International audienceThe article deals with the intercultural exchanges between two cultural movements rooted in the African Diasporas. In Guadeloupe, a French island in the Caribbean, Gwo-ka was born on the plantation in the 17th century. Blues appeared in the southern United-States by the end of the 19th century. In order to illustrate the similarities between these two afro-diasporic cultural phenomena, the article first examines the economic and social factors that prompted their emergence. Second, it compares their socio-cultural functions within their respective communities. Using Paul Gilroy’s theory of the Black Atlantic, the article concludes with a questioning of his thesis within the framework of the present study.L’article s’in...