fuerteventura is a bit of tongue twister at first. lol

=>https://www.visitfuerteventura.com/en/

It (Fuerteventura) has some fascinating beachfront scenes from what I've seen online today. If I get you correctly, are you saying that I should give the "Canary islands" a miss... which as you said here is just "one big barren black rock?" But then again, if you dive deeply into your subconscious, there must have been some positives that you took away from Fuerteventura Island even though you seemed to "hate" it. The opportunity to eat the Fuerteventura cuisines, the fresh breeze that wafted through the air and gently glided over your skin while tossing your hair, and much more.

Last but NOT least, what's the significance of your NL username? What does the coinage mean?

Heyyy, glad you are having an awesome day,time,weekend(?). That's what I like to hear.

As for me I was happy to play my part in the UK elections, I'm a staunch labour supporter even though I do not like Kier Starmer..Corbyn was and is still my man, and I will never forgive Starmer for kicking him out of the party.

Regardless, I'll continue to vote Labour for their core ideology which lead to the formation of the NHS and the minimum wage.

On to Fuerteventura, yes, I'm saying with my "full chest" that the place is horrible. Considering that the 10 nights I spent there were paid for by my then mother in law ( a freebie), you'd think that would mollify me somewhat. Naaaah. I was miserable all through, I remember asking when we were approaching the island that " do people even live here". It was a black rock( volcanic), no vegetation.. apocalyptic if I am permitted to be dramatic😀.

Give it hard miss, the balearics are much better.

@Supermods, please leave Konquests posts untouched please. Many people come to nairaland looking for information which is hard enough considering the sh1t tsunami that floods the site daily.

To hide, even if inadvertently, one of the few sources of intelligent discourse on here, is tantamount to self sabotage.

Konquest:

@Shaybebaby,

Tbh, I think that you or anybody else can ONLY find out about the folks living in ANY country and the TRUE vibes (distinct cultures) that they exude when you get to physically visit them. Yes, Seychelles citizen can be a bit laid back unlike in Brazil, Jamaica or Cuba where you feel the cultural energy through music, cuisines, huge carnivals, etc. The travel brochures and video sharing sites aren't gonna give you that vibe you're looking for except you're telling me you've got clairvoyant powers for teleporting yourself back-and-forth from places you haven't visited before. Maybe I should come visit you to read my well-conditioned palms in order to know what extra riches are in store for me down the road.

Praslin Island and La Digue Island in the Seychelles are absolutely stunning locations for me without a shadow of doubt. At least they should be visited once in a lifetime if you want to experience some inner peace while holidaying and be in tune with the simple things of life by connecting to nature.


Shaybebaby, that's mad cool... You've visited Cuba? What year did you visit? I have a Nigerian-American friend and she has been to Cuba as well in the late 2010s. What really FIRST drew YOU to Cuba? You seem like someone who wouldn't waste time in having the fun of your life drinking Cuban Pina colada and tasting other Cuban cuisines while vigorously swaying from side-to-side to the rhythms of salsa and Afro-Cuban music? *smirk* One of my favorite international Afro-Cuban music groups is called the "Orishas" and the members have been based in France, and I've got all their albums right from the early 2000s (with the tracks replicated on my laptops and mobile devices).

That's one country I've planned to visit from 2025 for the cultural experience with Old Havana and Matanzas Province being very dear to me. Cubans have got a rich linguistic and cultural connection with the Yoruba folks of Nigeria (and other West African Yorubas) as well and they speak Cuban Lucumi (Yoruba). Lukumi is actually the original way Yorubas would greet one another going back to several centuries and it's derived from "Olukumi" meaning "my friend/my confidant." Did YOU know that based on slave ship records, about 250,000 Yorubas were deported on slave schooners to Cuba and about the same number to mainly the state of Bahia in Brazil from the late 1700s right into the 1800s when it peaked due to the Haitian revolution and the lose of Haiti by France as a fallout of the Haitian revolution (which ended plantation slavery there and led to a major shift of plantation slavery to Cuba and Brazil)? Fortunately, they weren't as brutal as that of the United States where chattel plantation slavery was very CLEARLY more brutal with the separation of family members who got sold to other plantations... NEVER to see each other again. That's in the past now but the consequences of those actions are with us today in the form of jazz music, salsa, merengue, and other respected international music forms straight out of the indomitable spirit of the African Diaspora.

The stars are indeed aligning in my favour with your prior visit to Cuba. I'll surely bounce some unique tips off you as we head towards my lift off or visit to that country... Strictly as a leisure traveler.

Take care... Talk to you later.

Au revoir.

Cuba, I visited in 2008 so a while ago buy I'd like to imagine that it remains largely unchanged considering the fact that even at time, the 60's vibe was still quite visible in Havana.

What drew me to Cuba? I love Latin culture, the dance, music especially bachata ( you should hear me murdering Spanish songs on my playlist🤣), and the language. Plus their recent history with communism was fascinating, to see how the country stagnated after falling out with US post Castro.

There was a lot of poverty, with a distinct lack of access to basic amenities, things were very dated since there was no international trade( at least not to my knowledge) and no real industries. But we know the history of how things became so, so it was an interesting juxtaposition to see the impact of communism in a place that looked like paradise.

I'll admit that my knowledge of the transatlantic slave trade back then was non-existent so I did not have the opportunity to experience it from that context. But I did notice that they had groups of what they called Shango worshippers..so I connected the dots.

What is interesting in those places ( the Caribbean islands) is that you come across people that bear nigerian names, without having a clue that that is a throwback to their forebears. I met a Jamaican in Jamaica ( born, bred, no recent african ancestors) named Nneka, who had no clue it was a Nigerian name, never mind Igbo.

I'm going to reread your post on slave trade, ( I need to digest it) and would love if you have some links to share for further reading. I note that you mentioned Haiti, and as it happens, I'll be going to Dominican Republic in November ( which is the other half of the island) so thank you and gods that made you post this. It will add another flavour to my trip.😁

@ my username, it's a nickname given to me by sister. What about yours? When I see yours I always think Conquistador...aaaaaaand we are back to all things latin😜😜

shaybebaby:

Heyyy, glad you are having an awesome day,time,weekend(?). That's what I like to hear.

As for me I was happy to play my part in the UK elections, I'm a staunch labour supporter even though I do not like Kier Starmer..Corbyn was and is still my man, and I will never forgive Starmer for kicking him out of the party.

Regardless, I'll continue to vote Labour for their core ideology which lead to the formation of the NHS and the minimum wage.

On to Fuerteventura, yes, I'm saying with my "full chest" that the place is horrible. Considering that the 10 nights I spent there were paid for by my then mother in law ( a freebie), you'd think that would mollify me somewhat. Naaaah. I was miserable all through, I remember asking when we were approaching the island that " do people even live here". It was a black rock( volcanic), no vegetation.. apocalyptic if I am permitted to be dramatic😀.

Give it hard miss, the balearics are much better.

@Supermods, please leave Konquests posts untouched please. Many people come to nairaland looking for information which is hard enough considering the sh1t tsunami that floods the site daily.

To hide, even if inadvertently, one of the few sources of intelligent discourse on here, is tantamount to self sabotage.

I like your feedback here Shaybebaby.

With reference to the UK elections, the variables that made you and other folks to gravitate towsrds voting for the UK Labour Party further emphasizes the importance of catering to the electorates' overall self-interests. It is what it is!

Thanks for the deeper insights into the Fuerteventura Island here. It comes with your "full chest" as a symbol of authority! Your apocalyptic reference cracked me up.

Oh, wow! Just a quick note here... You and your ex-MIL must have related well with each other back in the day. Some MILs have overbearing attitudes due to the fact that their sons are "mummy's boys," while a lot of young female spouses already have preconceived notions about MILs and so create a Soviet-era "iron curtain" between themselves and their mothers-in-law.

I'm gonna trust your judgement on that black island. I wouldn't even want to be caught vacationing on that lone volcanic island called Fuerteventura (A dormant volcanic island like that could one day erupt spontaneously anytime like Mount Vesuvius in Italy many centuries ago, when you least expect it). Hawaii is a lovely place but suffers from occasionally eruptions due to the fact that it's made up of volcanic islands too just like other Carribean islands except some like Barbados that are NOT of volcanic origins.

I like your feedback here Shaybebaby. It's shows how intentional you are.

Now, I'll give my unique perspectives on your prior Cuban and Jamo odysseys.

shaybebaby:


Cuba, I visited in 2008 so a while ago buy I'd like to imagine that it remains largely unchanged considering the fact that even at time, the 60's vibe was still quite visible in Havana.

What drew me to Cuba? I love Latin culture, the dance, music especially bachata ( you should hear me murdering Spanish songs on my playlist🤣), and the language. Plus their recent history with communism was fascinating, to see how the country stagnated after falling out with US post Castro.

There was a lot of poverty, with a distinct lack of access to basic amenities, things were very dated since there was no international trade( at least not to my knowledge) and no real industries. But we know the history of how things became so, so it was an interesting juxtaposition to see the impact of communism in a place that looked like paradise.

I'll admit that my knowledge of the transatlantic slave trade back then was non-existent so I did not have the opportunity to experience it from that context. But I did notice that they had groups of what they called Shango worshippers..so I connected the dots.

What is interesting in those places ( the Caribbean islands) is that you come across people that bear nigerian names, without having a clue that that is a throwback to their forebears. I met a Jamaican in Jamaica ( born, bred, no recent african ancestors) named Nneka, who had no clue it was a Nigerian name, never mind Igbo.

I'm going to reread your post on slave trade, ( I need to digest it) and would love if you have some links to share for further reading. I note that you mentioned Haiti, and as it happens, I'll be going to Dominican Republic in November ( which is the other half of the island) so thank you and gods that made you post this. It will add another flavour to my trip.😁

@ my username, it's a nickname given to me by sister. What about yours? When I see yours I always think Conquistador...aaaaaaand we are back to all things latin😜😜

Whoa! In 2008... That was a long time ago @Shaybebaby. Indeed, as of the time you visited communist Cuba, the biggest island in the Caribbean was still largely trapped in the 1950s-like era with those old 1950s and 1960s American cars. Ever since former President Barack Obama officially visited Cuba in March of 2016, things have vastly improved with a lot of gentrification of parts of Old Havana going on. Most of the old weather-beaten buildings really just need fresh coats of colourful paint and voila, the buildings come off looking really "sexy." In the year 2001, I remember that the past Ooni of Ife (Oba Okunade Sijuade) before the current Ooni of Ife (Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi) officially visited Cuba on the invitation of Fidel Castro to sign economic and cultural agreements and to see the many descendants of Yorubas (many male members of Yoruba royal families from different kingdoms were also captured as prisoners of wars in the 1800s and deported on those Spanish, Portuguese, and American slave ships to the Americas) who were taken to Cuba and the Black and White adherants of the Yoruba religion. The day the Oba (King) and his entourage landed in a plane in Havana was the day heavy rains started falling in Cuba in 2001 after a severe drought that lasted for several months. "Guess what? Afro-Cubans saw the Ooni's visit from Nigeria as a blessing from the
Orishas (Yoruba deities) and a sign that what their Yoruba ancestors told them about the mystical powers of the Oonis of Ife is true."


So, did you go to Cuba as a solo traveler OR were you part of a travel group? I feel your vibe right there in "near-absolute" terms on what made you gravitate towards a Cuban vacation as indicated in your post. I want YOU to also share with me some of your favorite "Bachata" music tracks from your playlist on this thread or on the NL Music Section thread. I'd like to immerse myself in that genre of Cuban "Bachata" music while taking a pleasant walk and/or car ride along the Malecon seawall.

There's indeed a gravitation pull for me towards the Latin-American culture especially the Afro-Cuban, Afro-Brazilian and Afro-Carribean culture varieties. The music genres and sounds from the great Lucumi exponent, Lazoro Ros of Cuba who passed on in 2005, Orishas (my favorite Cuban rap and hip-hop group since the early 2000s), Camila Cabello, Carlos Santana, are truly stellar and evoke a feeling of oneness with Cuba! "A lo Cubano."

I'll bet that YOU work in the travel industry or you've got an international career path for you to have already "ticked" Cuba, Jamaica, and other places on your "travel list" of intensely cultural and fun places to visit in the Carribean! You know, I like your sense of adventure.

With reference to the Dominican Republic, I've studied their ancestry DNA results in the past from majorly online sources and a lot of them individually have caramel skin complexions due to their mixed African, Native American, and Spanish descent as shown by the DNA test results. Any Black African person you see in DR is most likely a long-time Haitian immigrant. An African-American lady who is also well-traveled told me that when she visited the Dominican Republic and lodged in a hotel, she developed a sustained upset tummy after eating a meal that contained vegetable salad. So, you have to be on guard to ensure that what you consume is well washed and NOT half-cooked.



So, right BELOW, I have 3 out of all the downloaded videos in my "travel archives" on the Dominican Republic for some years now that I'll share with you here so that you can see things as they are in terms of race relations and more.

1] The FIRST video here will be a revealing the relationship between Haitians and Dominican Republic citizens (to see the full Dominican perspective and discrimination towards Haitians, you have to watch the YouTube video from the time stamp of 7 mins out of the 15 mins long video. Haiti is ALSO experiencing a prolonged and vicious gang warfare right now in the capital city and nearby towns which started years back but it has further escalated right into the posh neighborhoods of the capital city with mass sexual assaults on women and kidnappings for ransom as of this 2024! A wise person or tourist would have to PERISH the thought of quickly dashing into Haiti from the Dominican Republic. It's wild out there!

Divided island - How Haiti and the DR Became Two Worlds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WvKeYuwifc?si=1rwslQ6cV6RxYX4B
Vox - Oct 17, 2017

2] Second, Norberis R. is a Dominican female entrepreneurs and travel YouTuber you can check up on here. She and her African-American husband (James) moved back to DR about 2 years ago from Florida in the United States and I've been watching her tips on using Dominican Spanish and visiting DR which meshes right into your next trip to DR as well. She and James dropped their latest video 2 days ago so I'll recommend that you watch that second video below FIRST before watching the older video here.


What I found Out After Moving From the United States to Dominica

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNqhQDLPkhs
Norberis R. - April 3, 2023


Why Living in Dominican Republic is Different than Visiting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGhak9CKIFg?si=2_5McaXH776dYluj
Norberis R - July 7, 2024


3] Third, Jessica Savano visited Cuba from LA in December 2022 and did a Havana mini documentary video on her visit to different areas in Havana revealing the old and new sides of that city.

The Journey Through Havana, Cuba

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6oZ79KHgiQ
Jessica Savano - Dec 3, 2022



Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade RESOURCES:
1. https://www.slavevoyages.org/

https://www.slavevoyages.org/resources/names-database2
This is one of the BEST archival sources I've used for years to gain useful insights into the trans-Atlantic slave trade voyages and it contains the database of the liberated African and their names, ethnicities, the names of the infamous slave ships they were liberated from by the British Royal Navy Squadrons off the coast of West Africa, and the final region of destination in the Americas.

2. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2083&context=etd
You can download this PDF dissertation from the link above written by Miguel Ramos on the Yoruba culture and religion in Cuba entitled: M Ramos · 2013 · Lucumí (Yoruba) Culture in Cuba: A Reevaluation (1830s – 1940s).

3] https://boydellandbrewer.com/9781580464734/afro-cuban-diasporas-in-the-atlantic-world/


I've still got a vast archive of advanced resources on the trans-Atlantic slave trade but I'll stop here to avoid information overload. The main thrust should be to take one bite at a time.

Shaybebaby, I love your insights here.

Talk to you later.

Adios.