Caribbean Beat — 25th Anniversary Edition — March/April 2017 (#144)

ADVERTORIAL 

Celebrating our storytellers, writers, 

poets, dramatists at the NGC Bocas Lit Fest 

e are a nation of storytellers. 

There are stories in our songs: 

our calypso, soca, and chutney. 

There are stories in our mas, our drama, 

and our dance. We engage in word-play 

outside eateries and on street corners, 

and in chance meetings at the marketplace. 

The National Gas Company of Trinidad 

and Tobago Limited (NGC) recognises, 

elevates, and celebrates the innate skills of 

our storytellers, writers, poets, and dramatists, 

through its ongoing 

title sponsorship of the NGC 

Bocas Lit Fest. NGC Bocas 

gives a voice to local — and 

even regional — authors, 

writers, spoken-word artists, 

and more. It is eagerly anticipated 

by an increasingly 

global audience. 

The Festival’s standards 

of excellence are applied to 

workshops, panel discussions, 

book readings, and signings, 

as well as poetry slam 

competitions and film screenings. The 

children are specially catered for, 

through the Children’s Storytelling 

Caravan, which reaches out to communities, 

and where children can create 

their own stories which are then 

compiled and published as a Bocas Lit 

Fest production. 

NGC’s President, Mr Mark Loquan 

Panel Discussion at the NGC Bocas Lit Fest 

NGC Children’s Bocas Lit Fest 

This festival has commemorated 

writers such as Tiphanie Yanique, 

winner of the Felix Dennis Prize for Best 

Collection; Marlon James, winner of the 

Man Booker Prize; Andre Alexis, winner 

of the Scotiabank Giller Prize; and Vahni 

Capideo, awarded the Forward Prize for 

Best Poetry Collection in 2016. NGC 

Bocas Lit Fest has further expanded 

their reach through partnerships with 

organisations to host CODE’s Burt 

Awards for writers of young adult 

books. 

The NGC Bocas Lit Fest 

is a vital element of our 

Corporate Social Responsibility 

programme, through 

which NGC supports local 

development through 

youth development in 

sport and education; the 

preservation and promotion 

of arts and culture; 

environmental protection 

and preservation; community 

development and 

enhancement. 

NGC takes pride in local and 

regional authors, storytellers, and 

poets who have added to the 

international literacy landscape, 

recording and preserving our 

Caribbean-ness for generations 

to come. 

The 2017 NGC Bocas Lit Fest runs from 26 to 30 April. 

For more information, visit www.bocaslitfest.com

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Contents 

No. 144 March/April 2017 

17 68 

EMBARK 

17 Datebook 

Events around the Caribbean in 

March and April, from a river race in 

Belize to St Patrick’s Day in St Croix 

— plus a drum festival, kite-flying, 

and cricket 

24 Word of Mouth 

Whether you experience it on stage 

or from the audience, Trinidad and 

Tobago’s national spoken word 

poetry slam is full of thrills 

26 The look 

Trinidadian swimwear designer 

Chandra Maharaj makes a seamlessly 

elegant transition to Carnival 

Monday wear 

28 Bookshelf, playlist, and 

screenshots 

This month’s reading, listening, and 

film-watching picks, in our books, 

music, and film columns 

ARRIVE 

68 Offtrack 

Pakaraima bound 

The spectacular Pakaraima 

Mountains, near Guyana’s border 

with Brazil and Venezuela, are a 

landscape of dramatic table-top 

mountains, rolling valleys, and 

remote villages. It’s not an easy part 

of the world for outsiders to visit. 

But the annual Pakaraima Mountain 

Safari attracts visitors hungry for 

adventure — like Neil Marks 

78 neighbourhood 

Port Elizabeth, Bequia 

The capital of the second-largest of 

the Grenadine Islands is a haven for 

yachties — but also for artists and 

foodies 

IMMERSE 

80 Layover 

Bridgetown, Barbados 

As one of the Caribbean’s most 

popular tourist destinations, Barbados 

is also a major hub for international 

flights to the region. Our guide to 

exploring the island when time is tight 

ENGAGE 

82 inspire 

Inner-city art 

For middle-class Jamaicans and tourists 

alike, downtown Kingston, with its 

deprived communities, can seem 

off-limits. So when a group of young 

artists began a public mural project 

in the Fleet Street area, it wasn’t just 

about beautifying the neighbourhood, 

writes Tanya Batson-Savage. It was 

really about opening opportunities for 

local residents 

34 Cookup 

A compendium of curry 

From Jamaican goat to Trini doubles, 

curry is one of the definitive flavours 

of the Caribbean. There are hundreds 

of curry blends around the world — 

what are the Caribbean’s best, and 

how are they evolving? Franka Philip 

finds out 

38 caribbean beat turns 25 

The beat goes on 

As Caribbean Beat marks its twenty-fifth anniversary, we look back at 

our coverage of Caribbean people, arts, and culture since 1992. Lots has 

changed — in the magazine, in our region, in the wider world — in the 

past quarter-century. What hasn’t changed is our mission to share the 

stories of the Caribbean’s best and brightest, from a Caribbean perspective, 

for a Caribbean audience. You can see it in the covers of the 144 issues 

we’ve published over the years — and the stories behind those images 

8 WWW.CARIBBEAN-BEAT.COM

CaribbeanBeat 

An MEP publication 

80 

Editor Nicholas Laughlin 

General manager Halcyon Salazar 

Online marketing Caroline Taylor 

Design artists Kevon Webster & Bridget van Dongen 

Editorial assistant Shelly-Ann Inniss 

Business Development Manager 

Trinidad & Tobago 

Yuri Chin Choy 

T: (868) 460 0068, 622 3821 

F: (868) 628 0639 

E: yuri@meppublishers.com 

Business Development Manager 

Caribbean & International 

Denise Chin 

T: (868) 683 0832 

F: (868) 628 0639 

E: dchin@meppublishers.com 

84 Green 

Progress report 

In the pages of Caribbean Beat, over 

the past twenty-five years, we’ve often 

reported on environmental stories. 

So what’s the real state of progress 

across the region, when it comes to 

protecting our natural resources? 

Nazma Muller investigates 

86On this day 

Calypso with a conscience 

A beloved musical icon since the 1950s, 

Harry Belafonte has an equally long 

reputation as a political activist. And 

the parallel themes of his public life, 

entertainment and activism, both have 

their roots in Belafonte’s childhood 

in Jamaica. James Ferguson finds out 

more 

Media & Editorial Projects Ltd. 

6 Prospect Avenue, Maraval, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago 

T: (868) 622 3821/5813/6138 

F: (868) 628 0639 

E: caribbean-beat@meppublishers.com 

Website: www.meppublishers.com 

Read and save issues of Caribbean Beat on your smartphone, 

tablet, computer, and favourite digital devices! 

88 puzzles 

Our crossword and other brainteasers, 

to keep your mind busy 

during your flight 

94 Onboard entertainment 

Movie and audio listings, to entertain 

you in the air 

Printed by Solo Printing Inc., Miami, Florida 

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 2017. 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 

96 parting shot 

A mosaic of greens and blues 

seen from high above, Barbuda’s 

Codrington Lagoon is a natural 

gem, home to mangrove forests and 

seabird colonies 

The Caribbean Airlines logo shows a hummingbird in flight. Native to the Caribbean, the hummingbird represents 

flight, travel, vibrancy, and colour. It encompasses the spirit of both the region and Caribbean Airlines. 

WWW.CARIBBEAN-AIRLINES.COM 9

Cover Martiniquan 

filmmaker Euzhan Palcy, 

twenty-five years after she 

appeared on the cover of 

the first Caribbean Beat 

Photo ©Yannick Coupannec/ 

Leemage 

This issue’s contributors include: 

Jamaican Tanya Batson-Savage (“Inner-city art”, 

page 82) is the publisher and editor-in-chief 

of independent publishing house Blue Moon 

Publishing and the online arts and culture magazine 

Susumba.com. She is the author of Pumpkin Belly 

and Other Stories and the play Woman Tongue. 

Laura Dowrich (“The beat goes on”, page 38) is the 

content manager for Looptt.com, a news website 

and app based in Trinidad and Tobago. 

Debbie Jacob (“The beat goes on”, page 38) is a 

journalist, author of eight books, and longtime 

Caribbean Beat contributor. She is also the head 

librarian at the International School of Port of 

Spain, Trinidad. 

Neil Marks (“Pakaraima bound”, page 68) is a 

Guyanese freelance journalist and stringer for Reuters. 

He has specialised in environmental reporting for 

many years, and recently won the Prince Albert II of 

Monaco/UNCA Award for Climate Change reporting. 

Ariana Herbert (“Grand slam”, page 26) is a past 

finalist of the First Citizens National Poetry Slam. She 

upholds storytelling and the exploration of alternative 

narratives concerning identity, gender, and disability. 

Nazma Muller (“Progress report”, page 84) is a 

Trinidad-born, Jamaica-obsessed writer who has 

worked in newsrooms in T&T, Jamaica, and the UK. 

Judy Raymond (“The beat goes on”, page 38) is a 

freelance writer and former editor of Caribbean 

Beat, who has written extensively about books, 

arts, and politics. Her latest book, The Colour of 

Shadows, is a study of the conditions and images of 

Caribbean slavery. 


A MESSAGE From THE CARIBBEAN AIRLINES TEAM 

2017 is an auspicious year for both Caribbean Airlines and 

Media and Editorial Projects Limited (MEP), the publishers of 

Caribbean Beat magazine. Caribbean Airlines is celebrating 

10 years of serving the region, and this issue marks 25 years 

of the magazine’s existence. 

The first Caribbean Beat was published in 1992, under the 

former national carrier BWIA. When Caribbean Airlines began 

operations in 2007, we were fortunate to have Caribbean Beat 

as a partner for the new company. 

Caribbean Airlines is an authentic Caribbean brand, and 

Caribbean Beat is key to our positioning as THE authority on 

all things Caribbean. The magazine has consistently got behind 

the usual Caribbean stories of sun, sand, and sea, and 

featured real Caribbean experiences and people, celebrating 

genuine Caribbean accomplishment and aspiration in sport, 

art, music, literature, history, cuisine, lifestyle, science and innovation, 

adventure, festivals, and other events. 

In addition to celebrating these milestones, Caribbean 

Airlines remains focussed on enhancing the customer experience. 

To this end, we recently launched our new cuttingedge 

website www.caribbean-airlines.com, which reflects 

our continued commitment to delivering a unique, compelling 

and memorable travel experience. 

The new website, designed by MBLM, includes: 

• a responsive design, which can be viewed with ease 

on any size/resolution screen 

• an inviting user interface with content structure that is 

much easier to navigate 

• access to multiple products and services and the 

best deals for you, when you book online 

• exciting destination guides with locally produced 

content and imagery of popular Caribbean attractions 

The vibrant design is friendly and authentic, inviting customers 

to experience the warmth and pride of the region and 

what it means to be Caribbean. 

January and February were busy months, and March and 

April promise to continue this trend. Our convenient flight 

schedule makes it easy for you to get to and from the many 

events taking place, and we are happy that you choose to fly 

Caribbean Airlines. 

In February, at the request of the Government of 

St Vincent and the Grenadines, we operated charter services 

into the new Argyle International Airport. Look out for more 

exciting developments as we extend our network to include 

new destinations. 

We invite you to fly with us to Guyana’s Rupununi Rodeo, 

which is held each year over the Easter weekend (this year, 

15 to 17 April). The rodeo is the most popular inland sporting 

festival in the country. Meanwhile, April is jazz month in Tobago, 

with the Tobago Jazz Experience taking place from 22 

Nicholas Laughlin 

Guyana’s Rupununi Rodeo 

to 30 April, and Antigua will host the 50th epic sailing week 

from 29 April to 5 May. 

Beyond the Caribbean region, our North American destinations 

are bustling. In New York, the Tribeca Film Festival, 

carded for 19 to 30 April, continues to shine the spotlight 

on the latest films from big-name talent and the greatest 

from up-and-coming filmmakers. In Miami, the Carnaval on 

the Mile which takes place on 4 and 5 March will feature a 

wide array of local artists. The Calle Ocho Festival in Miami is 

celebrating its 40th anniversary in grand style. Calle Ocho is 

the largest street festival in Miami, and features the sounds 

of merengue, reggeaton, bachata, balada, hip-hop, rap, and 

jazz. And in Toronto you can let your taste buds lead the way 

through the Toronto Food and Drink Market from 31 March 

to 2 April. 

Thank you for choosing Caribbean Airlines — we value 

your business and look forward to serving you throughout 

our network. 

Please visit our website, www.caribbean-airlines.com, 

become a fan by liking us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/caribbeanairlines, 

and follow us on Twitter and 

Instagram @iflycaribbean. 

Yours in service, 

The Employees of Caribbean Airlines 


Benefits of 

Flying Caribbean 

1st Bag FREE 

2nd Bag only US$35 

Free is always good! Get your first piece of 

checked baggage FREE and pay only US$35 

for second bag. You also get one carry-on 

baggage plus one personal item on all 

Caribbean Airlines flights. 

Pre-Order your 

Special Economy Meals 

Pre-order your special meals up to 24 hours 

prior to flight’s scheduled departure time by 

calling our Call Centre. We cater to specific 

dietary needs such as vegetarian and diabetic. 

Discounts for Children 

Because we care about the future! 

Children 2-11years old 

who are booked in semi flexible or flexible fare 

levels are eligible for a discount of 10%*. 

Complimentary Meals 

Enjoy a complimentary Meal of authentic 

Caribbean cuisine exclusively crafted 

by our Sky Chefs on select flights. 

60+ has its Rewards 

Your senior years just got 10% better. 

Persons 60 years and over who are booked 

in semi flexible or flexible fares are eligible for 

a discount of 10%* 

Discounts for 

Tertiary Students 

You’ve earned it. Students between the ages 

17- 40 attending tertiary level institutions are 

eligible for 10%* discount. Simply present 

your student identification or an official letter 

from the University at any Caribbean Airlines 

ticket office. 

Earn Frequent 

Flyer Miles 

Earn miles and added benefits when you become 

a frequent flyer in our Caribbean Miles 

Loyalty Programme. Unlock a world of benefits 

when you become a member. 

Baby on Board 

Infants get a FREE bag too! If a seat has been 

purchased for an infant (child under 2 years) 

the infant is allowed the same baggage allowances 

as an adult, plus a forward facing car seat that 

must adhere to aviation required standards. 

Discounts for 

Groups of10 or more 

Traveling in a group? 

Then you and your group can enjoy 

a special group discount*. 

*Conditions apply. Learn More

datebook 

Your guide to Caribbean events in March and April, from a river race in 

Belize to jazz in Tobago 

Warren le platte 

Don’t miss . . . 

Phagwah (Holi) 

12 and 13 March 

Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and Suriname 

Known as Holi in India and Phagwah in parts of the 

Caribbean, the Hindu spring festival of colours and sharing 

love brings joy, happiness, unity (even if just for a while), 

and thanksgiving. Some even refer to it as the Hindu 

New Year. Although a religious event, it’s completely allinclusive. 

No one is spared from the friendly throwing of 

brightly coloured gulal powder, spraying of deep purple 

abeer dye with homemade water guns, or the goodnatured 

rivalry. At a fast pace and high pitch, folk songs 

called chowtals are sung to the accompaniment of the 

dholak and the majeera, both percussion instruments. 

You won’t be able to resist dancing. Phagwah is deep in 

religious significance with symbols of purification and the 

promotion of good health. Spread the love. 

How to get there? Caribbean Airlines operates daily 

flights to Piarco International Airport in Trinidad, 

Cheddi Jagan International Airport in Guyana, and 

Johann Pengel International Airport in Suriname 

from Caribbean and North American destinations 


datebook 

If you’re in . . . 

BELIZE 

BARBADOS 

GRAND CAYMAN 

jcariddi photography 

La Ruta Maya River 

Challenge 

3 to 6 March 

larutamaya.bz 

If you think the Olympics are a 

challenge, consider this arduous 

four-day river race, where only the 

fittest survive. With participants 

coming from around the world, 

approximately one hundred teams of 

three cut along the Belize Old River, 

paddling 175 miles from San Ignacio, 

Cayo District, to downtown Belize 

City. It’s the longest canoe race in 

Central America, and there can be no 

substitutions. 

Translated, La Ruta Maya means 

“the Maya Trail,” and it recalls the 

journey of ancient Maya travellers 

who paddled to the sea to trade 

with cities up the coast of Belize. As 

a tribute to these ancestors, the river 

challenge has been going steady for 

nineteen years. There’s rapid pace 

on the river, and in villages along 

the route, fairs, markets, and local 

music bands entertain the onlookers. 

The adventure mellows during 

three-night stops at the Banana Bank 

Lodge, Double Head Cabbage, and 

Old River Tavern. And on the last day, 

which coincides with National Heroes 

and Benefactors Day (previously 

called Baron Bliss Day), the canoes 

flow into the celebratory fanfare in 

Belize City. 

MAT/shutterstock.com 

Sandy Lane Gold Cup 

4 March 

Garrison Savannah 

In other islands, Carnival may have 

finished, but its atmosphere is 

still alive in Barbados at the most 

prestigious horseracing event in the 

eastern Caribbean. Thirty-six years 

ago, in its debut year, people climbed 

onto roofs near the historic Garrison 

Savannah to get a vantage point for 

the pre-Gold Cup entertainment and 

the race itself. The weight of the 

spectators caused one of the roofs 

to collapse, sending people helterskelter. 

The Gold Cup isn’t just for racelovers 

— it’s traditional to have pomp 

and pageantry, and loads of family 

entertainment. There are activities 

preceding the race day, too. These 

include polo matches, celebrity golf 

tournaments and dinners, a Broadway 

show, and a street parade. Some of 

the world’s leading investors enter 

their horses for the race, drawn to 

the prestige of winning the coveted 

title. All this excitement leads to the 

main event: one race spanning nine 

furlongs (1,800 metres), and filled 

with cream-of-the-crop jockeys and 

horses. Maybe for race time you could 

become a member of the Barbados 

Turf Club’s Grand Stand Posse? “And 

they’re off!” 

Kaibo Kitefest 

17 April 

Kaibo Beach 

The beautiful kites above Kaibo dive, 

swirl, and soar like birds. As flighty 

and carefree as they may seem, some 

of the kites are actually performing a 

good deed. Not just bringing families 

together or making children smile: the 

entry fee for Grand Cayman’s annual 

kite competition goes directly to the 

Acts of Random Kindness charity, 

an organisation that assists people 

throughout the Cayman community. 

Now in its eighth year, the 

competition includes categories like 

most creative and original kite, best 

kite flyer with the steadiest kite, oldest 

kite flyer, youngest kite flyer, best 

dressed (matching kite and costume), 

and most environmentally friendly 

kite. You’re free to build your kites 

beforehand, and if you need assistance 

you can head over to a kite-making 

workshop. 

Kite tricks and demos by kiteboarders 

are also in the mix, while live 

music floats on the wind. The event 

usually runs from 1 to 5 pm, with 

an exciting array of attractive prizes 

distributed at a ceremony beginning 

promptly at 4. Kite flying is one of the 

Caribbean’s cherished Easter traditions, 

and on Kaibo Beach it’s free for all 

(unless you enter the competition). 

Event previews by Shelly-Ann Inniss 

Gelpi/shutterstock.com 


datebook 

Marvellous March 

England cricket tour of 

the West Indies 

Antigua, St Kitts, and 

Barbados 

Cheer for the Windies and 

bask in the liveliness of the 

stands on the home grounds 

of cricket stars Curtly Ambrose 

and Sir Garfield Sobers, during 

this ODI series 

[3 to 9 March] 

mbbirdy/istock.com 

International Drum Festival 

Venues around Cuba 

fiestadeltambor.cult.cu 

Cubans and foreigners dance and play to Havana rhythms 

in masterclasses, workshops, and competitions 


Moonsplash Festival 

The Dune Preserve, Anguilla 

Spend the weekend dancing 

in the sand to the hits of top 

reggae artists under the full 

moon and stars 


30 

01 

30 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 

16 17 1 

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 

Escape the 

ordinary. 

Work. 

Discover 

Play. 

Hyatt Do Regency both. 

It’s Trinidad. good not 

to be home. 


St Patrick’s Day Parade 

Christiansted, St Croix 

Mobs of green can be seen for miles 

jamming alongside beautiful floats at 

this Caribbean-Irish party. Watch out 

for the beads! 

[18 March] 

©Gail Johnson 

Plein Air Curaçao Festival 

Venues around Curaçao 

Local and international artists of various levels 

capture the splendour of the “Hidden Treasure,” 

including underwater and air painting 


courtesy st croix st patrick’s day parade 

30 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 


datebook 

Adventures in 

April 

Panama International 

Film Festival 

Venues across Panama City 

Celebrate the passion, 

diversity, and flavour of 

cinema in this free week-long 

programme of screenings, 

workshops, and masterclasses 

[30 Mar to 5 Apr] 

christine yurick 

Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta 

Falmouth Harbour, Antigua 

Graceful classic ketches, schooners, and yawls create a 

spectacle on the seas and vie for the prizes 

[19 to 25 April] 

Tobago Jazz Experience 

Tobago 

Phenomenal performances 

by local and prominent 

international icons will chase 

your worries and stress away 

with a Caribbean flair 


Started 30 March 

30 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 

Inspired Products presents 

Unique steelpan fridge magnets 

Website: www.steelpansite.com 

Tel: 909-464-0101 (USA) 

Corporate orders with custom stickers welcome. 


hayley madden for the poetry society 

Writer Vahni Capildeo 

NGC Bocas Lit Fest 

Port of Spain, Trinidad 

Avid readers, performers, 

and writers celebrate words, 

stories, and ideas in the heart 

of T&T’s capital 


A Cotton Photo/shutterstock.com 

Vertical Blue Free Diving 

International Competition 

Dean’s Blue Hole, Long Island, 

the Bahamas 

Every continent will be 

represented as divers plunge to 

win the title of world’s deepest 

male and female diver 

[30 April] 

30 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 


word of mouth 

Dispatches from our correspondents around the Caribbean and further afield 

Seth Sylvester, 2016 

champion of the First 

Citizens National Poetry 

Slam 

Grand slam 

courtesy the 2 cents movement 

Ariana Herbert on experiencing 

T&T’s national spoken word 

poetry slam — on stage and in 

the audience 

In the latter quarter of my brief existence, I’ve often found 

myself in strange and surprising situations. But perhaps the 

best of these remains mistakenly auditioning for the largest 

spoken word competition in the Caribbean. Quite entirely through 

orchestrated actions of the universe — or perhaps because my 

brother got me there by telling me it was just an open mic — in 

2014 I found myself in the semi-finals for what was then called the 

Verses Bocas Poetry Slam, and a year later in the finals. 

Now called the First Citizens National Poetry Slam, and 

nationally established as one of Trinidad and Tobago’s biggest 

poetry platforms, the competition is the closing event of the 

annual NGC Bocas Lit Fest, coordinated by the literary festival 

and its partners the 2 Cents Movement. (This year the slam 

finals happen on Sunday 30 April, at the National Academy for 

Performing Arts in Port of Spain.) 

Competing for a TT$20,000 grand prize among thirteen other 

participants in front of internationally renowned judges is not 

an opportunity that arises easily — nor one that any of us poets 

treats lightly. It is a respected space that demands we challenge 

our craft and commit to excellence. 

Onstage, there is something truly magical about that 

hushed darkness before the spotlight bathes you, feeling a 

performance pour out of your body, and knowing you have but 

a few minutes to invite an audience of over a thousand people 

to share part of you. In the Caribbean spoken word arena, this 

experience is unparalleled. 

And for those in the audience? The real beauty is being 

submerged in a live story and feeling the words sing around you, 

surging throughout your body. Whether you feel refreshed or 

stung, an excellent piece insists a change upon you. 

Last year’s slam finals saw fourteen artists judged by 

T&T performance legends Paul Keens-Douglas and Wendell 

Manwarren, alongside Circle of Poets president Nicholas Sosa, 

Boston University professor Laurence Breiner, and Barbadian 

writer Nailah Folami Imoja. The event was graced with guest 

performances by T&T’s Minister of Tourism, Shamfa Cudjoe, 

alongside Shineque Saunders, champion of the Courts Bocas 

Speak Out Intercol 2016 — T&T’s national schools spoken 

word competition. 

With topics that ranged from the sombre to the hilarious, 

the participants that night commanded the stage. There came 

quiet singed by blistering lines of social critique, raucous times 

of delight in brilliantly ridiculous snippets, and an aftermath of 

respect for the sheer cunning of the poets. Seth Sylvester, the 

2016 winner, delved into a personal narrative that clutched the 

audience and then released them to a standing ovation. There 

is something undeniably human about connecting to someone 

else’s experience, and Seth’s performance to this day affects me. 

My favourite part is always when someone else goes, I thought 

it was only me . . . n 


the look 

Thank 

God it’s 

Monday 

From swimwear to 

Carnival Monday wear, 

Trinidadian Chandra 

Maharaj’s designs combine 

classic lines with comfort 

Photography by Ikenna Douglas 


Pieces from the “Goddess” Monday 

wear Carnival collection come with cool 

removable jewellery 

The saying “less is more” perfectly describes Trinidadian 

Chandra Maharaj’s creations. She’s been designing for as 

long as she can remember, but her path became clear when 

she redirected her master’s degree from international business 

to fashion. Inspired by anything that moves her joyous soul, her 

well-known swimwear line includes classic yet sexy pieces made 

with sublime fabrics that are vibrant in colour and print. Her latest 

Carnival Monday wear collection incorporating removable jewellery 

is her best yet, and something she plans to expand in the future. And 

her swimwear isn’t the only thing making waves — her fitness gear 

is just as fabulous and, of course, incredibly comfy. 

Alia Michèle Orane 

www.aliamichele.com 

For more information: visit www.chandramaharajdesigns. 

com or email info@chandramaharajdesigns.com 


Bookshelf 

Canouan Suite and Other Pieces, by Philip Nanton (Papillote Press, 75 pp, ISBN 9780993108679) 

Paintings can sometimes speak words; poems will occasionally offer vistas. These 

aren’t contradictions, but conclusions that St Vincent-born, Barbados-based Philip 

Nanton’s new hybrid art-verse book, Canouan Suite and Other Pieces, attempts 

to make plain. Nanton offers poems — some rollicking, others contemplative 

— alongside visual pieces from artists who are either Caribbean, or closely 

affiliated with Caribbean spaces. These poems immerse themselves playfully and 

poignantly in cricket, neo-colonisation, and the bewildering, bodacious beauty 

of Barbados itself. 

What strikes the reader reassuringly is how firmly in the local soil these poems 

are grown. In “Night Cricket at Carlton Club, Barbados”, “bats are twirled; leather 

hits wood; runs, like souls, are sometimes saved. People erupt from their seats, 

shout, sit down, mutter. Glove knocks glove.” Nanton compels his audience with 

images plucked straight from the greenery, chaos, and market-stalls of Caribbean 

living, whether he turns his attention to a topsy-turvy police station or a troupe 

of outlandishly named minibuses. 

In “Canouan Suite”, for which the book is named, the poet trains a sharply 

critical eye on the clutches of foreign investment in a small-island community. A 

chorus of voices populates the poem, from the bone-weary hotel worker to the 

cavalier, dispassionate outsider who calls the island “a pocket-handkerchief of a 

place.” The poem is a powerful admonition that lets its own characters speak; it 

highlights Nanton’s lyrical virtuosity without dampening his message. 

Canouan Suite and Other Pieces warns against the real dangers in calling any 

place, Caribbean or otherwise, a “paradise.” Despite this grave counsel, the book 

opens itself to wonder at every turn, proving that when easy labels are discarded, 

the deepest cistern of an island’s heart spills over. 

The Yard, by Aliyyah Eniath (Speaking Tiger 

Books, 272 pp, ISBN 9789385755088) 

If the closeness of one 

nuclear family stirs up 

confusion in the domestic 

cauldron of everyday living, 

how much worse is it when 

your neighbours on all sides 

are your blood relations, 

too? In Aliyyah Eniath’s 

fiction debut, the intricacies 

and entanglements of 

“compound life” — many 

families in one unsegregated 

dwelling expanse — are 

scrutinised through the 

crosshairs of love, duty, and religious devotion. Orphaned 

Behrooz and privileged Maya form a bond reminiscent of 

literature’s finest and most thwarted of beloveds. The 

Yard lifts a veil on Indo-Muslim Trinidad: its customs, 

ceremonies, and concerns are sensitively penned and 

elegantly conveyed. Written with the joviality of a 

comedy of errors, yet underpinned by wry commentary 

on society’s need for speculation, this first novel shines 

with promise. 

The Taxidermist’s Cut, by Rajiv Mohabir (Four 

Way Books, 112 pp, ISBN 9781935536727) 

In one of the poems of this first 

collection, a speaker confesses: 

“I admit failure to a friend: I 

have never spelled love with 

another in the tangle of my 

own limbs.” Rajiv Mohabir, who 

traces his immediate ancestry to 

Guyana, writes with boundless 

appetite about the new New 

World of Indo-Caribbean 

identities. These poems do 

not claim fearlessness: they 

siphon audacious admissions 

and erotic offerings from the very maw of fear itself. 

Contending with anti-queer, anti-immigrant, antibrown 

judgements, they explode into bhajans and bass 

rhymes of verse. The speakers in them are often restless, 

distanced from their natal beginnings and curious about 

their shifting postal addresses. It is this curiosity, this 

desire to claim names from the erasure and indemnity of 

East Indian indentureship in the West Indies, which gives 

this extraordinary debut its wings. 


Michael Manley: The Biography, by Godfrey 

Smith (Ian Randle Publishers, 458 pp, ISBN 

9789766379223) 

Statesman par excellence; 

passionate public official 

and private man; egalitarian 

trade unionist; prolific author; 

all-around dynamo: twenty 

years after his death, Michael 

Manley remains one of the most 

compelling figures in Caribbean 

political life, past or present. In 

this new biography, Godfrey 

Smith takes a sequential, probing 

approach to documenting 

Manley’s life as Jamaican prime 

minister and policy maker. What sets Smith’s consummately 

readable biography apart is its undaunted willingness to 

tell the full truth of one remarkable man’s orbit. Everything 

from a string of marriages to pioneering economic reform 

is weighted, addressed, and assessed as valuable material 

for the reader’s reflection. Many accounts of Manley 

position him beyond the reach of everyday Jamaicans: this 

unassumingly titled book brings a humanising light to its 

often-inscrutable subject, stripping the titan of any one, 

easy signification. 

A Handbook of Trinidad Cookery 1907, 

edited by Danielle Delon (Cassique Publications, 

156 pp, ISBN 9789769541559) 

Mrs Ross’s Spanish Custard and 

Miss Doyle’s Callaloo: these 

sound like your auntie’s timehonoured, 

jealously guarded 

family recipes, but they’re 

actually two of the culinary 

contributions in A Handbook 

of Trinidad Cookery 1907. 

Danielle Delon has dusted off 

the original 1907 compilation 

of this kitchen handbook, and 

faithfully repurposed it for any 

contemporary chef with an interest in Caribbean cuisine. 

The book is illuminatory not only as a cookery guide, but 

as a historic passport to the conventions of French Creole 

and British immigrant householders, who adapted their 

palates to the particular mélange of verdure, wild game, 

and seasonings available at the time. Even its outdated 

recipes offer clues to the way Trinidad’s kitchens, and by 

extension Trinidad’s domestic spheres, once operated: 

every concoction and confection within these pages is 

worth its weight in sugar and spice. 

Reviews by Shivanee Ramlochan, Bookshelf editor 


playlist 

Bright Eyes Victor Provost (Paquito Records) 

Virgin Island steelpan jazz 

virtuoso Victor Provost sets 

an optimistic tone with his 

second album, Bright Eyes, 

capturing the influence of 

the Caribbean more so than 

on his debut album two 

years ago. Bebop swagger 

gives way to a progressive 

jazz world fusion while still 

maintaining a deft touch that allows the tenor pan to 

ring true. On the eleven tunes on this album, Provost 

runs through a gamut of styles and select composers, to 

give the steelpan a context outside its calypso base. The 

obligatory homage to calypso legend Lord Kitchener is 

included — “Pan in Harmony” — but this album reflects 

Provost’s recent apprenticeship with Cuban saxophonist 

Paquito D’Rivera and his wider exploration of improvised 

tropical music. Mazurka, baião, calypso, and funky 

Afro-Cuban jazz all have a presence here. Guest soloists 

— including the aforementioned D’Rivera, alongside 

Etienne Charles and Ron Blake, to name a few — flavour 

this Caribbean jazz gumbo which swings with enough 

intensity to keep your attention. 

Elemental Ruth Osman (self-released) 

Trinidad-based Guyanese 

singer-songwriter Ruth 

Osman is a poet disguised as a 

songbird. Not so much a poet 

in the Dylanesque Nobel Prize 

echelon, but from the milieu 

of Caribbean poets who use 

metaphor and emotional 

narrative to imbue a sense 

of order into our scattered 

lives. The bookend opening and closing interludes of this 

ten-song album showcase her talent as poet who moves 

beyond mere lyricism. “Someone must, on bended knee / 

Mourn the death of a star and sing another into being.” 

The intervening eight songs showcase a singer who holds 

a tune with an elastic multi-octave voice that echoes a 

girlish timbre in contrast to the adult themes. Elemental, 

Osman’s second album, succeeds in its simple setting, 

where her debut wallowed in vapid excess, hiding the 

richness of her voice that makes her lyrics ring. With cover 

songs by Marley, Jobim, and Andre Tanker, this album also 

focuses Osman’s neo-folk Caribbean aesthetic accurately 

towards accomplishment and elation. 


Single Spotlight 

No One Tano & Kalpee (self-released) 

Right off the bat, on their new 

single “No One”, Trinidadian 

producer Michael Montano 

and singer Christian Kalpee 

introduce an earworm that 

has been a hallmark of much 

popular hit music in 2016: 

the flutelike squiggle called 

the “dolphin.” EDM superproducers 

Skrillex and Diplo 

created this motif in the song “Where Are Ü Now”, 

where singer Justin Bieber’s “vocals are pinched into a 

dolphin call” at that song’s drop, using various distortion 

and equalisation effects. Tano & Kalpee have recreated 

this riff to maximum effect, making this laidback dance 

groove a choice between a regretful post-breakup 

song that successfully reflects a tropical house genre 

definition, or a lame imitation of a played-out hook. 

The former seems apt in this case, as Kalpee’s voice gives 

favour to a lyric and melody which signal a confident 

approach to hit songwriting and production that has 

global appeal. Our Caribbean reputation as dance music 

adventurers sustains here. 

Fete You R City (Precision Productions) 

Brothers Timothy and Theron 

Thomas (R City) of St Thomas 

in the US Virgin Islands are 

working with Trinidadian 

producer Kasey Phillips 

(Precision Productions) on a 

number of songs that point 

to a new direction in island 

music, where the modern 

R&B influences are subtle 

enough not to obscure the Caribbean musical accent, 

but still distinctive. The opening synth chord progression 

signals a pulse that will make couples get closer on the 

dance floor, while the vocals overlaid hint at something 

provocative: “I just want to fete you / From night ’til a 

morning / I know that you want it.” Once the song gets 

grooving its zouk-flavoured backbeat and soca phrasing, 

the double entendre becomes clear. “Fete You” is a 

sexy demand for something more than a party. This is 

hedonism with a capital “F.” It’s also a catchy tune that 

works by supplying a wider Caribbean palette for soca 

to evolve. 

Reviews by Nigel A. Campbell 


SCREENSHOTS 

Site of Sites 

Directed by Natalia Cabral and Oriol Estrada, 2016, 

61 minutes 

A pair of coconut trees frames a beach at sunrise, waves 

lapping against the sand. This is no clichéd Caribbean 

image, however: a wide, rutted ditch running into the sea 

points to disruptive human activity, which is reinforced by 

the piece of industrial equipment 

sitting off to the right. A man walks 

into the shot, up to the machine 

and switches it on. A puff of 

black smoke belches out, and the 

thrumming of the engine disturbs 

the dawn. 

So opens Site of Sites, the new 

documentary by Natalia Cabral 

and Oriol Estrada of the Dominican 

Republic. It furthers the direct 

approach to the non-fiction form that was so effectively 

on display in the duo’s debut, You and Me, a portrait of 

the relationship between a maid and her mistress. Site of 

Sites continues to probe themes explored in You and Me — 

race, power, economics — but on a broader scale, even as it 

maintains that film’s equanimity and empathy. 

Site of Sites is set almost entirely within the confines of 

an upscale housing development somewhere in the DR. 

Precisely framed static shots — the camera never moves 

— showing the (invariably) black people employed as 

gardeners, domestics, and labourers, are interspersed with 

scenes showing the (invariably) white people who employ 

them relaxing in swimming pools, playing golf, and having 

barbecues. Conversation is largely 

desultory; people are simply living 

their lives. 

The cumulative result is a 

sobering rendering of black and 

white, poverty and wealth, work 

and play, a social dynamic little 

altered since it came into being 

centuries ago. (And, the film 

suggests, with little chance of 

being altered.) Site of Sites is 

exemplary of what can be done with little more than a 

camera in one’s hand and an idea in one’s head: politically 

committed and formally rigorous filmmaking of a very 

high order. 

For more information, visit faulafilms.com 

Green & Yellow 

Directed by Miquel Galofré, 2016, 19 minutes 

For a decade now, 

Barcelona-born, Trinidadand-Tobago–based 

filmmaker Miquel 

Galofré has been making 

acclaimed documentaries 

in the Caribbean. 

Whether they’re about 

prisoners creating music (Songs of Redemption) or atrisk 

children discovering the transformative power of 

art (Art Connect), Galofré’s films are characterised by 

their boundless empathy for the marginalised lives they 

celebrate, as well as their unforced optimism. 

His latest film, Green & Yellow, is a work of disarming 

and devastating simplicity. Shot on the streets of 

Port of Spain, it contains the interwoven, direct-tocamera 

testimonies of two homeless men, Sheldon 

“Sketch” Aberdeen and Shawn “Yankee” Brown, both 

crack cocaine users. There is no music score, and the 

cinematography is in stark black and white — until the 

closing moments, when the colours of the film’s title 

saturate the screen. The running time of Green & Yellow 

is just under twenty minutes; its power will remain with 

you for much longer than that. 

For more information, visit trinidadandtobagorocks. 

com 

I Am a Politician 

Directed by Javier Colón Ríos, 2016, 90 minutes 

Some explanatory 

text at the beginning 

of I Am a Politician 

declares this satire to 

be “almost a work of 

fiction” — which, given 

what follows, makes it 

a depressing reminder that we now live in the time of 

President Trump. Javier Colón Ríos’s follow-up to I Am 

a Director, his comic debut, I Am a Politician tracks the 

follies of Carlos (Carlos Marchand), an ex-convict seeking 

to become governor of Puerto Rico. 

Colón Ríos’s satire is light, sometimes even slight. Not 

all his gags work: for example, a joke involving Carlos 

“coming out” to his mother as a member of a political 

party different from hers feels forced. And some nuances 

may be lost on those not conversant with Puerto Rico’s 

unique political system. That said, the story of a boorish 

narcissist, opportunistically hopping from one political 

party to another, is one with which most people can no 

doubt identify. 

For more information, visit facebook.com/ 

yosoyunpolitico 

Reviews by Jonathan Ali 


cookup 

A compendium of 

curry 

It’s one of the outstanding flavours of the Caribbean, 

enjoyed in everything from Jamaican curry goat to 

Trinidadian doubles. But where can you find the 

region’s best curries, and how is the cuisine changing? 

Franka Philip finds out 

Illustration by Shalini Seereeram 

One of my most mind-blowing 

food experiences ever was years 

ago at an Indian restaurant in 

Southall, West London. It was 

the first time I tried Indian food 

in Britain, and I wasn’t prepared 

for the depth of flavour the chefs at Madhu’s served 

up that Saturday afternoon. 

The korma and jalfrezi were far more complex 

than Trinidad curry — the taste defined by the 

Turban or Chief curry powder used religiously at 

home. Some of the flavours I had that afternoon 

took a bit of getting used to, but after that, I was 

game for trying more of the great spread of curries 

available in the UK. 

Most Indo-Caribbean people can trace their 

origins to the Subcontinent’s northern region 

of Uttar Pradesh. Indians started arriving in 

the Caribbean in the mid nineteenth century as 

replacement labour for enslaved Africans after 

Emancipation. However, because of the strictures 

of indentureship and the unavailability of some 

spices and herbs, Indo-Caribbean cuisine retained 

some traditional elements while also, over time, 

evolving into a style of its own. 

“There are hundreds of curries all around 

the world,” says scientist and curry gourmand 

Brian Singh. “Our curries tend to be heavy on 

turmeric and garam masala.” In other cultures, 

curries incorporate ingredients like coconut 

milk, lemongrass, and different chillies. Singh 

points to Malaysia, where curries typically 

use tamarind and shrimp paste. A Trinidadian 

based in Vanuatu, in the Pacific, Singh does have 

many plaudits for the curries of the Caribbean. 

“Jamaican goat curry is brilliant,” he says. “They 

use a lot of warm spices which go well with the 

gaminess of the goat.” 

Around the world, Jamaican goat curry, like 

jerk chicken, has become synonymous with 

Caribbean cuisine. In the UK, for example, 

festivals like Notting Hill Carnival are also a 

showcase for Caribbean food. It’s not unusual for 

revellers and spectators to eat thousands of plates 

of the sumptuous delicacies at food stalls along the 

parade route. 

The toughest parts of the goat are used for this 

recipe: they are seasoned and left overnight to 

marinate, then cooked low and slow to achieve 

a fall-off-the-bone tenderness. Well-travelled 



Trinidadian journalist Wesley Gibbings also gives 

Jamaican goat curry the thumbs up. “They prepare 

a luscious dish that is hardly uniform across the 

island, but all equally delicious. Contrary to some 

belief, the Jamaicans have a heavy hand with 

the spices and pepper, so don’t fool yourself into 

believing that extra spicy is anything near our light 

version of pepper.” 

Gibbings believes that, as far as the rest of 

the Caribbean goes, you’re likely to get the best 

curry in Trinidad, Guyana, and Suriname. “I can’t 

think of another place where I have had a curry 

duck and paratha that match Trini style the way 

the Surinamese prepare it. It is just the right mix 

of spice and the earthy flavour that makes curry 

stand apart from other ways of preparing meat and 

vegetable dishes.” 

Gibbings is less impressed with curry in other 

parts of the Caribbean. “The Eastern Caribbean 

islands do not yet understand the concept of 

curry,” he says, “except where Trinis or Guyanese 

have set up shop. In Antigua you get a good balance 

between the two styles, but in St Lucia, except for 

the guy who set up shop near Rodney Bay recently, 

we may conclude that the idea of what constitutes 

a good curry meal is a rather vague one. 

“In Sint Maarten,” Gibbings adds, “the Guyanese 

there have made sure you enjoy fairly authentic 

stuff, but don’t hold your breath in Barbados, 

where there is an arguably equal share of Trini and 

Guyanese influences. Perhaps the good stuff is in 

the homes of such expats.” 

And what is the future for Caribbean curry? 

Both Singh and Gibbings believe that 

there’s a lot of potential, especially with the 

growth of street food as a big attraction for foodies 

everywhere. Trinidad’s doubles — a delicacy made 

with curried chickpeas and two flatbreads called 

barras — is already practically a national dish. There 

have been several recent experiments with doubles, 

like gourmet versions where different kinds of meat 

are added. There’s also been an attempt to combine 

Chinese and Indian elements in a delicacy called 

“chubbles.” Rather than barras, Chinese pancakes 

are used. Beyond the novelty factor, “chubbles” was 

a short-lived experiment, as the creators never quite 

got the flavour balance right. 

Singh feels the “chubbles” experiment is 

a natural progression, “an expression of our 

cosmopolitanism.” Gibbings meanwhile has a few 

tips for chefs about how to take curry forward. “I 

would say the added coconut of Tobagonian fare is 

the right way to go, and cooks should ease up a bit 

Because of the unavailability of some 

spices and herbs, Indo-Caribbean cuisine 

retained some traditional elements while 

also evolving into a style of its own 

on the chadon beni” — a herb similar to coriander 

or cilantro, widely used in Trinidadian cooking — 

“and other green seasoning. I think the overuse of 

pepper has its fans, but I am not one, since I just 

love to have the curry taste mixed in with lightly 

seasoned goat or duck linger for some time after I 

have swallowed the last mouthful.” 

And Singh believes chefs must become more 

innovative. “We have to take the basic tenets of 

the cuisine, build, and innovate. We don’t have that 

much high-end curry in the region, and with a bit of 

passion, a lot can be achieved. Maybe chefs could 

try using different condiments,” Singh suggests. 

“In India, chefs use pickles to get a balance of 

hot, sour, sweet, and salty. Like a good symphony, 

curry is a beautiful mixture of flavours.” n 

Surinamese curried chicken 

Ingredients: 

1 whole chicken, cut in small pieces 

5 cloves garlic, chopped 

½ onion, sliced 

1 tomato or 1 tsp tomato paste 

3 tsp curry or masala powder 

2 bouillon cubes 

black pepper 

salt 

1 tbs parsley or celery, finely chopped 

1 fresh pepper (optional) 

3 tbs oil 

1 cup water 

Rinse the chicken and drain. Heat the oil and add the onion and garlic. Stir 

frequently, adding the tomato, bouillon cubes, curry powder, and fresh 

pepper. Mix thoroughly until tomato is almost dissolved. Add the chicken 

and turn over to cover with curry mix. Add some black pepper and salt if 

necessary. Lower temperature and cover the pan, cooking the chicken for 

about 10 minutes before turning it over. 

The chicken should produce its own liquid. If not, add 1/2 cup of water 

and let it simmer uncovered for another 10 minutes. When the meat is 

done (30 to 45 minutes), turn off the heat and sprinkle the parsley or celery 

on the chicken. Curried chicken is served with roti, vegetables, and curried 

potatoes. You can also eat it with steamed rice. 

From multiculticooking.com 


Immerse 

Euzhan Palcy in 1992 — an alternate photo from the shoot that produced our first cover, twenty-five years ago 

Bettmann / getty images

For twenty-five years, Caribbean Beat has celebrated the best and 

brightest of Caribbean culture and people — as you can see in the 

panorama of our 144 covers, and the stories behind them 

In early 1992, passengers boarding BWIA planes across 

the Caribbean, South and North America, and Europe 

found something new in their seat-pockets: a magazine 

by the name of Caribbean Beat, with the watchful face of a 

Martiniquan filmmaker on the cover. 

As those early readers turned the magazine’s pages, 

they discovered a profile of director Euzhan Palcy, a memoir by 

Trinidad-born broadcaster Trevor McDonald, and previews of 

the Caribbean’s yearlong Carnival calendar and the upcoming 

Carifesta arts festival. They found articles on Tobago Sailing 

Week and a fashion portfolio by some leading Caribbean 

designers, alongside a thoughtful essay on the state of West Indies 

cricket and a business report on trade liberalisation across the 

region. So the key ingredients were all there at the very beginning: 

Caribbean arts and culture, travel and current affairs, explored 

from a Caribbean perspective, with a Caribbean audience in mind. 

Twenty-five years later, so many things have changed. 

Caribbean Beat’s airline partner, for example: we’re now the 

official inflight magazine of Caribbean Airlines, celebrating its 

own tenth anniversary in 2017. The masthead design is different. 

Originally published quarterly, the magazine has appeared 

bimonthly since late 1995. Nowadays, our editorial and 

production process is completely digital: it’s been many years 

since a writer filed copy via fax, or a photographer turned up 

with a case of film slides. And the Caribbean region has changed 

too, in countless ways — social, cultural, political. 

But some things haven’t changed much at all. Caribbean Beat 

is still published from the same small office space in Port of 

Spain — we prefer to think of it as cosy, rather than cramped 

— and by a tiny editorial team. (Most of the current editorial 

staff were schoolchildren back in 1992.) Some of the writers, 

photographers, and illustrators whose work appeared in our 

first issues a quarter-century ago are still regular contributors, 

alongside dozens of others in the bank of talent we’ve built up 

over the years. 

And the contents of the magazine, the words and images 

that fill our pages, still hold to Caribbean’s Beat’s original brief: 

to explore and portray the Caribbean as it really is, rich in 

complexities and contradictions, and to celebrate the best and 

most brilliant of our people and our culture. 

Caribbean Beat has never been a typical inflight magazine — 

and that’s to the credit of Caribbean Airlines (and BWIA before 

them). Of course, we’ve covered Caribbean travel from the very 

beginning, including the beaches, resorts, and festivals that the 

region is best known for. But we know the Caribbean is much more 

than that: it’s our writers and artists, our scientists and inventors, 

our sportsmen and -women, philanthropists and thinkers. 

The Caribbean is coconut trees and deckchairs, of course, but 

it’s also skyscrapers and high-tech concert halls, universities and 

cricket grounds. It’s Jamaica’s lushly forested Cockpit Country 

and the “blue holes” of Andros in the Bahamas, the stark 

desertscape of the arid ABC islands and the vast savannahs of 

Guyana. It’s ruined Mayan pyramids in the jungle of Belize and 

the Hindu Temple in the Sea in Trinidad. 

Like the airline that connects the far-flung peoples of the 

Caribbean region, with our many languages and ethnicities, 

Caribbean Beat brings together in its pages the diversity of 

elements that makes our part of the world so fascinating 

and bewildering. The energy, creativity, and diversity of the 

Caribbean, formed in the crucible of our history, make us unique. 

Looking back over the past twenty-five years, we realise how 

aptly those qualities are represented in the 144 covers we’ve 

published — as you can see for yourself in the following pages. 

Here are landscapes familiar and unexpected, the colour and 

spectacle of festivals, flora, and fauna, the work of artists, the 

gestures of performance, and above all the faces of Caribbean 

people, famous or not, reflecting our sheer variousness. So we’ve 

taken the opportunity of this milestone to revisit the stories 

behind some of those cover images. Why did we choose those 

images back then, and what’s happened to their subjects in the 

intervening years? 

For this telling panorama, and for Caribbean Beat’s huge 

(and we think valuable) archive of stories and images, 

we thank the hundreds of writers, photographers, and 

artists we’ve worked with over the years. The life of a 

magazine, behind the scenes, is replete with small thrills, the occasional 

crisis, and an unending series of deadlines. Generations of 

editorial, sales, and production staff have known that the magazine 

is only as good as its next issue — and have worked with dedication 

and imagination to earn Caribbean Beat its reputation as 

one of the region’s best-informed, best-written, and best-looking 

magazines. (For the latter, we owe special thanks to Russell Halfhide, 

Beat’s designer from 1992 to 2007, who gave the magazine 

its elegant, approachable style at the very beginning.) We’re grateful 

for Caribbean Airlines’ consistent support, and their belief in 

the value of a magazine that looks beyond the stereotypes to the 

real heart of our people and culture. And, of course, we also owe 

thanks to you, our readers — for your encouragement, suggestions, 

and even your criticism, which have helped shape our sense 

of the magazine’s mission. 

We hope you share our pride in reaching this anniversary 

— which we commemorate, above all, by simply doing the 

thing we’ve done for the past quarter-century: imagining what’s 

possible for the next issue, and the ones after that, and then 

racing after the deadlines. 

Nicholas Laughlin, Editor 



The very first Caribbean Beat cover featured not a palm-fringed shore, nor a dazzling Carnival 

costume, nor a colourful tropical bird — those were all still to come — but a portrait of the 

filmmaker Euzhan Palcy. That cover was a declaration that the new magazine would pay 

serious attention to the Caribbean’s arts and culture, and our region’s extraordinary creative 

and intellectual talent. Writing in our 75th issue, back in September/October 2005, Caribbean 

Beat’s founding editor Jeremy Taylor explained why this photo of Palcy “set the agenda”: 

1 • Martiniquan film 

director Euzhan Palcy 

Spring 1992 

Photo by Ph. Giraud/Sygma 

I still have a soft spot for the very first cover 

we published, back in January 1992. 

Looking back at it now, it’s hard to see 

why. The tones are grey, the subject is stiff 

and formal, and there’s a dated feel to the 

image. The photo is not even by a Caribbean 

photographer (in 1992 we could not afford to 

commission a cover image, and had to make 

do with a studio PR photo). 

Since 1992, many of our covers have 

been more colourful, more appealing, more 

popular. There have been beaches and boats, 

beautiful people, landscapes and seascapes, 

sports heroes, singers, musicians, Carnival 

people, striking graphics and paintings. I like 

them all, and feel proud of many of them. Yet 

that very first cover somehow managed to 

announce what Caribbean Beat was going to 

be all about. 

Hardly anyone recognised Palcy. Few 

people had seen her brilliant movie Rue Cases 

Nègres (Sugar Cane Alley), though it’s a classic 

of the independent film world. Nobody 

associated her with the 1989 MGM release 

A Dry White Season, where she directed 

Donald Sutherland, Susan Sarandon, and 

Marlon Brando (who appeared free, because 

he liked what she was doing). Nobody knew 

this was a woman who had Robert Redford 

and François Truffaut as professional 

“godfathers.” 

Why (that cover asked) is Caribbean 

filmmaking not taken seriously? Why do 

we think of the Caribbean as a romantic 

backdrop for other people’s movies, not for 

making our own? 

We saw Euzhan Palcy as a formidable 

Caribbean woman who had broken through 

ethnic and gender stereotypes into a 

notoriously difficult industry and had 

produced some powerful work. She was 

interested in making Caribbean films, not 

perpetuating Caribbean stereotypes. It 

was exactly the sort of achievement that 

Caribbean Beat wanted to discover and 

celebrate. 

So that very first Caribbean Beat cover 

did not depict a wonderful golden beach, or 

a sunset, or a luxurious villa. It made the 

statement that the Caribbean is more than its 

beaches, more than rum punch and partying, 

wonderful and liberating though those 

pleasures are. The Caribbean is not just a 

romantic backdrop: it has successes and 

achievements of its own, world-class people 

in sport and science, music and business, 

writing and the visual arts. And we wanted 

our readers to know about them too. 

Since then . . . 

When Euzhan Palcy appeared on the cover 

of our Spring 1992 issue, she was already, 

at the age of thirty-four, recognised as an 

icon of Caribbean filmmaking. Her 1983 

debut, Rue Cases Nègres (adapted from 

Alfred Zobel’s novel), had earned her a 

César Award — the French equivalent of an 

Oscar — and a Silver Lion at the Venice Film 

Festival, plus a dozen other international 

awards. The screenplay — which she started 

while still a film student in Paris — had won 

the admiration of famed French director 

François Truffaut, and Aimé Césaire, the 

celebrated Martiniquan poet and mayor 

of Fort-de-France, had helped secure the 

production budget. Rue Cases Nègres was a 

rare example of a film almost immediately 

recognised as a classic. 

Despite this early success, Palcy’s second 

project was six years in the making. 

The subject she’d set her heart on — an 

adaptation of South African writer André 

Brink’s anti-apartheid novel A Dry White 

Season — proved difficult to raise financial 

support for. Still, Palcy was determined to 

make a politically hard-hitting film. She 

even travelled to South Africa, pretending 

continued on page 42 


“I will never compromise in a 

way that distorts history,” says 

Euzhan Palcy 

Thierry van biesen 


courtesy euzhanpalcy.net 

Still from Rue Cases Nègres 

to be a musician, to research conditions in 

Soweto. It took some hard lobbying and 

an unshakeable faith in her creative vision, 

but she succeeded, securing the juggernaut 

MGM as producer. A Dry White Season made 

Palcy the first black woman filmmaker to be 

produced by a major Hollywood studio, and 

won another slew of awards, including an 

Oscar nomination for star Marlon Brando. 

The film’s success inevitably brought 

offers, from Hollywood and elsewhere, to 

work on more “commercial” projects. But 

Palcy’s sense of political commitment and 

her resolution to follow her own creative 

instincts led her, over the years, to turn 

down many such “opportunities.” “People 

think, Oh where is she?” Palcy said in a 

2015 interview. “She did those movies and 

she disappeared.” In fact, she’s created a 

solid body of work that speaks to the range 

of her concerns, from the culture of her 

native Martinique to questions of social 

justice around the world. 

The lighthearted Simeon (1992), set in 

Martinique and France, tells the tale of 

zouk music and its impact on the world. 

Palcy has also made a documentary 

about Césaire — hero of the Négritude 

movement, and her own mentor — and 

another about the young men and women 

of Martinique who fled the island to 

join the Free French army during the 

Second World War. The biographical Ruby 

Bridges (1998), produced by Disney, is a 

profile in courage from the US Civil Rights 

Movement: the story of a six-year-old girl 

who was the first African-American child 

to desegregate an all-white school in New 

Orleans. It was followed by The Killing Yard 

(2001), about the infamous 1971 Attica 

prison riot and its effect on the struggle for 

prison rights in the United States. 

And Palcy’s magnum opus may be yet 

to come. For over twenty years, she’s been 

working on a feature film about Haitian 

revolutionary hero Toussaint L’Ouverture. 

More than two centuries after the Haitian 

revolution, Toussaint remains a figure both 

inspiring and deeply controversial, and 

Palcy is determined to tell his story her 

way. No surprise, then, that there’ve been 

setbacks and numerous delays. “I will never 

compromise in a way that distorts history or 

hurts my project,” she says. It’s an ethos her 

successors in the Caribbean film industry 

can learn from — as much as from her 

indelible films. 

5 • Greeting the sun 

Spring 1993 

Photo by Steve Cohn 

6 • A blue horizon 

Summer 1993 

Photo by Darrell Jones 

7 • Drop anchor 

Autumn 1993 

Photo by Edmund Nägele 

8 • Crystal plays pan 

Winter 1993/4 

Photo by David Ross 


2 • Ariane rocket lifts off 

from French Guiana 

Summer 1992 

Photo courtesy Arianespace 

A Caribbean rocket 

launch? Yes: since 1971 the 

Centre Spatial Guyanais 

in Kourou, French Guiana, 

has been the major 

launching site for the 

European space agency, 

thanks to its location near 

the equator — where 

the earth’s spin gives an 

extra nudge to departing 

rockets, allowing them to 

carry a heavier payload. 

3 • Trinidadian masman 

Peter Minshall 

Autumn 1992 

Photo by Maria Espeus 

4 • Fashion ensemble by 

Shirley de Cabral 

Winter 1992/3 

Photo by Harold Prieto 

David Rudder’s soulful portrait on the cover of our Spring 1994 issue introduced a profile by 

writer Debbie Jacob, who tackled the question of whether and how the popular Trinidadian 

singer would find an international “breakthrough.” Twenty-three years later, Jacob looks back 

at Rudder’s career in music: 

9 • Trinidadian calypsonian 

David Rudder 

Spring 1994 

Photo by Abigail Hadeed 

When David Rudder graced the cover of 

Caribbean Beat in 1994, he’d already been 

a defining voice of Trinidad and Tobago 

Carnival for eight years. At that pivotal point 

of his musical career, calypso fans could look 

back on the bluesy, soulful soca singer from 

Charlie’s Roots who in 1986 became the first 

lead singer from a brass band to capture the 

national calypso monarch title with “The 

Hammer”, a tribute to the late, great pan 

arranger Rudolph Charles, and the “Bahia 

Girl” with her bouncy Baptist beat. In that 

moment, he had redefined the calypso stage 

in much the way the Mighty Sparrow did in 

Rudder is a performer who carved an 

original place in calypso history 

the 1950s, making it a daring display of rich, 

lyrical social commentary with an upbeat, 

jazzed-up, soca beat. 

By 1994, Rudder had penned “Rally 

’Round the West Indies”, which would 

become the theme song of the West Indies 

cricket team. He had songs featured in the 

Hollywood movie Wild Orchid. And the hits 

kept coming: “Haiti”, a lyrical lament for the 

Caribbean nation; “The Engine Room”, a 

tribute to the percussion side of a steelband; 

and “Calypso Music”, a joyful history of the 

art form. By 1995, he had become bolder 

and more political by offering the album The 

Lyrics Man, with his distinct brand of calypso 

rap, including stinging political irony in 

“Another Day in Paradise”. 

By 1998, Rudder had climbed to the 

pinnacle of success with the album Beloved. 

Projecting a strong sense of history, Rudder 

crossed musical boundaries and injected a 

sense of spirituality into Carnival with “High 

Mas”, a collision of puns that stretched from 

the Roman Catholic church’s sacred liturgies 

to the profane street theatre of Carnival. The 

celebratory experience of Trinidad culture 

culminated in the title song “Beloved”, a 

nostalgic look at the island’s soul-filled 

sense of community. The following year, he 

addressed the growing ethnic rift perceived 

by many people in politics and society with a 

calypso reminding Carnival revellers of their 

ethnic roots, represented by the rivers that 

define their history: “The Ganges and the 

Nile”. 

Rudder’s career took a new direction 

when he married and moved to Canada in 

2002. That experience would manifest itself 

the following year in “Trini to the Bone”, 

a celebration of those roots that ensure 

Rudder’s connection to Carnival and elevate 

him to the role of calypso ambassador. 

Distance has not eroded the legacy of his 

lasting voice: he’s destined to be remembered 

as a performer who carved an original place 

in calypso history. 


10 • Casting a net 

Summer 1994 

Photo by Eleanor Chandler 

13 • Actress Renée Castle 

Spring 1995 

Photo by Sean Drakes 

11 • Purple honeycreeper 

Autumn 1994 

Photo by Roger Neckles 

Back in the 1990s, it seems, 

a colourful outfit of batik 

or handpainted fabric was 

de rigueur for well-dressed 

Caribbean women. In our 

first four and a half years of 

publication, no fewer than 

five cover images featured 

subjects in batik attire. 

12 • Trinidadian cricket legend 

Brian Lara 

Winter 1994/5 

Photo by Shaun Botterill/Allsport 

1994 was the year Brian 

Lara was popularly anointed 

“Prince of Port of Spain,” as 

in the space of two months 

he broke two major cricket 

records — most runs scored 

in a single Test innings and 

most runs ever in a first-class 

match — and entered the 

realm of legend. Profiling 

Lara in our Winter 1994/5 

issue — where he made the 

first of two Caribbean Beat 

cover appearances — B.C. 

Pires wrote: “The only real 

question . . . is how high and 

how far he can go.” Now, 

looking back more than two 

decades over one of the most 

illustrious sports careers of 

our times, Vaneisa Baksh 

explains what Lara meant for 

the game of cricket and his 

fans around the world: 

14 • Trinidadian Bharata 

Natyam dancer Shwetha Verma 

Summer 1995 


15 • Barbadian windsurfing 

champion Brian Talma 

Autumn 1995 

Photo by D.W. Hollenbeck 

16 • The Jolly Roger 

cruising off Barbados 

November/December 1995 


17 • Catching some rays 

January/February 1996 


20 • Jetty view 

July/August 1996 

Photo by Roxan Kinas 

21 • Batik, sari-style 

September/October 1996 

Photo by Sonya Sanchez/Camera Art 

22 • Courland Bay, Tobago 


Photo by Mark Lyndersay 

23 • Songs of the Earth on Victoria 

Avenue 


Detail of painting by Brian Wong Won 


To be the holder of multiple 

world records — highest 

individual score in a Test 

(twice: 375 and 400), in 

first-class (501), runs in 

one Test over (28), and the 

only batsman in first class 

games to have scored one, 

two, three, four, and five 

centuries — is rightfully to 

be acknowledged as one 

of the greatest batsmen in 

cricket history. 

The impact of Brian 

Charles Lara’s personal 

achievements was amplified 

by the circumstances under 

which he accumulated 

them. From 1993, when he 

scored 277 and captured 

international attention, 

to his last West Indian 

appearance in 2007, he was 

part of a team on an unhappy 

trajectory towards cricket 

ignominy. West Indies 

supporters were regularly 

crushed by the unrelenting 

losses, but Lara gave them — 

gave the world — something 

that sparkled beyond the 

gloom. On the field, he 

embodied greatness, and 

for West Indian societies, 

struggling with rampant 

mediocrity in leadership 

and politics that was 

manifest in weak economies, 

growing crime, and brazen 

corruption, he was a 

reminder of the magnificence 

that has periodically erupted 

in our history. 

Lara’s feats were 

celebrated worldwide, and 

West Indians were able to 

bask in that reflected glory. 

Bestowed with high honours 

— the Trinity Cross (as it was 

then known in Trinidad and 

Tobago), the Order of the 

Caribbean Community, the 

Order of Australia — he had 

a remarkable career that was 

dogged by difficulty, not least 

of which was the ongoing 

adversarial relationship 

between players and the 

West Indies Cricket Board. 

He was named captain of 

the West Indies team three 

times, and despite his super 

status as a batsman, could 

never claim to be a winning 

captain like Clive Lloyd or 

Viv Richards. Instead, he 

presided over a team with 

wildly fluctuating fortunes, 

where victories were few 

and embarrassments were 

many, though individual 

performances were often 

brilliant. But, in his time, he 

became one of the first of the 

breed of wealthy cricketers 

who brought business 

savvy to their dealings, 

and saw endorsements and 

sponsorships as a natural 

extension of their cricket 

incomes. That breed changed 

international cricket forever. 

In his retirement, apart 

from his event management 

business, he has become 

a global ambassador 

for cricket, travelling 

extensively, often alongside 

Sir Garry Sobers, who 

recently described him as 

“my dearest friend.” Lara, 

says Sobers, is doing very 

well. “Brian’s got his own 

agenda. He travels a lot 

and he does things all over 

the world. He does a lot for 

cricket. And he’s a nice boy.” 

18 • Guyana’s Kaieteur Falls 

March/April 1996 


24 • Trinidadian Penny Chow, 

Miss Universe 1977 



19 • Trinidadian sprinter 

Ato Boldon 

May/June 1996 

Photo by Gary M. Prior/Allsport 

Heading into the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, 

Trinidadian sprinter Ato Boldon seemed one of the 

Caribbean’s best hopes for a medal. A year before, he’d 

won the 100-metre bronze at the World Championships 

in Gothenburg — at just twenty-one, the youngest athlete 

ever to medal in the sprint event. And, indeed, he did take 

home two medals from Atlanta — bronze in both the 100- 

and 200-metre races — though precious gold eluded him 

this time. 

That wasn’t the case the following year, when Boldon 

won the 200-metre World Championship gold in Athens, 

or in 1998, when he took the 100-metre gold at the 

Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, setting a stillunbeaten 

Commonwealth Games record of 9.88 seconds. 

A serious hamstring injury took him out of the 1999 World 

Championships, but hopes were high, nonetheless, for 

further Olympic glory at the 2000 games in Sydney. There, Boldon won the silver in 

the 100 metres, beaten by US sprinter Maurice Greene (and with Barbadian Obadele 

Thompson in third place), and the 200-metre bronze. 

That was to be his final Olympic medal — after a car accident in 2002, Boldon never 

again ran under ten seconds in the 100 metres or under twenty seconds in the 200. But his 

Olympic silver and three bronzes still place him in rare company: only three other male 

athletes have ever won as many or more Olympic individual event sprint medals. And in 

his post-competition life Boldon has turned his knowledge of the game and on-camera 

charisma into a thriving career as a television commentator — most recently, Sports 

Illustrated named him 2016’s best TV analyst for his coverage of the Rio Olympics. 


When a dancing Machel Montano fronted the May/June 1997 Caribbean Beat — his first of 

four cover appearances — he was just twenty-two years old, but already more than a decade 

into a musical career that would soon see him dominate the soca genre and Trinidad and 

Tobago’s Carnival. It’s no exaggeration to describe the past two decades of T&T music as the 

Age of Machel. Laura Dowrich explains why: 

25 • Trinidad soca legend 

Machel Montano 

May/June 1997 

Photo courtesy Delicious Vinyl 

Every year, a week before masqueraders 

take to the streets of Trinidad for the reign 

of the Merry Monarch, thousands pack into 

Port of Spain’s Hasely Crawford Stadium for 

the biggest show in Carnival. The show is 

Machel Monday. The star: Machel Montano, 

five-time Soca Monarch, eight-time Road 

March champ, and the indisputable king of 

soca. 

Others have given themselves that title, 

based on their mainstream success, but none 

can boast a thirty-five-year career in the art 

form, practically the same number of albums, 

or a brand that dominates the Carnival scene 

— whether or not they are even present. 

Montano entered the calypso arena as 

a child, but came of age in 1997, with the 

game-changing release of his Heavy Duty 

album. The album and its debut single “Big 

Truck” catapulted the “Too Young to Soca” 

singer into the role of Carnival’s winerboy. 

The lithe young man with a waist like 

butter has now evolved into a sage fortytwo-year-old 

That was the first year he appeared in 

Caribbean Beat, where writer Pat Ganase 

noted that the twenty-two-year-old was 

notorious for every kind of “wine.” 

Montano doesn’t wine that much these 

days. The lithe young man with a waist like 

butter has now evolved into a sage forty-twoyear-old 

who posts inspirational quotes daily 

on Instagram. But he still churns out hits to 

make people dance, think, celebrate, and 

debate. 

The key to Montano’s longevity and 

success has been his ability to change, 

adapt, and push the limits of his genre, 

while keeping his eye on his oft-repeated 

mission to make soca popular and take it to 

the four corners of the earth. He’s pursued 

this relentlessly, pushing boundaries, taking 

risks, and setting trends. He was the first to 

collaborate with Jamaican dancehall singers, 

opening the door for them to become staples 

on the soca scene. He was the first to marry 

house music with soca on 1995’s “Come 

Dig It”, later opening the floodgates to EDM 

soca with “AoA”. He sought international 

collaborations, teaming up with the likes of 

Pitbull, rappers Lil John and Wyclef Jean, 

among others, R&B group Boyz II Men, 

and South African group Ladysmith Black 

Mambazo, to name just a few. 

He’s taken the music far: to Egypt, India, 

and South Africa, filming videos, meeting 

songwriters and producers, and looking for 

sounds to infuse with his. In 2007, he became 

the first soca artist to headline his own show 

at Madison Square Garden in New York, and 

he’s performed on stages at Radio City Music 

Hall, Coachella, and South by Southwest. 

To maintain his position atop the pack, 

Montano — now an elder in the music 

arena with his thirty-five years’ experience 

— surrounds himself with young talent: 

songwriters, producers, musicians, and 

singers who help to keep his sound fresh 

and trendy. 

But nowhere has his evolution been 

reflected more clearly than in his changing 

handles. In the early days, his band was 

known as Pranasonic, named after the 

Prana Lands area in Siparia, south Trinidad, 

where Montano grew up. That changed to 

Xtatik. Then, as he changed the way his band 

functioned, he assumed the HD persona 

to reflect his mission to transmit a clearer 

image of who he is and what he’s about. 

In 2014, HD made way for Monk Monte. 

MONK, he said, was an acronym for the 

Movement of New Knowledge. 

With the new name came a new role, 

that of actor. Montano starred in his own 

film, Bazodee, a Bollywood-style love story 

set in T&T. In 2016, Bazodee became the 

first T&T-made film to be distributed in 

the US, Canada, and across the Caribbean. 

He’s expected to follow that up in 2017 with 

a documentary called Machel Montano: 

The Journey of a Soca King. That journey is 

far from over. For the foreseeable future, 

Montano’s crown seems secure. 


“I would hate to be a superstar,” said André Tanker to writer Judy Raymond, who profiled 

the beloved singer-composer in July/August 1997. Both his live performances and his 

recordings were relatively rare, but his death in 2003 — on Carnival Friday night — left a 

still-gaping absence in T&T’s music scene. Nearly twenty years after she interviewed him for 

Caribbean Beat, Raymond looks back at a musical talent that lives on in our cultural DNA: 

26 • Trinidadian musician 

André Tanker 



André Tanker’s music might have been 

washed away in the torrent of soca that 

floods Trinidad at Carnival every year. But 

instead it’s outlasted almost all the local music 

produced since he died in 2003, at sixty-one. 

Tanker grew up in the middle-class Port of 

Spain neighbourhood of Woodbrook, home of 

the Invaders steelband, where he learned to 

play pan, and the Little Carib Theatre, where 

Beryl McBurnie was reviving folk dance and 

Orisha drummer Andrew Beddoe played for 

Derek Walcott’s Trinidad Theatre Workshop. 

But Tanker didn’t appreciate them fully 

until Afro-Trinidadians reclaimed their 

heritage in the 1970 Black Power Movement. 

“It gave you a perspective on who you are, 

what motivates you, why you like what you 

like,” Tanker said, looking back in 1997. 

That was when he understood he was 

entitled to draw on his entire birthright: 

calypso and reggae, jazz, blues, soul, Latin 

American music, African and Indian. 

“Children of a one great love,” he sang. 

Like many intuitive artists, he wasn’t 

easy to interview: low-key and laconic, he 

preferred his message to be conveyed by 

his music. Likewise, he was more composer 

than performer, though he played vibraphone 

and flute, and he sang his songs of love and 

the oneness of humankind, though his voice 

wasn’t his greatest asset. 

Walcott described Tanker’s work as 

“disciplined enough to be simple”; it was also 

rich enough to have enduring appeal. Even 

now, Trinis catch themselves humming “Wild 

Indian”, “Basement Party”, “Sayamanda”. 

His talent lay in blending traditions to make 

something that was at once fresh and familiar. 

27 • Barbadian soca star 

Edwin Yearwood 


Photo by Roxan Kinas 

28 • Parang season 


Illustration by Christopher 

Cozier 

29 • Masks of Carnival 



30 • Kite season 



31 • Jamaica at the World Cup 

May/June 1998 

Photo by Doug Pensinger/Allsport 

Previewing that year’s FIFA World Cup 

in our May/June 1998 issue, Georgia 

Popplewell concluded, “For the first time 

since 1974, Caribbean people will really 

have a team to root for.” She was referring 

to Haiti’s national team, which unexpectedly 

qualified for the 1974 World Cup in West 

Germany — and to the Reggae Boyz, the 

Jamaican national team, which made history 

in 1998 as the first football team from the 

Anglophone Caribbean ever to go to the 

sport’s most prestigious tournament. 

“For a small country,” wrote Popplewell, 

“a national sports team is . . . a repository of 

civic dreams and aspirations.” Such was the 

case for Jamaica — even if the Reggae Boyz 

didn’t advance out of the finals’ first round. 

Five years later, it was Trinidad and 

Tobago’s chance. Beating Bahrain in a 

qualifying match, the Soca Warriors booked 

their tickets to the 2006 World Cup in 

Germany — and T&T became the smallest 

nation ever to qualify for the World Cup, a 

victory in its own right. 


32 • T&T’s Wendy Fitzwilliam, 



Photo by Ian Yee 

33 • Lisa Steele in a costume 

from Peter Minshall’s Red 


Photo by Sonya Sanchez-Arias 

34 • Fishing boats at Grand 

Anse, Grenada 


Photo by Mike Toy 

35 • Carnival spirit 


Illustration by Russel Halfhide 

38 • Barbadian soca star 

Alison Hinds 


Photo by Eric Young 

When Alison Hinds appeared on the cover of our July/August 

1999 issue, the “Bajan invasion” of Carnivals across the 

Caribbean was far advanced. Shelly-Ann Inniss explains how 

the island’s music scene has evolved over the past twenty years: 

The 1990s were arguably 

a high point for Barbadian 

music. The nightclub scene in 

Barbados was alive and well, 

and artistes were not afraid 

to experiment. This decade 

saw the rise of soca stars 

like Hinds alongside Rupee 

and Edwin Yearwood (who’d 

appeared on Caribbean Beat’s 

cover two years before); jazz/ 

reggae saxophonist Arturo 

Tappin; calypso powerhouse 

Anthony “Mighty Gabby” 

Carter; and local band Spice 

and Company, just to start. 

Creativity seemed to be 

at an all-time high and the 

Barbadian sound was one 

of the leading influences in 

Caribbean music. 

Soca dominated the 

landscape and infiltrated 

foreign markets, allowing 

artistes to share their sound 

with global audiences. 

Rupee’s “Tempted to Touch” 

peaked at number 39 on the 

US Billboard Hot 100 chart 

and at 44 on the UK singles 

chart, and featured in the 

soundtrack of the Hollywood 

movie After the Sunset. 

Reggae, hip-hop, jazz, 

electronic dance music 

(EDM), and R&B also inspired 

the style of music performed 

and created by Barbadian 

musicians. By the mid 2000s, 

Barbados was producing 

international artistes from 

hybrid genres — Rihanna 

above all, but also Livvi 

Franc, Hal Linton, Shontelle, 

Teff Hinkson, Cover Drive, 

2 Mile Hill, and others. 

Barbadians are proud of 

their successful musicians, 

and have created the 

glamorous Barbados Music 

Awards and other festivals 

to highlight, showcase, and 

honour the wealth of musical 

talent within the country. 

Relevance and longevity 

are always concerns in the 

industry, and often it’s a battle 

of legend versus newcomer. 

Mahalia Cummins, lead 

singer of the band 2 Mile 

Hill, says the music scene is 

once again resurging. “Where 

support was previously 

lacking, young and upcoming 

artistes are working with 

42 • The Ramayana in Trinidad 



48 WWW.CARIBBEAN-BEAT.COM 

Some issues of Caribbean Beat disappear off the planes 

faster than others — and sometimes a gorgeous cover 

image is the reason. The vivid tones of Shalini Seereeram’s 

Ramayana illustration for our March/April 2000 issue made 

it a favourite with readers — and changed the artist’s career. 

“I had no idea it was to be on the cover,” Seereeram recalls. 

“It came at a turning point in my career. I was working 

in graphic design and preparing for my first art show. 

Receiving the news that my art was to be on Caribbean 

Beat’s cover was the push I needed to quit graphic design 

and focus on my art career.” 

43 • Sheikh Ibrahim Mosque, 

Caracas 

May/June 2000 

Photo by Wyatt Gallery

36 • Phagwah celebrations 



the more seasoned 

performers,” she explains. 

Hinds, our cover subject 

eighteen years ago, is one 

such artiste, and she’s 

always working behind 

the scenes collaborating 

with or mentoring younger 

talent. Most recently, 

she’s signed up to mentor 

the young people of the 

UNICEF Caribbean Junior 

Monarch Competition, 

which will launch officially 

in August this year. 

Soca is still a main 

staple in Barbadian 

music, meanwhile — and 

with names like Damian 

Marvay, Nikita, King 

Bubba, and Joaquin in the 

current mix, it’s not going 

to wind up anytime soon. 

Wining down — that’s a 

different matter. 

37 • Wendy Fitzwilliam, 


May/June 1999 


39 • Jamaican fast bowler 

Courtney Walsh 


Photo by Stu Forester/Allsport 

The Caribbean adores its beauty queens. For a small 

country, any citizen who wins positive international 

acclaim is a hero. And our various Misses Universe and 

World over the decades have also proven to be a talented, 

enterprising bunch, going on to careers in politics, the 

arts, and philanthropy. Grenadian Jennifer Hosten (Miss 

World 1970) later became a diplomat. Jamaican Cindy 

Breakspeare (Miss World 1976) may be best remembered 

as Bob Marley’s muse and the mother of his son Damien, 

but she’s also a successful recording artist in her own right. 

Her countrywoman Lisa Hanna (Miss World 1993) served 

as a Cabinet minister. And among the Trinidadians, Janelle 

Commissiong (Miss Universe 1977) and Giselle Laronde 

(Miss World 1986) both become successful businesswomen. 

No wonder, then, that T&T’s Wendy Fitzwilliam, Miss 

Universe 1998, managed to appear twice on Caribbean Beat’s 

cover, in July/August 1998 and again less than a year later, 

resplendent in Carnival costume. Her “reign” was just the 

beginning: a law student when she won her title, she was 

later admitted to the bar in her home country, honoured for 

her activism in HIV/AIDS awareness, recognised as a Red 

Cross Ambassador for Youth, published a well-received 

memoir, and now hosts the reality TV series Caribbean’s Top 

Model — all while maintaining her elegant but down-toearth 

presence on T&T’s social scene. 

40 • New directions? 



41 • Welcoming a new millennium 



Boats were a favourite cover subject in the magazine’s 

earlier years — no fewer than nine in all, ranging from 

fancy yachts to humble pirogues. How do other categories 

compare in the rankings? Three covers have depicted 

botanical subjects, and three have featured children playing 

on beaches. Seashells? Two. Surf-, windsurf-, and kiteboards? 

Three. Rivers? Five. At the other end of the scale: 

sportsmen and -women? Eighteen. Musicians? Twenty-four. 

We aren’t called Caribbean Beat for nothing. 

44 • Bougainvillea greeting 



45 • Sailing off St Vincent 


Photo by Chris Huxley 


“If Trinidad has a soul, the place to hear it is in Mungal Patasar’s music.” Thus did writer Niala 

Maharaj begin her story on the renowned Trinidadian sitarist in our November/December 

2000 issue. And her incisive profile was complemented by photographer Mark Lyndersay’s 

portrait of Patasar on the cover. A prolific contributor of both images and words to Caribbean 

Beat over the decades (with nine covers to his credit), Lyndersay recalls that photoshoot at 

Patasar’s house nearly seventeen years ago: 

46 • Mungal Patasar on 

the sitar 



Every photographer on assignment for a 

magazine wants the cover. It’s prime space and 

usually pays the best, but a portrait session can 

go off the rails if there isn’t a good, balanced 

range of images for the publication’s designer 

to work with. That means putting effort into 

making every setup as compelling as possible, 

while thinking about how they play together to 

offer their own visual narrative in the final piece. 

Ideally, the photographs complement 

the words in a profile. Sometimes they tell a 

parallel but unrelated story. At worst, they exist in a different world from the 

words. The cover photo has work to do. It is a preview of the issue’s tone and 

content, a sales pitch to the potential reader, and an invitation to read the 

story it references. 

My first preference with a subject is almost always an environmental 

portrait. If it can happen effectively in the subject’s space, they begin with 

the advantage of home ground in the encounter. The Mungal Patasar session 

happened at his home. The musician lives in the countryside, and I imagined 

great possibilities. I photographed him in his 

living room with his family and, with time 

running out, in a nearby field seated with his 

sitar under a tree. 

But it was the portrait taken just a few 

inches from the front door of his home 

— a heavy, weathered slab of wood with 

just enough texture and muted tone to 

complement the musician and his well-used 

instrument — that ended up leading the issue. 

After some broad direction about posture, 

Mungal began to play. I wish I could say I 

was an appreciative audience, but I had one 

roll of 120 Fujichrome 50 allocated for this 

shot, twelve frames on the Hasselblad I was 

using, and I needed to bracket exposures. 

Mungal just played on, doing his work 

while I did mine, a portrait more passionately 

given than taken. 

47 • Carnival rainbow 



48 • Water lily 



49 • Bob Marley 

May/June 2001 

Photo by Adrian Boot 

50th issue 



51 • Seashells 



52 • Shake the maracas 


Illustration by Tonia St Cyr 

53 • Carnival time again 



Our twenty-odd Carnival 

cover subjects have 

included sequined 

pretty mas, calypso and 

soca stars, traditional 

characters like the blue 

devil and Dame Lorraine. 

Mas is one of the hardest 

subjects to capture in a 

single image: it’s chaotic, 

it’s unpredictable, it moves 

too fast. 


54 • Writer Oonya 

Kempadoo 


Photo by Jim Rudin 

Over two and a half 

decades, we’ve profiled 

dozens of our region’s best 

writers — novelists, poets, 

dramatists, biographers. 

We’ve run in-depth features 

on Nobel laureates and 

talented up-and-comers. 

Our first story on Jamaican 

Marlon James ran in 2006, 

nine years before he won 

the Man Booker Prize; 

we profiled Trinidadian 

Vahni Capildeo, winner of 

the 2016 Forward Prize, 

back in 2004. But in twenty-five years, only one writer has 

appeared on the cover: Grenada-based Oonya Kempadoo, 

profiled in March/April 2002. 

Kempadoo had made an auspicious debut three years 

before, with her novel Buxton Spice, which set off a fabled 

“bidding war” among London publishers. Tide Running 

soon followed. And her third novel, All Decent Animals, 

was imminent, our 2002 article predicted. Except it was 

another decade before it actually appeared. Our readers 

got a preview in our May/June 2013 issue, when we 

published an excerpt from the long-awaited work. 

55 • Jamaican reggae musician 

Beres Hammond 

May/June 2002 

Photo by Tim Barrow 

57 • Pan passion 


Photo by Noel Norton 

56 • Enjoying the holidays 

on an Antiguan beach 



58 • Danse La Helene 


Illustration by Martin Superville 

59 • Masquerader from 

Peter Minshall’s Picoplat 



MARCH/APRIL 2003 

Caribbean Beat 

Free to BWIA 

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60 • Guyanese woodpecker 


Photo courtesy the Tourism and 

Hotel Association of Guyana 

MAY/JUNE 2003 


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61 • Waiting at the crease 

May/June 2003 


It’s one of the permanently contentious issues of public 

debate in the Caribbean: the state of West Indies cricket. 

Over the lifetime of Caribbean Beat, fans of the game have 

argued and agonised over the regional team, its players and 

administrators, and wondered if the West Indies will ever 

return to the form of its glory days in the 1970s and 80s. 

In our May/June 2003 issue, we took a stab at predicting 

what a future version of the West Indies team might look like. 

After talking to experts at the West Indies Cricket Board and 

regional cricket associations, we compiled our “next 11”: a 

lineup of exceptional young cricketers under seventeen years 

old, who seemed to have the talent and attitude. 

So how solid were our predictions? Of our eleven 

youngsters, one — Marcus Julien of Grenada — switched 

sports, to football. Most of the others went on to play for 

their national under-17 or under-19 teams. A handful — 

including Kavesh Kantasingh of T&T and Javal Hodge of St Kitts and Nevis — have played 

for their national senior teams. And two have represented the West Indies at the highest 

levels of the game. 

Trinidadian batsman Jason Mohammed made his first-class debut for T&T against 

Jamaica in 2006. And in December 2011 he played his first One Day International match 

for the West Indies, versus India. He subsequently represented both T&T Red Steel and the 

Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premiere League T20 regional tournament. 

Meanwhile, Barbadian batsman Omar Phillips found himself batting for the West Indies 

in a 2009 Test match against Bangladesh. A contract strike by several members of the 

regional senior team saw seven young players selected for that Test series. Phillips came 

just six runs short of a debut century. 


NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2003 


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62 • Dancehall musicians Beenie 

Man, Bounty Killer, and Buju Banton 


Photo by Urbanimage.tv 

68 • JULY/AUGUST 2004 

JULY/AUGUST 2004 


68 • On the track to gold 


Photo by Marlon Rouse 

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63 • Detail of Salybia, by 

Trinidadian artist Lisa O’Connor 



69 • Special music issue 



64 • Havana’s Calle San 

Ignacio 



In perhaps the most 

ambitious feature 

Caribbean Beat had yet 

published, we polled a 

panel of music experts 

and came up with a list of 

250 great songs from the 

Caribbean — most of them 

from the pre-digital era, 

as suggested by the vinyl 

record on the cover. 

65 • Peter Minshall’s 

Hummingbird 


Photo by Roy Boyke, courtesy 

the Callaloo Company 

72 • MARCH/APRIL 2005 



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73 • MAY/JUNE 2005 

MAY/JUNE 2005 


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74 • JULY/AUGUST 2005 



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75 • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2005 

75th ISSUESEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2005 


BROOKLYN 

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72 • Remembering cartoonist 

DEW, 1935–2004 


Illustration by Dunstan E. Williams 

73 • St Lucia’s east coast 

May/June 2005 

Photo by Mike Toy 

74 • Indigenous Guyanese 

youngster 


Photo by Roberta Parkin 

75 • Brooklyn — the largest 

Caribbean city? 


Photo by Sol McCants 

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2006 


81 • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2006 

Free to BWIA 

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80 • Gingerbread fretwork 

in Sint Maarten 


Photo by Donald Nausbaum 

81 • Celebrating Carifesta 


Illustration by Marlon Griffith 

82 • Farewell to BWIA 


Illustration by MEP 

83 • Welcome to Caribbean Airlines 


Illustration courtesy Caribbean Airlines 



It’s one of the most iconic Carnival photos of all time, 

perfect for the cover of our issue profiling thirteen designers 

from the golden age of mas: Peter Minshall’s 1974 costume 

From the Land of the Hummingbird, portrayed by Sherry-Ann 

Guy and captured on film by the late Roy Boyke. 

The most celebrated and controversial masman in 

T&T Carnival from the time of his debut in the mid 1970s, 

Minshall himself had appeared on the cover of our third 

issue, back in 1992. On two other occasions, photos of his 

creations made striking cover subjects: our September/ 

October 1998 issue featured a costume from his band Red, 

and a bird-garbed masquerader from Picoplat appeared on 

our January/February 2003 issue. Caribbean Beat’s most 

extensive take on Minshall’s career came in our May/June 

2006 issue, when a profile by editor Nicholas Laughlin was 

accompanied by personal accounts from some of the artist’s 

closest colleagues and observers. 

In an irony of timing, 2006 also turned out to be the final 

year in which Minshall produced a full-scale Carnival band. 

But a handful of smaller subsequent mas collaborations have 

continued to astound and provoke his audience. Witness 

the drag-ballerina Dying Swan costume he designed for the 

Carnival Kings and Queens competition in 2016, which set 

off a firestorm of debate unlike anything since — well, since 

the last Minshall controversy. Genius remains restless. 

66 • Brian Lara on the offensive 


Photo by Getty Images 

70 • The Love Circle 



67 • Trinidadian rock band 

The Orange Sky 

May/June 2004 

Band photos by Alex Smailes 

71 • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2005 

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2005 


71 • Carnival imp 



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MAY/JUNE 2006 


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77 • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2006 

76 • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2005 

Free to BWIA 

passengers 

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76 • Holiday season in T&T 



77 • T&T music stars 


Image by Mark Lyndersay 

78 • St George’s, Grenada 


Photo by Modern Photo 

Studios 

79 • Heading to the FIFA 

World Cup 

May/June 2006 


At midnight on 1 January, 

2007, BWIA — Caribbean 

Beat’s airline partner for 

fifteen years — ceased 

to exist, and Caribbean 

Airlines was born, 

welcomed by a cover 

featuring the colourful 

hummingbird from the 

new airline’s logo. 



passengers 

Free to CARIBBEAN AIRLINES 

84 • Beach cricket 



85 • Model Jaunel McKenzie 

at Caribbean Fashion Week 

May/June 2007 

Photo by Froylan Flowers 

86 • Kayaking on the Lucie 

River, Suriname 


Photo by Dean Van Ommeren 


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8/7/08 1:00:55 PM 

87 • Barbadian superstar 

Rihanna 


Photo courtesy Roberto D’Este 

“It always seemed glamorous,” said Rihanna early on in her 

career, “but it is real work.” Talent and luck have something 

to do with it, too. A nineteen-year-old relative newcomer 

when she appeared on the cover of the September/October 

2007 Caribbean Beat, the Barbadian singer-songwriter was 

then two years into a stellar international career. A decade 

later, she’s indisputably the top selling digital artist of all 

time, winner of eight Grammy Awards, among numerous 

other honours — also a fashion icon, movie star, named one 

of 2012’s “100 most influential people in the world” by Time 

magazine, and an astute businessperson: in 2015 she created 

her own label, Westbury Road Entertainment. 

“Whenever I get the chance, I fly home to Barbados,” 

Rihanna said, interviewed in Caribbean Beat by writer Essiba 

Small. And her contributions to her home island go beyond 

the reflected blaze of her pop-star celebrity. In 2012, Rihanna 

made headlines when she donated US$1.75 million to the 

Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Barbados, in memory of her 

late grandmother — the namesake of Rihanna’s Clara Lionel 

Foundation, which she founded to “improve the quality of life 

for communities globally in the areas of health, education, 

arts, and culture.” An unapologetic force to reckon with, the 

first-ever recipient of the American Music Awards Icon Award 

is now working on her ninth studio album. 

88 • Trinidadian golfer 

Stephen Ames 


Photo by Robert Taylor 



Free to 


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93 • Classical Indian dancers 



98 • Fun at Trinidad’s 

Maracas Bay 


Photo by Andrea de Silva 

99 • Trio shaman in Suriname 


Photo by Andy Isaacson 

100th issue 


Cover design by Aisha Provoteaux 

101 • J’Ouvert devil 



105 • The New Caribbean 

Cinema collective 


Photo courtesy Marlon James 

Four young filmmakers on 

the cover of our September/ 

October 2010 issue led writer 

Jonathan Ali’s survey of 

contemporary Caribbean 

cinema. Seven years later, he 

gives us a progress report: 

Back in 2010, three of the 

directors I highlighted 

had just made their debut 

features: Maria Govan (Rain) 

and Kareem Mortimer 

(Children of God) of the 

Bahamas, and Jamaica’s 

Storm Saulter (Better Mus’ 

Come). As I write this, Govan’s 

second effort, Play the Devil, 

is winning plaudits on the 

festival circuit; Mortimer’s 

third film, Cargo, is about to 

premiere; and Saulter is in 

post-production on his follow 

up, Sprinter. 

Other talented filmmakers 

have joined in the act. The 

blessings of the digital 

revolution notwithstanding, 

making films in the Caribbean 

remains a challenging 

business. The biggest 

challenge, however, still is 

winning over hearts and 

minds to the idea that there’s 

more to cinema than the 

Hollywood formula. 




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89 • Trinidadians 3Canal 


Photo by David Wears 

90 • T&T’s women’s boxing team 


Photo by Mariamma Kambon 

91 • Guyana’s Iwokrama 

Canopy Walkway 

May/June 2008 

Photo by Skye Hernandez 

92 • Jamaican sprinter Asafa 

Powell 


Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images 



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94 • The jewellery designs 

of Emmaloochie 


Photo courtesy Emmaloochie 

95 • Carnival devil in 

downtown Port of Spain 


Photo by Jeffrey Chock 

96 • Fast bowler 


Illustration by Nikolai Noel 

97 • Dominica river hike 

May/June 2009 


102 • Trinidadian chef 

Ossie “Chinkey” Francis 



106 • Divali lights 



103 • Trinidad and Tobago 

Fashion Week 

May/June 2010 


INFLIGHT MAGAZINE 


107 • Red Indian mas 


Photo by Edison Boodoosingh 

104 • Ziggy Marley 


Photo courtesy Wonder Knack 

Arguably the Caribbean’s 

most famous icon, Bob 

Marley was the cover 

subject of our May/June 

2001 issue, on the twentieth 

anniversary of his death. 

His legacy lives on through 

his music, familiar to fans 

around the world — and 

though his children and 

grandchildren, many of 

whom inherited Marley’s 

musical genes. Like firstborn 

son David “Ziggy” 

Marley, who appeared on 

the cover of our July/August 2010 issue. 

Last year, Ziggy released his fifteenth album. There 

are also rumours of new albums in the works from both 

Damien and his brother Julian. Meanwhile, the rest of the 

family is involved in various Marley-branded projects, 

from fashion to cooking, graphic design to electronics, 

and of course running the Bob Marley Museum in 

Kingston. There’s a line of Marley coffee — including 

beans grown in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica and 

the highlands of Ethiopia — and eco-friendly footwear. 

Whatever else you can say of the Marley family, they 

understand the value of their family legacy. 



MAY/JUNE 2011 



108 • Trinidadian-Canadian chef 

Roger Mooking 


Photo by Geoff George 

109 • Tobago cocoa 

May/June 2011 

Photo by Alex Smailes 



110 • El Tucuche golden frog 


Photo by Pierson Hill 

Caribbean Beat’s special 

“Green Issue” featured 

a rare frog species on its 

cover — the only time an 

amphibian has served as 

cover model. Fauna cover 

subjects have also included 

one non-human mammal 

and four birds — can you 

spot them all? 

115 • Trinidadian Broadway star 

Heather Headley 

May/June 2012 

Photo courtesy Heather Headley 

116 • Grenadian Olympic 

champ Kirani James 


Photo by Michael Steele/Getty 

Images 

Heading into the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, the eyes 

of the world were on Usain Bolt — understandably, considering 

how the Jamaican sprinter had overwhelmed the competition 

in Beijing four years earlier. But astute observers — like writer 

Kwame Laurence, who wrote the cover story on Caribbean 

Olympic prospects for our July/August 2012 issue — had their 

eyes on other contenders as well. Like Grenada’s Kirani James, 

then just nineteen years old, who a year before at the World 

Championships had become the youngest ever 400-metre gold 

medalist. 

“He has all the expectations of Grenada resting on his 

shoulders,” wrote Laurence. And on 6 August, 2012, those 

expectations were fulfilled: thanks to James, Grenada’s firstever 

Olympic medal was gold. Five of the eight lanes in the 

final were occupied by Caribbean athletes, plus all three 

spots on the medal podium — with Luguelín Santos of the 

Dominican Republic in second place and Lalonde Gordon of 

T&T in third. 

. . . All the expectations of Grenada resting on his 

shoulders 

119 • Steffano Marcano, 

Carnival blue devil 


Photo by Maria Nunes 

121 • Jamaica’s No-Maddz 

May/June 2013 

Photo by Marlon James 

James’s welcome back to Grenada — and his home village 

of Gouyave — was euphoric. And Grenadian readers of 

Caribbean Beat were delighted the magazine had the foresight 

to put him on the cover. How did we make the call? “I think it 

was a mixture of reasons,” remembers Judy Raymond, then 

editor. “We wanted to use a photo of someone promising 

but not too familiar, and from somewhere that didn’t already 

have a great Olympic track record. And we had a good pic of 

him.” The confidence of writer Kwame Laurence — one of the 

Caribbean’s most experienced sports journalists, specialising in 

track and field, and a longtime contributor to the magazine — 

about James’s promise also helped. 

Four years later, at the 2016 Rio Olympics, James was a 

favourite to repeat his win. Only one athlete — American 

Michael Johnson — had ever managed to defend an Olympic 

gold in the men’s 400 metres, in 1996 and 2000. But the 




111 • Trinidad-born singer 

Nicki Minaj 


Photo by D Project Records/ 

Young Money Entertainment 

112 • Christmas dinner 

with T&T celebrities 


Photo by Andrea De Silva 

113 • Machel Montano 

costumed by Carnival band K2K 


Photo by Marlon Rouse 

114 • Trinidadian designer 

Anya Ayoung-Chee 


Photo by Wyatt Gallery 

achievement just barely escaped the Grenadian champion. 

James came second, to Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa 

— but still brought home Grenada’s second-ever Olympic 

medal, and singlehandedly gave his country the highest 

number of Olympic medals, per capita, at two successive 

Summer Games. 

117 • Detail of Disciple I, by 

Jamaican artist Ebony G. Patterson 


Image courtesy Ebony G. Patterson 

118 • Diwali parade in Guyana 


Photo by Michael Lam 

streeter lecka/getty 

120 • Barbadian surfer 

Chelsea Tuach 


Photo by Mark Harris 

Just seventeen when she 

appeared on the cover 

of the March/April 2013 

Caribbean Beat, slicing 

through a wave, Chelsea 

Tuach already had four 

years’ experience as a 

national and regional 

surfing champion. Starting 

at the age of ten, Tuach 

is the youngest surfer to 

represent Barbados in the 

watersport, and the most 

successful in competition. 

Ranked fourth in the world 

in 2015, she’s twice won the World Surf League (WSL) 

North American Junior Pro Championships. 

Tuach has flown the Barbadian flag in Australia, Brazil, 

El Salvador, Fiji, Mexico, Spain, France, and Japan. “I 

set goals, seize opportunities, and with a lot of faith 

and support, I’ve managed to do it,” she says. She’s had 

moments of self-doubt and at times intimidation, going 

up against older competitors. But nothing has stopped her 

burning spirit of determination, especially backed with 

resounding support from her island. 


122 • Detail of Mokisi I, by 

Surinamese artist Marcel Pinas 


Photo by William Tsang, courtesy 

of Readytex Art Gallery 

123 • Lifeguard station on 

Miami Beach 


Photo by Fotomak/Shutterstock.com 

124 • Haitian-American 

football player Pierre Garçon 


Portrait by Jim Darling 

A sportsman in a football 

uniform — American 

football, not soccer — 

must have surprised 

readers who don’t 

associate the game with 

the Caribbean. But there’s 

more than a handful of 

players with Caribbean 

connections in the United 

States’ National Football 

League, as writer Debbie 

Jacob explained in 

the cover story of our 

November/December 2013 issue. She updates us on 

three of the players she profiled then: 

125 • Nathaniel Charleau 

portrays a Dame Lorraine 


Photo by Maria Nunes 

127 • Cave diving in Andros, 

the Bahamas 

May/June 2014 

Photo by Brian Kakuk 

128 • Jamaican surfer Icah Wilmot 


Photo by Marlon James 

126 • Jamaican singer 

Tessanne Chin 


Photo by Adrian Creary 

What’s the exemplary 

colour of the Caribbean? 

Many would say blue, in 

all its hues: the colour of 

the sea that surrounds our 

islands. There’s something 

about that tropical marine 

blue that lifts the spirits: no 

wonder blue waters have 

appeared on no fewer than 

seventeen of our covers 

over the years. 

129 • View of Petit Piton, St Lucia 


Photo by Danielle Devaux 

The old adage “you can’t judge a book by its cover” 

doesn’t apply to magazines. When “From island to end 

zone”, profiling NFL football players with Caribbean 

roots, hit the Internet, Caribbean Beat’s website got 

thousands of hits in the first hour — enough to crash the 

site temporarily. The Washington Redskins and its star 

wide receiver Pierre Garçon had tweeted the story, and 

it was read by legions of fans. Garçon spoke about his 

Haitian roots and his continuous ties with the Caribbean 

island — and his friendly smile lit up the cover photo. 

Garçon hasn’t skipped a beat since his Caribbean Beat 

profile. He finished his five-year, US$45-million contract 

with the Redskins and became a free agent. At thirtyone, 

he showed no signs of slowing down. He’s been a 

consistent play-maker for the Redskins throughout all 

the team’s travails with its numerous quarterbacks. Then 

when Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti last year, Garçon’s 

team sent him to Haiti as an extension of his prolific 

community service work, and the NFL chose him to 

represent his team for the Walter Payton Man of the Year 

award, which pays homage to NFL players who engage in 

community service. 

Meanwhile, Jamaica-born Patrick Chung, also 

featured in the story, left the Philadelphia Eagles 

and returned to the New England Patriots to play for 

Bill Belichick, considered one of the most difficult 

and challenging coaches in the NFL. Chung soared, 

figuratively and literally, with high-flying tackles at the 

free safety position, which stunned opponents’ offenses. 

Belichick deemed Chung a crucial, versatile player who 

excelled at any defensive position where he was slotted. 

And Jamaica-born Trevardo Williams, a fourth-round 

draft pick and rookie for the Texas Texans, suffered 

an injury that prevented him from playing most of the 

season with the Texans. He made the rounds of the NFL, 

and landed eventually in the Canadian Football League 

(CFL), playing for the Toronto Argonauts. 


ADVERTORIAL 

Miami: what an experience! 

Go on a tour, taste exquisite dishes, relax, or 

work in the tropical beauty that is Miami. 

Begin the adventure by taking part in the Black/African Diaspora 

Heritage Tour in Little Havana. Tour guide Corinna Moebius does an 

excellent job of telling the story of Cuba. Your passionate and energetic 

tour starts on Calle Ocho (Eighth Street), where you’ll see the Little 

Havana Domino Park, where domino and chess matches take place throughout the day. 

Authentic hand-rolled Cuban cigars, jewellery, clothing, and art are also there. 

While touring Miami, visit the Black Police Precinct Courthouse and Museum. Hear 

the fascinating story of how five black men trained in secrecy and were sworn in as the 

City of Miami’s first black police officers in 1944. 

You’ll enjoy KROMA’s photo gallery and artists’ studios in Coconut Grove. KROMA 

Gallery is filled with striking paintings and other works of art. 

Visit the Lyric Theater the first Friday of every month for “Lyric Live”, an interactive 

talent showcase. 

Miami’s rich, diverse cultural mix is reflected in the city’s delicious cuisine. For a variety 

of Caribbean cuisine, you can dine at Ortanique on the Mile, and munch on Cuban 

fare at El Cristo. Indulge in seafood at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., choose Zest Restaurant 

for global cuisine, or visit the Peacock Garden Café for a meal or snack. 

If you’ll be in Miami in October, take in the spectacular Miami Broward Carnival 

Parade and Concert. Each October, the sweet sound of calypso blares from the music 

trucks which parade in the Miami-Dade County Fairgrounds, followed by about fifty 

thousand revellers in colourful, seductive costumes. Drink and food stalls dot the fairgrounds, 

so you can keep your energy levels up all day and well into the night. As the 

sun sets, the crowd drifts towards the stage to hear the pulsating rhythms of Caribbean 

artistes, who perform their newly released music and crowd favourites as well. 

Got a place to stay? Hampton Inn & 

Suites by Hilton Miami Brickell Downtown 

and The Courtyard Cadillac Miami 

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you and make your stay unforgettable. 

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Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. at Bayside Marketplace: www.bubbagump.com/locations/miami 

Miami-Broward Carnival: www.miamibrowardcarnival.com 

Dolphin Mall: www.ShopDolphinMall.com 

The Courtyard CADILLAC Miami Beach Oceanfront: www.hotelcadillacmiamibeach.com 

Ortanique on the Mile: www.ortaniquerestaurants.com 

Black/African Diaspora Heritage Tour of Little Havana: www.littlehavanaguide.com 

Historic Black Police Precinct Courthouse and Museum: www.historicalblackprecinct.org 

Overtown/Lyric Theatre: www.bahlt.org 

Zest Restaurant: www. zestmiami.com 

KROMA Gallery: www.kromamiami.com 

Peacock Garden Café: www.jaguarhg.com/home-peacock 

A player engaged in a game of chess 

The annual Miami Broward Carnival is pure 

excitement 

Expressive artwork at KROMA Gallery

130 • Blue-and-yellow macaw 


Photo by Tracy Starr/Shutterstock. 

com 

131 • Soca star Bunji Garlin 


Photo by Jonathan Mannion 

132 • Guyana’s Kaieteur Falls 


Photo by Pete Oxford 

133 • On the coast of St John, 

US Virgin Islands 

May/June 2015 

Photo by cdwheatley/istock.com 

136 • Street musician, Havana 


Photo by Atlantide Phototravel/ 

Corbis 

A Cuban street musician — performing a trumpet solo, 

snazzily attired in brown suit and two-tone shoes — was 

the cover subject of our November/December 2015 issue. 

It was a favourite of Dionne Ligoure, head of corporate 

communications for Caribbean Airlines, and a longtime 

reader of the magazine. In fact, Ligoure keeps a copy of this 

cover on display in her office at the airline’s headquarters. 

“Cuba, for me, represents a part of the Caribbean that 

remains unspoilt,” Ligoure explains. “That photo transports 

you to another place and time. It does what music does: 

takes you on an imaginative journey. You can’t hear 

what the musician in the photo is playing, but you feel 

something.” 

And what does Caribbean Beat mean to her, and the 

airline? I’m tremendously proud of the magazine,” Ligoure 

says. “For the past twenty-five years, Caribbean Beat has 

featured, documented, archived, and highlighted the 

accomplishments of Caribbean icons throughout the region 

and our diaspora. 

“Caribbean Airlines is an authentic Caribbean brand. 

And Caribbean Beat is exactly that. It’s a natural, harmonious 

alliance. These two authentic elements are fused to 

represent the uniqueness of the Caribbean, in our ability to 

connect people. There’s a consistency and authenticity to 

that partnership.” 

137 • Carnival blooming 


Photo by Dwayne Watkins 

140 • Jamaican sprint legend 

Usain Bolt 


Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/ 

Getty Images 

139 • Jaguar 

May/June 2016 

Photo by Pete Oxford 

This pensive jaguar — one of South America’s most 

magnificent wild creatures — made an apt cover for our 

May/June 2016 issue, which commemorated Guyana’s 

fiftieth anniversary of Independence. Pete Oxford, worldrenowned 

wildlife photographer, remembers how he 

captured the image. “We were on a boat drifting down the 

river, when we spotted this top predator relaxing on the 

river bank under the thick jungle canopy. It was obvious that 

the animal had had no negative interaction with humans, 

as it was totally unafraid and allowed us to come extremely 

close. It was both a thrilling and a humbling experience.” 


The brilliant orange paint and traditional design of this 

Barbadian chattel house door made an eye-catching cover 

for our September/October 2015 issue. It also made for a 

heart-warming experience for photographer Corrie Scott: 

134 • Coral splendour 


Photo by Rainer von Brandis/ 

istock.com 

138 • Snorkelling in the Bahamas 


Photo by Stephen Frink/Corbis 

135 • Chattel house, Barbados 


Photo by Corrie Scott 

This freshly painted chattel door caught my eye as I was 

driving past, and I just had to stop and capture it. We have 

a history of finely crafted chattel houses in Barbados. More 

recently we started using bright colours rather than the 

traditional brown of past times — orange and green being a 

popular colour combination in Bim. 

Imagine my delight when my chattel house door ended 

up on the cover! On receiving the magazine, I 

kept it for a few days, then decided the people 

who live in the house should have it. Having never 

met them, I drove over and knocked. Lisa came 

to the door. And her mum. And her son. They 

were all delighted. I had already planned to “pay 

it forward,” so gave Lisa a percentage of what I 

earned for this photograph. Lisa emotionally told 

me that the money had come at just the right time. 

She hugged me. Gran hugged me, and Son told me 

I had to hug him too. So, hugs all round, all of us 

crying and laughing. I have now met three more 

wonderful Bajans in my island. Feels good. Feels 

right. 

Sometimes it’s tough 

deciding among the options 

for a cover subject — and 

sometimes there’s no contest. 

That was exactly the case 

with our July/August issue 

last year, timed with the 2016 

Summer Olympics in Rio de 

Janeiro. “No contest” also 

describes how some of the 

world’s best sprinters must 

have felt, knowing they were 

up against Usain Bolt in the 

men’s 100- and 200-metre 

events. 

Born in rural Trelawny 

Parish, Jamaica, in 1986, Bolt 

is the fastest human being on 

record, and considered the 

greatest sprinter of all time. 

Where track and field are 

concerned, the past decade 

has indisputably been the 

Age of Bolt, and it’s hard to 

imagine another athlete so 

dominating the sport in the 

near future. 

Few people could have 

predicted this unprecedented 

victory streak back in 2004, 

when Bolt — then just shy 

of his eighteenth birthday 

— appeared in the pages of 

Caribbean Beat for the first 

time. But it was already 

clear he was a major talent 

— writer Kwame Laurence 

called him one of the fastest 

men alive, previewing the 

Caribbean’s medal hopefuls 

in the Athens Olympics. 

Slowed by a leg injury, Bolt 

didn’t make it past the first 

round of heats. But he was 

just getting started. 

Four years later, this 

time previewing the 2008 

Olympics in Beijing, 

Laurence used the adjective 

“phenomenal” three times, 

describing Bolt’s medal 

prospects. “Forgive the 

repetition,” he wrote. But 

it was an apt prediction. 

Not only did the twentyone-year-old 

win both the 

100- and 200-metre races, 

setting new world records 

in both — a feat never 

before accomplished at the 

Olympics — but he did it 

with an almost inhuman 

nonchalance. (His third gold 

medal from Beijing, in the 

4x100-metre relay, was sadly 

revoked earlier this year, 

when one of his teammates 

was retroactively disqualified 

for doping.) 

Heading to the 2012 

London Olympics, Bolt was 

a clear favourite — both 

with the crowds, who loved 

his high-spirited antics, 

and to repeat his wins. 

He didn’t disappoint. For 

Jamaicans, the timing 

of the achievement was 

especially significant, 

coming in the very month 

when the nation celebrated 

its fiftieth anniversary of 

Independence. “I’m now 

a legend,” Bolt remarked, 

matter-of-factly. 

But the truly legendary 

feat was in Rio in August 

2016. “This will surely be his 

last Olympic Games,” wrote 

Kwame Laurence, “and he’ll 

do everything in his power 

to ensure a golden farewell.” 

No athlete had ever won the 

100-metre event at three 

consecutive Olympics, nor 

the 200 metres. To win them 

both — a “triple double” 

— would once have been 

unthinkable. But not, as it 

turned out, for Usain Bolt. 


141 • Antiguan kiteboarding 

pioneer Andre Phillip 


Photo by Roddy Grimes-Graeme 

January/February 2017 

FREE 

take-home copy 

143 • Young fancy sailor 

January/February 2017 



FREE 

take-home copy 

142 • Calypso Rose 


Photo by Richard Holder, 

courtesy Stonetree Records 

Our oldest cover subject in twenty-five years? That 

would be Linda McArtha Sandy-Lewis, the indefatigable 

Calypso Rose, who was seventy-six when she fronted our 

November/December issue last year. And in this case, 

age isn’t just a number, or a bit of trivia — it’s evidence 

of the longevity of one of the most extraordinary careers 

in Caribbean music, dating back to the 1950s. When the 

Tobago-born calypsonian started her career as a teenager, 

calypso was still a macho genre. That she ascended to the 

heights of the artform is tribute to her skill as a singer and 

composer, her warmth and sincerity on stage, her wicked 

lyrics and playful performance style. Audiences adored her, 

but it wasn’t until 1978 — more than two decades into her 

career — that she won calypso’s highest honour. They had 

to literally rename the Calypso King title for her sake. 

The same energy, talent, and dedication that earned her 

that groundbreaking accolade are also responsible for the 

remarkable resurgence in popularity Rose has experienced 

in her eighth decade. Her latest album, Far from Home, 

was a surprise hit of summer 2016 in Europe, winning her 

thousands of new fans and a growing number of international 

awards, as she keeps to a touring schedule many younger 

musicians would envy. And her tune “Leave Me Alone” — 

featuring a guest appearance by Machel Montano — was yet 

another hit on the road at Carnival 2017. 

The credits 

Jeremy Taylor, editor, publisher, consulting 

editor, 1992–2012 • Joanne Mendes, sales and 

admin, 1992–present • Russell Halfhide, designer, 

1992–2007 • Geraldine Flower, sales, 1992–2011 

• Simone Aché, sales, 1994–1998 • Reneé West, 

sales, 1994–1999 • Brendan de Caires, assistant 

editor, 1994–1998 • Kevon Webster, design and 

layout, 1995–present • Skye Hernandez, assistant 

editor and managing editor, 1997–2000 • Beverly 

Renwick, sales, 1997–2000 • Hazel Mansing, admin, 

1998–present • Donna Benny, managing editor, 

2000–2003 • Brigitte Bento-Espinet, assistant 

editor, 2000 • Stacy Lalbeharry, editorial assistant, 

2000–2005 • Helen Shair-Singh, sales, 2000–2012 

• Denise Chin, sales, 2001–2013, 2015–present • 

Tracy-Ann Gill, editorial assistant, 2001–2003 • 

Dylan Kerrigan, staff writer, 2002–2005 • Nicholas 

Laughlin, editor, 2003–2006, 2012–present • Tracy 

Assing, assistant editor, 2005–2008 • Sabrina 

Vailloo, editorial assistant, 2005–2007 • Laura 

Dowrich, assistant editor, 2006–2009 • Mirissa 

De Four, editorial assistant, 2006–2011 • Caroline 

Taylor, online editor, 2007–present • Judy Raymond, 

editor, 2007–2012 • Jacqui Smith, production, 

2008–present • Aisha Provoteaux, design and 

layout, 2009–2010 • Samantha Rochard, sales, 

2009 • Halcyon Salazar, general manager, 2011– 

present • Bridget van Dongen, design and layout, 

2011–present • Marissa Rodriguez, admin assistant, 

2012–2014 • Yuri Chin Choy, sales, 2012–present • 

Desiree Seebaran, assistant editor, 2013 • Karen 

Washington, sales, 2013–2015 • Cindy Lavia, 

editorial intern, 2014–2016 • Shelly-Ann Inniss, 

intern and editorial assistant, 2014–present 

A quarter-century’s worth of reading 

Caribbean Beat has always been free for Caribbean Airlines (and, before 

that, BWIA) passengers to take home — and many of you have done just 

that, collecting each issue as it appears on planes. A full set of all 144 

magazines published to date takes up about two and a half feet of shelf 

space (and weighs almost a hundred pounds — yes, we checked). Readers 

hold on to them because many of the articles, profiles, and interviews are 

worth revisiting, even decades later. Researchers make reference to the 

magazine and teachers use it in classrooms. 

But if you haven’t been a Caribbean Beat reader and collector since 1992 

— or if you don’t have two and a half feet of shelf space to spare — you 

can still access our rather vast archive via our website. The magazine first 

went online circa 1998. Back then, in the days when no one knew as yet 

what the World Wide Web would turn out to be, only a handful of articles 

from each issue were posted online, and some HTML hand-coding was 

involved. It’s a lot simpler these days. Not only can you read the full contents 

of each new issue online, you can also search all the way back to issue 

number one in a matter of seconds — if, say, your heart is set on finding 

every single reference to Machel Montano we’ve ever published. 

Now, the archive is a work in progress — we’re still digitising some of 

the earlier issues. Even so, there are close to 2,500 articles already available, 

which makes the Caribbean Beat website one of the most extensive free 

online archives of Caribbean culture. Even for our editorial staff, exploring 

this archive is always an adventure of discovery and re-discovery. 

Find it all at caribbean-beat.com. 


• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•

AdvertoriAl 

The Bahamas 

Festival time in The 

Written by Elaine Monica Davis 

Bahamas! 

Y 

ou’ve heard the saying: “It’s 

festival time again!” Yes, it’s 

a very common expression, 

as the Caribbean is replete 

with festivals of one kind or another — 

celebrating food, drink, culture, dance, 

and the list continues. But while festivals 

and Carnivals indeed dominate the 

Caribbean landscape every month of 

the year, the islands of The Bahamas 

alone have a smorgasbord of activities, 

The islands of The Bahamas have a smorgasbord 

of activities, every single beautiful, sun-splashed 

month of the calendar year 

every single beautiful, sun-splashed 

month of the calendar year. But more on 

that in another issue! 

Right now, looming on our spectacularly 

beautiful Bahamian horizon is 

Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival 2017! Yes, 

BJC 2017 is almost here. But keep calm 

and prepare to travel to The Bahamas 

— you still have time to be a part of this 

absolutely unique, unifying, and ultraspecial 

experience that only happens in 

The Bahamas. 

April 28 and 29 will be here before 

we know it, and people from all over 

the world are looking forward to the 

amazing time they will have in Grand 

Bahama, with the Carnival Kick Off 

scheduled for Taino Beach, Freeport. 

Local musical giants like Music Masters 

2016 winner Fanshawn Taylor, 2015 

winner Sammie Starr, together with Lady 

“E” and a host of other mega-talented 

Bahamian contenders, will again showcase 

their creative, lyrical, and performing 

talent to the world. 

Who will emerge victorious in the 

semi-final competition on the night of 

29 April? Who will go on to magical 

mastery the following week in Nassau, 

during the BJC extravaganza from 4 to 6 

May? Taino Beach and Da Cultural Village 

will host artistic history once again 

and lift the eager and excited patrons to 

heights as never before. 

You cannot afford to miss the op- 

portunity to be a part of this stunningly 

exhilarating array of cultural creativity, 

fabulous food, and romantic relaxation 

— and be in The Bahamas at the same 

time. 

So what are you waiting for? 

Get online: 

bahamasjunkanoocarnival.com 

or bahamas.com. 

In the Caribbean, we fly on Caribbean 

Airlines, direct from Port of Spain, 

Trinidad to Lynden Pindling International 

Airport, Nassau, on Sundays, Tuesdays, 

and Fridays. See you in The Bahamas! 


ARRIVE 

nikhil ramkarran 

68 Offtrack 

Pakaraima bound 

78 Neighbourhood 

Bequia, Port Elizabeth 

80 Layover 

Bridgetown, Barbados 

Heading into Guyana’s Pakaraima Mountains 


Offtrack 

Pakaraima 

bound 

Near Guyana’s border with Venezuela and Brazil, the 

Pakaraimas are a spectacular landscape of soaring 

tepui mountains and remote valleys. Few outsiders 

come here — except once a year, during the 

Eastertime Pakaraima Mountain Safari. Neil Marks 

has been there, done the adventure — and can tell 

you what to expect 


Rough dirt roads cross the sparsely 

populated landscape of the Pakaraimas 



You don’t have to be a topographer to figure out that Guyana is 

unapologetically part of Amazonia. But, just in case you want 

to be stubborn and argue beyond impenetrable rainforests, 

jaguars, black caimans, and anacondas, the Pakaraima 

Mountains will answer any lingering doubts. (For the sake of 

free movement of people, trade, dancehall, and soca, however, 

we’ll keep our Caribbean identity too.) 

You may not have heard of the Pakaraimas before — but perhaps you’ve 

heard of Roraima? Functioning as a triple border between Guyana, Venezuela, 

and Brazil, Mount Roraima, with a peak elevation of just over 9,200 feet, sticks 

out as the tallest in the family of table-top mountains of the western Guyana 

highlands known as the Pakaraimas. These mountains stretch some 250 miles 

across, measuring east to west, and the rivers that originate here plunge off 

immense cliffs to form some of the most spectacular waterfalls anywhere — 

including the famed Kaieteur, measuring 741 feet from top to bottom, among 

the world’s tallest single-drop waterfalls. 

Exploring the Pakaraimas offers the allure of unknown terrain, unfamiliar 

indigenous Amerindian culture, and the exhilarating feeling that comes with 

knowing that just under your feet are rocks hiding deposits of gold, diamonds, 

jasper, and other precious minerals. But it takes some amount of — well, 

balls, to attempt a journey across the tepui plateaus: one literal translation of 

Pakaraimas, a Patamona name, is “giant testicles.” 

These mountains were formed many millions of years 

ago, and are now mostly inhabited by the Patamona, one 

of Guyana’s nine remaining Amerindian nations. The name 

Patamona itself means “People of the Heavens” — and if you 

bother to check the elevation and temperature of some of the 

villages scattered among these mountains, you’d have to agree. 

At night, I swear it feels like below zero in some places. But for 

Guyanese, measuring in degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit is just 

not done. It’s either “hot” or “cold,” and in the case of some of 

these villages, very cold. Once you take up a sleeping position, 

you beg your body to stay in place without moving, for fear that 

thousands of needle-size icicles will pierce through your skin. 

So travelling across the Pakaraimas is no easy feat, but 

the annual safari organised around Easter by Rainforest Tours in Georgetown 

offers a planned route and instructions on how to survive and enjoy what tour 

leader Frank Singh calls “an adventure of a lifetime.” The safari had its genesis 

at the turn of the last century, when the Patamona decided to cut roads to 

criss-cross their mountains and valleys. Of course, their intention was not to 

have curious visitors passing through their villages, but rather to find a way to 

trade their farm produce. 

The mountains offer fertile ground for agriculture, and the temperatures 

lend to the farming of crops that can’t grow on Guyana’s coastland. For 

example, a great potato and onion experiment was undertaken a few decades 

back, but most of it went to waste because of inadequate infrastructure to 

transport it to market in Georgetown. So, using manual labour, the Patamona 

created roads to connect villages stretching across two of Guyana’s interior 

regions, Eight and Nine, and for the most part made it easier for vehicles other 

than tractors and All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) to traverse the territory. 

The first Pakaraima safari was undertaken in 2003, with just about 

four vehicles of government officials eyeing the opening of the otherwise 

landlocked Pakaraimas. Soon, the safari grew in scale, and it’s now an annual 

feature of Guyana’s tourism calendar. These days, the convoy is made up of 

about twenty vehicles, including participation by overseas enthusiasts craving 

an adventure off the beaten track and an immersion into the customs of the 

indigenous Amerindians. 

Exploring the 

Pakaraimas 

offers the allure 

of unknown 

terrain 


The Pakaraima safari route cuts through 

both dense forest and open savannah 




Day One: The first day of the safari opens at a fuel station 

in the heart of Georgetown, just an hour after midnight — 

the beginning of a gruelling leg of 350 miles. That includes a 

two-hour drive on paved roads and then a long, bumpy ride 

on laterite dirt roads through the rainforest. But thoughts of 

discomfort quickly fade, as you keep watch for wild animals, 

such as deer, scampering across the road. 

Bathrooms aren’t readily available, so any relief breaks have 

to be taken in the forest. And, of course, the forest has snakes. If 

that creeps you out, better hold it in until you reach the morning 

pit stop, where you can also have a hot breakfast at a little 

restaurant built around a timber operation. 

The convoy makes an Essequibo River landing at dawn, 

in time for the first ferry crossing. The actual ride across the 

river takes about fifteen minutes, and then you’re on your way 

through the million-hectare Iwokrama protected rainforest, 

home to some of the largest animals in South America — the 

jaguar and the harpy eagle. Jaguars are sometimes spotted 

strolling along the same road you’re driving on. Get your camera 

out, just in case. 

About four hours into daylight, you’ll reach the Oasis, a 

roadside lodge for travellers like you passing through the 

sprawling open savannahs. Next comes a four-hour stretch 

navigating a dirt path to Karasabai, the village where the actual 

safari begins. By then, you’ll be beyond tired — so set up camp 

early, cook, eat, and hit the sack. Camping space is usually on 

the grounds of government buildings such as the health centre or 

school. You also refuel before it gets dark, and you’re off to sleep. 


The journey 

Georgetown to Karasabai: 

350 miles 

. . . to Tiperu: 21 miles 

. . . to Rukumoto: 12 miles 

. . . to Morabaiko: 12 miles 

. . . to Yurong Paru: 18 miles 

. . . to Monkey Mountain: 18 miles 

. . . to Tuseneng: 15 miles 

. . . to Paramakatoi: 15 miles 

. . . to Kato: 11 miles 

. . . to Kurukubaru: 12 miles 

. . . to Ithabac: 27 miles 

. . . to Orinduik Falls: 18 miles 

Essequibo River 

Guyana 

Orinduik 

Kurukubaru 

Paramakatoi 

Kato 

Monkey Mountain 

Tuseneng 

Morabaiko 

Yurong Paru 

Rukumoto 

Teperu 

From Georgetown 

BRAZIL 

Karasabai 

What you need 

• four-wheel drive vehicle in good condition, preferably 

with winch and spare all-terrain tyres 

• patching equipment, tow rope, and tool kit 

• gasolene or diesel containers, preferably five-gallon size 

• fuel hose 

• fire extinguisher 

• tent or hammock for camping 

• battery-powered light 

• outdoor gas stove and fuel 

• cooking utensils 

• food supplies and bottled water 

• cutlass, file, and shovel 

• first aid kit 

Day Two: You wake up in the quiet village of Karasabai, 

named for a rock resembling a treasure chest. The story says 

the chest was magically transformed into stone by Macunaima, 

a legendary being of the Amerindians. Once you set off, about 

fifteen minutes outside Karasabai, you spot Beena Mountain, 

where you can find almost all of the herbs used by village elders 

in the initiation rites — the indigenous education system — to 

prepare a boy to take on life in the jungle. If you want to explore 

the mountain yourself, please ask the local village leaders, as it 

is taboo to visit on your own. 

Travelling across mostly open savannah, you reach the 

villages of Teperu and Rukumoto. Rukumoto literally means 

“the place of Ruku” — a multicoloured caterpillar, considered 

a delicacy in these parts. It has a nutty taste once boiled or 

smoked. They come out during the May/June rains, so you may 

not see any during the safari, but you can ask locals if they have 

any left over from last year. In the afternoon, you arrive at the 

village of Morabaiko, to spend the night. 


Day Three: Departing Morabaiko, you emerge to incredible 

mountain vistas, as you enter the villages of Yurong Paru, and 

then cross the Echillibar River to get to Monkey Mountain, one 

of the larger Pakaraima communities — named for the seasonal 

migration of monkeys from the northwest to the Kanuku 

Mountains to the south. 

The people of Monkey Mountain are multilingual — they 

speak Patamona, Macushi, and Portuguese, as well as English. 

A nearby waterfall allows you to cool off after the hot and dusty 

drive. Locals search for the precious minerals found in the area 

and use them to trade for fish and meat with Brazilians in nearby 

border villages such as Mutum. 

East of Monkey Mountain is Taruka, a relatively new village, 

originally formed by Brazilian Amerindians fleeing harsh 

conditions in their country. During the great Rupununi uprising 

of the late 1960s, most of the villagers returned to Brazil. 

Day Four: Leaving Monkey Mountain, you come to rustcoloured 

Tuseneng, founded by Archibald Scipio, the son of 

an itinerant black balata bleeder and an Amerindian woman. 

Because of Scipio’s appearance, he wasn’t readily accepted 

by his community — so he moved to the area that is now 

Tuseneng. Gradually, others joined him and formed the village. 

Having been adopted by his mother’s side of the family, Scipio 

went through the full crucible of training for Amerindian boys. 

Eventually he became a piai man, or local doctor. 

Passing the Kawa River (which is dry most of the time, but 

can rise to chest-deep in the rainy season), you reach Bamboo 

Creek for a brief stop, and then arrive at Paramakatoi. At an 

elevation of 2,500 feet, PK — as it’s called for short — is named 

for a wild guava found in the area. Branches from the trees are 

used to make arrows. If you want a bit of historical intrigue, ask 

the villagers for Macaw Cave, where you can see an urn with 

ancestral skeletal remains. 

From PK, the safari leads straight to Kato. With its setting 

like a natural postcard, Kato was the location of that experiment 

in growing potatoes and onions. The waterfalls nearby are 

earmarked for a future hydro-power project that will give 

electricity to the village. 

michael lam 


Chiung Falls near the village of Kato 



Day Five: After overnighting at Kato, you depart for 

Kurukubaru — thought to be the most elevated village in 

Guyana. So you’ll understand why it has the nickname “Cold, 

Cold Baru.” As in all indigenous villages, be mindful of local 

customs. On my first visit, many years ago, when I took out my 

digital camera, the older folks literal ran. Best to ask permission 

for anything you want to do. 

The people of Kurukubaru, as across the Pakaraimas, are 

charming and shy. Ask a question and they may bow their heads, 

giggling. But when you walk off, you may hear them whispering 

in the Patamona tongue. 

Past Kurukubaru, you’ll come to Kamana village, 

and if you have the time and are a history buff, you’ll 

want to ask about the trail where you can find battle 

implements (such as clubs with spikes) and skeletal 

remains, testifying to tribal wars of long ago. There 

are also rock formations that are said to represent the 

victories of various tribes. 

Finally, from Kamana you travel to the last stop: 

Orinduik Falls on the Ireng River, which forms the 

border here between Guyana and Brazil. The falls 

are named after a water weed which — if uprooted, 

dried, burned, and mixed with honey — forms a sort of 

chewing gum that’s prized for its euphoric properties. 

So I’m told — I’ve never tried it myself. 

You’d be crazy not to indulge in a refreshing bath 

at the falls — where the river flows over outcrops of 

jasper — before heading to the small airstrip to catch your flight 

back to Georgetown. Unless you’re heading back out overland, 

as you came. With just brief stops along the way, the return drive 

takes three days to get back to Georgetown. However you end 

your safari, before you leave, consider leaving a gift for your 

Patamona hosts — to reciprocate their kind hospitality. n 

Caribbean Airlines operates regular flights to Cheddi 

Jagan International Airport in Georgetown from 

Caribbean and North American destinations 

miles of unspoilt rainforest | kayaking, paddling, canoeing | horseback riding | safari 

wildlife watching | birdwatching | sports fishing | community tourism | trekking 

3 Rupununi Music & Arts Festival, Georgetown 

12 Phagwah Festival, National Stadium 

12 Phagwah Celebration, National Holiday Country 

19 Horse Racing, Kennard Memorial Turf 

24 Linden Expo & Trade Fair, Linden 

24 Wedding Expo 2017, Georgetown 

25 ‘Clash of the Titans’ Show, National Stadium 

7 Easter Seawall Art Festival, Georgetown 

9 Pakaraima Mountain Safari, Pakaraima Mt. 

14 Region 5 Expo & Trade Fair, Berbice 

15 Bartica Easter Regatta, Bartica 

15 Rupununi Rodeo, Lethem 

17 Easter Monday, Countrywide 

28 Guyana Restaurant Week, Georgetown 


NEIGHBOURHOOD 

wilfred dederer 

Port Elizabeth, 

Bequia 

More village than town, the capital of 

Bequia — second-largest of the Grenadine 

Islands — is a haven for both yachties, 

beach-lovers, and artists alike 

Streetscape 

For many visitors, Bequia begins with arrival at the ferry terminal in 

Port Elizabeth. “Front Street,” as the main road along the waterfront 

is known, is the centre of activity: from the island’s administration 

building and post office to the vegetable market to historic 

St Mary’s Anglican church (at right), rebuilt after a hurricane in 1829. 

Residential neighbourhoods climb the steep surrounding hills. South 

of Port Elizabeth, the Belmont Walkway runs along the coast, lined 

by restaurants, bars, and small hotels, in the direction of Princess 

Margaret Beach, the island’s most famous swimming spot. Heading 

the other way, north, the coast road leads to the remains of Hamilton 

Fort, situated to command the entrance to the bay. 


History 

With its indigenous name meaning “island of the 

clouds,” Bequia was originally settled by Caribs, 

before coming under French colonial control. Ceded 

to Britain in 1763, along with the other Grenadines, 

St Vincent, and Grenada, Bequia was planted with 

sugarcane and arrowroot, while Admiralty Bay on 

the island’s west coast was considered the safest 

harbour in the southern British West Indies. Port 

Elizabeth, never large, nonetheless became an 

important centre for boatbuilding and ship repairs. 

In the 1960s and 70s, as the Grenadines were 

“discovered” by wealthy tourists, the economy 

of Bequia and its capital shifted from fishing and 

seafaring to tourism — helped by the gorgeous 

beaches and dive sites close offshore. 


Plans to hatch 

Found throughout the world’s oceans, but 

critically endangered in all its habitats, the 

hawksbill sea turtle finds a special refuge in 

Bequia, thanks to the efforts of the Old Hegg 

Turtle Sanctuary. Founded by retired fisherman 

Orton “Brother” King, the Old Hegg sanctuary 

collects hawksbill hatchlings at the moment they 

emerge from their nests on Bequia’s beaches 

— at the time of their greatest vulnerability to 

predators. Normally, as few as one hawksbill 

hatchling in a thousand survives to breeding 

age. Reared in sheltered ponds until they grow 

to fourteen inches, Old Hegg’s young turtles get 

a headstart against those odds. And visitors’ 

donations keep the whole thing going. 

czekma13/istock.com 

Souvenir 

As you’d expect in a small island with a strong seafaring tradition, Bequia is 

home to numerous expert boatbuilders, as you can see at the island’s Boat 

Museum (above). And though a full-scale vessel isn’t a very practical gift 

to take home, Bequia’s woodworkers also create intricately detailed model 

boats, replicating all the details of a seaworthy craft at miniature scale, down 

to the sails and rigging. For examples, check Mauvin’s and the Sargeant 

Brothers’ model boat shops, near the vegetable market in Port Elizabeth. 

For such a small island, Bequia is also home to an unusually large and 

active community of artists, local and expat, working in media ranging from 

painting to textiles and ceramics, and often inspired by the lush landscape, 

history, and traditions of the island community. 

Many artists welcome studio visits, and the 

Oasis Gallery along the Belmont Walkway is a 

good place to get your bearings. 


Co-ordinates 

13.0º N 61.2º W 

Sea level 

bEQUIA 


Port Elizabeth 

Appetite 

From elegant French-inspired cuisine to hearty, zesty creole fare, Port 

Elizabeth and its surroundings have a more diverse dining scene than 

you might expect on an island of just six thousand inhabitants. Seafood 

is naturally the star attraction — especially lobster, in season, when 

you can enjoy it at the upscale Auberge de Grenadines or on a pizza at 

Mac’s. Frangipani is famous for its Thursday night barbecue — all you 

can eat, with live steelpan music. For a memorable meal in breathtaking 

surroundings, head out of town and up to Mount Pleasant, Bequia’s 

highest point, where The Old Fort hotel is centred around a historic 

French-built stone mansion, and dinner comes with a gentle breeze and 

view of the twinkling lights of the other Grenadines in the distance. 

From March 2017, Caribbean Airlines 

operates direct flights to Argyle International 

Airport in St Vincent, with connections via 

ferry and other airlines to Bequia 


LAYOVER 

Anton_Ivanov/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 

twenty-one miles by fourteen, 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. 

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 

Philip Willcocks/shutterstock.com 

Philip Willcocks/istock.com 

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. 

After a long spell on a plane, a bit of a stroll 

is never a bad thing. And one of Barbados’s 

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. 

LU LIN/shutterstock.com 

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’s 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. 

Anneli Salo/wikimedia commons 

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. 

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 fortyfive 

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 taste-testing. 

courtesy mount gay distillery 


ENGAGE 

Bettmann / getty images 

82 Inspire 

Inner-city art 

86 

On This Day 

Calypso with a 

conscience 

84 Green 

Progress report 

Cultural and political icon Harry Belafonte in the 1950s

INSPIRE 

Innercity 

art 

When a group of young artists 

decided to start a public mural project 

in downtown Kingston, it wasn’t just 

about beautifying one of Jamaica’s 

most deprived neighbourhoods. It 

was also an experiment in creating 

opportunities for the local community, 

as Tanya Batson-Savage finds out 

Photography by Matthew Henry 

The shell of the old Toyota warehouse at 41 Fleet Street is a ghost 

from a bygone era. But concrete skeletons are nothing rare in 

downtown Kingston, even as the Jamaican capital shows signs of 

a revival. Buried in southside Kingston, a javelin’s throw away from 

the Rae Town neighbourhood, a few years ago Fleet Street was a 

part of Kingston outsiders were told to avoid. 

But today 41 Fleet Street attracts growing interest from Kingstonians and 

foreign visitors alike. That interest comes in the wake of Paint Jamaica, a project 

that transformed the abandoned warehouse into a creative mecca. Now, new 

life, energy, and interest have been brought back to the community, outlining the 

transformative power of art. The old warehouse, the Paint Jamaica flagship, bears 

uplifting murals with messages of hope and change. It is more than a beautiful 

space. Though roofless, which is a part of its charm, the Fleet Street warehouse has 

become a space for members of the community to stage events and hold meetings, 

and several musicians have made it a space to shoot music videos. 

Paint Jamaica is more a movement than a foundation, but its foundations are 

rock solid: using art to create and inspire change. While the idea took root after 

a meeting between its founder, French-Egyptian Marianna Farag, and Jamaican 

artist Matthew McCarthy, its collective vision is touted as the reason for its success. 

As it currently stands, Paint Jamaica is an undefined collective, which in part 

came to life via social media, particularly a Facebook page. Farag and McCarthy 

met during the 2013 New Roots exhibition at the 

National Gallery of Jamaica, where McCarthy’s 

striking graffiti-style art festooned the walls. 

Their conversation revealed a shared interest 

in art as a tool for transformation and change. 

Paint Jamaica epitomises the possibilities 

of a grassroots movement in the digital era. 

Along with the Facebook page, which facilitated 

discussions, the project used an online signup 

sheet for volunteers and raised most of its 

budget through crowdfunding. These funds 

were offset by in-kind donations from Jamaican 

companies. But ensuring that the project is 

steered by the needs of the community, rather 

than the desires of a corporate sponsor, was an 

important consideration. 

“ 

There’s a side to Jamaica that has 

been left out of the conversation, 

and this project allows them to be 

a part of the conversation again,” McCarthy 

says. That conversation has been critical to 

Paint Jamaica’s sustainability, and the fact that 

it remains an important part of the community 

two years after execution. McCarthy explains 

that the participating artists walked through the 

community for weeks prior to the actual painting, 

to ensure their ideas and interests were reflected 

in the space. It was a process they repeated 

before painting the murals now garnishing the 

walls of the Holy Family Primary School, also 

in the same community. “If you don’t speak to 


we got there,” McCarthy explains. “What we’re 

doing is reviving Kingston to what it used to be.” 

As McCarthy points out, Paint Jamaica is not 

the first attempt to use street art for transformation 

in Kingston. He points to the work of Rosie Chung 

of Studio 174, and Alison Perkins, who conducted 

the Red Rubberband painting project through the 

Kingston on the Edge (KOTE) festival. Still, Paint 

Jamaica has easily been the most successful. “Not 

only do you paint something, but you also attract 

the attention of other people who wanted to do 

something,” McCarthy says. Indeed, the project 

would not have been successful without throngs 

of volunteers from the community and outside 

it. Working on the project also significantly 

boosted the skills of the individual artists in 

creating murals, as well as better understanding 

A girl from the neighbourhood, 

posing here with 

her friend, discovers an uncanny 

resemblance in artist 

Matthew Henry’s mural 

the people in the community, you don’t get the authentic story,” 

McCarthy says. 

Additionally, Paint Jamaica has benefitted from a democratic 

process among the artists. The group found themselves inspired 

by the 2011 Arab Spring and its germination via Facebook. So 

they too started a Facebook page, and invited other interested 

artists to share and participate. 

One key element is that interest in the Fleet Street project has 

leveraged opportunities for both the artists who have worked on 

the project and members of the community as well. One of these 

is Life Yard, an ital (i.e. vegetarian) cookshop that operates just 

across the street from the warehouse. Apart from benefitting 

from patronage by visitors to the mural, Life Yard has also been 

hired to cater events outside the neighbourhood. 

And members of the community are getting exposure and 

making connections and gaining opportunities previously 

closed off to them, because of the music videos and photo shoots 

taking place there. “There are a lot of artistic people in the 

community, and they’ve been practicing their craft long before 

Paint Jamaica is more 

a movement than a 

foundation, but its 

foundations are rock solid: 

using art to create and 

inspire change 

how to run art projects aimed at stimulating 

development. 

Yet, despite the project’s success, Paint 

Jamaica has been deliberately slow in proliferation 

across the island. “It was alluring to go everywhere, but it was 

also beautiful to stay there and watch the community grow,” 

McCarthy says. “Many people consider me a painter, but I 

personally consider myself a social engineer.” 

Interestingly, Paint Jamaica was born after the police had 

systematically removed murals of fallen “dons” from the walls 

of several communities throughout Kingston. McCarthy admits 

that the decision to pursue the project was a direct response 

to that. “We try to do things that will have an impact because 

they are a response to other things that are happening,” he says. 

“This project is a very diplomatic project. We don’t do anything 

because we think it should be done, we do it because we feel it 

must be done. The neglect was unreasonable. I don’t think any 

community should suffer from this kind of neglect.” 

For Paint Jamaica, its greatest impact will not simply be how 

it transforms one community, but rather how it inspires others 

to do the same. “I want to make sure that every artist feels the 

current of this project,” McCarthy says, “that they can do this 

too. We were just a set of average Joes on Facebook.” n 


GREEN 

Progress 

report 

Over the past twenty-five years, 

Caribbean Beat has frequently reported on 

environmental projects across the region. 

But what’s the real state of progress when 

it comes to protecting our natural resources, 

our coastlines and reefs, the air we breathe 

and water we drink? Nazma Muller talks 

to two experts about the lie of the land — 

The Caribbean is treasured 

and revered globally 

as one of the world’s 

most biologically diverse 

regions, with more than 

twelve thousand marine 

species, ten per cent of the world’s coral 

reefs, and fifteen thousand plant species. But 

the last quarter century has seen significant 

damage to our natural environment, as a 

result of increased industrialisation and 

automation, the use of chemicals and 

toxins, and consumption of commodities 

like plastics, electronics, appliances, 

Styrofoam, meat, and packaging. 

Fortunately, the Caribbean has also 

made huge strides in raising awareness 

of the effects our human activities 

are having on our once-pristine 

and the way forward 

Photography by Gail Johnson/Shutterstock.com 

waters, as well as our air, land, and 

wildlife. Across the region, more of our 

people are beginning to comprehend 

the true extent of the vulnerability of 

our coastlines and the mounting threats 

they face, particularly climate change. 

Ocean warming and acidification have 

contributed to a dramatic loss of coral 

reefs, which are invaluable habitats for 

fish and other marine life. 

“We are seeing so much contamination 

of our water, air pollution — and flooding 

is becoming more frequent because of 

natural disasters, so there is greater 

awareness by politicians and decisionmakers 

about environmental issues,” 

explains Christopher Corbin, programme 

officer for the Caribbean Environment 

Programme. CEP was established by the 

United Nations Environment Programme 

(UNEP) in 1981, within the framework of 

its Regional Seas Programme. 

“Up until more recently, a lot of the 

environmental issues were communicated 

in a scientific way,” Corbin adds. “It’s been 

all the things that the public should not 

do, and not necessarily providing them 

with alternatives. Gradually, we are 

seeing a lot more participatory planning, 

so we are moving in the right direction.” 

For the Caribbean private sector, 

engagement in environmental issues has 

not been driven by government policy 

and enforcement, says Corbin. Caribbean 

governments have lagged behind in 

implementing policies to protect the 

environment. Tourism has been a doubleedged 

sword for many of our territories, 

further burdening inadequate solid waste 

management and sanitation systems. 

“But they are becoming more aware of 

their impact on the environment,” Corbin 

says. “Hotels that want to attract a certain 

kind of visitor are moving to incorporate 

sustainable practices on their properties 

— for example, they will do what is 

necessary by international standards to 

be deemed ‘green.’ They are recognising 

the benefits of going green.” 

As our regional economists better 

comprehend the effects of environmental 


Mangrove-lined seashore in Bonaire 

accounting, we are seeing the private 

sector make an effort to incorporate 

practices such as reusing waste water 

and cutting down on packaging. It’s 

simply not in their interest to have a dirty 

beach, polluted waters, or dead reefs. 

But “the industrial land-based private 

sector still needs a lot more work,” 

Corbin says. Governments have a very 

important role to play — by offering 

certain incentives to undertake pollution 

prevention measures, such as retrofitting 

factories and implementing disincentives 

to waste production. 

While it’s imperative to find 

economic opportunities for 

our people, in the face of 

limited resources, high debt ratios, and 

vulnerabilility to natural disasters, much 

can be done by focusing on the type of 

development agenda Caribbean countries 

subscribe to, Corbin believes. And, he 

says, our governments are beginning 

to articulate their interest in a “blue 

economy” and a “green economy.” “We 

are seeing a new kind of thinking,” he 

says. “What we need now are land use 

development plans that maximise what 

developed countries have already started 

to do — urban farms, clean energy, etc. We 

need to be more open and imaginative, but 

we also need to have better enforcement 

of laws that protect the environment.” If 

policies aren’t enforced, Corbin says, it’s 

not going to work. 

For most countries in the region except 

oil- and gas-rich Trinidad and Tobago, the 

costs of continued use of fossil fuels are 

a major issue, Corbin says. “We have 

thermal, solar, and wind energy in use 

already in the Caribbean. There is a real 

opportunity for us to embrace alternative 

energy and move forward.” 

Considering the big-picture question of 

climate change, Donna Blake, the Nature 

Conservancy’s Jamaica programme 

director, is hopeful. “Governments 

and communities are taking action to 

proactively address the challenges of 

climate change,” she says. She points out 

that at the regional level the establishment 

of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) 

Climate Change Centre, which focuses 

solely on climate change education and 

adaptation projects, is a noteworthy 

advance. 

The Nature Conservancy itself has 

designed programmes to work with coastal 

communities facing climate-related risks. 

“At the Water’s Edge,” a collaborative 

project with the International Federation 

of the Red Cross, builds resilience in 

communities in Grenada and St Vincent 

and the Grenadines by empowering 

people to assess the social, ecological, 

and economic risks of climate change, 

and make informed decisions about how 

to use their resources sustainably. The 

initiative provides decision-making tools 

and training for nature-based climate 

resilience strategies, such as coastal 

mangrove restoration. 

“It’s easy to take nature for granted, and 

all that it provides us in the Caribbean,” 

Blake says. “But when threats become 

apparent and natural disasters grow 

more prevalent, we quickly and sharply 

feel the loss of security in our natural 

environment that we may have once felt.” 

Her experience suggests that as 

people learn more they find their voice 

Across the Caribbean, more of our people are 

beginning to comprehend the true extent of the 

vulnerability of our coastlines 

and are able to be involved in solutions. 

They have the information to support, 

or question if needs be, decisions made 

by governments and the private sector, 

because they understand the long-term 

implications of changes to policy or 

business practices. “Moving forward, I 

believe people will have the knowledge 

to drive sufficient demand for cleaner 

energy, more efficient use of resources, 

and climate-adaptive policies regarding 

coastal development, tourism, and 

fishing. So in another twenty-five years, 

the human footprint across the Caribbean 

will take a far more sustainable shape.” n 


on this day 

Calypso with a 

conscience 

Celebrating his ninetieth birthday 

this year, Harry Belafonte has 

built a stellar career around 

two themes that may at 

first appear at odds: 

popular entertainment 

and political activism. As 

James Ferguson explains, 

both aspects are rooted 

in Belafonte’s Jamaican 

background and his early 

years in Kingston 

Illustration by Rohan Mitchell 

In 1956, the year in which Elvis Presley topped the US 

singles chart with “Heartbreak Hotel”, America’s bestselling 

album was neither by Presley nor by the likes of Little 

Richard or Chuck Berry — but by a rather more unlikely 

superstar. Harry Belafonte’s Calypso remained at number 

one for thirty-one consecutive weeks, and was the first LP 

in US history to sell more than a million copies. The improbability 

of its success lay not in the artist’s talents (the good-looking 

and suave Belafonte was a consummate crooner), but more in the 

fact that the album showcased aspects of what was then littleknown 

Caribbean popular culture — and that the performer was 

an American-born political militant close to Martin Luther King, 

Jr, and the communist sympathiser Paul Robeson. 

The two main themes of Belafonte’s long and distinguished 

career — entertainment and activism — may at first glance 

appear contradictory. Surely the superficiality of popular music 

and Broadway offers a bad fit with the seriousness of the struggle 

for civil rights and socialism? Not necessarily. Both sides of 

Belafonte’s life can be traced back to his early years in New York 

and Jamaica, and both are very much interrelated. 

Harold George Bellanfanti was born ninety years ago this 

month, on 1 March, 1927, in Harlem. His parents were both 

of Jamaican origin: his maternal grandparents were a black 

sharecropper from St Ann parish and a white woman of Scottish 

descent, while his father’s parents were a black Jamaican 

woman and, in Belafonte’s own words, “a white Dutch Jew who’d 

drifted over to the islands after chasing gold and diamonds, 


with no luck at all, in the newly formed colonies of West Africa.” 

The family was thus a microcosm of the Caribbean melting pot 

formed by generations of migration and slavery, and the young 

Belafonte was brought up aware of all the nuances of colour to 

be found in the region. 

In her book Becoming Belafonte, Judith E. Smith describes 

the daily hardships of poverty and racism confronting young 

Harry and his parents, Millie and Harold, Sr, in 1930s New York. 

Work was precarious, accommodation often squalid, and after 

a younger brother, Dennis, was born, Harry’s father began to 

distance himself from the family. As illegal migrants, they lived 

in fear of deportation, and the name Bellanfanti was changed 

to Belafonte to throw immigration agents off the scent. Fearful 

for her older son in a climate of rising racial tension, Millie sent 

him to her mother in Jamaica for a year in 1934. Then in 1936, 

as the Depression intensified, Millie took her two sons back to 

Jamaica again, enrolling them in separate schools, where they 

would stay until 1940. 

This early experience was to prove life-changing. Far from 

the raucous street life of Harlem, Belafonte was subjected 

to the stifling conformity of British colonial society and its 

anachronistic education system. He was, writes Smith, forced to 

eat in the kitchen when guests came to dinner at his aunt’s house, 

considered too dark-skinned for polite society. To this ostracism 

was added his witnessing of woeful social conditions, the labour 

strikes in Kingston in 1938 (“a violent peasant uprising,” he said), 

and their inevitable repression. 

Even as Harry Belafonte was 

introducing an often suspicious 

American public to a non-white 

world, he was subtly challenging 

any misconceptions about the 

Caribbean 

But if Belafonte’s sense of injustice was fuelled by these years, 

so too was his appreciation of the Caribbean’s diverse musical 

landscape. Kingston was alive with music, particularly mento, 

the gentle acoustic predecessor of ska that was loved by cruise 

ship tourists. There was also calypso from Trinidad, enormously 

popular in Jamaica, and full of acerbic political commentary. 

Belafonte had previously been fascinated by the swing music of 

Duke Ellington and New York’s vibrant black culture, and now 

he experienced at first hand the sounds of the Caribbean and 

South America. 

Returning to Harlem aged thirteen, Belafonte again faced 

poverty and prejudice. He dropped out of school, did menial 

jobs, and eventually enlisted in the navy. A chance encounter 

led him to watch a performance by the American Negro Theatre. 

Friendly with Bahamian Sidney Poitier, he studied acting at New 

York’s prestigious New School (where contemporaries included 

Poitier, Walter Matthau, and Marlon Brando). This he paid for by 

singing in clubs. His first single, “Matilda”, was a hit calypso of 

1953, in which he lamented: “Hey! Ma-til-da; Ma-til-da; Ma-tilda, 

she take me money and run a-Venezuela.” 

It was the million-selling album of three years later, however, 

that earned him the title of “King of Calypso” — a title with 

which he admitted he felt uneasy. The songs on the Calypso LP, 

he pointed out, “weren’t calypso at all — even though everybody 

seems to have hung that tag on them.” And he was an American, 

not a Trinidadian — the true prerequisite for calypso royalty. 

More particularly, his signature song, “Day-O (The Banana 

Boat Song)”, may have been thought of as a calypso, but in reality 

its roots lay in mento and, further back, as a traditional call-andresponse 

folk song performed by Jamaica’s banana workers as 

they loaded the cargo onto United Fruit boats. The song records 

the workers’ fatigue after a night’s work, their desire to go home, 

and their impatient wait for “Mister tally man” to record their 

work rate and pay: 

Work all night on a drink of rum 

Daylight come and me wan’ go home 

Stack banana till de mornin’ come 

Daylight come and me wan’ go home 

Far from repeating the clichés of the Caribbean idyll, the song 

evoked a gruelling and thankless job where the “deadly black 

tarantula” posed a real threat. In this sense, while spectacularly 

successful in commercial terms, it also introduced the listener to 

a world in which poverty and hard work coexisted. 

Nor did the 1957 film Island in the Sun, in which Belafonte 

appeared and sang the title song, present a sugar-coated version 

of the Caribbean. The film explores the political and racial 

tensions between the old colonial order and a newly powerful 

nationalist movement exemplified by Belafonte’s ambitious 

character, the politician David Boyeur. Again, the song is less 

about “paradise” than tough economic reality: 

I see woman on bended knee 

Cutting cane for her family 

I see man at the waterside 

Casting nets at the surging tide 

Even as Harry Belafonte was introducing an often suspicious 

American public to a non-white world, he was subtly 

challenging any misconceptions about the Caribbean. In 

a 2006 interview with the BBC, he remarked, “When I did the 

‘Banana Boat Song’, for instance, that wasn’t just looking for a 

hit. What it did talk about was the working-class struggles of the 

people working on the plantations.” “Island in the Sun”, he added, 

“had content that talked about struggle.” 

As an activist whose anger shows no sign of abating (ask 

Donald Trump), Harry Belafonte reminds us that it is possible 

to mix politics with entertainment, and that popular culture 

can be a powerful ideological force. His extraordinary career, 

encompassing a wide spectrum of artistic performance, 

provides ample proof of the transformative power of both words 

and music. n 


puzzles 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 

CARIBBEAN CROSSWORD 

Across 

1 It’s Caribbean Beat’s 25th! [11] 

6 A shorter Robert [3] 

8 Put off [8] 

9 Garlicky Italian shrimp [6] 

11 Code of conduct [5] 

12 Kidneys’ waste removal [9] 

13 Metabolic rate [5] 

14 West Indians who live elsewhere [8] 

17 Guyana’s biggest freshwater fish [8] 

19 Have in one’s possession [3] 

22 Spring flowers [9] 

24 Semi-precious stone [5] 

26 Not awake [6] 

27 Closing [8] 

28 It opens a lock [3] 

29 Caribbean Beat’s original cover subject [6,5] 

8 9 

10 

11 12 

13 14 15 

16 

17 18 19 20 

21 

22 23 24 25 

26 27 

Down 

1 Spanish Andrew [5] 

2 V-shaped cuts [7] 

3 Chicken pox [9] 

4 Monkey business in the blood [6] 

5 Agave plant [5] 

6 Italian baby [7] 

7 Trinidad’s most famous cricketer [5,4] 

28 29 

10 Brilliantly coloured [5] 

13 This runs along Barbados’s south 

coast [9] 

15 Baseball position [9] 

16 Scope [5] 

18 Appallingly [7] 

20 Of a wedding [7] 

21 It makes breathing difficult [6] 

23 Unhealthily overweight [5] 

25 The oldest Marley brother [5] 

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE 

There are 8 differences between these two pictures. How many can you spot? 

by Gregory St Bernard 

Spot the Difference 

answers 

Mountain range is higher; 

treetops are lower; sunglasses 

are added; colour 

of t-shirt is changed from 

yellow to white; colour of 

glove is different; backpack 

is bigger; buckle on 

right backpack strap is 

higher; belt buckle is different; 

pants are shorter. 


WORD SEARCH 

abeer 

apology 

ball 

bat 

batik 

Bequia 

blues 

cave 

cover 

curry 

Elizabeth 

football 

frog 

gap 

goat 

Guyana 

Holi 

lagoon 

Machel 

mangrove 

mistake 

mural 

oopsie 

painter 

Pakaraima 

Reggae Boyz 

rocket 

roti 

sail 

silver 

spice 

sprinter 

surfing 

Suriname 

sustainable 

wickedness 

wicket 

yacht 

R E V L I S X C U R R Y Q E M 

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C R T G G N C A P B A E G S R 

S U S T A I N A B L E T O S F 

I M I L W R O T I N B N L E I 

T E M E G P W H O R O I O N N 

H I B H N S M O O H Y A P D G 

C S E C I X G C H L Z P A E A 

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Y O U M L E V O R G N A M C E 

F O I H T E B A Z I L E S I E 

L L A B T O O F B A T I K W R 

H E M A N I R U S G U Y A N A 

Caribbean Beat Magazine 


Sudoku 

by www.sudoku-puzzle.net 

Fill the empty square with numbers 

from 1 to 9 so that each row, each 

column, and each 3x3 box contains 

all of the numbers from 1 to 9. For 

the mini sudoku use numbers from 

1 to 6. 

If the puzzle you want to do has 

already been filled in, just ask your 

flight attendant for a new copy of the 

magazine! 

Sudoku 9x9 - Puzzle 2 of 5 - Very Easy 

Hard 9x9 sudoku puzzle 

6 4 3 7 5 

1 8 

2 9 6 7 

1 4 3 6 9 2 

2 7 

7 5 9 2 3 4 

6 9 3 1 

7 5 

9 8 1 4 6 

www.sudoku-puzzles.net 

Sudoku 6x6 - Puzzle 1 of 5 - Medium 

Easy 6x6 mini sudoku puzzle 

5 

2 1 

6 5 

3 6 

3 4 

6 3 


www.sudoku-puzzle.net 

Solutions 

Caribbean Crossword 

Word Search 

E Y 29 E U Z H A N P A L C Y 

L L S M O A G 

S L E E P 27 S H U T T I N G 

W U B T T S T I 

Sudoku 


Mini Sudoku 

Sudoku 6x6 - Solution 1 of 5 - Medium 

Sudoku 9x9 - Solution 2 of 5 - Very Easy 

4 1 2 6 3 5 

5 6 3 4 2 1 

6 8 1 4 3 7 2 9 5 

5 7 4 2 9 1 8 6 3 

3 2 9 6 5 8 7 4 1 

R E V L I S X C U R R Y Q E M 

E R E T F R E B A T E V A C T 

A 

1 

1 4 8 3 7 6 9 5 2 

2 9 3 1 4 5 6 8 7 

7 6 5 9 8 2 1 3 4 

4 5 6 7 2 9 3 1 8 

8 1 7 5 6 3 4 2 9 

9 3 2 8 1 4 5 7 6 


D 

8 

N 2 N I 3 V E 4 R S A R 5 Y 

6 B O 7 

B 

N O A H U A R 

E T E R R E D 9 S C A M P I 

R C I S 10 V C B A 

6 2 5 1 4 3 

1 3 4 5 6 2 

3 4 1 2 5 6 

2 5 6 3 1 4 

E 

11 

B 

13 

T H I C 12 U R I N A T I O N 

E E S V N L 

A S A L 14 D I A 15 S P O R A 

O L 16 A D H R 

A 

17 

R 18 A P A I M A 19 O W N 

R W B 21 A R U 

20 A 

A F F 23 O D I L S 24 T O P A 25 

Z 

K 

28 

A 

26 

D 

22 

V L K A R E S U E D G V R I S 

O A A O O T O K L A G R Y P U 

C R T G G N C A P B A E G S R 

S U S T A I N A B L E T O S F 

I M I L W R O T I N B N L E I 

T E M E G P W H O R O I O N N 

H I B H N S M O O H Y A P D G 

C S E C I X G C H L Z P A E A 

H E M A N I R U S G U Y A N A 

L L A B T O O F B A T I K W R 

F O I H T E B A Z I L E S I E 

Y O U M L E V O R G N A M C E 

A P Q A P A K A R A I M A K B 


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+ 800 744 2225 (toll free) 

Ticketing: VC Bird International Airport 

Hours: Mon – Fri 8 am – 4 pm 

Baggage: + 268-480-5705 Tues, Thurs, Fri, Sun, 

or + 268 462 0528 Mon, Wed, Sat. 

Hours: Mon – Fri 4 am – 10 pm 

Barbados 

Airport: Grantley Adams International 

Reservations & information: 1 246 429 5929 / 

1 800 744 2225 (toll free) 

City Ticket Office: 1st Floor Norman Centre Building, 

Broad Street, Bridgetown, Barbados 

Ticket office hours: 6 am – 10 am & 11 am – 

7 pm daily 

Flight Information: + 1 800 744 2225 

Baggage: + 1 246 428 1650/1 or + 1 246 428 7101 

ext. 4628 

Grenada 

Airport: Maurice Bishop International 

Reservations & Information: 

1 800 744 2225 (toll free) 

Ticketing: Maurice Bishop International Main 

Terminal 

Baggage: + 473 439 0681 

Jamaica (Kingston) 

Airport: Norman Manley International 

Reservations & information: + 800 523 5585 (International); 

1 888 359 2475 (Local) 

City Ticket Office: 128 Old Hope Road, Kingston 6 

Hours: Mon-Fri 7.30 am – 5.30 pm, 

Saturdays 10 am – 4 pm 

Airport Ticket Office: Norman Manley Airport 

Counter #1 

Hours: 3.30 am – 8 pm daily 

Baggage: + 876 924 8500 

Jamaica (Montego Bay) 

Airport: Sangster International 


+ 800 744 2225 (toll free) 

Ticketing at check-in counter: 

8.30 am – 6 pm daily 

Baggage: + 876 363 6433 

Nassau 

Airport: Lynden Pindling International 

Terminal: Concourse 2 

Reservations & information: + 1 242 377 3300 

(local) 

Airport Ticket Office: Terminal A-East Departure 

Hours: Flight days – Sat, Mon, Thurs 10 am – 4 pm 

Non-flight days – Tues, Wed, Fri 10 am – 4 pm 

Flight Information: + 1 242 377 3300 (local) 

Baggage: + 1 242 377 7035 Ext 255 

9 am – 5 pm daily 

St Maarten 

Airport: Princess Juliana International 

Reservations & information: + 1721 546 7660/7661 

(local) 

Ticket office: PJIA Departure Concourse 

Baggage: + 1721 546 7660/3 

Hours: Mon – Fri 9 am – 5 pm / Sat 9 am – 6 pm 

St Lucia 

Airport: George F L Charles 

Reservations & information: 1 800 744 2225 

Ticket office: George F.L. Charles Airport 

Ticket office hours: 10 am – 4 pm 

Baggage contact number: 1 758 452 2789 

or 1 758 451 7269 

Tobago 

Airport: ANR Robinson International 

Reservations & information: + 868 660 7200 (local) 

Ticket office: ANR Robinson International Airport 

Baggage: + 639 0595 / 631 8023 

Flight information: + 868 669 3000 

NORTH AMERICA 

Fort Lauderdale 

Airport: Hollywood Fort Lauderdale International 

Reservations & information: + 800 920 4225 

(toll free) 

Ticketing: Terminal 4 – departures level (during 

flight check-in ONLY – 7.30 am to 7 pm) 

Baggage: + 954 359 4487 

Miami 

Airport: Miami International 


(toll free) 

Ticketing: South Terminal J – departures level (during 

flight check-in ONLY – 12 pm to 3.00 pm); 

Baggage: + 305 869 3795 

Orlando 

Airport: Orlando International 


+ 800 920 4225 (toll free) 

Ticketing: Terminal A – departures level 

(during flight check-in ONLY – Mon/Fri 11:30 am 

– 2.15 pm) 

Baggage: + 407 825 3482 

New York 

Airport: John F Kennedy International 


(toll free) 

Ticketing: Concourse B, Terminal 4, JFK 

International – open 24 hours (situated at departures, 

4th floor) 

Baggage: + 718 360 8930 

Toronto 

Airport: Lester B Pearson International 


(toll free) 

Ticket office: Terminal 3 

Ticketing available daily at check-in counters 

422 and 423. Available 3 hours prior to 

departure times 

Baggage: + 905 672 9991 

SOUTH AMERICA 

Caracas 

Airport: Simón Bolívar International 


+ 58 212 3552880 

Ticketing: Simón Bolívar International Level 2 – 

East Sector 

Hours: 7 am – 11 pm 

City Ticket Office: Sabana Grande Boulevard, 

Building “Galerias Bolivar”, 1st Floor, office 11-A, 

Caracas, Distrito Capital 

+ 58 212 762 4389 / 762 0231 

Baggage: + 58 424 1065937 

Guyana 

Airport: Cheddi Jagan International 


(toll free) 

Ticket office: 91-92 Avenue of the Republic, 

Georgetown 

Baggage: + 011 592 261 2202 

Suriname 

Airport: Johan Adolf Pengel International 

Reservations & information: + 597 52 0034/0035 

(local); 1 868 625 6200 (Trinidad) 

Ticket Office: Paramaribo Express, N.V. Wagenwegstraat 

36, Paramaribo 

Baggage: + 597 325 437

For more information, visit us at caribbean-airlines.com/cargo

737 onboard Entertainment — MARCH/APRIL 

Northbound 

Southbound 

M A R C H 

Doctor Strange 

Marvel Studios’ Doctor Strange follows surgeon Stephen 

Strange after an injury leads him to discover powerful magic in a 

far-off, mysterious place. 

Benedict Cumberbatch, Mads Mikkelsen, Tilda Swinton • director: Scott 

Derrickson • action, adventure • PG-13 • 115 minutes 

Mr Church 

A unique friendship develops when a little girl and her dying 

mother retain the services of a talented cook — Henry Joseph 

Church. 

Eddie Murphy, Britt Robertson, Natascha McElhone • director: Bruce 

Beresford • drama • PG-13 • 104 minutes 

Northbound 

Southbound 

A P R I L 

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 

An orphaned boy named Pete embarks on an adventure with his 

best friend Elliot, who just so happens to be a dragon. 

Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler • director: David Yates • 

action, adventure • PG-13 • 128 minutes 

Moana 

An adventurous teenager, with help from demigod Maui, sails 

out on a daring mission to prove herself a master wayfinder and 

save her people. 

Auli’i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Rachel House • directors: Ron Clements, 

John Musker • comedy, adventure • PG • 103 minutes 

Audio Channels 

Channel 5 • The Hits 

Channel 7 • Concert Hall 

Channel 9 • Irie Vibes 

Channel 11 • Kaiso Kaiso 

Channel 6 • Soft Hits 

Channel 8 • East Indian Fusion 

Channel 10 • Jazz Sessions 

Channel 12 • Steelband Jamboree

www.caribbeanairlinesdutyfree.com

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Photography by André Phillip 


Partnering with 

Caribbean Airlines and RBC sign new agreement 

continuing 10 year relationship 

January 12th, 2017 marked a significant 

milestone in the decade-long relationship 

between RBC Royal Bank Limited and 

Caribbean Airlines Limited when the 

extended agreement between the two 

entities was signed. 

This agreement further highlights the 

partnership of two strong, well-established 

brands in the Caribbean: RBC which has 

operated in the Caribbean for more than 

100 years and Caribbean Airlines which has 

been recognized for the sixth consecutive 

year as the “Caribbean’s Leading Airline” 

at the Annual World Travel Awards. 

Chief Executive Officer of RBC Financial 

Caribbean Limited, Rob Johnston, said: 

“The renewal of this great partnership is a 

significant one for RBC as it represents our 

commitment to our clients and to 

delivering improved products and services 

that cater to their evolving needs. We are 

proud of our relationship with Caribbean 

Airlines, another strong, regional brand 

which is committed to serving the people 

of both the Caribbean and the Caribbean 

diaspora.” 

Acting Chief Executive Officer of Caribbean 

Airlines, Captain Jagmohan Singh said: “As 

we celebrate our tenth anniversary in 2017, 

Caribbean Airlines is delighted to once 

again partner with RBC to deliver value to 

our customers. This partnership meets one 

of our key objectives of being customer 

focused, and improving the overall service 

offering to travelers.” 

In addition to the existing rewards 

programme, the new RBC Caribbean 

Airlines credit card will offer both retail and 

business clients premium benefits such as 

travel insurance, concierge services and 

other reward earning opportunities that 

will allow clients to redeem faster. 

Watch out for exciting changes to our RBC 

Caribbean Airlines credit card in 2017! 

Up, up and away – Captain Jagmohan Singh, CAL CEO (Ag) left, shares a 

moment in the cockpit with RBC CEO - Mr. Rob Johnston. 

An historical moment indeed – Captain Jagmohan Singh, CAL CEO (Ag) left 

renewed partnership. Looking on are the executive teams of both RBC and CAL. 

From right - Mr. Darryl White, RBC Managing Director (Trinidad & Tobago), 

Mr. Clayton Van Esch, Head, Products, Marketing & Channels, RBC Financial 

Caribbean , Mr. Sean Quong Sing, CAL V.P. Commercial (Ag) and Mrs. Alicia 

Cabrera, CAL Senior Marketing Manager. 

The sky is the limit – A proud moment for the Executive teams of RBC and CAL 

as they celebrate this partnership. 

® / Trademark(s) of Royal Bank of Canada. Used under licence.

Caribbean Beat — 25th Anniversary Edition — March/April 2017 (#144)

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