Mocko Jumbie, as it is called in the Caribbean, has been a part of the Virgin Islands culture for more than 200 years. The phrase "Mocko Jumbie" may have different meanings according to the different tribes that practices the art. "Mocko" could mean "Mock" or it could mean "Good God."
The genesis of these carnivals carries the intent of resisting on some level, by Caribbean migrants, the otherwise alienating conditions of life in migration, to "carnivalise" these landscapes with some of the joy and space commensurate with Caribbean carnival. Indeed, Caribbean intellectual contributions have had successful impact on the development of U.S., European and African thought. Still, the Caribbean in most imaginings, and in particular to those who do not know it well, is the place of "sun and fun," a vacation land devoid of serious engagement with the world. Caribbean carnival then is the climax of all those "sun and fun" constructions. Yet, there is a history and politics to carnival - a "carnival of resistance" beyond the outer face of "carnival of tourism" - that demands exposure.
"I plan on pursuing a double major, pre-med and writing," said [Frankie Telfort]. "Medicine is my career choice, but I also want to focus on my writing." "It is definitely my speed," he said. "I run a 4:3 (seconds) 40 (yard dash). It's my speed and my mind; I have a great knack for the game." "Basically, we do a lot of lateral drills to make sure the footwork is right," TeUort explained. "We work with truck tires for coordination. We push each other to make each other better."
Business Profile: This segment will feature some Presidential award winning companies owned and or operated by Caribbean nationals, and a look at major industries such as Petroleum, Citrus, and Coffee in some Caribbean nations. Producer/Director Joseph Dunn says, "The purpose of the series is to increase the public awareness and appreciation of the region, and its people". Dunn also adds, "it is our hope that through the broadcasting of these programs he viewer will learn more about the vast resources the Caribbean has to offer in the development of the Western Hemisphere and to change the stereotypical images some people have about the region and its people." Mr. Dunn has also produced two very successful series in the past also dealing with the Caribbean namely, "Jamaica in Focus" and "Caribbean Affair" along with numerous specials dealing with Pan-African and local issues for the Dade County Cable Television Access Project Cable TAP which is the cable division of WLRN-TV. One of these series has been nominated for a national cable programming award, The Home Town USA Video Festival in 1990.
There's tendency among some reggae fans to tune out most of today's dancehall deejays, dismissing them as untalented shysters. While that's an essentially justifiable reaction, there are deejays - mostly of the conscious variety - who are worthy of our attention. One in particular is Prezident Brown. Tune out his new release - To Jah Only - and you'll deprive yourself of a relevant body of work that's likely to sway and have you listening for more of this style. To Jah Only is a neat package that adroitly intertwines the traditional with the contemporary. The title track, which leads the album, gently combines slow guitar picks with Nyabinghi drumming, amid Brown's assiduous delivery of some trusty Rasta melodies. The familiar Duppy Conqueror rhythm by Bob Marley is acquired on In This Life, and it's superimposed with a message that counsels mankind about his covetous ways. This theme is also continued with Pomps and Pride. One of the livelier tracks is Micro Chip, and Brown does a nice job keeping pace with a very demanding tempo. But the strongest is undoubtedly Faith - an instant classic that unveils Brown's versatility and true talent. His encyclopedic expressionism sets him apart from the ordinary, and he's truly one of our best links between the past and the present. [Dean Fraser]'s latest album - Retrospect - is a delightfully appetizing reminiscence of classic hits that are masterfully reproduced for everyone's listening pleasure. With 12 tracks, this album takes you back to mento, through ska, roots, and up to the present.
"It is a new day," [Phillip J. Brutus] told Caribbean Today. "No longer will Haitian Americans be taken for granted. We are demanding our place at the table." "We need to get Haitians involved in the process," Joseph "Billy" Louis, a spokesperson for the group, told Caribbean Today. "We need numbers in order to be taken seriously." Damian P. Gregory is a freelance writer for Caribbean Today. Caribbean Today's special focus on Haiti begins with Nick Carter's call for the nation to "re-invent" itself on page 9 and continues on page 29 with highlights of events there and in the U.S. marking Haiti's 200th Independence.
The term "world beat music" is less than a decade old. The music is a genre defined by the heads of a number of small London-based record labels who found that their records from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean were not finding rack space. Major record stores had no obvious place for these unclassified sounds. The average listeners have not. Today the major record chains - Spec's, Best Buy, and others - have responded to buyers' demand to make available music from Africa, Cuba, Jamaica, Brazil and Latin America. Finding releases from Senegal's Kouding Cissoko or Baaba Maal is no problem. Finding the Afro-French, hip-hop sound of Les Nubians is simple; so finding the music of Nacio from Dominica, Gilberto Gil from Brazil, or Bamboleo of Cuba.
Recipients of the fellowships, funded by the International Development Research Center in Canada, are Lester Wilkinson of Trinidad and Tobago; Margaret Brito of Barbados; and Jamaicans Diana Thorburn, Lisa Ann Taylor and Charles Edwards. The cultural studies initiative is the UWI's response to the perceived need to address the issue of Caribbean development and an acknowledgment that leadership in the region can only be as good as the critical analytical performance of those responsible for developmental planning. Ms. Brito is in the second year of an M.Phil. program at the UWI's Cave Hill Campus in Barbados. Her research will examine the economic potential of Barbados' cultural manifestations such as its popular music, dancer, theater and religion.
In 1996, the colleges and universities of America yielded thousands of graduates, 27% of them black, and of those, 12% were of Caribbean descent. These young Caribbean graduates are a unique entity. They represent a conglomerate of knowledge that could be utilized in America or in the Caribbean. Each year, a new group of Caribbean graduates faces an interesting dilemma: to build a life in the country that has educated them or to build a life in the country that holds their heritage, culture, and traditions. Should a young man from Jamaica who has come to the U.S. to become a doctor not go back to Jamaica at the end of his schooling armed with and American degree and better his own country? Should the young woman from Belize with a B.S. in biology from Cornell not return to Belize and put her knowledge to work for the betterment of her country?
With many of our local elections already gone and the presidential election fast-approaching, I sat back and took a long look at the candidates that ran for the various seats. I noticed something that truly startled me. There was not one candidate of Caribbean descent in any of the many elections that took place on September 3. Although it's a sad commentary on what's happening in the Caribbean community, it is also a chance for the community to make changes for the future. So many of us are American citizens of Caribbean heritage and have all right to run for election. Caribbean-Americans could be a very influential enclave in this town, not only economically, but politically as well. Hispanic candidates turned out in droves. In practically every race there was at least one Hispanic candidate. Black Americans also managed a strong showing. Most notable, with Arthur E.
"I cannot emphasize these things enough," he said. "People need to be extra alert and be very careful with what they're taking to and from the airport." "It's a tragedy because we don't have that kind of culture at all," he said. "It is quite unfortunate. "We can have all kinds of religions in the Caribbean, but we must have peace, love and respect for each other and for the outside world." he added. "I am troubled. We don't need that (alleged plot)."
Another established Caribbean tradition runs counter to the claim that racism there is unusual and of recent origin. This is the tendency to account for a person's character by identifying the racial identity of that individual's parents. West Indians, quite spontaneously, account for each other's personality traits with statements such as "Well, after all, his father was white," or "His father was quite dark you know. In Guyana and Trinidad, one hears frequently that East Indians are by nature "cheap". Elsewhere, Syrians and Jews are, reportedly, successful merchants because of their "clannishness". The Caribs of Dominica are described as Creoles as "lazy drunkards", and the Caribs accuse Creoles of being "mean" and "immoral". Throughout the islands, Creoles who are dark are said to be less motivated for success, and those who are lighter are accused of being snobbish and too sober for their own good. Since independence, racial discrimination has been systemically condemned, and with a good deal of success. But racism (at least in the form of the belief that "once we know a person's racial background, we then know much about that persons' abilities and character traits,") is very much ingrained in the thinking of many West Indians. This style of racism has met with no effective challenge comparable to the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's. In the absence of racial segregation or the North American type of racial polarization, and with what scholars call the Caribbean "myth of racial harmony," most leaders throughout the region seldom address this insidious racism.
Dominicans fete late, and even after three nights of nonstop music there must be upwards of 4,000 people waiting to hear the last band. As Haiti's most famous kompa group - Tabou Combo - takes the stage, exhaustion is dispelled by their relaxed "C'est Tambou", an invitation to a dancing-at-dawn session which continues long after the sun has climbed into the sky. The Haitians in the press box break into spontaneous dance, some straying on-stage; couples slip into each others' arms, moving in effortless elegance, and Dominica's minister of tourism, Norris Prevost, inquires whether this is not the best party I've ever seen. Haiti's Magnum Band with St. Lucian Luther Francois on sax blasted away the wee-hours fatigue with flowing funk and konpa over vodou rhythms and soaring lyrical soukous guitar. It was nearly 7:30 a.m. when Guadeloupe's Taxi Creole ended a tight, driving set which drew on zouk, salsa, merengue, beguine, reggae, jazz and funk.
Friday, Oct. 29 was Kweyol Day, a celebration of island identity and culture. While the official language of the Commonwealth of Dominica is English, 80 percent of the population speak Kweyol, a legacy of early French settlement. Kweyol language and folk culture, after being sidelined, dismissed or denigrated during the British colonial period, has played an important role in forging the identity of independent Dominica since 1978. People's irritation with a late start was quickly dissolved. After the Stars, the Vodou rhythms of Haiti's seminal roots music band Boukman Eksperyans reverberated through Festival City. Named after the Vodou priest who presided over the ceremony that ignited Haiti's slave rebellion, Boukman Eksperyans has been at the forefront of taking the Vodou beat into the arena of world music. Tabou Combo, the most famous and long-lived Haitian Konpa band, seemed reluctant to leave the stage, but from 5 a.m., Festival City was overrun by WCK, [Dominica]'s marathon bouyon band, with whom I was still chipping at breakfast time. Not even a large pot of extra-strong Dominican coffee could revive me, and I retired battered and rambling in Kweyol, to recover in Trinidad.
The Mystic Revelation of Rastafari, a group of Nyabinghi ceremonial drummers founded by the legendary Count Ossie in the 1950s, is not only making its New York debut but is raising the curtain on the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts' "Caribbean Roots: Caribbean Routes" festival. Chris Combette, who has been collaborating with Mungal Patasar on several tracks for his new album, opened the show with his beautiful fusion of Caribbean styles - samba, salsa, soca, bossa nova, reggae and zouk sweeping over the auditorium like warm waves. Based in French Guiana, bordering Brazil, Combette has soaked up the melodies of the region, while his lyrics address the nostalgia or alienation of the immigrant, and racist murder in the metropole. Beneath his sinuous, sometimes ethereal music lurked incisive Kwéyol irony and melancholy metaphors. It was left to Kali and his banjo to bring down the curtain on the festival with his brilliant reworking of Martiniquan traditional music, mazurk, biguine, chouval bwa, gwo ka (from Guadeloupe) with reggae, funk and jazz. It was good to hear St. Lucian Luther François, one of the Caribbean's foremost contemporary composers and sax players, adding punch to this excellent band and the finale of a significant festival for Caribbean music.
Works like Wheatley's and [Harriet Jacobs]' remind us how important it is to document our history with authenticity. History tells us of the need to write our own stories in our own words, for accuracy, for validation. And this is exactly why writers like Maya Angelou, Gwendolyn Brooks, Poet Laureate Rita Dove, Alice Walker and Louise Bennett Coverly (Jamaica) have revolutionized the written word and established themselves as role models for all of us. Positive images. Pulitzer Prize winner Alice Walker uses the word "womanist" in her works to refer to the liberation of black women. Through her famous novel "The Color Purple" and other works, she has revolutionized literature in the New World and given great insights into the traditions, beliefs, history, and values of people of African ancestry. The central theme in all of her work becomes the flower of hope that grows out of all despair. Black women writers have created for us a window to the world through which we can make real-life connections. From them we have received portraits in courage and a validation of ourselves. Their words constantly remind us that hope is eternal and that beauty can rise from adversity, as is so aptly expressed in the poignant declaration by Maya Angelou, the first female to read at a U.S. presidential inauguration, "And still I rise."
It is not surprising that the Caribbean woman pushes her daughter toward higher education, for she sees education as the greatest tool for social mobility. Education becomes more than just a means of expanding one's realm; it is seen as an armor of protection against hostile forces, an opportunity to be successful so that no one can "tek step wid yuh." Traditionally, women have been the custodians of culture. The Caribbean woman must continuously face this question: "How can I keep the culture intact, maintain our song and dance in these changing times, this electronic age of computer, when our children are struggling against the reins of our value system and often we are so perplexed, not knowing what to do? This, then, is the most valuable lesson the Caribbean mother passes on to her daughter: how to be firm in the midst of society's pressures and remain her individual self and nurture her talents and resources to love her mate and nurture her children, even while she pursues her own dreams. The songs and dance continue.
Here in Florida, Caribbean people may not celebrate with Junkonoos, but with their cousins the Mocko Jumbies. All over South Florida the Kwuya or stilt dance has become quite popular and includes the participation of children as well. This ritual dance is especially popular among Trinidadians. A newly-formed parang group, the Punto Finale, is testimony to the enduring appeal of Caribbean Christmas celebrations even when one is miles away from home. Led y Ruby Limare, with Dr. Dawn Batson as one of the 12 members, this group has been serenading South Floridians with lively Spanish-style Christmas music that has been part of the season's celebrations in Trinidad for centuries. Kwanzaa, which means first fruits of harvest, is a celebration that many Caribbean people can relate to because of its Afro-Centric base and its focus on family life, self-reliance, and culture. Although Kwanzaa begins the day after Christmas, its celebrations embraces this age-old tradition of Christmas day.
The fall season is always a kickoff for months of celebrations. From Rosh Hashanah to Columbus Day to Veteran's Day and of course Thanksgiving fall becomes a season of celebrations. And Caribbean folk in their usual creative manner fit their traditions and celebrations right into the thick of things. "Ethnic Brides is all about acknowledging the rich heritage of our African and cosmopolitan background, of mixing traditional with contemporary to make one's wedding memorable, exciting and rich in heritage," says Jacqui Scott, who hosted the event. Especially thought provoking was the poem "Dat bumpy Head Gal", inspired by her real-life experience where she was criticized by some members of the Jamaican public for wearing her "chiney bump" hairstyle on television.
One basic but tremendously important strategy is becoming and staying involved in our daughters' education. Our girls need to be told and reminded that all professions are open to them and that they must begin from an early age to prepare for these professions. Historically, girls do not take as many math and science courses as boys do, yet many top-paying professions require these subjects. Let your daughters know that math, chemistry, physics, etc., are not boy' exclusive domain but that girls have the aptitude to do just as well in these areas. These are women whose lives speak eloquently of courage, determination and achievement. Contemporary women also provide striking examples of qualities our own daughters can emulate. Within our churches, schools and communities are countless women with stories worth sharing.
"For the ones who could not afford it, he (Nettleford) used his influence to get them into different dance schools throughout the world because he valued the totality in education in every genre of dance," he added. "He supported kids who weren't able to support themselves at the tertiary level, without fanfare. Many NDTC dancers get scholarships... the company sponsors them and pays their tuition while they are away." "Most of the steps that are considered Caribbean dance were developed by the NDTC under his tutelage," he said. "Dance companies in Jamaica mirror the NDTC and there are many other groups throughout the Caribbean doing these same dances." NDTC alumni have not just branched out to form their own dance companies in Jamaica, they have also had success internationally. Two prime examples are Jackie Guy, one of Britain's leading lecturers in Afro Caribbean dance, who choreographed "The Harder They Come", and Garth Fagan, who choreographed "The Lion King".
These articles mostly concerned [Castro]'s cracking down on terrorism and crime committed against tourists in Cuba. In reaction to incidents of hotel bombings, and in one case, the murder of an Italian tourist, Castro's government had passed a series of strict new laws to deter crimes that would further injure the country's leading source of foreign currency - tourism. One evening in Santago de Cuba, I was discussing the race issue with a few Cuban friends, among whom was a loyal Castro supporter who had fought for four years in Angola with the Cuban army. He argued that what was happening in his country wasn't so much a problem of racism as it was an honest attempt on Castro's part to protect the country's main source of revenue, tourism, upon which the U.S. embargo had made Cuba dependent. Although the once-again blatant debasing of my friend's civil rights incensed me, I did understand his point. Most of the tourists now coming to Cuba are from predominately white European countries, or they are upper-class whites from Latin America. Most of the tourists now coming to Cuba are from predominately white European countries, or they are upper-class whites from Latin America. Most of these white tourists come to Cuba with racism ingrained in them from their own cultures. In fact, it is unofficially acknowledged that a large percentage of the foreign currency in Cuba comes from sex tourism, which generally comprises white men drawn to Cuba by the lure of "exotic" mulatto women.
"There was no trial. No formal accusations. They just dumped all of the prisoners like animals into a cage," [Jan Mapou] recalls. "they stripped us and then crammed 14 of us into a small cell. We had no idea if we would ever see our families again. We had no idea if we would even be alive from one second to the next." Tell no one "When I first started working with Jan Mapou and the Sosyete Koukouy, I knew very little about the meanings of the daces I was performing," says Nancy St. Leger, who is now the dance troupe's choreographer. "Mapou opened me up to the significance of each dance. He didn't want the dance troupe to perform anything we didn't understand." "What Mapou is promoting through his work is not just Haitian culture but what Haitian culture represents," says [Yves Colon]. "He keeps alive those ideas of beauty, harmony and black pride which are all a part of what Mapou believes is Haitian culture.
Gazing at the amalgam of rich Caribbean artistic expression - bold colors intertwining on canvas, delicately woven wire sculptures, sheer pieces of cloth with intricate handmade designs - one might think she was roaming the corridors of the Metropolitan Museum of Art or the prestigious Guggenheim rather than viewing the one-bedroom Harlem apartment of Caribbean art dealer Anderson Pilgrim. "One of the reasons that Caribbean art has yet to penetrate the New York scene is that it has yet to be fully explored even among Caribbeans", Pilgrim said. "Because of the colonization of the Caribbean islands, and the stifling post-colonial effects, many native Caribbeans didn't begin to explore their abilities until the 1970s, which was a period of real artistic revolution on the islands". A few of the artists he represented were medal winners at the prestigious Biennial Caribbean Festival, held in the Dominican Republic and featuring artists from the Caribbean and Countries in Central America which border the Caribbean.
Haiti is a third world country with a population of over seven million and another few million scattered over the world. It represents per capita the poorest Western Hemisphere country but in reality it has been downtrodden by political instability and the insolvency of the Dictatorship stereotype. This dictatorship mentality has taken root with Duvalier regime (Papa Doc and Baby Doc) which for many years had an iron grip over this French-Creole island and resulted in the destruction of a truly unique island. Each leader since, Jean Claude Duvalier has monopolized and downtrodden the Haitian community for his own selfish reasons. The dictatorship tactics of Duvalier was emulated by each leader who succeeded him and the military in this place took the place of 'Baby Doc's' dreaded "Ton Ton Man Coute" death squads.
Tanya Quintero, a light-skinned mulatta and prominent independent journalist in Havana, said she was not aware of racial discrimination until she had a daughter with darker skin the than she. Suddenly, some of her friends referred to her child with a Spanish phrase that literally translates as "sour or dark stomach" but figuratively is slang for "a child who comes out darker than her mother," she said. Lighter-skinned children later made fun of her daughter for being a "marron," brown. Also the millions of dollars in "remittances" that Cubans in the United States and elsewhere send their relatives back on the island very year reach few "black" Cubans because more than 90 percent of the exiles are "white." As a result, the long-standing economic gap between darker and lighter Cubans widens. I use quotation marks around "black" and "white" because the terms don't mean the same as they do in the United States, with our traditional "one-drop rule." Race in Cuba, as in the rest of Latin America, is somewhat fluid: You are pretty much what you say you are, even within the same family.
According to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, several companies in Brooklyn, New York, including Chay Pa Lou Community Center, Inc., Delegue Tax Consultant, Inc., and their owner and operator Jean Michel; as well as Rinchef s Multi-Service, a/k/a Rincher Bookstore, a/k/a Rincher Associates, a/k/a Haitian American Entrepreneur's Group, LLC, and their owners and operators Deslande Seixas-Rincher and Sharlene Seixas-Rincher, targeted the Haitian community with fraudulent immigration services. "In light of the recent devastating earthquake in Port-auPrince, New York's Haitian residents have sadly been a target for immigration scams, bringing further pain to a community that has already suffered so much," said Cuomo. "These cases are a part of my office's ongoing crackdown on immigration scams throughout New York and I urge anyone who has been affected by this type of fraud to contact my office."
Jamaica is doing so well that it was not even in the top 14 nations receiving the most deportees in 2009. Instead, for the Caribbean region, the top three nations receiving the most deportees last year, were the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Haiti. Mexico continued to lead the deportees statistics table. Mexican nationals accounted for 86 percent of the 613,003 aliens apprehended in 2009. The next leading countries were Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, China, and Brazil. A total of 393,000 foreign nationals were removed from the United States last year, the seventh consecutive record high. Of that number, 128,000 were known criminal aliens.
At a recent conference in Martinique, entitled "36 hours for the Caribbean", that focused on better means of cooperation between French West Indian departments and their independent neighbors, Martiniquan lawyer Alain Manville spoke about "Law, judicial practices and human traffic in the Caribbean." "France wishes to maintain her Caribbean departments in a state of indifference towards their natural environment," said Mr. Manville. "For Nearly 10 years one has witnessed a complicity between the Prefecture of Martinique and the French embassy of St. Lucia to deny visas to nationals from St. Lucia and Dominica and when these visas are accorded, the time taken is exorbitant and stay periods are reduced to a minimum," says Mr. Manville.
They continued to avoid the racially-motivated behavior of many in the Cuban population in South Florida. In fact, the Caribbean (black?) organizers of the carnival care so little that they were happily prepared to give away the carnival's culture-driven economic and social enterprise to the Cuban community, even if the Cubans didn't really want anything to do with it, like Jewish Miami Beach and WASP downtown didn't. Does this mean that the huge economic infusion that was offered to other communities for acceptance is going to be realized by the people in Opa-Locka? Because, suddenly, it's as if some people belatedly became a little blacker; after all, they're home, they claim, to Opa-Locka. Yeah, right. The carnival organizers have some cojones, if not much sense of appropriateness. They outdid themselves in their fantasizing (but then, that's carnival). They opted for Hialeah and tried to hitch their wagon to Mayor Penelas' new coattail. Somebody needed to remind them of some of the politics involved. Seems Mayor Alex and Mayor [Raul Martinez] `don't tek tea', as we say in the Caribbean. Probably something to do with Alex backing the candidate who ran against Raul. Next stop, Hialeah City Hall. The rest, they say, is history.
August 14, 1991, will mark the Bicentennial of the "Bios-Caiman" ceremony which led to the general insurrection of the slaves of St. Dominique on the night of the 22nd and dawn of the 23 of August 1791. That gave us: the first triumphant anti-slavery movement. After 121⁄2 years of fierce fighting independence was obtained in Haiti on January 1, 1804. History perceived the ceremony of August 14, 1791, in a confused manner. They will also have space available for Vendors at the encouraging price of $25.00. Inquire now for spaces are limited. Planned Events 14th of August 1991: Conference at Toussaint Louverture Elementary School. Guests: Anthropologist, Ernest Mirville, Wolley Enriquez Ethnology, Claude Charles, Professor, Jean-Claude Exullien.
The term, "To run a boat," originated in the Caribbean. A group of boys or grown men would trump up whatever they had, little flour, bully beef, corn, cassava for bammy, salt pork, sugar, lime and water. Each person would bring one item and the firewood or stove would be lit. The resulting cornucopia would be most pleasing and satisfying, both to the palate and the gullet. The success would be measured by the hearty belches and the question, "So when we going to run the next boat?" Very much like the camel and its' hump. "Lord, Miss Gwen, de baby need to fatten up; mek sure him eat four bowl of porridge every day, plus two quart of milk, plus four boil eggs. Remember, a fat baby is a healthy baby." No function succeeds without plenty food, and in fact the measure of its status and success is the abundance of food that is served. Not even the dearly departed is spared. Nine days after a person dies, a wake or "nine night" is held. Just another excuse to wolf down the family's food. Other cultures burry the corpse within 24 hours, but not us, who choose to keep it until enough food can be bought to feed the ravaging hordes that are expecting to descend on the premises.
One of the things attracting tourists has taught us is to value the habit of preservation. We have to depend on devoted scholars and archeology diggers and always, tenacious individuals like Dr. Walter Roth. He was a medical man of German stock who moved to Guyana by way of Australia and was the moving spirit in the rise of Georgetown's museum of natural history. As a youth I made many trips to this museum and was fascinated by its presentation and displays; for instance the diorama of gold-digging operations in the far interior, the lighted fish tanks with fish such as the blood-thirsty pirai, a lifelike representation on the wall of the world's biggest freshwater fish, the arapaima, caught in Guyana. A huge live anaconda pans have all but vanished.
"We're not a Jamaican station. We're not a Trinidadian station. We're not a Bajan [Barbadian] station. We're not an African-American station," [Carl Nelson] says of his station, which broadcasts from Davie, near Fort Lauderdale. "Our target audience is the entire Caribbean [community], and that includes second-generation Caribbean Americans and people [of other nationalities] who like Caribbean-American music." Nature of service "We don't see the radio as a juke box," he says. "We're here to serve the community and just because you put some music on the radio doesn't mean you're serving the community." "Everybody who's advertised with us has reported good results," he says. "That's because they're getting a mix of people. They [reach] people from all the different islands. They get African Americans. They get whites. For them [the advertisers]it's a plus."
In 1984, the association opened an expanded Historical Museum at the Miami-Dade Cultural Center in downtown Miami. This 40,000-square-foot facility includes a permanent exhibition that traces the history of South Florida and the Caribbean, a temporary exhibition gallery that features several new exhibitions each year, a theater and classroom area for variety of educational programs, and storage areas for the museum's extensive collections of artifacts and archival materials, including books, manuscripts, maps and more than one million photographs related to the region. In recent year, the Historical Museum has directed increasing attention to Miami's role as a gateway of the Americas. To explore Miami's multifaceted connections with the Caribbean and Latin America, a new program series, Miami: The Gateway City, was introduced in Spring 1999. The objective of the 12-month series is to use the museum as a central forum for public dialogue about current issues facing Miami and as a space for related artistic presentations.
It may also have helped English-speaking migrants from the Caribbean that Florida served as a broad entry point for Caribbean migrants from Cuba, Haiti, and other countries: Where an area has a strong tradition of immigration, prevailing social attitudes are not likely to be as parochial as those in traditionally closed communities. Again, this is not to minimize the difficulties that particular migrants have faced; it is to acknowledge the fairly obvious point that some communities are less impenetrable for outsiders than others. A recent study by the British Cabinet Office has found that Caribbean women constitute a significant success story at the professional level. Specifically, for the generation born between 1940 and 1959, as many as 45 percent of the black women from the Caribbean, or who are of Caribbean heritage, now hold professional or managerial jobs, as against 27.3 percent of the black men in the same category. For the generation born between 1960 and 1979, 38.1 percent of the black women with Caribbean roots are professionals or managers, in comparison with 28.6 percent of the black men. These figures warn us that gender is now a significant factor in determining the prospects of Caribbean migrants to Britain, and they highlight the need for a broader examination of the factors that determine success for those who, in Claude McKay's words, may find themselves "a long way from home."
As a little girl, [Annee] had become the favorite of a high voodoo priestess, who held considerable influence in King [Henry Christophe]'s court. Widowed and childless, she turned her attentions to Annee with trinkets and valuable gifts. Annee's parents encouraged the woman's interest because they felt her influence with the Kin could benefit them. It was this woman who taught Annee to believe in spirits, to regard the air as charged with the supernatural, over which she could gain control. She attended forbidden voodoo orgies, summoned by eerie drum beats in the dead of night. She saw the fear the people had of the high priestess and was carefully schooled by the latter in the ways of creating this fear...black magic and death. The priestess convinced Annee that she had the powers of a God. But the priestess died and Annee's parents also died leaving Annee very much alone in Haiti.
In the Class II race for boys ages 14-15, St. Jago's Raheem Chambers clocked 10.29 seconds to smash [Yohan Blake]'s mark of 10.34 set in 2006. He was followed home by Jhevaughn Matherson of Kingston College, who was timed in 10.37. The K.C. sprinter would turn the table on Chambers in the 200 meters the following day. The frenzied crowd had barely settled down after the Class II100, when K.C.'s Zharnel Hughes, who is from Anguilla, stunned them again with 10.12 seconds in the Class I event for ages 16-19. He emerged victor from a stirring battle with Jevaughn Minzie of Bog Walk High, whose 10.16 also bettered Blake's 2007 mark of 10.21. Champs' final day offered even more record shattering performances in front a capacity National Stadium crowd of roughly 35,000, with hundreds more locked outside. Calabar's Javon Francis, a medalist on Jamaica's 4x400 meters team at the 2013 senior World Championships in Athletics, toppled the Class I 400 meters set by Jamaica's current super sprinter Usain Bolt in 2003. Francis clocked 45 seconds, erasing Bolt's mark of 45.35.
It may take a while to determine if the region's tour de force at the U.S. capital during the June 19-21 "Conference on the Caribbean - A 20/20 Vision" - which also attracted non-CARICOM member representatives such as Haiti's President Rene Preval, Belize's Prime Minister Said Musa and top representatives of institutions including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and the Organization of American States (OAS) - was merely an extravagant "talk shop" or, in fact, laid the groundwork to achieve tangible benefits from Caribbean-U.S. relations on thorny matters, including trade, security, economic development and immigration. What the Caribbean publicly said it hoped to accomplish at the three-day conference was to tell the U.S. of its new-found evolution and plans to bond more closely as a region in pursuit of prosperity. At the end of the conference a joint US.-Caribbean communiqué acknowledged the region's requests and expressed "unequivocal commitment to a secure and prosperous region and future benefits for all our citizens." "I don't believe it will just be a 'talk shop'," said Dr. Basil K. Bryan, Jamaica's consul general to New York. "I think thing will happen, but at a policy level I think it will take a little time for things to germinate. But we're all looking forward, positively, for something to happen out of this conference."
Among the big talking points of the current immigration debate in the United States is the type of labor that should be admitted into the country. Many believe the entry of "unskilled" laborers should be severely restricted. Jamaican-born Eleanor Brown, a Reginald Lewis Fellow at Harvard Law School, is not one of them. Shortly after addressing the "Conference on the Caribbean: A 20/20 Vision " last month, Brown explained to Caribbean Today's Managing Editor Gordon Williams why more of the Caribbean's labor force should allowed to go overseas.
None were brighter than the wildly popular Usain Bolt's world record sprint double, and the Jamaican's three gold medals overall. Bolt shattered his own 100 meters mark of 9.69 seconds, set at last year's Olympic Games in China, with a stunning 9.58 on the second night of the WCA. Tyson Gay of the United States finished "second in an American record 9.71, and Jamaica's Asaf a Powell third in 9.84. The 6' 5'' sprint star, who celebrated his 23rd birthday during the WCA, returned days later to the Olympic Stadium track to clock 19.19 in the 200 meters and break his other individual world mark set at the '08 Olympics. That result took [Bolt] more by surprise. In the women's 4x400 relay, Jamaica's team of Rosemarie White, Novlene Williams-Mills, Shereefa Lloyd and Shericka [Gordon Williams] finished second to the U.S. A silver was also earned by Cuba's Yarelis Barrios in the women's discus, while T&T's Renny Quow won bronze in the 400 meters. His country's team of Darrel Brown, Marc Burns, Emmanuel Callander and Richard Thompson, captured silver in the 4x100.
Why? Because there is not a shred of doubt, as acknowledged by President George W. Bush's proclamation to mark the occasion last year, about the immense contributions made to the U.S. by people of Caribbean background. Not so long ago, former military General Colin Powell, a son of Caribbean-born parents, was Bush's secretary of state, one of the most powerful political posts in the U.S. Powell was even touted as a presidential contender. "But in communities (in the U.S.), where there are large concentrations of Caribbean people, for example in the South Florida area and in the New York metropolitan area, the Caribbean communities have all come together to do different things, sometimes collectively, sometimes individually, meaning individual associations..." Already some activists, who advocate on behalf of Caribbean interests in the U.S., have frowned on clauses of the proposed new immigration bill which they claim is a backward step for those wishing to see immigrant families united in the U.S. Also on the table for the leaders will be the issue of security in the Caribbean and the sensitive subject of deportations.
From the United States' perspective, it is very, very important for the (President George W) Bush administration to understand the location and the reality of the Caribbean's small economies. You cannot ignore them or you will have problems. You have somebody like (Venezuelan President) Hugo Chavez in the (Caribbean) region that is giving them (the U.S.) a headache. The (U.S.) better fortify the small countries or they will go over to whoever is helping them. People must survive and people must live. For the Caribbean in particular, it is a historical event. We are meeting as a Caribbean people. We seem to be sharing the same concerns every other CARICOMmember shares. From the U.S. standpoint, I really don't know because a lot of the feedback that we've had from our heads of state, we've heard this before... over the years and I'm not sure this is any different. The only thing that might be a little different now is the deportation of criminals to our shores and I don't believe that the U.S. does not know what the implication of that is. We are always seeking financial support from them, so to send us people who have been convicted for crimes that we don't have in the islands, somebody, somewhere, must know.
Talk to Richard Lue and it becomes clear that not nearly enough Caribbean people are heading `home'. Neither are enough African Americans trying to discover the Caribbean, although their connection with the culture has long been established in the U.S. That's why Lue was appointed Air Jamaica's regional manager for special markets in the southern U.S. Another Air Jamaica representative has been given similar responsibilities for the northern states. "It wasn't neglect," said Lue. "It just wasn't accountability. We've always been there. The problem was internally. We feel we can get more out of that (Caribbean) market." "To me it's no big deal," he said. "The problems in Jamaica are serious, but Jamaica has never been an easy sell. But it is a challenge. It is because of 9/11 that we realized we had to diversify our markets and give importance to all the markets. The challenge is there, but we just have to deliver."
"It is important because we are black first," said Joseph, a U.S. resident since 1970 and a registered Democrat, "then we are Caribbean or American." "As a black man walking down the street (in the U.S.), no one knows if he is Caribbean or not," [Irwint Claire] added. "Plus Caribbean people have played important roles in advancement of African Americans. "It is a very significant time for Caribbean Americans," he said. "Caribbean nationals should look at it as a good time to be in the U.S...One ([Barack Obama]) from the ranks is moving forth."
Jamaica's other medal winners included Veronica Campbell and Michael Frater, who earned a silver in the women's and men's 100 meters, respectively. St. Kitts and Nevis's Kim Collins won a bronze in the men's event as well. The Bahamas finished second and Jamaica third in the men's 4x400 meters relay to earn silver and bronze, respectively. Jamaica's women won a silver medal in that event, while Trinidad and Tobago won its only medal of the meet, a silver in the 4x100 meters for men. Cuba's Osleidys Menendez set a new world record in the women's javelin on her way to the gold medal. Cuba also won gold in the 800 meters for women, and silver medals in the men's and women's triple jump, men's high jump and women's hammer throw.
"It's different because there is nothing like it," she said. "Hollywood wants the high drama, the fight, the ridiculous conflicts, shock behavior. We bring none of that to the production.
AFRICANDO Arts and Culture Festival, a collaboration between the Foundation for Democracy in Africa and Miami-Dade County, is a one-day event that will feature contemporary African, Afro-American, Caribbean & Afro-Latino cultures. MDCC and the Black Heritage Museum will display masks, statues and murals from the Caribbean, South America, Brazil and Cuba. A special "Children's Activities Village" will feature traditional African and Caribbean folk tales, puppet shows, African mask and instrument making, African textile weaving, Miami Metrozoo's exotic animal show and more. The festival, which is the closing event for AFRICANDO 2001, will be promoted in Africa, AFRICANDO organizers say. A trade delegation from Miami and Washington, D.C., will conduct trade seminars promoting the conference and festival in Nigeria, Mali, Ghana, Senegal, South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Tanzania.
