Caribbean Beat — January/February 2024 (#180)

SHOP | PLAY | DINE

Make every moment count.

It’s good not to be home.

After the festivities, a celebration event or the LIME all-inclusive party experience, come home to luxurious accommodation at Hyatt Regency Trinidad. Just an elevator away, you can relax, unwind or revive yourself at the spa. While you’re here, enjoy the view poolside with your favorite cocktail, satisfy your cravings with world-class cuisine or tour our meeting spaces to plan your next project. Seize the moment and more.

For reservations, visit trinidad.regency.hyatt.com HYATT REGENCY TRINIDAD 1 Wrightson Road, Port of Spain 868 623 2222 The HYATT trademark and related marks are trademarks of Hyatt Corporation or its affiliates. ©2023 Hyatt Corporation. All rights reserved.

A Message Message from ourACEO

from our CEO processing at check-in, faster baggage processing on arrivals, and refining our communication and handling of disruptions, delays, and cancellations.

The Caribbean Airlines team (from right to left: Dennison Charles, Travis Bishop, Kristy Lee Sumadh, Nan Je Ye, Kirby Babwahsingh, Kimberly Purcell, Nicholas Rambally, Ravi Sankar, Anaiah Jeffrey, Amaris Noray, Marsha Salina, Josieann Mitchell) welcoming you home

As we soar into 2024, it is a time to reflect on the accomplishments of the past year, and we extend our heartfelt appreciation for your support in our success.

Celebrating the Caribbean mosaic The Caribbean, with its diverse landscapes and vibrant cultures, is a tapestry of experiences waiting to be explored. From the breathtaking savannas of Guyana to the enchanting nature of Dominica, the pulsating rhythms of soca in Trinidad & Tobago to the irie vibes of Jamaica, our region is a treasure trove of wonders. Caribbean Airlines is steadfast in its ambition to be the gateway showcasing the best of the Caribbean to its passengers.

Welcome Home in 2024 Our Welcome Home theme continues in 2024 as we embark on another year dedicated to improved travel connectivity with a further expanded network. In January, look forward to the unveiling of our new flight attendant and ground staff uniforms, a symbol of our commitment

to excellence and a fresh start for 2024.

Also, look out for new boarding passes, adorned with multiple designs reflecting events throughout the year. These will add an artistic touch to your journey.

Key highlights for 2024 • Network expansion: We are committed to enhancing intraregional travel and helping bring the people of the Caribbean together.

Follow our social media channels for more on the roll-out of these exciting plans.

• Cultural integration: Expect to see the vibrance of Caribbean culture woven into our operations, supported by our involvement in cultural events across various territories.

Elevating the customer experience We’re taking further steps to enhance the customer experience in 2024, with a dedicated programme of improvements to make your journey and time with us even smoother and more enjoyable.

This includes improved customer

Sustainability in action In 2023, we launched our Sustainability Programme, focusing on education, community, and wellness. The Caribbean Career Expo, our first signature event, showcased the potential of our youth.

Building on this success, we plan to include the Career Expo in the school calendar and host similar events across our network, encompassing medical and wellness conferences.

Expanding opportunities: • Caribbean Jetpak: Exciting news as our courier service expands in 2024, starting with Guyana, Jamaica, and Barbados. This aims to foster e-commerce growth and capability with affordable, convenient, and faster delivery options.

• D’ Caribbean Shop online: The growth of D’ Caribbean Shop online brings more exciting retailing opportunities straight to the home.

As we navigate through 2024, these initiatives underscore our commitment to making Caribbean Airlines not just an airline but a bridge connecting the Caribbean, with our customers' wellbeing always our top priority. Welcome to 2024 and may this year bring you the positive outcomes you desire.

Regards, Garvin

CaribbeanAirlines

A DV E R T O R I A L

Dive into the extraordinary Lying off the coast of South America, Tobago is part of the twin island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, and quite simply is a paradise for scuba divers. If you’ve never experienced the underwater world, there’s no better place to take the plunge.

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ith over fifty dive sites teeming with marine life, how do you decide where to explore? Well, it greatly depends on your level of experience. Luckily Tobago is the ideal destination for first timers and dive-masters alike.

With the tranquil Caribbean Sea lapping the island’s southwest, the current is almost non-existent. This provides excellent conditions for both shallow snorkelers and novice divers.

Meanwhile, those who are ready for a greater adventure might prefer the northeast. Here, the dramatic Atlantic Ocean offers more advanced challenges with much stronger currents at dive sites like London Bridge off Charlotteville.

When it comes to expert instruction, there are dive centers dotted across the island offering courses for all levels – starting with Discover Scuba.

There’s also the opportunity to take Open Water, Advanced and Rescue Diver courses, as well as specialty ones like Drift Diving. For more detailed information, the Association of Tobago Dive Operators (ATDO) can recommend PADI courses and programs, along with numerous scuba diving facilities. All must adhere to specific standards for the comfort, and more importantly, the safety of divers.

A great time to visit Basking in a year-round tropical marine climate, you might be wondering when the best time is to scuba dive in Tobago. While the water temperature constantly stays between 77–85°F (25–29°C), underwater visibility can be reduced during the rainy season. This comes between July to December when there’s an average rainfall of 7.8in (200mm). Whichever season you choose to dive, only a 3mm neoprene suit is recommended.

One thing’s for certain, as soon as you’re ready to jump in, there are a plethora of species to spot. Nestled in the point where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Caribbean Sea, Tobago’s coastal waters are alive with diverse beauty. Just to the north of Venezuela and at the mouth of the Orinoco River, Tobago is fed year-round by the nutrient-rich Guyana current.

This provides much sustenance for the reefs and attracts a wide rainbowcolored spectrum of life to the area.

A world of marine magic Thick with sponges and corals, you can discover unspoilt reefs, including the world’s largest known brain coral.

Amongst the reefs, closely huddled schooling fish and moray eels rub shoulders with lobsters and sea

horses. Take a closer look and you can even encounter octopus, barracudas, tarpons, turtles, nurse sharks and rays.

It’s no wonder that Tobago is one of the best kept secrets of the dive world – and certainly one to tick off your bucket list. With its clear pristine waters, wealth of kaleidoscopic marine life, and well-established dive sites, it’s time for you to dive into the extraordinary...

If you’d like to find out more about scuba diving in Tobago, scan the QR code where you can also find a list of the all the dive operators on the island.

Journey to

Explore MORE

“Immerse yourself in the captivating rhythms, vibrant colours, and infectious energy of Mashramani. A beautiful display of Guyanese culture awaits!"

www.guyanatourism.com

Contents No. 180 • January/February 2024

66 20 18 Wish you were here

The blue holes of Andros

title role in the Bob Marley: One Love biopic. Caroline Taylor reports

20 Event buzz

44 Backstory

Festivals and events around the region

26 Art buzz

Life Between Islands

30 Music & book buzz

Reviews by Nigel Campbell and Shivanee Ramlochan

32 Cookup

The barfi queen Natasha Laggan — once described as the “Caribbean’s top food influencer” — has been making mouths water through her Trini Cooking with Natasha brand. Shelly-Ann Inniss learns more

38 Natural wonder

The Bonaire salt pyramids

40 Snapshot

Relishing the challenge Fresh off roles in Barbie and Marvel’s Secret Invasion, Trinidadian-British actor Kingsley Ben-Adir takes on the 12

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Reel & come again Jonathan Ali explores the rich cinematic history of reggae music and culture through six iconic films

48 Own words

“I know who I am now” Singer and songwriter Nadia Batson on the magic of Carnival 2019; the devastation she masked through Carnival 2023; and the joy of finding her voice, and finally feeling seen — as told to Caroline Taylor

56 Personal tour

Beyond iron & steel Nigel Campbell meditates on the power of music and community in Trinidad’s panyards, especially in the electric lead-up to Panorama — the biggest steelband showcase in the world

60 Panorama

Making the Caribbean with mas Carnivals abound across the region

32 at this time of year. Marvin George explores both their differences and their common threads

66 Escape

As nature intended Some of the most remarkable nature reserves across the Caribbean

76 Neighbourhood

Gros Islet, St Lucia Once a small fishing village, this community near St Lucia’s northern tip has become the island’s tourism epicentre — but still holds on to some rustic touches

Caribbean Beat An MEP publication

Editor Caroline Taylor Designer Kevon Webster Editorial assistant Shelly-Ann Inniss Production manager Jacqueline Smith Finance director Joanne Mendes Publisher Jeremy Taylor Business development consultant Halcyon Salazar

Business Development Manager, Tobago and International Evelyn Chung T: (868) 684–4409 E: evelyn@meppublishers.com

80 Layover

Business Development Manager, Trinidad Tracy Farrag T: (868) 318–1996 E: tracy@meppublishers.com

Bridgetown, Barbados Our guide to exploring the island when time is tight

82 Prepare for landing

Princess Juliana International Airport, St Maarten (SXM)

84 On this day

For the ancestors Some 100 years after becoming the world’s first free Black republic, Haiti remained without a national anthem.

James Ferguson looks at the creation of “La Dessalinienne”

86 Green

For seven generations to come The Caribbean has a plastic pollution problem. But, reports Karen McDonald Gayle, community groups have been leading the way to ensure we can continue to enjoy our beautiful bodies of water

88 Puzzles & brain teasers

Our crossword, spot-the-difference, and other brain teasers

96 Parting shot

Media & Editorial Projects Ltd. 6 Prospect Avenue, Long Circular, Maraval 120111, Trinidad and Tobago T: (868) 622–3821/6138 E: caribbean-beat@meppublishers.com Websites: meppublishers.com • caribbean-beat.com

Printed in Trinidad & Tobago by

Caribbean Beat is published six times a year for Caribbean Airlines by Media & Editorial Projects Ltd. It is also available on subscription. Copyright © Caribbean Airlines 2024. All rights reserved. ISSN 1680–6158.

No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form whatsoever without the written permission of the publisher. MEP accepts no responsibility for content supplied by our advertisers. The views of the advertisers are theirs and do not represent MEP in any way.

Website: www.caribbean-airlines.com

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Cover Trinidadian singer, songwriter, and “your Caribbean girl” Nadia Batson at Trinidad & Tobago Carnival Photo Courtesy Dynamic Entertainment

This issue’s contributors: Jonathan Ali, a film curator, has been writing about arts and culture for over 20 years. His byline has appeared in the Trinidad & Tobago Review, the Trinidad Guardian, the Caribbean Review of Books, and Sight & Sound Magazine, among other publications. He has contributed to Caribbean Beat since 2008.

Nigel Campbell is a Trinidad-based concert producer, music industry analyst, commentator, and reviewer who’s documented Caribbean music and the business of music in print, on television, and on the Music Matters: The Caribbean Edition podcast.

James Ferguson is an Oxford-based publisher, translator, and writer with a background in French culture and Caribbean history. He has written several books on Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, and been a regular contributor to Caribbean Beat for many years.

Based in Trinidad and part of the Caribbean Beat team, Shelly-Ann Inniss is a Barbadian writer; self-appointed tourism ambassador for Barbados; gluten-free baker and founder of Your Gluten-free Companion (producing a blend of gluten-free flour and other products).

Shivanee Ramlochan, a Trinidadian poet, essayist, and book critic, is the author of Everyone Knows I am a Haunting. Since 2010, she has blogged about Caribbean and LGBTQI+ literatures at novelniche.net. Her debut creative non-fiction book, Unkillable, is forthcoming.

Caroline Taylor is a Trinidadian writer, editor, performer, and producer with a particular interest in arts, culture, conservation and the environment. In addition to Caribbean Beat, her work has appeared in various publications, including National Geographic and The Guardian (UK).

WWW.CARIBBEAN-AIRLINES.COM

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Discovering Dominica: Message an island ofAwonders

from our CEO Amidst the plethora of options, Fort Young Hotel is positioned in the heart of Roseau, boasting a rich history, and recently unveiling a new wing, offering even more rooms in the bustling downtown area.

Courtesy Dionne Ligoure

Other noteworthy stays include but are not limited to Intercontinental Dominica, Picard Beach Cottages, Ave’s Ville Apartments, Hotel the Champs, Riverside Hotel, Citrus Creek Plantation, Sunset Bay Club, Pagua Bay House, Wanderlust Caribbean, Anichi Resort, Tranquility Bay, and an array of Airbnbs catering to various budgets and preferences.

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Nestled in the southwest, the tiny village of Scotts Head overlooks Soufrière Bay — a diving and snorkelling haven where the spirited Atlantic Ocean meets the calm Caribbean Sea. On clear days, there are views of the magical Martinique, adding an extra layer of charm to this coastal paradise.

Aptly dubbed “the nature island”, Dominica’s allure lies in its promise of “something for everyone”. From the adrenalinepumping hiking trails, to retreats for wellness enthusiasts and those yearning to immerse themselves in untouched natural beauty, the island invites exploration of its rugged and enchanting interior — a departure from conventional coastal escapes.

Rumours persist that Napoleon’s wife, Josephine, was born in Dominica rather than Martinique. While Dominicans playfully refuse to engage in a historical battle with the French, the island’s south holds the estate of Morne Rouge — once owned by Josephine’s father.

n 2023, I had the opportunity to visit a few islands. Each, with its distinct charm, offered a glimpse into the rich cultural mosaic that defines the Caribbean. My recent journey to Dominica left an indelible mark.

The news of Dominica establishing the world’s first reserve for sperm whales is genius, appealing to a niche market of whale watchers, marine biologists, and cetologists.

Another exceptional feature is the Kalinago Territory — a 3,700-acre sanctuary in the northeast that preserves Indigenous heritage. Guided tours lead visitors through the Asulukati River, cascading waterfalls, and ascents to the summit of Kabet — an enriching experience for all ages.

Merely 29 miles long and 16 miles wide, Dominica has the largest number of active volcanoes of any island globally — a testament to its volcanic origins. Signs of geothermal activity abound, from fumaroles to the renowned Boiling Lake perched 2,300 feet above sea level in the south.

Accommodation options in Dominica are as diverse as its landscapes. There are currently more than 1,000 rooms — from the eco-luxury of Secret Bay; Rosalie Bay (renowned for turtlewatching and award-winning culinary delights); to the aweinspiring Jungle Bay, sustainably designed in harmony with nature. Then there’s Coulibri Ridge, a luxurious off-grid eco retreat, which proudly showcases its commitment to sustainability, seamlessly blending with the natural environment. #REcalibrated

Dominica’s resilience shines through after Hurricane Maria’s devastation in 2017. Hoteliers united to rebuild, enhancing infrastructure, and offering innovative options for travellers.

The World Creole Music Festival, a staple on the regional events calendar, beckons music enthusiasts from far and wide, solidifying Dominica’s place atop Time Magazine’s “World’s Greatest Places in 2023”, and National Geographic’s “Cool list” of the 30 most exciting places to visit in 2024.

Reaching Dominica is a breeze, thanks to Caribbean Airlines’ four weekly flights from Trinidad, seamlessly connecting travellers from New York, Toronto, Guyana, and beyond. Direct flights from Barbados and Antigua further facilitate easy access to this Caribbean haven. Check out www.caribbean-airlines.com for the schedule and latest information on promotions.

Dionne Ligoure is the Head of Corporate Communications at Caribbean Airlines.

E-mail: dionne.ligoure@caribbean-airlines.com

CaribbeanAirlines

wish you were here

The blue holes of Andros Largest of The Bahamas islands, Andros — actually an archipelago with three main islands, lying due west of New Providence — is home to numerous natural wonders. There’s its barrier reef (the world’s sixth longest), and the Tongue of the Ocean (a magnificent undersea trench reaching to depths of almost 7,000 feet). Andros is also home to the world’s greatest concentration of blue holes — flooded limestone sinkholes that dot the landscape, surrounded by pine forests. These geological formations are a habitat for unique fauna, protected by the 40,000-acre Blue Holes National Park. They offer a thrilling experience for swimmers willing to plunge into their azure depths.

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Courtesy the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism

Lazyllama/Shutterstock.com

Essential info about the major festivals and events across the region this January and February

Let’s get festive!

Commemorate the signing of the Peace Treaty between the British and the Maroons at the Accompong Maroon Festival (6 January) in Jamaica. Coinciding with the infamous Captain Cudjoe’s birthday, Maroon descendants honour him and their ancestors under the sacred and symbolic Kindah Tree. And in true Jamaican style, a sound system party ends the day.

Traditionally, Christmas ends on the 12th day of Christmas (6 January). But in Venezuela, Cuba, and some other Caribbean countries, it marks Three Kings Day — the “second Christmas”, with family dinners, gifts, and parades as the three wise men are honoured.

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Immerse yourself in art, poetry, and history tours in recognition of St Lucia’s Nobel Laureates Sir Derek Walcott and Sir Arthur Lewis at St Lucia’s Nobel Laureate Festival (7–31 January).

Agence Opale/Alamy Stock Photo

event buzz

event buzz

Wire/Alamy Live News

Soak in the lively atmosphere and indulge in all the flavourful fare at Cayman Cookout (10–14 January).

Then enjoy delectable culinary wonders along with live music and comedy at the KAABOO Music Festival (15 February).

Miami’s Art Deco Weekend (12–14 January) overflows with free activities and events such as guided architectural tours, films, artisan markets, a classic car show and musical entertainment — all showcasing and preserving the Art Deco District and culture of Miami Beach.

Valentin Valkov/Shutterstock.com

Calling all regatta lovers, seasoned sailors, and newbies! A great time on or off the boats awaits at Barbados Sailing Week (13–24 January), the Round Barbados Race (21 January), Grenada Sailing Week (28 January–2 February), the RORC Caribbean 600 in Antigua (19 February), and St Maarten Heineken Regatta (29 February–3 March).

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Rebel Salute (19–20 January) pays homage to reggae and the genre’s legend, Tony Rebel, a couple weeks before the start of Jamaica’s Reggae Month in February. Free concerts, workshops, and music conferences are hallmarks of the month-long festivities.

And if you’re in South Florida, the inaugural Reggae Genealogy Concert (10 February) blends entertainment and education in a historical retrospective and concert.

WWW.CARIBBEAN-AIRLINES.COM

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event buzz

After last year’s Grand Slam 53, Grenada’s Spice Island Billfish Tournament (22–26 January) returns, offering anglers myriad memorable experiences … and chances to earn bragging rights!

Bequia Music Festival (24–28 January) welcomes everyone to groove along to all genres of music performed by the hottest local, regional, and international artists.

Get your blues fix with old- and newcomers blasting out hits as the sun goes down at the Mustique Blues Festival (24 January–7 February).

The stage of New York Fashion Week (9–11 February) is set to dazzle even more with Steelpan & Carnival on D Runway (10 February) — a dynamic fashion showcase and tribute to Trinidad & Tobago’s culture and diversity hosted by the Fashion Life Tour and produced by Minnesotabased Trinidadian Jolanta Kissoon.

For one week in mid-February, the Barbados Holetown Festival presents nightly concerts, Holetown bus tours, a street fair and parade, a Bajan Carnival, and more.

Even when the pre-Lenten Caribbean carnivals are over, it doesn’t mean the festivities are. Enjoy Bolivia’s Carnival of Oruro (19 February–1 March), where revellers pay homage to the Virgen of Socavón by wearing costumes and masks featuring parodies of devils, animals and more.

Then celebrate Republic Day in Guyana with Mashramani (23 February), where calypso, chutney-soca, and soca competitions and special dance routines are major highlights.

The “year of the dragon” is upon us! Suriname rings in the Chinese New Year or Spring Festival (10 February) with fireworks, reunion feasts, parades, and the famous lion dance.

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redstone/Shutterstock.com

Enjoy book and poetry readings, art exhibitions, and evening concerts at the Havana International Book Fair (8–18 February). The Royal Fortress of La Cabaña and The Fortress of El Morro are the main venues.

T photography/Shutterstock.com

event buzz

Hemis/Alamy Stock Photo

Martinique Carnival 11–14 February The action begins on Shrove Sunday, when Vaval the Carnival King’s effigy emerges, opening the carnival, concluding on Ash Wednesday where everyone dresses in black and white costumes to drown their sorrows with one last fete as they bid adieu to King Vaval’s burning effigy.

Trinidad & Tobago Carnival Through 13 February The “mother of all West Indian carnivals” starts just after Christmas with parties and numerous showcases and competitions (from calypso and soca to costumes, stickfighting and steelbands) through to J’ouvert morning and the parade of the bands on Carnival Monday and Tuesday.

Guadeloupe Carnival 6 January–13 February Street parades with grand costumes, choreographed dances, and the appearance of the Carnival Queen and King are the highlights of Shrove Sunday (or Dimanche Gras), Lundi Gras morning and Rose Monday evening, before the famous floats and red devils take to the streets on Mardi Gras.

Curaçao Carnival 6 January–13 February Enjoy tumba music, costumed street parades, King and Queen pageants, Carnival of the Bandabou region, the Main Carnival Parade, and the Main Farewell Parade.

Carnaval de Ponce, Puerto Rico 10–13 February Interactive songs, bomba music and chants feature heavily in this “carnival on steroids”. Parade Day is Sunday, Monday is all about salsa, and the Burial of the Sardine ends the celebrations on Tuesday.

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Quentin Gustot/Shutterstock.com

Caribbean carnival calendar

event buzz

And on the mainland …

Encarnación, Paraguay 27 January–24 February Panama Carnival 9–14 February Rio de Janeiro Carnival, Brazil 9–17 February Barranquilla Carnival, Colombia 10–13 February Designated a UNESCO Masterpiece of the Oral & Intangible Heritage of Humanity

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Ecuador Carnival 12–13 February Mardi Gras, New Orleans 13 February

robertharding/Alamy Stock Photo

Haiti Carnival 11–13 February The largest of the island’s parades happen in Port-au-Prince, while you can experience small celebrations in Jacmel and Aux Cayes. Parties take place for three days leading up to Mardi Gras.

Mas Domnik (aka The Real Mas), Dominica 12–13 February African and French masquerade traditions are at the heart of monthlong activities, culminating with two days of jump-ups in the street.

Shakespeare Mas, Carriacou 12–13 February As the name suggests, belting the playwright’s speeches with confidence is one of the unique attributes of this Carnival tradition. A whack from the stick each participant carries is expected when lines are fumbled …

Carnaval Dominicano, Dominican Republic 12–13 February If you don’t see a limping devil (diablo cojuelo) at Carnival time, you’re in the wrong place. La Vega has the largest parade, and Santiago the second largest. Across the country, bachata, salsa, and merengue blast from speakers as colourful costumes are brought to life by masqueraders.

There are parades every Sunday in the preceding weeks — no two carnivals in any two towns are the same.

WWW.CARIBBEAN-AIRLINES.COM

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© Hurvin Anderson, photo by Richard Ivey

art buzz

On view: Life Between Islands Running through 1 April, the Life Between Islands exhibition aims to feature the new identities, communities and cultural varieties shaped by the Caribbean diaspora in Britain.

According to writer George Lamming, “we became West Indian in London”, and the artwork demonstrates how people from the diaspora “have created a distinctly CaribbeanBritish culture while influencing British society as a whole”.

Journeying across the ocean from its initial exhibit at Tate Britain to the Art Gallery of Ontario in Canada, Life Between Islands showcases over 40 artists from the Caribbean or of Caribbean heritage — including Frank 26

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Bowling, Vanley Burke, Hurvin Anderson, Aubrey Williams, Donald Locke, Horace Ové, Sonia Boyce, Claudette Johnson, and Alberta Whittle — via paintings, documentary photography, films, and sculptures.

Its curators David A Bailey and Alex Farquharson have organised the exhibition in chronological order from 1923 to 2022, and covering “the role of culture in decolonisation, the meaning of home, the reclaiming of ancestral traditions, the nature of Caribbean and diasporic identity, as well as racial discrimination and socio-political conflict”.

— Event previews by Shelly-Ann Inniss

Below Vanley Burke’s Mrs Walker and her customers at her hairdresser shop, Rookery Road (1979, printed 2023). Gelatin silver print, 63.5 x 78.7cm

Alberta Whittle’s We Remain with You (2022). Raffia, acrylic, cotton, synthetic braiding hair, doilies, wool, felt and cowrie shells on linen, 172.7 x 165.1 x 20.3cm.

Courtesy Alberta Whittle & Nicola Vassell Gallery

Michael McMillan’s The Front Room: Inna Toronto/6ix (2023). Mixed media site-specific installation

© Michael McMillan, photo by Sean Weaver © AGO

© Alberta Whittle, photo by Adam Reich Photography

© Vanley Burke, courtesy the artist

Left Hurvin Anderson’s Hawksbill Bay (2020). Acrylic paint and oil paint on canvas, 149.9 x 205cm. Lent by Tate Americas Foundation, courtesy Mala Gaonkar (2023)

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music buzz

This month’s listening picks from the Caribbean Reviews by Nigel Campbell

Chris St Hilaire

Asa Bantan & Kalash

Ava Hutchinson

Enspirited (Undependent)

Arretè Palè (Bouyon Boss Music) • Single

Of Live & Life (self-released)

Chris St Hilaire describes himself as “a White Trinidadian-American” multidisciplinary and multifaceted musician, and his rock pedigree has been present on albums since the late 2000s. Thankfully, like many hyphenated Caribbeans, you can take them out of the islands, but you can’t take the islands out of them.

On this album, his debut full-length solo release of all originals, he takes his cues from legacy artists in Trinidad calypso and soca and Jamaican dub music — Lord Kitchener, Lancelot Layne, King Tubby, and more — to both acknowledge his heritage and to celebrate a Trinidadian musical aesthetic from the 1950s and beyond that resonates solidly here.

Calypsos, in a style that harkens back decades, are sung lamenting modernism and materialism, and don’t sound hackneyed. Lyrics matter, as they ring of a subtle cynicism and hyperbolic hopefulness. Steelpan, parang, and chutney music are also featured on this journey to origins. Deceptively unique!

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The beauty of the Kwéyòl language to English-only speakers is also the regret of existing with one language that does not fully address the Caribbean. The beauty of bouyon music, inside and outside of Dominica, is also the recognition that music of celebration at pre-Lenten island carnivals is a lot more than Trinidad soca. Dominican Asa Bantan, a superstar in the Creole lands, collaborates with France-born Martinican, Kalash, to bring a new song that will ultimately fire up the masquerader at carnival.

The refrain — arretè palè kont moun, which translates to stop talk about people — repeated over a driving beat is a warning in any language: mauvais langue and gossip, rumour and innuendo have no place here. Bouyon music has an energy that moves bodies frenetically, as most carnival anthems do. And when music and message gel sans risqué lyrics, as they do here, the tune can move beyond seasons.

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Ava Hutchinson is a treasure in her native Trinidad & Tobago, carving out a niche as one of the few female jazz pianists leading a band.

On this, her debut album, another side of Hutchinson is revealed: she is a talented composer, brave enough to bare her inner self in lyrics that transcribe her life and loves, good and bad. The melodies are noteworthy with a keen sense of style, and are enhanced by a production from innovative producer Roger Israel and a crack cohort of local musicians. That support becomes necessary to move the music towards a point of distinction, allowing the 18 songs here to provide a clearer picture of Hutchinson’s life. We are no longer left to wonder. Musical autobiographies can either be rigid relaying of facts as rhyming couplets, or figurative lines that allow listeners to fill in some blanks. This album captures a life with lyrics that sing, with words that neatly identify remembered relationships and emotional ups and downs.

Revealing.

Sheriff & Erphaan Alves The Answer (Damascus Media Ltd) • Single Popular and important producer Sheriff (Keron Thompson) and rising soca star Erphaan Alves continue the idea of collaboration, so ubiquitous among a new generation of carnival music makers, as a template for spreading the music among a broader audience. Producer credits sharing the same billing as the singer give notice that this production is headlining stuff. “The Answer” samples the modern and oft-used Afrobeats rhythmic pulses, and elevates them with a sonic profile that both mimics South African amapiano and transforms soca into something that can find space on dance floors globally. Lyrically, we hear that the key to satisfaction is hearing what you want to hear. Questions become irrelevant. In a sense, belief is so strong, fiction can be our new reality. If life is a drama, and we are the actors / Well it’s a movie we on: Lights, camera, action, woi! In a post-truth world, the inevitable denouement is nigh, but until then, we dance.

book buzz

This month’s reading picks from the Caribbean Reviews by Shivanee Ramlochan, Book Review Editor

Growing up Woodbrook

by Dylan Kerrigan (The National Trust of Trinidad & Tobago, 200 pp, ISBN 9789768291134) The history of any place shifts and morphs.

Anthropologist Dylan Kerrigan, writing with Ken Jaikaransingh, honours the ineffable mutability of Woodbrook — once a 19th century plantation, now a teeming commercial and cultural hub. Between these two states of being, Growing up Woodbrook amasses a vital history, constructing in photography, anecdote, and analysis an environment that circulates lifeblood into a crucial artery of Trinidadianness. The aliveness of the book is indisputable: open any of its pages and a gleaming remembrance or tribute falls into your hands. Tracing the footsteps of icons and creative pioneers, through streets whose names sustain a preserved legacy, the 12 chapters of this study are as generously inclusive as they are rigorously researched. How better to speak of a place, Kerrigan implicitly understands, than to have all its voices chorus?

Loverbar

by Lizbette OcasioRusse (Flashpoint Publications, 136 pp, ISBN 9781619295025) Where can queer refuge be found in hostile spaces, already ravaged by natural disaster? In Loverbar, a group of Puerto Rican cuirs — members of the LGBTQ+ community — band together to build a bar that shelters, waters and feeds them, free from the dangers of homophobic hatred and transphobia’s ever-growing menace. Hurricane María looms over their efforts: as the collective grapples with structural woes, logistical wrenches thrown into their cash-strapped plans, and political unrest, the ghosts of María’s 2017 devastation still haunt them in both certain and unexpected ways. Ocasio-Russe lovingly and devotedly fictionalises a very real Puerto Rico community with “Own Voices” commitment to telling the truth, wielding prose that both sings and sears. If sites like Loverbar do not exist, these short stories urge us, they must be made real: the survival of Caribbean queer communities depends on them.

The Blue, Beautiful World

by Karen Lord (Del Rey, 256 pp, ISBN 9780593598436) Time and again, the novels of Barbadian writer Karen Lord prove the limits of empathy and radical envisioning can expand infinitely, to keep pace with the evolution of our human hearts. So it is in The Blue, Beautiful World, a gentle and philosophical space bound drama set in Lord’s Cygnus Beta universe, where humanity prepares itself for the gauntlet of first contact. Expect no grey celluloid forms herein; Lord is a master of arch subversions and tender moral manipulations, and she brings questions of diplomacy, goodness, and postcolonial quarrels to bear in this world of rockstars and tacticians, senators and sporting mavericks. Who will be there to represent us, the human race, when we face our interstellar compatriots from other, stranger lands?

Lord reminds us that the strangeness may be foremost resident in ourselves, in glowing intimacies.

All Made of Longing

by Ruth Osman Rose (Bamboo Talk Press, 74 pp, ISBN 9798391924609) When you learn that Guyanese poet Ruth Osman Rose is also a flautist, the syncopations of All Made of Longing accrue such kinetic energy. Rose’s poems rustle the petticoats of the ordinary, peering deep into the well of Caribbean everydayness. From lilting explorations of domestic eros to exhortations to the divine muses twisting and winding poetry’s spindle, this collection surrenders to a pureness of honesty, a vulnerability tested in turbulent waters. The poems serve up black cake, molasses-infused richness of Black women’s voices raised in song, warm rains gentling verdant mountain ranges — all potent witnesses to the power of being transcendently alive, truly here. The poet transfixes us in melodies so innate to our living, saying, an adhan unfurls / in my chest / flutters up my throat / sits on my tongue / warbling.

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cookup

The barfi queen With a massive and growing following on social media, Natasha Laggan — once described as the “Caribbean’s top food influencer” — has been making mouths water across the diaspora through her Trini Cooking with Natasha brand.

Shelly-Ann Inniss learns more Photography courtesy Natasha Laggan

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he more than 2,000 recipes created by Trinidad-born Natasha Laggan on her Trini Cooking with Natasha platforms have one thing in common: they’re all made with love. From the comments left on her videos by her 1.1 million Facebook followers and 278,000 YouTube subscribers, it’s clear they too understand that love is at the heart of her cooking.

Trinidadians especially might remember her videos among the doubles-making clips that went viral during the height of the Covid-19 restrictions.

Her videos about quintessential Trini dishes like roti and doubles and many more mouth-watering recipes earned her recognition from Forbes as the Caribbean’s Top Food Influencer.

Travelling and tasting food from other cultures deeply fuel her enthusiasm to create and recreate recipes. Dubai, the Maldives, Bora Bora, the United States, and the Caribbean are just some of the destinations which have heavily influenced her palate. But her recipes make a strong statement about her roots too.

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Natasha’s funfetti barfi made without sugar syrup

“In Trinidad, we have the Naparima Girls’ Cookbook, and I’m the Naps cookbook of the internet,” she says in reference to a venerated source of authentic Trinidad & Tobago and Caribbean recipes. Her own cookbook is also in the pipeline.

Using regular ingredients in her multicultural recipes, she effectively crolling through her recipes, you’ll find ones some of us bridges Indian, Chinese, African, take for granted (like Caribbean green seasoning), but Caribbean, Arabic, Creole, and other also unusual twists on dishes we know well like bake and pastelles, which are transformed into carrot bake with pimento culinary traditions

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peppers (episode 2,176) and pastelle nachos (episode 1,036).

Using regular ingredients in her multicultural recipes, she effectively bridges Indian, Chinese, African, Caribbean, Arabic, Creole, and other culinary traditions. Many of those recipes have themselves been passed down through generations, with love.

Because our favourite foods can be like a warm hug — maybe something made by the grandmother who spoils you, or the aunty who loves you unconditionally like no-one else.

Natasha herself grew up observing the ladies in her family cook in large quantities for weddings and prayers. Additionally, before migrating to Florida, she’d also assist her mum in her family’s restaurant back in Trinidad.

“My mum makes a nice dhalpuri roti, but it’s not like granny’s.

One thing I regret not learning is her dhalpuri because when

I tell you: thin and silky … You didn’t need curry chicken or anything on the side to eat it. You just want to eat it alone,” she remembers.

Natasha’s paternal grandmother did, however, teach her to knead flour, unbeknownst to Natasha’s mother — who was afraid she’d spill it. It was only after she mastered the technique that her mum gained confidence in her kneading abilities.

Although Natasha has no formal cooking training, she knows old school techniques, and uses all the knowledge and skills she acquired growing up as a base for experimentation in her own cooking. Even the way she kneads dough is a technique learned from her grandmother.

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Red dragon fruit barfi with slivered almonds

“Many people would pull the dough and bring it into the centre — but that makes it tough, so you do that in the last bit. Initially you punch with your knuckles and press down and hold the dough, press and turn, squeeze and flip,” she says, demonstrating with passion and aplomb.

Having a one-on-one conversation, she’s comfortable and very chatty, yet her viewers may not know she’s shy.

So shy, in fact, that when Natasha started her channel in 2015, her hands and voice were her only identifiers. Collaborations with other food channels such as Eat Ah Food, founded by Baidawi Assing, forced her face to be revealed.

Since then, she’s joined other YouTube channels like Foodie Nation and David’s Been Here, and she’s become a brand ambassador for Karibbean Flavours and Big Green Egg (a United States brand).

It’s been a wild ride, especially since she started her YouTube channel simply for her family and friends to access recipes without constantly calling her.

“I feed them everything,” she says, “even the ones who can’t cook.” She refers to these same folks as her guinea pigs — among the perks of knowing her!

A

lthough she spends eight hours in the kitchen daily for her channels, she still dines out occasionally and dissects the cuisine — if she really loves it — with hopes of recreating it at home. “Most of the time I do a pretty good job. The only huge disaster I had was trying to make eggless puffs,” she recalls.

Puffs are choux pastries (or pâte à choux) — savoury hors d’oeuvres requiring eggs, flour, milk, butter, and water as the main ingredients. The high moisture content makes the dough fluffy and puff out when baked. When completely cooled, they’re filled with either a chicken or cheese paste.

“Vegans can’t have [traditional] puffs, but sometimes I feel like I’m wasting ingredients trying to get eggless right,” she admits. Nonetheless, she continues to experiment — not least with barfi. With a dragon fruit barfi recipe on her page, it’s clear Natasha is unstoppable.

Barfi kingdom Some barfi recipes featured on the Trini Cooking with Natasha YouTube channel: Barfi cheesecake Coconut cherry barfi bars Dragon fruit barfi Pistachio barfi without sugar syrup Almond rose barfi without sugar syrup Icing sugar barfi Barfi fudge Rainbow barfi Sugar-free barfi Barfi cookies Barfi tartlets with coconut kurma crust Barfi tres leches (eggless) Matcha barfi

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Seasonings ground with a sil and lorha

Barfi is an Indian dessert and an expression of generosity. If it’s not served at Divali, weddings and other special occasions, something is missing. “It’s one thing you really look forward to,” she says.

People make it differently, and Natasha is the “Barfi queen” — an honour bestowed on her by the founders of Foodie Nation.

Her barfi is really creamy, spicy, not too chewy, and not overly sweet either.

There’s an old saying that necessity is the mother of invention. When people encountered challenges with the consistency of simple syrup, Natasha took an idea from her white chocolate barfi to solve the problem — thus also creating a version of the recipe for children that doesn’t require it.

White chocolate binds the milk to make the barfi squares, so she successfully used icing sugar as a substitute. Furthermore, to

cut down on time needed to set the barfi, she recommends incorporating powdered milk because the barfi will set quickly and be ready to eat.

With countless barfi recipes on her channels, one would think it’s her favourite food. Sadly, you’d lose a trivia game if that was your answer. She loves cassava pone, especially at Christmas time.

Sponge cake — no. Fruit cake or black cake — no. Cassava pone — yes!

For Natasha, sharing tips and cooking with purpose is her focus. And she does all this while juggling roles as a wife, mum, influencer, social media manager and all-round powerhouse making a name for herself.

Still, traditional items like her sil and lorha (traditional Indian tools for manually grinding seasonings) are kept close. And she can’t live without pimentos and green seasoning — powerful connections to her Caribbean roots.

As a child, Natasha dreamed everyone would know her name for cuisine and lifestyle content. From pretending to be the Caribbean’s B Smith with Style to having her own successful YouTube and Facebook channels — who knows, the Food Network and The New York Times might soon be calling! n

Chicken pelau Serves six

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Ingredients 3 lbs chicken cut into small pieces (cleaned and washed) 1 cup chopped carrots 2 tbsp minced garlic 1 tbsp ketchup 1 small onion chopped 1 scallion chopped

1/4 cup celery chopped 2 tbsp green seasoning 1/4 tsp black pepper 1 tsp salt 1 tsp roucou powder or liquid 1 tsp dark soy sauce 1 cup chopped pumpkin

1 cup pre boiled pigeon peas 1 tsp Cook-up or other seasoning 2 cups par boiled rice (washed) 3 tbsp brown sugar 4 cups coconut milk 2 cups water 1 tbsp margarine/butter (optional)

Method 1. Season chicken with the carrots through seasoning (on the ingredients list) 2. In a pot on medium heat, add sugar and allow to melt until golden brown and bubbly 3. Add the chicken. Don’t toss imme-

diately — allow to brown on one side before turning for the other side to brown 4. Add the rice, coconut milk, and enough water to cover the rice and chicken. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally

5. Cook until the rice is tender and the water has evaporated 6. Mix in margarine/butter (optional) 7. Taste and adjust salt then serve.

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natural wonder

The Bonaire salt pyramids Most have heard of the Egyptian pyramids and possibly the Mayan pyramids. What about Bonaire’s salt pyramids? Reaching approximately 50 feet high, each is about 10,000 tonnes of pure salt. The pyramids and flat salt pans cover slightly less than 15% of the southeastern end of Bonaire. The deep pink-red colour — from a cell membrane containing carotenoid pigments — intensifies sunlight absorption, which then raises the temperature and increases evaporation, leading eventually to the production of salt. After harvesting, these “sun gems” are stacked into Bonaire’s striking pyramids.

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Courtesy Tourism Bonaire

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snapshot

Relishing the challenge

Courtesy Misan Harriman

Fresh off roles in the hit film Barbie and Marvel’s Secret Invasion series, Trinidadian-British actor Kingsley Ben-Adir returns to his Caribbean roots playing the title role in the anticipated Bob Marley: One Love biopic. Caroline Taylor reports

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ou’d think after turning in much-praised performances as two iconic American figures would give Kingsley Ben-Adir the confidence to jump at the opportunity to play Bob Marley.

But despite having earned rave reviews playing both Malcolm X and Barack Obama, Ben-Adir hesitated.

“There were a lot of reservations,” he told EW. “I was completely convinced that there’s no point in auditioning for this. I can’t sing. I can’t dance.”

Eventually, however, he relented and sent in an audition tape, winning the role after an exhaustive, year-long, global casting process. He also faced immediate backlash.

Many Jamaicans expressed anger and disappointment that the role hadn’t gone to a Jamaican — or even one of Marley’s sons or descendants. Hollywood portrayals of Caribbean people have often been problematic, where everything from the accents

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to mannerisms and cultural nuances are lost or garbled entirely.

Director Reinaldo Marcus Green (who helmed the Oscarnominated King Richard, about the father of Venus and Serena Williams) said he felt sure they’d found the “right person for the job”. The producing team — which includes Marley’s widow Rita, their eldest son Ziggy, daughter Cedella, and daughter-inlaw Orly — also supported the casting decision.

In a featurette promoting the film, Ziggy — who was regularly on set during production — described Ben-Adir as having done “a great job” portraying his legendary father “in an artful way … not trying to mimic [but] be true to who Bob is — how he speaks, how he acts, how he sees the world … Kingsley is bringing that human element, and not just Bob the legend, or Bob the artist, but the human side, the emotional side.”

In an interview with journalist Anthony Miller, Cedella acknowledged that the success of the film very much hangs on Ben-Adir’s performance.

“He is gonna surprise you. He did that to me,” she explained.

“Overall the cast is very diverse. We have a lot of Jamaicans in there. We have a lot of children of some of the icons in there …

And so we were very happy that we were able to have at least 98% of the cast being Jamaican.”

B

orn on 20 November, 1986 in London’s Kentish Town to a Black mother and white British father, one of BenAdir’s earliest memories is spending weekends and school holidays with his maternal grandparents, who had immigrated from Trinidad to England in the 1970s.

Courtesy Paramount Pictures

Kingsley Ben-Adir plays the title role in Bob Marley: One Love

Ben-Adir came to acting relatively late, instead working with special needs students after leaving secondary school.

But an interest in film and television began to grow through time spent with drama student friends, and he eventually enrolled in the Guildhall School of Music & Drama at 21, graduating in 2011.

After a series of theatre roles (including Much Ado About Nothing at the Old Vic alongside Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones), he landed a main role on the ITV series Vera (2014–18). Other significant television roles followed: Hulu’s High Fidelity (2020) with Zoë Kravitz; The OA (2016–19), and Peaky Blinders (2017–2019) — both on Netflix.

His big film break came in 2019 when he was cast in One Night in Miami — the directorial debut of Oscar, Golden Globe, and Emmy-winning actress Regina King. The film imagines what might have happened between Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali), and Jim Brown on a night in February 1964.

Ironically, the role King originally wanted him to look at — Cassius Clay — was one he’d been preparing for an Ang Lee project that never got off the ground. And by the time he was cast as Malcolm X, he had only 10 days to prepare.

Remarkably, he’d also been cast as Barack Obama in Showtime’s mini-series The Comey Rule. The two projects filmed simultaneously — One Night in Miami in New Orleans, and The Comey Rule in Toronto. They were also released months apart in 2020.

“In the end, I filmed Obama in the middle of Malcolm,” he told

Eventually, he sent in an audition tape, winning the role after an exhaustive, year-long, global casting process. He also faced immediate backlash British GQ. “It turned into a non-stop 40-day Malcolm/Obama thing, and I just had to jump from one head space to another. I really ran myself into the ground, but in a way that I loved.”

His star was on the rise. Nominations for awards began to come in — as did wins. There was Oscar buzz for his turn as Malcolm X. More and more meaningful opportunities came. All continued to show his range, versatility, and work ethic.

In 2023, he featured in two significant international hits, playing one of the Kens in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie; and joining Marvel’s Secret Invasion on Disney+ (alongside A-list talent like Samuel L Jackson, Emilia Clarke, and Olivia Colman).

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nd then, of course, there was Bob Marley: One Love.

The development of the biopic was announced in March 2021. Following Ben-Adir’s casting in early 2022, fellow British actor Lashana Lynch was cast as Rita. Notably, Lynch herself — known for The Woman King, No Time to Die, and as Maria Rambeau in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — is also of Jamaican heritage.

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LANDMARK MEDIA/Alamy Stock Photo

Ryan Gosling, Kingsley Ben-Adir, and Ncuti Gatwa in a scene from Barbie (2023)

The film focusses primarily on the events of 1976–78, from the assassination attempt on Bob and Rita in 1976; his years of self-imposed exile and work in London; and his return home to Jamaica for the One Love Peace Concert — all against the backdrop of political and socioeconomic tensions on the island at the time.

Ben-Adir learned to sing and play guitar for the role, immersed himself in dozens of interviews with Marley to master Jamaican Patois, and performed all the songs with his own voice during filming. The final cut in fact blends his voice with archival recordings of Marley’s.

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“Bob’s not someone you can choreograph or copy,” says Ben-Adir. “His singing and dancing is from an internal experience, so you really have to find your own version of that for yourself.”

As is becoming something of a pattern, he of course was preparing the role while filming another. He talks about setting up a “Bob station” to work on his transcriptions of Marley’s interviews in between filming his Barbie scenes.

Ben-Adir also seems to have become adept at approaching these roles, despite all the pressure and attention. “I think you kind of have to forget they are iconic and mean so much to so many people,” he told Shadow & Act. “At some stage, your focus has to be on just supporting the story.”

Bob Marley: One Love is scheduled for release on 14 February in the United States. And no matter how the film is received, Ben-Adir is prepared. “The best piece of career advice I’ve ever been given is to take your highs in the same way that you take your lows,” he says. “Just stay level.” n

AMICI GUYANA

THE CHIC HOT-SPOT IS PERCHED ATOP A STYLISH MID-RISE, OVERLOOKING THE PRISTINE ELEGANCE OF QUEENSTOWN, GEORGETOWN. THE AMBIANCE IN THE MAIN DINING ROOM AT AMICI IS A SUPERB COMBINATION OF AN ELEGANT, MODERN MINIMALIST DECOR, WITH THE WARMEST, MOST WELCOMING GUYANESE HOSPITALITY, OFFERING GUESTS AN EXPERIENCE OF DISTINCT EXCELLENCE. The back of the room features an open kitchen where guests can be treated to a live show of the bustling culinary team choreographing the Chef's creations, and pizzas being spun and cooked in an authentic, handcrafted brick oven dome.

Sunset views from the spacious terrace create the perfect setting for a fun, lively gathering of friends.

The outstanding cuisine at Amici sets this jewel of a restaurant firmly amidst the top such establishments globally.

Inspired by Italy's most southern regions, the menu is a celebration of vivacious flavours with the finest ingredients presented in fresh, inventive ways, while maintaining a few must have, traditional classics and the most exquisite culinary and cocktail offerings.

backstory

Allstar Picture Library Limited/Alamy Stock Photo

Jimmy Cliff in The Harder They Come (1972)

Reel and come again As a new biopic of Bob Marley hits screens worldwide, Jonathan Ali explores the rich cinematic history of reggae music and culture through six iconic films

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ising out of the social and economic discontent of Jamaica in the late 1960s, reggae music was like nothing before it. A heady meeting ground where drum, bass and melody alchemised with word, sound and power, reggae — and the Rastafarian religion with which it is inextricably bound — brought a welcome message of political resistance and spiritual redemption to and from the people.

Almost from the start, filmmakers were there with their cameras to bear witness to the phenomenon, both through factual portraits as well as fictional renderings of the burgeoning artform. Over the years, a canon of films about and featuring reggae has emerged to complement the music itself.

Here is a selection of six of the most potent of these works.

While they vary widely in subject, setting and approach, these films all have one thing in common: a commitment to telling reggae’s story in the most unforgettable way imaginable.

The Harder They Come Perry Henzell, 1972 So iconic is the status of The Harder They Come — it’s the foundation stone of Anglophone Caribbean cinema — that it’s easy to forget what a sensation the movie was when it first burst onto screens, presenting an unapologetically rough and raw image of Jamaica to the world.

Jimmy Cliff’s magnetic two-gun troubadour Ivan O Martin took on nothing less than the whole of society — a wronged man grimly determined to get his share (“Now!”). In the process, he gave ordinary Jamaicans their first homegrown cinematic (anti) hero — a living, fighting embodiment of the corrupted dreams of independence.

It’s an undeniable classic that feels thrillingly subversive today. And the songs: the film’s choice soundtrack, a collection of existing hits and Cliff-penned originals — like the immortal “Many Rivers to Cross” and the take-no-prisoners title tune — remains one of the most memorable assembled.

Reggae

Babylon

Horace Ové, 1971

Franco Rosso, 1980

Reggae might be a Jamaican creation but let the record show that, arguably, the first film to document the sound in any significant way was made in the United Kingdom, and by a Trinidadian no less — the recently deceased, pioneering director Horace Ové.

Using Britain’s first major concert featuring artists from Jamaica as its jumping-off point, Reggae interweaves electric performances by the likes of ska pioneer Millie Small (whose “My Boy Lollipop” was the first international ska hit) and the duo Bob and Marcia with frank testimonies by fans, radio DJs and record producers, as well as news footage of race-fuelled police brutality against the Caribbean community.

The provocative result is a testament to reggae as the soundtrack of a generation of both Black and White youth determined to fight back against an unequal, unjust society.

Back to Britain and a film that could be characterised as that country’s answer to The Harder They Come; indeed, many have.

Yet to peg Babylon as The Harder They Come save with British accents is to sell the former very short indeed.

This is an incendiary film, a cri de coeur of urban alienation focused on Blue (played with passion by Brinsley Forde of the group Aswad), a young man immersed in South London’s vibrant reggae soundsystem scene.

Misunderstood by his Jamaican-migrant parents, fired from his mechanic job by a racist boss, and harassed by the police at a time when a Black man could legally be stopped simply because of his colour, an increasingly disillusioned Blue is pushed to the margins of a society that has made no place for the likes of him.

The results are, simply and shockingly, explosive. Banned when it was made, Babylon feels as urgent and necessary as ever.

RGR Collection/Alamy Stock Photo

Trinity Mirror/Mirrorpix/Alamy Stock Photo

Millicent Small May aka Millie Small in 1964

Brinsley Forde in Babylon (1980)

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The Land of Look Behind Bob Marley’s early death from cancer was an incalculably momentous event for reggae, Jamaica, and the Caribbean at large. Yet the loss of the Great One unwittingly provided the beginnings of what was to become one of the best documentary artefacts of reggae music and Rastafarian culture, The Land of Look Behind.

In Jamaica to record Marley’s funeral in 1981, American filmmaker Alan Greenberg used the opportunity to delve deep into the society that gave the world its most profound popular music form in decades, as well as the religion that undergirded it.

Shifting between country and town, and not seeking to theorise or explain (the film has no narration or expert interviews), The Land of Look Behind is a brilliantly sensorial visual poem, a natural-mystic, ganja-smoke-wreathed vibe of a film that combines ritual, performance (Gregory Isaacs and the dub poet Mutabaruka feature prominently), and — to use a Rasta term — reasoning to powerful effect. A transcendental experience.

Bob Marley

Peter Tosh

over several years in preparation for a biography, Stepping Razor: Red X features archival footage from Tosh’s life as a Wailer and later a solo musician, and brilliantly burnishes the reputation of an outlaw artist militantly opposed to the “sh*tstem” of a world order that kept the mass of Black people dispossessed, and his sacrament marijuana illegitimate.

Defiant to the tragic last, the imperiously righteousness Tosh is laid out here in all his uncompromising, unvarnished — his reported remarks on hearing of the death of Bob Marley are wince-inducing — and inimitable glory.

No Place Like Home

Courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Perry Henzell, 2019

Stepping Razor: Red X Nicholas Campbell, 1993 Peter Tosh — one third of the triumvirate alongside Bob Marley and Bunny Livingstone that comprised the incomparable Wailing Wailers — was always marked. The self-styled Mystic Man claimed that wherever his named appeared in officialdom, it was always accompanied by the censorious red stamp of a letter X. Assembled after his murder in 1987 from audio tapes recorded

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The name Perry Henzell is synonymous with The Harder They Come, the Jamaican filmmaker’s first, and to many, only film.

Yet it wasn’t his only film. Filmed starting in 1973 and finally released in 2019, Henzell’s long-lost second feature is every bit as good as his first.

Set amid the stunning landscapes of Jamaica’s north coast, and starring the charismatic Carl Bradshaw, No Place Like Home is an improvised road movie that uses a simple set up (New York production company flies to tropical paradise to shoot shampoo commercial) to tell a smart, sexy, and deceptively easy-going story of third world “development” and tourism-driven, neocolonial exploitation.

It’s Henzell’s characteristically judicious use of songs, however, that gives No Place Like Home the status of a great reggae film. From Desmond Dekker’s evergreen “Israelites” (driving home the impoverishment of the ghetto) to Toots and the Maytals’ cover of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” (hymning Jamaica’s pastoral beauty) to the Wailers’ “Stir it Up” (soundtracking a — what else? — steamy lovemaking scene), No Place Like Home is the fitting final testament of a man who had a defining hand in bringing the worlds of reggae and cinema together. n

Nina Reistad/Alamy Stock Photo

Alan Greenberg, 1982

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own words

“I know who I am now”

Prolific Trinidadian singer, songwriter and “Caribbean girl” Nadia Batson on the magic and impact of Carnival 2019; the devastation she masked all through Carnival 2023; and the joy of finding her voice as an artist, and finally feeling seen — as told to Caroline Taylor Photography courtesy Dynamic Entertainment

point people. I just laced up my boots and did what I had to do, but I knew I was masking for the entire season. I love marketing, but I couldn’t even push songs I usually would. I just wasn’t there, you know?

Obviously, we’re still dealing with that. But I feel I’m back in a head space where I can create the way I want to. I can focus more, and my pen is so sharp. Everybody now is like, “Nadia, you’re writing different.”

In a typical year, I don’t stop working, and I love that. There’s always a carnival or festival somewhere. Right after [Trinidad & Tobago Carnival], we’re outside. I asked [my husband and business partner Don Iko George] not to take as much work during 2023 because of what was happening, and it gave me enough time to get back in studio and write. But typically, my year is crazy.

I always have ideas. I get up in the middle of the night, have an idea for a song or a show. I have a small but very efficient team.

I’m not good with logistics at all, but if I can explain to them what I want, they get it done. My concert Artform that I do in Trinidad we also do in New York. It was phenomenal.

I

intend to have an amazing Carnival 2024. Honestly, I felt as though I wasn’t on my A game in 2023. Not with respect to the music … It’s something I never spoke about because I felt it was just a little too dark. I don’t even know how I got through that. I think it’s just my support system. Because there were days I would just break down … didn’t want to go to work, couldn’t function.

My brother was actually murdered in December [2022]. I didn’t say anything during Carnival because I didn’t want to make it a big public spectacle. So I was just dealing with a lot mentally, emotionally, psychologically. There are a few people who heard and would sometimes approach me right before I went on stage, and it would throw me off.

We had such a packed Carnival schedule — I couldn’t disap-

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y mum is a writer — she used to write short stories and poems. And she works with kids because she’s into drama. So she’d always tell people I started reading at three. I would sit with a newspaper across my legs, because I love to read too. I’d always sit next to her. If she was writing a story, I’d try to write a little story as well. I became known as a songwriter even before I became known as an artist, entertainer, singer. It’s 100% from my mum.

I used to write songs for Silhouette [an all-female singing group we co-founded as teenagers]. So, many soca artists started seeing us on TV and would hire us to do background vocals. I wasn’t so confident in the songwriting, but I used my friends as guinea pigs.

Nadia with soca artist Adam O and her management

I would give Michelle Sylvester a song and say, “Sing it.” Then she started having so much success. And I started getting calls to write for other artists. I think almost all the songs in the very early stages of my writing career hold a special place in my heart.

Michelle went on to win the first ever Groovy Soca Monarch with “Somebody’s sleeping in your bed”. I remember Blaxx came to me and said, “Nadi, I want you to write a song for me.” And I wrote “Dutty” for him. It was a big tune. Then artists from across the Caribbean started calling. I wrote “Expose” for Tizzy from Antigua. That took her all over the world, to this day.

I’ve written quite a number of songs for Farmer Nappy too.

Everybody knows me for writing “Hookin meh”, but I also wrote “Wifey” and “Loosen de chain”. I wrote “Pop a bottle” for

It was easy to write for others because they’d already established who they were as artists. But I felt kind of scattered Machel. We just took the chance and sent it to him and immediately he was like, “Oh my God!” I was elated. That was Carnival 2015. I was really excited about that.

And I think one of the reasons I’ve had so much success writing for other artists is I know how to separate my artistry from theirs. I try my best to channel them, because it needs to feel it came from them. People ask if I’m not vex’ I “give away that song”. No — because it wasn’t for me.

Artists always call and ask for songs, but I hardly have the time anymore. It’s challenging to write while you’re touring.

When I look back especially at the songs I wrote for myself early on, I’d have the sporadic hit, but I hadn’t found myself as an artist yet. It was easy to write for others because they’d already established who they were as artists. But I felt kind of scattered.

I feel I’ve only really come into my own — knowing who I am as an artist and who my market is — very recently, around 2017.

In the first few years of my career, I was just throwing darts in the dark. I didn’t know who I was yet as an artist.

So I couldn’t write for me, to know what people expect from me.

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Now, I know who I am. People love Nadi — very clean, sunshine girl, smiley … women love Nadia. They always look for something that can make them feel confident and good. So now, it’s a lot easier for me to write hits for me. I feel as though I’m not just swinging in the dark.

I always say my personality is not an accessory that I take on or take off. When I leave the house, I’m always this way — I know who I am and because of that, I’m always grounded.

Sometimes George says, “You do know you’re like a celebrity, right?” And no, I don’t know. I just never connected with that. I’m aware that I’m known and I’m loved, but I’ve never subscribed to that.

I feel like that’s why I’m so relatable too. It’s crazy because that in itself is what fuels me to become an even bigger artist, because I become even more relatable just by being Nadi — it takes my “celebrity status” from one level to the next. And it keeps growing and growing.

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didn’t even know there was media there … I went in and that was a genuine reaction [to hearing Trinidad All Stars play “So long” in the panyard in 2019]. And it just speaks to how grateful I am for things I never experienced before. I’ve had so much success as a writer with other artists and I would always have to watch things from the outside.

With my work, I’d never get that. And I think 2019 was a pivotal year in my career. Sometimes I still get goosebumps, because there are so many things I never spoke about — the magic that happened.

I had fibroid surgery in October of 2018. I knew I couldn’t go into another carnival in so much pain. I had to get this surgery

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done. So we prepped, and I liked “So long”, and thought maybe I should do a video in the meantime — so while I was recovering, there’d still be something out there.

I’ll never forget when the song came out, I wasn’t even listening to the radio. I was bedridden. I started seeing and hearing little mumblings about the song. But I’m watching everything on my phone and had no idea of the magnitude of it just yet. And then I had a show — a boat ride. I usually don’t do boat rides because I have motion sickness. But I was fed up lying down.

They asked if Farmer and I would close. This was in December. I had just reached my five or six week mark from the surgery.

I’d just had stitches out.

I’m thinking I’ll do “Catching feelings”, the song I had the year before. But they said I should do “So long”. I have that performance on my phone still. And every so often I watch it, and people may not get it because they don’t know the backstory.

I was in complete shock.

I didn’t even know this was the way people felt about the song. Both Farmer and I had a crazy response. And we did a show in Tobago for the new year, and a video from that went viral as well.

Everything just aligned so perfectly. There’s no way I would have been able to do what I did in 2019 if I hadn’t gotten the surgery. My father kept telling me that’s the reason I had to have it.

So when I went to the panyard, I started to cry because people just didn’t know all that was happening with me behind the scenes. It was just so magical. And then I ended up finding out about five bands doing “So long” and “Hooking meh” for Panorama. Renegades won doing “Hookin meh”. And my songs placed first, third, fourth, and fifth.

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ning. They saw the challenges. So it feels special for everybody. And it hasn’t stopped since 2019.

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It was just a whirlwind. All the things I used to watch other artists achieve with my songs, I felt I started having that success with my work. And it just touched me in a different kind of way.

In the panyard, I really couldn’t believe it was happening. It just felt really, really good.

I always used to tell people I felt invisible. I used to wonder, is it me? I’ve had one or two hits along the way — “Caribbean girl”, “Manager” … consistently having strong songs, hits and touring, and it still just would never happen to me.

I started to feel invisible. But in 2019, I felt visible. I felt like I was being seen for the first time in my entire career. Since then, I’ve just been on that particular road where I finally feel safe, seen — and it just feels so good.

So I’m constantly basking in that feeling that my work is now paying off for me as an artist. I don’t take those things for granted at all. Only artists who experience it would know. Kes the Band with “Wotless”, Ultimate Rejects with “Full extreme”, where you have young people, old people, everybody across the board — rich, poor, Black, White, everybody just loves that song … It feels like magic.

I’ve had hits, but that particular feeling with a song that everybody and their mother, father, children and everybody love — I had never experienced that before, ever.

I always say my fans love me in a different way. And I feel like it’s because they know the story. They were there from the begin-

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or Carnival 2024, we’re planning on doing something that is not necessarily a concert — where I can still perform and have a party vibe that will separate me from everyone else. Because everybody has a concert right now. And we’re all good friends. When I do [Voice’s] show, he’ll do mine. So people know if they come to Nadi’s show, they’re gonna see Voicey. And I feel we’re stretching our audiences a little too thin. Because who’s going to have money to go to all dem concerts? So I am trying to think: what can I do differently?

We’re also trying to launch the Nadia Batson Foundation right now, because I do so much work too helping underprivileged people. But I don’t need people to see. I feel like I grew up not having much. And I don’t know how I would feel if somebody had to give me something with a camera in my face. If I’m doing it with a corporate partner, fine. And I also try to ask — if someone wants to be on camera, that’s fine. But I can’t even post it on my social media. It’s just not my style.

I remember when I met Andre Tanker — who’s actually a “pumpkin vine” cousin — I was doing some background vocals at a studio, and he was just passing through. He said, “You have a nice voice.

You must come and take a jam with us, man.” He had his band at an adjacent studio. I just went over and he loved my vibe from jump. I was really young in the business, and he gave me such good advice.

I always tell people Andre was who realised I had something special with my songwriting, and I told him I used to get tripped up because I felt I needed to have “jam and jump and wave” in the music for people to like it.

I started to feel invisible. But in 2019, I felt visible. I felt like I was being seen for the first time in my entire career He said no, you have to write from your perspective, how you feel. He taught me that. He said some of his biggest songs — like “Sayamanda” — people don’t even know what it is. It just feels good.

He was the person who taught me to not try to fit in. Bring your vibe to the table. And it really does work. Andre gave me a lot of experience too — being more comfortable on stage, and teaching us a lot with regard to the artistry. He was just an amazing man.

I always say: people need to fall in love with you, not your music. So even when you may not have the biggest song, they must know you — not just a brand, but somebody they love and respect. It’s not everybody’s method — but I always want people to see me. n

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personal tour

Beyond iron and steel In the weeks before T&T Carnival, going around to the panyards — the home bases for the islands’ steelbands — is a must. Nigel Campbell meditates on the magic of music and community in these unique spaces, especially in the electric lead-up to Panorama, the biggest steelband showcase in the world

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few years ago, Caribbean Beat published an article noting: “Trinidad Carnival is not a spectator sport but a participatory event. Or a series of participatory events.” Among that series of events is the annual Panorama — a music festival and competition that acts as a gauge of steelband player and arranger creativity, dexterity, and acumen. It is also a cathartic release that signifies a nation’s musical originality and, for many, dignifies the efforts of early islander innovation — what one researcher called “the audacity of creole imagination”.

Another preface to the Panorama is the “panyard crawl” — a nightly jaunt by a willing public into and among those rehearsal spaces before the final competitions. A walk among the steelbands and the people in the panyard is more than a contemplation of music. But for a busy mind, it is another side of an island experience beyond revelry and rum. It has become a way of connecting with a community and — for visitor and resident

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alike — a means of seeing how art is created in these islands.

We have heard and read that decades after the idea, origin and evolution of the steelband, its panyard was to be a place of learning and commerce.

As I walk towards the Phase II Pan Groove panyard in Hamilton Street in Woodbrook — a Port of Spain environ — myriad thoughts and recollections fly around my mind on a cool tropical night as sounds grow with each step towards discovery or discordance, music or magic.

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ort of Spain has been a UNESCO City of Music since 2019. A state-funded experiment — the Live Music District — begun in 2018 on the popular Ariapita Avenue was upended after a few iterations by the pandemic in 2020. Unfulfilled government initiatives of education and land tenure — the Music Schools in Communities Collaborative Project and Panyards as Learning Centres, along with the Panyard Regularisation Project — contrast readily with the entrepreneurial spirit that a panyard possesses now.

The brilliant Trinidadian economist Lloyd Best saw the panyard as “a natural zone of community mobilisation, individual industry, discipline and talent through the production of music ... a platform for generating direct services in music, of course, but also a range of other related activities and trades.”

He didn’t lie, but I challenge myself not to overthink — instead to listen and feel.

I have arrived here at the end of the cul-de-sac, approaching a brightly lit space with steelpan racks (metal stands for the instruments) arranged in structured rows — shiny chrome-plated tenor and double seconds pans in front, painted blue bass pans to the extremes, and inside the full orchestral spectrum of steelpans: quad-pans, cellos, guitars.

The percussive “engine room” rises on a high rack where rhythm is king, and iron brake drums, congas, and scratchers

Courtesy HADCO Limited

Supporters at Phase II Pan Groove’s panyard

(metal graters rubbed with a stiff wired comb like a guiro) to move the masses.

In the large high-ceilinged metal shed, that congregation of the curious — oblivious to music practice — talks loudly and drinks the heady mix of beers and stouts and rum with chasers available at the bar.

A small merchandise table offers teeshirts that reflect the theme — one linked to the song or a new vision for what the band can be.

This is a self-contained community, commercial and contented. One is witness to celebration before any steelband competition has begun.

Metallic clangs align with a percussive drum beat that varies in tempo as the band learns the calypso/soca music piece by rote — no sheet music, slow at first, then increasing in tempo until there is a recognisable correctness to what the arranger needs to hear. Musical motifs

are replicated, but we are not merely Naipaul’s “mimic men”.

Early on a visit, you’ll hear particular sounds: arpeggios and tedious wrist exercises to help players flawlessly execute dynamic music at 140 beats per minute. I am within touching, talking and watching distance of musicians. Could I do this in a commercial orchestra in public anywhere else? Not this casually.

All visitors’ senses are engaged. At the Phase II panyard, and in the end of the cul-de-sac that has become the economic extension of the panyard, smells wafting through the space are in competition with sights and sounds: the spicy curry of the doubles vendor doing brisk business near the gate, or the corn soup flavours that challenge empty bellies to “get a small bowl”.

Home-made bake-and-shark is on sale tonight. A nuts vendor sells “salt-and-fresh” and honey roasted peanuts, cashews.

It’s all here. The juxtaposition of sound and scent, commerce and community is enhanced by who is there. You are not alone.

Here is me overthinking again. I read that early calypso tents went out of their way to encourage wealthier clients to frequent the tents, which lead to a democratisation of patronage, up and down the social ladder. This panyard is following suit.

Our ability to mix and mingle in the name of culture is on full display here. It’s no longer a fad to frequent a panyard, but a rite of passage. Conversations become the starting points for reflections on the Trinidad & Tobago aesthetic — one which says that despite our differences, two can become one.

I see faces of strangers, I see faces of friends. Black, White, and everything in between. Demographics are diverse —

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Maria Nunes

Trinidad All Stars serenades onlookers as their watchwords loom large

young players, older patrons. I am not lost in a cacophony of loud talking, steelpans and iron percussion, but immersed in an atmosphere of being present … and listening.

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he experience of being in a panyard before Carnival is one of wonderment and awe. Is one listening to fragments of a new classical orchestral music or is one hearing plangent tones from repurposed oil drums as a kind of affirmation that something actually was created in the West Indies, with apologies to Sir VS Naipaul?

Perspective is a hell of a thing. English writer Patrick Leigh Fermor described the flambeaux-lit All Stars panyard of 1950 in his classic travel book The Traveller’s Tree as “a piece of waste land ... jammed between the embankment and the back of houses.” He effectively described the band as squatters who installed themselves there, “and turned into a stronghold”.

The music and the sound of the prac-

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tising band were described variously to be “almost agreeable”, and “a deafening hullaballoo … It was full of young Negroes hammering out, on extraordinary instruments, the noise I heard.”

It has become a way of connecting with a community and — for visitor and resident alike — a means of seeing how art is created in these islands That early effort of transcribing a unique Caribbean experience was notable. Bias may be read between the lines, but experiences are always personal.

Fermor’s subjective reality and objective

observations are from a different era. All Stars’ modern panyard is a disciplined sanctuary for creation. Modern panyards are safe spaces in neighbourhoods that either challenge or welcome. But they all belong to the people.

What a walking visitor to a panyard hears and feels in 2024 may not have changed much physically, but how we in Trinidad & Tobago make sense of it all is to acknowledge the silent grace of living or being present in this island. Carnival represents release. Each new discovery is a satisfaction.

Tonight, this exercise of seeing, listening and being in a panyard will be replicated at other panyards in Port of Spain, and around the country. Night becomes morning at the practice sessions of steelband players days before the Panorama finals. Stamina is necessary. A connection to these people is inevitable.

Beyond the iron and steel of the instruments, we recognise endless possibilities.

The simple becomes grand. We become sated. n

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panorama

Making the Caribbean with mas

Carnivals abound across the region at this time of year. Marvin George explores how their origins and expressions differ, and their common threads as part of a larger Caribbean cultural tapestry

BONAL971/Shutterstock.com

carnival”. Austin “Superblue” Lyons sings about carnival possessing a “spirit” in its “spell” that invokes and invites traditional mas like “Moko jumbies, Jab Jab, and clown” to come to town.

In more recent soca from this century — the Destra Garcia and Machel Montano hit “It’s Carnival” (2003) — Destra sings that we need carnival “like we need blood in we veins”, and that carnival itself is a ritual of “marinating under the sun” where “we does all come one”. The image is of masqueraders’ bodies en masse, in mas.

And even more recently, from Nailah Blackman and Skinny Fabulous — in their popular ode to carnival “Come Home” (2023) — there is the promise to jump, wave and wine like never before after the Covid-19 restrictions. It both references mas in the streets and Caribbean people’s deep connection to the festival.

Looking closely at costumes and mas performances across the region unmasks striking semblances and resonances, regardless of geography or language. It is on this basis we see mas as the “lingua franca of the Caribbean” according to Rawle Gibbons, and use mas as the point of entry for reading carnivals across the Caribbean.

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n almost every Caribbean territory, the carnival season culminates in an explosion of “mas”! Mas itself is the Caribbean term for processional masquerade and revelry “out in the road” at carnival time. And while carnival might be described as a festival of festivals — mas, music, fetes, and more — the term “carnival” is used almost interchangeably with “mas”.

The lyrics to some of our classic and contemporary carnival songs (in English) illlustrate this association between carnival and the mas ritual — and its centrality to Caribbean culture.

Aldwyn “Lord Kitchener” Roberts uses “masqueraders” in “Rainorama” (1973) to describe participants with Bacchic energy “turning beast on the street” when they heard they “go get the

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masquerader blackens their body with molasses or motor oil — beyond the darkness of their own skin. In this most sensual smearing ceremony, s/he disappears. When complete, not a spot of the body is recognisable as theirs.

With horns, a fork and a tail — and another soot-coloured masquerader restraining her at the waist with a soon-to-be sullied stainless steel security chain — they start to wine to percussion, whistles, and screams as musical accompaniment.

In the “jukin” of the waist, the tail begins to move. An audience of children screams, trembles in fear, and runs away, as the band of masqueraders draws near. The children declare, “Look de devil dey!”

In Trinidad & Tobago, this mas performance would be called Jab Molassie (molasses devil). It unmasks at once a most terrible and liberating narrative of enslavement and resistance. This is the inescapable history of the Caribbean and the Americas — the context for this whole “new world”.

In Haiti, this black-body mas (without the tail) is called Lanse Kod; in the Dominican Republic with palm branches applied, it is Los Tiznaos; in Dominica, it’s Darkie; in French Guiana with red loincloth, Nèg Marron; and in Guadeloupe and Martinique, Nèg Gwo Siwo — “siwo” itself is a reference to molasses that takes us right back to Jab Molassie in Trinidad & Tobago. They’re all pre-Lenten carnivals, performing a relative to the Jab Molassie that we all know, but probably have not all seen.

In Grenada, this same performance would be called Jab Jab. In recent times — at least in the last 20 years — few Caribbean territories have made a mark on its own carnival with one mas tradition as Grenada has with Jab Jab. If you visited Grenada’s carnival and didn’t play (or at least see) Jab, you probably weren’t in Grenada. The mas energy has even informed its music.

Many of the major soca hits from Grenada, from Tallpree’s “Old Woman Alone” (1999), Skinny Banton’s “Soak it Good” (2014), and Mr Killa’s 2019 monster hit, “Run Wid It” attest to this. Grenada’s Jab Jab has even influenced the wider Caribbean. The “Water Lord”, Iwer George, was “planning to stop sing soca and go and live in Grenada” and play Jab Jab. Even the lexicon in Trinidad (and elsewhere in the Caribbean) has shifted somewhat with many using the Grenadian descriptor Jab Jab to explain the black body mass. Trinidad has a mas named Jab Jab too, but its design and performance are a bit different.

What is known in Trinidad & Tobago as Jab Jab, is almost entirely performed by persons of (East) Indian heritage. Jab Jabs are dressed in what can be (mis)construed as European jesters with the fol (heart-shaped symbol containing mirrors, worn on the chest like a breastplate), which is also found in the King Pierrot, and 19th century stickfighters’ costumes. The mas performs the cracking of their plaited whips as ritual and spectacle, before culminating in battle with opposing/competing Jab Jabs.

In preparing to play, initiated masqueraders may fast for 40 days prior to carnival performances, as well as perform worship to the Hindu Goddess, Kali. While these Hindu rites might be part of the preparation, the mas makes fluid use of African stickfighting (kalinda) music and patterns, which have historically been syncretised into its practice, notwithstanding — or perhaps because of — a native Indian stickfighting tradition named gatka existing on the same soil.

Incidentally, in the community cultural work of Voukoum in Guadeloupe, the rope ritual and spectacle in mas is also a key feature. For Voukoum, this is danced in the Nèg Gwo Siwo (Mas A Kongo), one of the black (skin) forms of mas. Its use of red loin cloth and red breast covering while the remainder of the body is besmeared black is very similar in design to the Nèg Marron mas of French Guiana. The use of the (Trinidad) Jab Jab styled whip, however, is the distinguishable feature.

In my interview with its leaders in February 2021, the group boasted of its recognition of the Congo as motherland, and argued its practices as culturally related to the Congo. Using mas as community work, it at once organises a traditional percussion ensemble to accompany its traditional masquerade practices.

Maria nunes

A Jab Molassie breathes fire in the streets of Port of Spain, Trinidad Opposite page Baie-Mahault Carnival, Guadeloupe WWW.CARIBBEAN-AIRLINES.COM

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Left Wanaragua (aka John Canoe) masqueraders in Stann Creek, Belize Below Jonkunnu in Jamaica

According to one narrative, the Wanaragua is a remembrance of this resistance. The performance is at once a conflation and inversion of the Garifuna versus the British struggle. The mas is performed with a white-faced mask. The body carries ribbons as strips, and mirrors — like the motif in the Jab Jab fol — and headpiece with feathers. Wanaragua in Belize marks one instance in the Caribbean where the native masquerade performance is not part of the carnival.

A similar presence is danced in Jamaica’s Jonkunnu. In the Jonkunnu’s Wild Indian mas, the tradition also acknowledges that there is a memory of the First People in these lands.

Jonkunnu is Jamaica’s native masquerade tradition.

JC Cuellar/Shutterstock.com

It is in these mas traditions that we are placed in conversation with each other in spite of distance and differences. We make mas with the Caribbean — and make the Caribbean with mas

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Courtesy Wikimedia Commons

he Warao people, who inhabit the Orinoco delta, have had a long history of journeying to Trinidad. Trinidad’s Naparima Hills are sacred in their cosmology. They also came to trade. So, in many ways, the presence of the Warao mas — known in Trinidad & Tobago as Warahoon mas — emerges out of the context of a community who made contact with these Indigenous peoples.

In their essay “Decolonisation is Not a Metaphor”, Tuck and Yang (2012) argue: “Indigenous peoples are those who have creation stories, not colonisation stories, about how we/they came to be in a particular place — indeed how we/they came to be a place”.

This can also be seen in Trinidad’s Black Indian mas, which remembers in performance the “coming together” of Amerindians and Africans. The Fancy Indian tradition in Trinidad — even in emerging from the influence of Western movies — is not distant from this.

In Belize, the Garifuna people play a mas called Wanaragua. The Garifuna (aka Black Caribs) are a “new” ethnicity emerging from the mixing of the First Peoples and enslaved Africans of St Vincent, their yurumein (homeland). After some 40 years of formidable resistance against British soldiers and colonialism, with the help of the indigenous Kalinago community, the Garifuna were exiled in the late 18th century to the Honduras coast — now Belize, Honduras.

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Like Wanaragua (which is also referred to as Jonkunnu), Jamaica’s is a Christmas time revelry, as opposed to a preLenten one, which presents a band of individual characters: “King, Queen, Devil, Pitchy-Patchy, Belly Woman, Cow Head, Policeman, Horse Head, Wild Apache Indian, Bride and House Head”. This band of masqueraders is accompanied by goat skin drums played with sticks, “rattles, fifes and even bottles and graters” (Jamaica Information Service).

The Jonkunnu remains a Christmastime masquerade, performed otherwise for Independence and other festivals, and even as tourist entertainment. The Jamaica Carnival is in April and is characterised by the bikini, beads and feathers — “pretty mas”.

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Left Masqueraders at the Dominican Republic National Carnival Below Carnaval in Jacmel, Haiti

Common threads Quentin Gustot/Shutterstock.com

Making mas with language (Speech Mas) Midnight Robber, Pierrot, and Pierrot Grenade (Trinidad); Tobago Speech Band (Tobago); Shakespeare Mas (Carriacou) Making mas with military power (Military Mas) Bad Behaved Sailors, Long Nose Sailors, Fancy Sailors, Firemen and Stokers (T&T); Police (Jamaica); Landship (Barbados) Making mas with the zoomorphic Cow mas, Bat mas, Burrokeet (T&T); Bull (Guyana); Horse Head, Cow Head (Jamaica) Making mas with the anthropomorphic Pai banan, Moko Jumbie (T&T); Bwa Bwa (Dominica); Pai Banan (St Lucia); Jack in the Green (Jamaica) Making mas with mockery Dame Lorraine, Ole Mas, Baby Doll, Pis-en-Lit, Doctor and Nurse, Police and T(h)ief (T&T); Mother Sally (Barbados); Bam Bam Sally (Guyana); Set Girls, Belly Woman, House Head (Jamaica).

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here is a Jonkunnu (Junkanoo) in The Bahamas. An early account of the mas talks about masqueraders with cowbells and musical horns and a headpiece that took the shape of a ship. This similarity to the boat headdress worn by Tobago Speech Bands could not be ignored.

Similarly, the very popular Pitchy Patchy of Jamaica resembles the Shaggy Bear mas from Barbados, and the Pierrot Grenade from Trinidad. But Pitchy Patchy is a most beautiful and athletic

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dancer, while the Pierrot Grenade is an erudite and comedic speechifier.

Jamaica Jonkunnu’s Cow Head reeks of Bull mas in Antigua, St Kitts, and the Guyanese masquerades; while its Belly Woman contains narratives that might be likened to Trinidad’s Baby Doll mas, or those exaggerated (female) body parts mas traditionally performed by men like Dame Lorraine in Trinidad & Tobago, Bam Bam Sally in Guyana, or Mudda Sally in Barbados — the grandchildren of the Yoruba-Nago Gelede tradition.

Notably, there is overlap. These classifications are also not exhaustive, and the work to document and analyse them is ongoing.

Each mas tradition in each of these territories bears its own peculiarity and uniqueness. The BBF (bikini, beads, and feathers, or “pretty mas”) ethos has emerged as the image of contemporary mas and carnival.

The Caribbean carnival circuit creates many a stage for soca, dancehall, and other Caribbean music artists to perform — together. The structure of the festival has evolved into a festival space in our respective and collective diasporas, for Caribbean people abroad to affirm their presence.

But indeed, it is in these mas traditions that we are placed in conversation with each other in spite of distance and differences.

We make mas with the Caribbean — and make the Caribbean with mas. n

escape

As nature intended Across the Caribbean, there are awe-inspiring reserves that allow natural ecosystems to thrive.

Whether hiking, diving, wildlife watching, or just sitting quietly allowing nature to bring you back in to balance, here are five escapes for your bucket list

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Codrington Lagoon Antigua & Barbuda

Courtesy Antigua & Barbuda Tourism Authority

Barbuda’s 62 square miles of coral limestone slope from low, gentle hills near the east coast to the mangrove wetlands of the Codrington Lagoon in the west. Protected as a national park, the lagoon is home to the Frigate Bird Sanctuary, which hosts the world’s largest population of these impressive seabirds — an estimated 10,000. One of the many caves nearby — Indian Cave — also boasts bats, crabs, iguanas, tropicbirds, and petroglyphs from the First Peoples.

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Nature Picture Library/Alamy Stock Photo

Shell Beach Protected Area Guyana

Near Guyana’s northernmost point, past the mouth of the Pomeroon River, a 90-mile stretch of untouched coast is the annual nesting ground for endangered sea turtles. The beach is made up of countless seashells pulverised to sand: perfect terrain for turtles to lay their eggs in excavated nests. Backed by mangrove forest and ité palms, the region is also famed for its diversity of bird species — from scarlet ibis to kingfishers, spoonbills to flamingos. Visits to this unspoilt remote region and its extraordinary natural surroundings are organised via the Guyana Marine Turtle Conservation Society.

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Main Ridge Forest Reserve Trinidad & Tobago

Tobago’s 18-mile-long Main Ridge is home to the Main Ridge Forest Reserve — the oldest protected rainforest in the western hemisphere, and a landmark in global conservation. In the early 18th century, scientist Stephen Hales convinced the island’s plantation owners that cutting down the forest would destroy the balance of nature and reduce the island to a barren desert. Through a royal ordinance in April 1776, some 14,000 acres were designated as a protected Crown Reserve “for the purpose of attracting frequent showers of rain upon which the fertility of lands in these climates doth entirely depend.”

It was “the first act in the modern environmental movement”, according to Scientific American, benefiting and delighting Tobago’s citizens and visitors alike to this day.

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Grand Etang National Park & Forest Reserve You’ll find lush mountains, rewarding hiking trails, crystal-clear rivers, diverse avifauna and awe-inspiring waterfalls in Grenada’s oldest and largest protected area. Translated from French, “Grand Etang” means “large lake” and, at the heart of this 3,816-acre national park, Grand Etang Lake occupies the 36-acre crater of an extinct volcano.

The reserve is home to numerous species of wildlife, including the mona monkey (Cercopithecus mona dent), which was transported to Grenada from west Africa in the 18th century.

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Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary Belize is home to many fascinating protected areas: bird sanctuaries, natural monuments, national parks, marine and forest reserves — including the world’s first jaguar preserve in the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary.

Enjoy sightings of agouti, 300 bird species, monkeys, and snakes; or discover an inconspicuous Mayan ceremonial site, hiking trails, creeks and streams (all good sources for adventure).

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Danita Delimont/Alamy Stock Photo

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neighbourhood

Gros Islet, St Lucia Once a small fishing village, this community near St Lucia’s northern tip has become the island’s tourism epicentre — but still holds on to some rustic touches

Gros Islet itself remains a mostly residential and mostly quiet district, with a handful of picturesque 19th-century buildings scattered among houses and shops. Immediately to the south of the village proper, across the marina dotted with yachts, the Rodney Bay tourism area is a hive of hotels large and small, holiday villas, restaurants, nightclubs, shops, and watersports outfits. The fanciest hotels line Reduit Beach, one of St Lucia’s most popular bathing spots, with views across the bay to Pigeon Island and the Caribbean Sea beyond.

And north of Gros Islet is the posh Cap Estate — here you’ll find some of St Lucia’s most luxurious residences and boutique resorts, as well as the home of late poet and Nobel laureate Derek Walcott.

Photography courtesy St Lucia Tourism Authority, and Marion Nelson & Allen Sherman, St Lucia Oral History (photo credited) 76

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Holy icons

The late Dunstan St Omer was as famous for his friendship with Derek Walcott — who fictionalised his friend as “Gregorias” in Another Life — as for his murals in churches and other public buildings across St Lucia. St Omer’s murals in the cathedral in Castries and the Roseau Valley church are his most celebrated, but the Roman Catholic parish church in Gros Islet, dedicated to St Joseph the Worker, also boasts a series of the artist’s religious paintings. Duck into the church for a glimpse of these works, and enjoy the peace and quiet.

Courtesy Marion Nelson & Allen Sherman, St Lucia Oral History

Streetscape

Jump up

Once a week, quiet Gros Islet shows its other, more extroverted face, as home of a wildly popular and long-established Friday-night street party. Vendors’ stalls form an outdoor stage several blocks long, and the rum and Piton beer flow freely. When they aren’t dancing to soca, zouk, and reggae, partiers can refuel themselves with freshly caught and cooked seafood and barbecued chicken. The party goes late, and you can hear the music way off — just follow your ears.

Hit for six

On the outskirts of Gros Islet and nestled among the Beausejour foothills, St Lucia’s national cricket stadium was renamed in 2016 for Darren Sammy, the first St Lucian to captain the West Indies cricket team. A venue for international cricket since 2003 — when the West Indies played a Test match here against Sri Lanka — the stadium was sited in the driest part of St Lucia, though you wouldn’t guess it from the lush green turf.

Co-ordinates 4.1° N 60.9° W Sea level

Gros Islet

St Lucia

History

“Big Island” — the literal translation of its French name — was settled in the 18th century by French colonists, who founded one of St Lucia’s first Roman Catholic parishes here. In 1778, when the island was captured by the British, the Royal Navy established a fort on the bay, named for Admiral Rodney. (The name stuck.) During the Second World War, the US military established one of their series of Caribbean bases here, and began the long-term project of draining the bay’s mangrove swamps to create a seaplane marina. In later decades, Rodney Bay has become St Lucia’s main tourist district, thanks to the sheltered bay, perfect for watersports, and relative proximity to Castries, six miles south.

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Pigeon Island

With its twin hills creating a distinctive profile, Pigeon Island, across Rodney Bay from Gros Islet, once really was an island, but the construction of a causeway in 1972 joined it to the mainland. Now a national park, Pigeon Island over the centuries was home to the indigenous First Peoples, the base of 16thcentury pirate François le Clerc, then site of a British fort.

To improve the sightlines and permit surveillance of French warships, Admiral George Rodney is supposed to have ordered

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all the island’s trees cut down. Later on, the island served as a quarantine station, US observation post, and private home of British stage actress Josset Agnes Hutchinson, famous for her parties. The current park preserves various archaeological traces and ruins of this colourful history. Today’s visitors can explore these sites, hike up and around the peaks (the views are worth the effort), and enjoy a dip at two small beaches.

And of course Pigeon Island is also the main stage for the annual St Lucia Jazz Festival.

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Bridgetown, Barbados

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Anton_Ivanov/Shutterstock.com

layover

A major hub for international flights into the Caribbean, Barbados is also one of the region’s most developed tourist destinations. Our guide to exploring the island when time is tight

LMspencer/Shutterstock.com

One of the Caribbean’s most popular tourist destinations, Barbados is host to approximately 600,000 stayover visitors each year — more than twice the country’s permanent population — yet somehow manages to never feel overrun.

And at just 21 miles by 14, the island is small enough to get the gist of on a brief trip. You can cover a lot of ground here in just half a day.

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Grantley Adams International Airport, located near Barbados’s southern tip, is a mere couple of miles from the heavily populated stretch of the south coast between Oistins and Bridgetown. Here you’ll find hotels, restaurants, and shops galore — but also two of the island’s most popular beaches, Accra and Dover. Even a few spare hours are enough to pop down for a swim.

The tides of history bring strange flotsam.

Did you know the last descendant of the emperors of Byzantium, a gentleman by the name of Ferdinando Paleologus, ended his days in Barbados in 1678? You can see his tombstone in the graveyard of St John’s Parish Church, with its stunning views across the east coast — a short drive from the airport, but a long journey back through time.

Philip Willcocks/Shutterstock.com

Macca Sherifi/Shutterstock.com

After a long spell on a plane, a bit of a stroll is never a bad thing.

And one of Barbados’ most pleasant promenades is the south coast boardwalk, opened a few years ago and already an irreplaceable feature of the island’s landscape. Running from Accra Beach to the southern outskirts of Bridgetown, the boardwalk offers sea views and sea breezes, access to beaches, benches, and picnic areas.

Courtesy Wikimedia Commons

robertharding/Alamy Stock Photo

When Bajans refer to “the Gap,” they don’t mean a brand of khaki trousers. They’re talking about St Lawrence Gap, a street on the south coast running along the shore, and one of Barbados’ nightlife hotspots.

You’ll find it all here: high-end restaurants, dive bars, karaoke joints, an Irish pub, plus Italian, French, Mexican, and local cuisine. Just one night to spend on the town? The Gap is your one-stop shop.

Let’s sidestep the contentious question of whether rum was actually invented in Barbados.

The fact is, the fiery beverage has been distilled here for over 350 years — and if you’re looking for a crash course in rumology, you can get it in just 45 minutes at the Mount Gay Distillery on the Bridgetown waterfront. The tour includes a bit of history, a bit of science, and a bit of tastetesting.

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prepare for landing

Princess Juliana International Airport, St Maarten (SXM)

byvalet/Alamy Stock Photo

If you’re heading to this island of two nations — the Dutch Sint Maarten and French Saint-Martin — you’ll probably be landing at SXM, where the runway skirts the Simpson Bay Lagoon. Maho Beach, at the end of the runway, is a bathing spot full of drama. As the planes swoop down right overhead, you may even be tempted to duck. For many tourists, a visit to this island isn’t complete until they experience one of those spectacular landings, with the jet engines roaring and stirring up a cloud of sand … Hold on to your belongings if you don’t want them blown into the sea!

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on this day

For the ancestors Photography by Historic Images/Alamy Stock Photo

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ne of the unexpected pluses of televised international sport is the opportunity it gives to appreciate the world’s many national anthems. These always take place before the action starts, but they’re sometimes more entertaining than what follows.

Everyone probably has a favourite. I like (or used to like) Russia’s solemn state anthem — composed in 1944 but with words much modified since — while my wife favours the stirring sound of France’s “La Marseillaise”, even though its sentiments are unashamedly revolutionary and bellicose.

It’s fun to watch the sportspeople react to their national song: some join in enthusiastically, while others, maybe tone deaf, mime sheepishly or remain tight-lipped.

The significance of the pre-sport ritual struck me last July when England’s football team played Haiti in the Women’s World Cup in Australia. England won 1–0 due to a dubious retaken penalty and despite a brilliant performance

by Melchie Dumornay. But for me the anthem competition was indisputably won by the side who were narrowly beaten on the pitch.

The English women were seemingly enthusiastic that an unelected elderly man might long reign over them, but the Haitians had an anthem that spoke of their land, of past sacrifices and the common people: Let us be the only masters of the soil.

Let us march united, let us march united For the Country, for the Ancestors.

Hereditary monarchy is routinely celebrated in “God Save the King”, but Haiti’s anthem tells a very different story. It was first officially played some 120 years ago at an event commemorating something that had happened 100 years earlier and which is a key moment in Caribbean history: the birth of a free and independent Haiti.

Named “La Dessalinienne”, the anthem was composed to mark a century of Haiti’s existence, and its name pays homage to a man who is often seen as the father of the nation.

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n 1 January 1804, General Jean-Jacques Dessalines — a former slave and battle-hardened freedom fighter — was centre stage in the coastal town of Gonaïves for the public reading of the declaration of independence. After 15 years of revolution and war, the French colony of SaintDomingue — once the wealthiest in the world — was no more.

The new state of Haiti, its name recalling its pre-colonial past, had come

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Some 100 years after becoming the world’s first free Black republic, Haiti remained without a national anthem.

James Ferguson looks back at the creation of the spirited “La Dessalinienne” into being. It was born in ruins — the plantations and many towns burnt and looted, the slave owners and Napoleonic army driven out or killed.

Everything was to be rebuilt, and the threat of reinvasion from France and other colonial powers remained very real.

Dessalines was illiterate and spoke no French, but the declaration was written in the language of the defeated colonists and was written and read out by his secretary Boisrond-Tonnerre after Dessalines had briefly addressed the assembled crowd of soldiers and townspeople in Kreyòl.

It was uncompromising in its hatred of the French and their legacy: Begin with the French! Let them tremble upon approaching our coasts, if not because of the memory of the cruelties they carried out here, at least from the terrible resolution we are going to take to punish with death whatever born Frenchman soils our land of liberty with his sacrilegious step.

Rallying the new citizens of Haiti with a rhetoric of revenge and militant nationalism, the declaration was a foretaste of the violence and turbulence that ensued. Dessalines himself was assassinated in October 1806, and Haiti endured decades of civil war and foreign intervention.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, a national anthem was not a priority for the beleaguered founders of Haiti, and it would take a century for the shattered country to adopt a musical expression of its identity.

The centenary of independence offered a context for national pride, and President Nord Alexis — who had come to power in December 1902 through a series of plots and uprisings — was keen to stress continuity and his own legitimacy.

As part of the centennial, a National Association was convened to organise celebratory activities,

Michel-Jean Cazabon’s View of Port of Spain from Laventille Hill

[C]rowds numbering in the thousands were guided through singing the words and melody during the Independence Day celebration. On that day, “The Dessalinienne” accompanied the renaming of an important public square to the Place des Héros de l’Indépendance and the inauguration of monuments that would soon be built to honour the nation’s revolutionary figures …

In 1919, the piece was formally adopted as Haiti’s hymne national by the National Assembly, despite the fact that the country had been under United States occupation since July 1915, and it was duly performed at a ceremony marking the withdrawal of American forces in August 1934.

Ever since, it has been sung at official events and in Haiti’s schools, even during the long dictatorship of François “Papa Doc” Duvalier, who had a tendency to rename everything after himself.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, a national anthem was not a priority for the beleaguered founders of Haiti, and it would take a century for the shattered country to adopt a musical expression of its identity

and these included a competition to compose and write a national anthem.

Thanks to Rebecca Dirksen’s research, we know that the competition involved two separate stages: first, in June 1903, entrants submitted lyrics to be judged by a five-strong jury. Then composers were invited to offer musical scores, to be judged by another committee.

The winners were the poet Justin Lhérisson and the composer Nicolas Fenélon Geffrard, who wrote a piece with what Dirksen describes as “crisp dotted rhythms, brisk tempo, and melody solidly built around arpeggiated chords”.

The end result, deemed suitably patriotic, satisfied the organisers, one of whom (a historian) suggested that the anthem’s title should honour Dessalines — though the revered leader did not feature in its lyrics.

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here are conflicting accounts of when “La Dessalinienne” was first performed in public, but it is generally agreed that it was officially premiered on 1 January 1904 in the capital Port-au-Prince. According to Professor Dirksen:

As for the anthem’s creators, the composer Geffrar — a nephew of the president of the same name (1859–67) — lived mostly in Europe, was a professor of music, and died in 1930. His collaborator, Justin Lhérisson, died in November 1907 at the age of only 30. In his short life, he was a journalist, poet, and author of two novels that are considered important in the formation of a Haitian literary tradition.

Curiously, it was not until the 1980s that a version of the anthem in Kreyòl, the language of the majority in Haiti, was recorded by Ansy Dérose.

Since then, various versions have appeared online, and the Kreyòl lyrics are often sung alongside the French words in schools.

It was in Kreyòl that the Haitian women footballers and their fans sang before their match against England in Brisbane. But officially, in a state and diplomatic context, the anthem’s words remain stubbornly French — a situation that the unforgiving Dessalines would certainly frown upon. n

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green

For seven generations to come Like so many regions in the world, the Caribbean has a plastic pollution problem.

But, as Karen McDonald Gayle reports, community groups have been leading the way to reduce waste, protect our cherished biodiversity, and ensure that we can continue to enjoy our beautiful bodies of water

F loveyousomuch/Shutterstock.com

rom rainforest to reef, the Caribbean has a level of biodiversity that defines the region’s history, culture and heritage — and which we often take for granted. The ocean has shaped generations of Caribbean communities, as well as our economies through “blue” sectors like fisheries and tourism.

Caribbean people’s close relationship with the oceans and our natural environment is manifested in our continued interest and ambition around conservation and sustainable development. In 2008, for example, there was the Caribbean Challenge Initiative (CCI) that saw Caribbean nations reaching beyond the global target of protecting 20% of marine protected areas by 2020.

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In addition to moving the needle on marine management in the region, this drive led to the establishment of the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund (CBF), which now invests over US$175 million in conservation and sustainable development across the Caribbean.

When global interests arose around a similar target that would protect 30% of all natural areas globally by 2030, Caribbean leaders were among the first to pledge their support. This new “30 by 30 goal” provides an opportunity for the region to build on the achievements of the CCI, and once again work together on conservation targets.

Several of these targets begin to acknowledge the inextricable link between land and the previously undervalued ocean. We may be small islands, but we are large ocean states! Of the 24 Caribbean islands that I checked, their marine space is between 68% and 99% of their economic area (their “Exclusive Economic Zone”). So our connection to the ocean is undeniable.

I am excited by the rapidly developing blue economy focus that holds great opportunities for development and GDP growth in our island nations. It will lead to more accurate accounting for our significant ocean spaces. As with all development opportunities, the key will be balance — economic development is only sustainable with effective terrestrial and marine preservation, conservation and management.

Ryan Richter/Shutterstock.com

Pristine views of the peaceful Runaway Bay on Jamaica’s north coast

Reducing ocean waste and plastics A 2019 United Nations Environmental Programme report characterised the Caribbean Sea as the second most polluted in the world, after the Mediterranean. Our shorelines have up to 2,000 waste items per kilometre, 80% of which are macro and microplastics that come from inadequate waste infrastructure and abandoned fishing equipment. Directly linked to deteriorating environments and biodiversity loss, this is an issue that affects far more than local fauna and flora.

Luckily, Caribbean countries are answering the call. At least seven Caribbean nations have banned single-use plastics since 2020. Plastic bottle buybacks in Jamaica are changing the “throw out” mentality and rapidly expanding plastic bottle recycling centres. And Antigua & Barbuda is moving towards banning microbeads and styrofoam. The region is fighting back against plastic and ocean waste.

Luckily, Caribbean countries are answering the call. At least seven Caribbean nations have banned single-use plastics since 2020 With support from the German Development Bank through KfW, the CBF will be playing its part through the Advancing Circular Economy (ACE) Facility. It will finance around 20 projects that aim to minimise marine litter in the Caribbean.

Circular economy ideas are based on those “5Rs” we all know about: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Repurpose, and Refuse. At every stage of production, the 5Rs need to be infused into the process. This will greatly reduce

the amount of waste entering the marine environment.

As with all CBF projects, the aim is to create beyond-project solutions that consider long-term results, including sustainable funding for reducing marine litter in the region.

In just my lifetime, the beaches of the Caribbean have changed. As a Jamaican, my generation was the last to swim the “Cross-the-Harbour” race in which friends braver than me swam across the Kingston Harbour.

Why was the race stopped? Because the harbour was too polluted. The fact that the water got so bad that divers now need a full wetsuit even in our tropical climate is what we want to find solutions for.

This is not just for us now but, as the Sustainable Development Goals and many wise Indigenous populations tell us, it is for seven generations down the line. For them to have — and hopefully swim in — the harbour like us, and play cricket or dandy shandy on the beaches like we did. n

Karen McDonald Gayle is the CEO of the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund (CBF) — a regional umbrella environmental fund established in 2012 to create reliable, long-term funding for conservation and sustainable development in the Caribbean region. www.caribbeanbiodiversityfund.org

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Across 1 A music festival and competition gauging creativity and execution of steelbands [8] 4 Fund in advance [6] 8 Symphonic ensemble [9] 9 Alarming item [5] 10 Put into practice [5] 12 Batman’s sidekick [5] 16 … and lows [5] 17 It’ll zap you [5] 18 Fits like one [5] 19 Culinary publications [9] 20 Fake; imitation [6] 21 Gather [8] Down 1 The trailblazers [8] 2 Coming again [15] 3 Adventure on two wheels [11] 5 OK to rebuild [15] 6 Captured by a camera [11] 7 One kind of pairing [6] 11 Daring, intrepid [11] 13 A category of hair salons [11] Spot the Difference

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by James Hackett There are 10 differences between these two pictures.

How many can you spot?

Spot the Difference answers Masquerader: The beading on the forehead; the patterns on the shoes; the bra patterns differ; the shoe colours differ; the beading on the back leg; the little crown on the head; one masquerader has a waving rag.

Other details: the number of ovals on the decorative shapes; extra holes in the pattern behind the masquerader; the colours of the starbursts behind the masquerader.

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Word Search empathy subversion emperors muse Bridgetown barfi bachata biodiversity costume landship centennial monarchy headpiece

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Caribbean Crossword

WWW.CARIBBEAN-AIRLINES.COM

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WWW.CARIBBEAN-BEAT.COM

WIRELESS INFLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT Welcome Home to

The NEW way to be entertained!

Use your personal device to stream Blockbuster movies, TV shows, games and more Caribbean content while in the air.

Enjoy free entertainment on Content is available only on selected flights*

Troubleshooting

Terms and Conditions

Unable to connect

By using the system, you accept the following terms and conditions:

1. Switch Wi-Fi off and on 2. Power the device off and on and repeat step 1 Unable to view content 1. Close and restart the browser and type www.caribbean-airlines.com 2. If this does not work, try an alternate browser and type in www.caribbean-airlines.com 3. Power the device off and on and try steps 1 and 2 again Note: Chrome is the recommended browser for laptops.

• *Content is available only on flights over two hours.

• Content is available only during flight.

• Access to content is only available above 10,000 feet.

• Access to content will stop before the end of the flight.

• You may not have sufficient time during the flight to watch the entirety of some content.

Viewing information: Please choose your viewing appropriately. Note: Some content may not be suitable for younger viewers, so please choose appropriate content where children will be watching.

Please ensure headphones are used at all times for playback of media content, unless muted.

• It may take a short time for a video or other content to start.

• Please note that we are not responsible for any data loss or damage to devices that may occur while/after using our services.

• Onboard battery charging facilities are available.

Safety information: • We may pause or stop our inflight entertainment system for safety or other reasons.

Security information: • This service is provided using wireless LAN technology.

Please be aware that it is a public network.

• It is each user’s responsibility to have an up-to-date security system (e.g. firewall, anti-virus, anti-malware) for their device.

Caribbean Airlines

Fort Lauderdale

GRAND CAYMAN

St Kitts

Dominica

Curacao

Caracas

Ogle

parting shot

“January girls, yes they are the best”, sang Lord Kitchener. Meet Myrl Parker of Scarborough, Tobago. I met her on the Buccoo Boardwalk in 2022, where she was surrounded by friends and family.

It was her 70th birthday — but her friends said that’s what she always says. We struck up a conversation, and in no time I learnt that Myrl has been travelling the world via cruises since 1978. Russia, Israel, Dubai are just some of the countries she’s visited. When I asked her if she’s retired now, she said no — she owns a fabric store in Calder Hall. At the same time, she motioned to her outfit with a big smile.

Photo: Maria Nunes

96

WWW.CARIBBEAN-BEAT.COM

Tobago Properties For Sale 5 Bedrooms – Ocean Front TT$2.7m Crown Point

Shazim Ali – Property Developer

3 Bedroom Condos – TT$1.65m 2 Bedroom Condos – TT$1.35m Shirvan Road

Call or WhatsApp (868) 620-4382 / (868) 302-5849