Family recipes. Bahamian Junkanoo parades. Christmas trees. Japanese taiko drumming. Colombian vallenato music. Car customizing. African American gospel. Joke telling. Haitian sign painting. All of these traditional practices are examples of folklife.
Folk traditions are central to our sense of belonging, identity, and community well-being. They are the songs, stories, dances, costumes, holidays, and recipes that are passed from one generation to the next. These traditions are learned and kept alive through word of mouth, by example, and through our connections with our folk groups, such as our families and our ethnic, regional, occupational, or religious communities.
Folklife encompasses the many ways we express ourselves and the cultural practices, art forms, and traditional knowledge kept alive within our folk groups. Types of folklife include music, dance, storytelling, handmade objects, foodways, rituals, occupational skills, and much more. These practices are rooted in a community’s history. At the same time, they are dynamic, changing to meet a community’s contemporary needs. South Florida folklife includes all of the traditions practiced by the region’s diverse peoples and cultures.
To learn more about local cultural practices, visit our Highlighted Projects page and view a selection of field research projects conducted by the South Florida Folklife Center. You can also learn about some of our region’s master traditional artists and tradition bearers by browsing the Artist-in-Residence pages.
