Oral Fuentes, centre, with his reggae band performing at She-Nanigans. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Reggae roots

Centre francophone celebrates Black History Month

Feb 13, 2023 | 12:20 PM

The rhythm of the music brought the crowd to its feet when the Oral Fuentes Reggae Band hit the stage at She-nanigans in North Battleford Friday.

It was all part of Centre Francophone des Battleford’s celebration for Black History Month.

Centre Francophone’s community director Véronique Bernier said the organization hoped to have an evening of camaraderie and music.

“It was a great way for us to celebrate this important month,” she said. “We have a lot of people who immigrated here, and we wanted to support this month. So, we thought of this music event.”

The show included a brief introduction in both French and English.

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“We do offer a lot of French events but for this one, we wanted to make sure it was bilingual so more people would have a chance to come,” Bernier said.

The band’s members are all based in Saskatoon but some are originally from Ghana, Nigeria, Saint Lucia and Chile.

The band leader, Oral Fuentes, on guitar and vocals, described the music as a combination of Reggae and Afro/Latino fusion.

“February is Black History Month. We are so very happy and encouraged for the French community to invite us,” he said.

Hailing from Belize, Fuentes said many of the people from his country are descendants of African slaves, so Black History Month is an important time for him personally to remember and reflect on his own connection to the past.

“We have a lot of history, the whole Caribbean,” he said. “There is so much rich history in all different cultures. I think we should celebrate our culture, and what makes us who we are.”

Centre Francophone des Battleford’s president Claude Desnoyers said Black History Month is a time to honour those whose “dedication has enriched Canada’s history and culture.”

“The Francophone centre wishes to note the contribution of Black families across our nation as we come to celebrate through music,” he said.

Desnoyers added the North Battleford area played an important part in Saskatchewan’s Black history.

In 1910 a group of about 10 Black families left the American midwest seeking a better life for themselves and travelled north to Saskatchewan in response to the Canadian government’s offer of free land for farming.

After arriving, they built the Shiloh Baptist Church on Highway 21, just north of Maidstone. The church and graveyard were designated provincial heritage sites in 2019.

Shiloh was recognized as the province’s first Black settlement.

Desnoyers said over the next 20 to 30 years, up to 50 Black families called the Shiloh community their home.

He encouraged people to take a drive to the area, saying “it’s a wonderful place to visit.”

Desnoyers added that one of the families from the Shiloh settlement, the Mayes family, later moved to North Battleford. The Mayes family’s son, Rueben, made a name for himself as a talented athlete and went on to play professional football in the United States in the 1980s and early 1990s.

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow