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Article: Harvest harmony A mix of cultures wraps up another season on the blueberry barrens Down East, where hard work and community go hand in hand
- Article from:
- Bangor Daily News Bangor, ME
- Article date:
- August 15, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2006 Bangor Daily News Bangor, ME. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Deep in the heart of Washington County's blueberry barrens, the
hills are alive with the sound of Latino music pumping from
boomboxes, 12 hours a day.
Perched on trunks of cars, the music machines provide upbeat
rhythms that help the hours pass faster for the many minority workers
in the fields. Not just for Mexicans, the music moves along the
thousands of migrants who arrive Down East each August for the
harvesting by hand of wild blueberries.
"We don't mind if it's not our music," a member of the Micmac
tribe in New Brunswick said last week, standing up to pause in the
midday sun. "Whoever puts the music on first, we all listen."
At night, the sounds change for the international community ...