Cocolo is a dance drama tradition practiced in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

. It has been inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

in 2008, though the original proclamation came in 2005. The tradition developed among the descendants of British Caribbean sugar-plantation slaves, also called

Cocolo ''Cocolo'' is a term used in the Hispanic Caribbean to refer to Afro-Caribbean migrant descendants. The term originated in the Dominican Republic and is historically used to refer to the Anglophone Caribbean immigrants and their descendants and m ...

. The performances unite "music and dance genres of African origin" with "plots, legends, and figures derived from biblical and medieval European literature." In the past, Cocolo troupes used to perform at "Christmas, on St Peter's day, and at carnival activities." Now, only one aging troupe remains.

References

{{UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity , state=collapsed Dance in the Dominican Republic