Music of Martinique

The former French colony of Martinique is a small island in the Caribbean. Its musical heritage is intertwined with that of its sister island, Guadeloupe. Despite their small size, the islands have created a large popular music industry, which gained in international renown after the success of zouk music in the later 20th century. Zouk's popularity was particularly intense in France, where the genre became an important symbol of identity for Martinique and Guadeloupe . Zouk's origins are in the folk music of Martinique and Guadeloupe, especially Martinican chouval bwa and Guadeloupan gwo ka, and the pan-Caribbean calypso tradition.