Caribbean Beat — March/April 2021 (#163)

HELP PROTECT THE FOOD SUPPLY AND

NATURAL BEAUTY OF THE CARIBBEAN

Declare

Agricultural

Items

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.com

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U.S. Department of Agriculture

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Caribbean Plant Health Directors Forum

28

ACROSS

3. The chosen spokesperson for the Don’t Pack a

Pest program.

6. Pests and disease can be transported through

_______.

9. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

conduct inspections at various _______ of entry

that are pathways for the introduction of pests and

disease.

11. Unsuspecting _______ bring in food, plants

and other agricultural items containing harmful

pests and diseases.

12. Approximately 50,000 species of plants and

animals have _______ the United States.

14. Any good that is made from animal or plant

materials is an _______ item.

16. Passenger _______ is a critical component of

the Don’t Pack a Pest program.

17. Visit DontPackaPest.com to _______ yourself

on prohibited items.

20. The global economy spends $1.4 trillion

annually combating _______ species.

21. Straw hats and other woven goods can carry

the red palm _______ which causes severe

damage to palms and banana trees.

23. Is the Caribbean spokesperson for the don’t

pack a pest program.

25. A _______ dog is trained to target a specific

odor, thereby locating prohibited items.

26. Unprocessed _______ like carved masks and

other handicrafts can potentially harbor invasive

insects.

27. The Asian citrus psyllid is a vector that

carries huanglongbing, also known as _______

greening disease and arrived in the U.S. on

imported items.

28. Help _______ our food supply.

29. Each year these types of pests destroy

about 13 percent of the U.S. potential crop

production, that’s a value of about $33 million.

DOWN

1. The giant African land _______ is one of the

most damaging pests in the world because it

consumes at least 500 types of plants, can cause

structural damage, and can transmit disease.

2. Even one piece of _______can transport

harmful pests.

4. If you do not declare agricultural items, you

can be subject to _______ between $1,100 and

$60,000.

5. An invasive species can be any kind of living

organism, or even an organism's seeds or eggsnot

native to an _______ and causes harm.

7. Before traveling with agricultural items you

should ask yourself can I _______ it?

8. _______ all food and agriculture items when

you enter the United States or other countries.

10. Agricultural risks grow with the ever increasing

amount of this.

13. The USDA and state departments of

agriculture work together to _______ introduced

pests.

15. All agricultural items are subject to _______,

to try and detect and prevent the unintentional

spread of harmful invasives.

18. An acronym meaning animal and plant health

inspection service.

19. More that 110 CBP agriculture _______ teams

provide screening for agricultural goods.

22. APHIS and PPQ are acronyms meaning

animal and plant health inspection service

and plant protection and quarantine which are a

part of what U.S. federal department?

24. When you travel please remember Don't

_______ a Pest!

25. On an typical day CBP inspectors will _______

352 pests at U.S. ports of entry and 4,638

quarantinable materials, including plants, meat,

animal byproducts, and soil.

ANSWER KEY

ACROSS 3. Linus 6. travel 9. ports 11. travelers 12. invaded 14. agricultural 16. awareness 17. educate 20. invasive 21. mite 23. Sassy 25. detector 26. wood 27. citrus 28. protect 29. insect

DOWN 1. snail 2. fruit 4. penalties 5. ecosystem 7. bring 8. declare 10. trade 13. eradicate 15. inspection 18. APHIS 19. canine 22. USDA 24. pack 25. discover

REINSTATING HEALTHY AND SAFE TRAVEL TO THE CARIBBEAN:

NOVEL CARIBBEAN TRAVELLERS HEALTH ASSURANCE

STAMP AND MOBILE APP

The Caribbean Public Health Agency

(CARPHA), through its innovative

Tourism/Traveller’s Health Program (THP),

funded by the Inter-American Development

Bank (IDB), is committed to protecting the

health and safety of travellers coming to the

Caribbean.

CARPHA, partnering with the Caribbean

Tourism Organization (CTO) and the

Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association

(CHTA) continues to elevate Caribbean

tourism by building traveller’s confidence

and reinstating healthy and safer travel to

the Caribbean during COVID-19 through:

Proactive COVID-19 Health

Measures for Reopening Tourism

Proactive COVID-19

Health Measures

Travellers Health

Assurance Stamp

Caribbean Travellers

Health Mobile App

Proactive COVID-19 Health Measures

Early warning and response

travel/tourism information system

Training in COVID-19 health measures

for the hospitality sector

Hospitality health safety and

environmental operational standards

Caribbean’s

Travellers Health

Assurance stamp for

Healthier Safer Tourism (HST)

Caribbean travellers now have the added

assurance of a healthier, safer option

when trying to use tourism facilities that

have the HST stamp.

The HST stamp is a unique,

measurable and verifiable

travellers health assurance

and recognition award for

tourism facilities that are

implementing the

recommended, proactive

COVID-19 health measures.

Caribbean Traveller's Health

Mobile App

This app is a multi-faceted, Caribbean

traveller’s health information repository,

designed for travellers and health and

tourism stakeholders.

Health information and travel requirements

by each Caribbean destination

Health alerts

Identification of facilities that has been

awarded the HST stamp

Download the app on Google Play and the Apple Store.

@CARPHATHP

@tourismandhealth_carpha

@CARPHA_THP

www.carpha.org/THP

1-868-612-1690 ext 40278

carpha-tourismandhealth@carpha.org

A MESSAGE From OUR CEO

As those of us who usually travel

frequently know well, absence does

indeed make the heart grow fonder.

I know many people are missing the

opportunity to travel as they usually do,

whether that’s for leisure or business,

to journey to fresh places or familiar,

meeting new friends or old.

Alongside the changes to our daily

lives, there are constant reminders

of the massive impact the pandemic

has had on the world, in lives lost

and economies ravaged. Not least on

the airline industry, which has seen

demand fall more than sixty per cent

year on year.

Despite this, Caribbean Airlines has

continued operations where possible,

and maintained our laser-like focus

on passenger and staff safety, with the

addition of a whole range of new practices

and protocols to ensure air travel

is as safe as it can be from the threat

of the coronavirus. Caribbean Airlines

continues to work closely with public

health authorities and international

bodies to make certain that the protocols

we follow are in line with international

best practices.

And, as the largest airline network in

the region, we continue to support the

Caribbean wherever we can, whether

providing repatriation flights to many

countries, or enabling the transport of

temperature-controlled shipments of

vaccine to the Caribbean from several

territories worldwide, including Europe,

India, and the United States.

Our cargo operations have been

even more essential during these difficult

times. Throughout the pandemic,

they have transported goods into and

out of the region, maintaining muchneeded

connectivity and commercial

links. The cargo team continues to offer

expansive global and regional connectivity

through our scheduled freighter

services, specially approved flights,

charter flights, and interline arrangements.

And, even while we had to drastically

reduce the number of passenger

flights, we have continued to add

new destinations to our network and

ensured our people and fleet are ready

to support the return to travel normality,

when it comes. This includes developing

our services further, with digital

improvements, ever-expanding cargo

offerings, and enhanced duty-free.

For our Caribbean Miles and Club

Members, the heart and soul of our

business, there is also good news.

Your loyalty means everything to us,

so we’ve made sure your benefits will

remain intact until 2022.

By then, of course, we hope the

fantastic progress on vaccines has

enabled our way of life and commerce

to truly kickstart recovery. Meanwhile,

wherever, whenever you are traveling‚

we wish you a safe and wonderful

experience, and thank you for choosing

Caribbean Airlines.

Garvin Medera

Chief Executive Officer

Contents

No. 163 • March/April 2021

40

32

EMBARK

10 Wish you were here

St John’s, Antigua

12 Need to know

Make the most of March and April,

even during the time of COVID-19

22 Bookshelf and playlist

Our reading and listening picks

ARRIVE

24 Explore

Barbados by road

The most fun way to experience the

natural beauty and cultural riches of

Barbados? A road trip. Here are three

itineraries featuring the best of Bim

32 Offtrack

Paria bound

Nixon Nelson hits the trail to Paria

Bay — one of the hidden treasures

of Trinidad’s north coast, a stunning

landscape of beaches, mountains, and

forests

40 Backstory

The miseducation of merle

hodge

Five decades after she made her

literary debut with the now-classic

Crick Crack, Monkey, the Trinidadian

author is about to publish her third

novel. She tells Andre Bagoo where

her interest in childhood stories

comes from

46 Bucket List

Waitukubuli Trail, Dominica

Explore the stunning Nature Island

through the Caribbean’s longest

hiking trail

48

48 Destination

Són City

Santiago, near Cuba’s eastern tip,

is the country’s most musical city,

writes Donna Yawching — and the

soundtrack moves to the beat of són

54 snapshot

Higher and higher

St Lucia’s most medalled athlete,

high jumper Levern Spencer, made

her debut two decades ago. But her

biggest victory may still lie ahead, says

Sheldon Waithe

64 DID you even know

Are you a book lover? Think you know

Caribbean literature inside out? Let

our trivia column put you to the test

6 WWW.CARIBBEAN-BEAT.COM

CaribbeanBeat

An MEP publication

Editor Nicholas Laughlin

General manager Halcyon Salazar

Design artist Kevon Webster

Production manager Jacqueline Smith

Web editor Caroline Taylor

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Tobago and International

Evelyn Chung

T: (868) 684 4409

E: evelyn@meppublishers.com

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Tracy Farrag

T: (868) 318 1996

E: tracy@meppublishers.com

Media & Editorial Projects Ltd.

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

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Cover Chalky Mount, a prominent natural

landmark along the East Coast Road in

Barbados

Photo Above Barbados

Printed by SCRIP-J, Trinidad and Tobago

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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 2021. 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

WWW.CARIBBEAN-AIRLINES.COM

7

Connected

by the sea

Marine biologist Anjani Ganase explains how Caribbean

countries are connected by the welfare of the region’s

unique coral reefs

What lies beneath our Caribbean Sea is an underwater carnival

like nothing most of us have ever seen. Described as

busy underwater metropoles by Sylvia Earle, one of the first

female ocean explorers, coral reefs fringe most coastlines within the tropics

around the world. Caribbean coral reefs, in particular, are distinct from

any others. They have evolved separately from reefs in the Indo-Pacific

region. Show any coral reef scientist photos of coral reefs around the

world, and they will pick out the Caribbean reef in an instant.

Typically, Caribbean reefs consist of some two hundred species of

reef-building coral, an array of large sponges, and giant swaying soft

corals that look like palm trees underwater. While Pacific reefs may have

over a thousand species of coral, Caribbean reefs – with fewer species

— grow three-dimensionally, with giant coral colonies that create magnificent

underwater sculptures, mini mountain ranges, and soft coral forests.

Caribbean reefs glisten under the ocean in shades of blue, green, and

brown, and, as you may guess, Caribbean reefs are home to unique fish,

adapted to live within our seascapes.

Coral reefs are not just a wonder to explore. Caribbean countries are

dependent on reefs as marine resources for fisheries, and for protecting

the coastline. These reefs are not only visitor attractions, they are an

untapped treasure trove for medicines and research. Caribbean territories

earn billions of dollars in revenue annually from tourism and food generated

from coral reefs. Yet very few Caribbean people — fewer than one

per cent — have ever experienced any underwater coral reef wonder for

more than a single breath. For this reason, Caribbean reefs, what they

look like, their importance and our impacts on them, are out of sight and

out of mind.

In the last fifty years, more than two thirds of Caribbean reefs have

become severely degraded. Many reefs are not managed for fisheries,

and are therefore over-exploited. Because island communities tend to

dwell near the coast, many habitats — such as beaches, and mangroves

that buffer the runoff of polluted water into the sea — have been altered

or removed completely. Whatever runs off our coastline gets flushed

directly onto coral reefs. As a result, many Caribbean reefs are impacted

by diseases exacerbated by global warming. The threat of climate change

to Caribbean coral reefs will precipitate a nearly complete loss (up to

ninety per cent) by 2050, unless there can be significant reduction in

carbon emissions, alongside more stringent measures for reef protec-

tion and management. Today, many Caribbean

islands are feeling the impacts on fisheries,

tourism, and coastal protection, and even their

social lifestyle.

Fortunately, it’s not all bad news. Years of

research have identified hope spots throughout

the Caribbean region where people have

learned to consider their marine environment as

part of the island ecosphere, and where governments

have started taking action to manage

and monitor reefs. There are many initiatives for

coral restoration as well. The Nature Conservancy

(nature.org), as one example, is working

with governments and communities across the

region to promote the protection of coral reefs

through the establishment of marine protected

areas, marine spatial planning, and conservation.

They used new satellite technology to map

coral reefs from thirty countries in the wider

Caribbean to support reef health monitoring and

management. Other research-based organisations

such as SECORE International

(secore.org) work on locations throughout the

Caribbean, including Curaçao, the Bahamas,

the Dominican Republic, and the US Virgin

Islands to implement restoration via coral breeding,

in order to build reef resilience against

climate change.

Caribbean people need to urgently speak out

for their reefs and the threat of climate change,

with one Caribbean voice. Caribbean nations

are connected by the same ocean and dependent

on the marine life in it, as well as common

cultural histories. Deepening the understanding

and sharing the relationship with the sea will

only improve our connections to each other,

fostering reliance and resilience. Let us use

these connections to learn together to protect,

preserve, and showcase Caribbean coral reefs.

Anjani Ganase is a marine biologist with a

special interest in coral reefs. She works with

the NGO SpeSeas (speseas.org) to improve

ocean conservation and awareness in Trinidad

and Tobago. Follow her on Twitter @AnjGanase

and Instagram @wildtobago.

This essay is part of a series reflecting on the

Caribbean Identity and what it can be.


9

wish you were here


St John’s, Antigua

Approaching Antigua and Barbuda’s capital from the

sea, you’re welcomed by the pastel-hued, perfectly

restored Georgian buildings of Redcliffe Quay, facing

the sheltered harbour. The twin towers of the Victorian

cathedral rise in the distance, overlooking the city,

where historic buildings are scattered among modern

structures. To learn more about the islands’ history, head

to the Museum of Antigua and Barbuda on Long Street,

in a former colonial courthouse.

Photography by Sean Pavone/Shutterstock.com

WWW.CARIBBEAN-AIRLINES.COM 11

NEED TO

KNOW

Essential info to help you make the most

of March and April — even in the middle of

a pandemic

Carole Anne Ferris/Alamy Stock Photo

Don’t

Miss

Kite

season

Dozens of kites dancing in the sky with

tails fluttering in the glorious breeze —

not to mention holiday-induced grins

on children’s faces — confirm it’s

Easter time. Trinidad’s Queens Park

Savannah, Barbados’s Garrison Savannah,

Grenada’s Fort Jeudy, Jamaica’s

Grizzly’s Plantation, Guyana’s Sea

Wall, and neighbourhoods around the

Caribbean are popular venues for kite

mania, at its height during the dry season.

Other traditional Easter activities

may not be possible during COVID-19

times, but the thrill of seeing your kite

soar aloft is perfectly suited to being

in the socially distanced outdoors —

whether you opt for a traditional hexagonal

kite handmade from paper and

cocoyea strips, or a fancy plastic model

bought at a toy shop.

Shelly-Ann Inniss

12

WWW.CARIBBEAN-BEAT.COM


Courtesy Neil Marshall

need to know

Word of Mouth

Little Thoughts on

Big Matters

Along with their ABCs and 123s, all school children should

know about the three Rs — reduce, reuse, and recycle, to cut

down on discarded waste that burdens and pollutes the natural

environment. In recent years, some Caribbean countries have even

banned single-use plastics, but this is just a start. We each have

to play our part for a cleaner, healthier world, says Maria Marshall

— an eleven-year old environmental advocate and perhaps the

youngest filmmaker in Barbados. Her multiple-award-winning

short film Little Thoughts on Big Matters has earned her global

recognition, including from Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley

and British actor and UNICEF Global Ambassador Orlando Bloom.

As we observe World Recycling Day on 18 March, Marshall tells

Shelly-Ann Inniss how recycling makes a difference

Are recycling, and

environmental mindfulness

generally, part of Barbadian

culture?

Yes, Barbadians tend to repurpose

items a lot, and this is noticeable with

the beautifully painted tyre gardens in

community parks and around homes.

Even at our schools you will see teachers

repurposing ice cream and formula

containers as crayon canisters.

At the government level, there are

signs, public service announcements,

numerous garbage bins, and posters

encouraging people to dispose of their

trash properly.

If you were a junior

environmental minister, what

are some activities or rules you

would implement?

With such a responsibility,and knowing

that most habits start at a very young

age, I would implement a new subject

within the school system that strictly

deals with environmental awareness.

Just as children learn maths and

English, they would learn how to

protect and care for their surroundings

and develop a thoughtfulness about

preserving the environment. The whole

world would benefit.

Do you have any favourite

items that you have up-cycled

or repurposed as a form of

recycling?

One of my favourite repurposed items

is a coconut shell. My aunt sometimes

makes coconut oil and uses a lot of

them. At my primary school, our theme

was “Go Nuts”, and each class had

to come up with an idea for how to

use materials from the coconut tree.

I decided to use the shells as small

hanging pots. Thirty students designed

and painted their own coconut hanging

pots and then planted small herbs in

them. It was so lovely to see all those

shells being used for something that

was beautiful and sustainable.

What tips do you have for

people who don’t know much

about recycling?

I think we make this thing seem

difficult, but it is actually easy.

Everyone can do it in their day-to-day

lives just by asking themselves some

simple questions: do I really need

to buy this right now or ever? Can I

repurpose this in some way? It is your

way of thinking about things that may

need a little tweaking. We only have

one earth, and we must all try our very

best to protect it.

Apart from your YouTube

channel, where can we tune

in for Little Thoughts on Big

Matters?

As much as my Little Thoughts on Big

Matters has travelled the globe, I am

still only eleven years old, and I have to

listen to my parents. So for now I am

only on YouTube, but hope to have my

new works showcased at various film

festivals locally, regionally, and hopefully

internationally.

You have been called the Bajan

Greta Thunberg. What does this

mean to you?

I am Barbados’s Maria Marshall. I believe

that we have the same hope of having

a safe, clean, and living Earth for all

people and animals, but I think our

approaches are different.

Watch Little Thoughts on Big Matters on YouTube at www.youtube.com/

watch?v=6dguJcEpC-s

14


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need to know

Must Try

St Lucian Easter treats

From bun and cheese in Jamaica to crab matoutou in Martinique, culinary treats

are a beloved Easter tradition across the Caribbean. So what do St Lucians look

forward to, come Easter weekend? Writer John Robert Lee, with help from his

wife Veronica, shares some of the island’s traditional Easter dishes with

Shelly-Ann Inniss.

Some Caribbean countries have

a go-to cookbook. Is there one

in St Lucia?

Our favourite St Lucian cookbook is

Manjé Kwéyòl: Food Culture in

St Lucia. It gives useful information

about how our food reflects Kwéyòl

culture, and provides recipes for

traditional foods and drinks.

What top Easter recipes does it

highlight?

Akwa lamowi — which are saltfish accra

or bakes — kolédé, and pennépis.

Kolédé is an accra made with a mixture

of small fish — for example, sardines,

or a tiny river fish called twi-twi caught

at the river mouth with baskets — and

flour batter.

And how would you describe

pennépis?

Pennépis, or “penny-a-piece” — or

“pain d’épice,” spice bread, as Derek

Walcott calls it in his poetry, using

the French spelling — with its strong

ginger taste was always a favourite

Easter treat — and still is. It is flat,

like a large brown wafer, crunchy, with

protuberances of the chips of ginger

over it. Some say the burning sensation

from the ginger will remind you of

Jesus’s pain and passion.

Do you have any fond memories

around cooking at Easter?

I’ll have to consult my wife Veronica for

her memories.

What does Veronica recommend

for an Easter snack?

She recommends the kolédé, also a

confectionary called konfiti patat, and

a drink called mango colada. All these

recipes are found in the Manjé Kwéyòl

cookbook, and no doubt familiar in

creative versions to our Caribbean

family. I’ll enjoy those, and some

pennépis.

Michelle Aleksa/Shutterstock.com

Pennépis

Ingredients:

½ lb flour

¼ lb sugar

½ cup water

¼ lb fresh ginger

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Combine sugar and water

in a pan. Simmer over medium

heat and stir until the sugar is

completely dissolved and forms a

syrup. Then allow mixture to cool.

Peel the light skin off the

ginger (you can do this easily

by scraping it with a small sharp

knife), wash, and grate finely, then

add ginger to flour.

Slowly add sugar syrup to flour

and ginger mixture and form into

dough. Do not make dough too

sticky.

Pull dough into two-inch

pieces, and using a rolling pin or a

clean one-quart bottle, roll into

paper-thin sheets.

Put rolled-out dough on

greased baking sheets and place

in oven. Pennépis are done when

they are golden brown, and you

have to constantly monitor them

because they cook very quickly.

Try placing just one sheet in the

oven at first — you may find you

can just about roll out one while

the previous one bakes. Don’t

let them overcook, or the sugar

might begin to taste bitter.

Source: islandeffect.com

16


need to know

Top Five

T&T’s NGC Bocas Lit Fest

thrives online

The past year has been a trial by fire — or, more literally, a trial by pandemic

— for Caribbean culture, as COVID-19 health regulations, lockdowns,

and travel restrictions have resulted in closed theatres and galleries,

cancelled concerts and festivals, and general hardship for many who work

in creative professions. But some art forms, it turns out, are well suited

to this new socially distanced life. Curling up with a good book has long

been a solo activity. And while booksellers in many parts of the world

report bumper sales figures, literary festivals like Trinidad and Tobago’s

NGC Bocas Lit Fest have temporarily reinvented themselves in a virtual

format, broadcasting online to regional and international audiences.

In its eleventh year, Bocas promises a full programme of online events

— from workshops and seminars aimed at budding authors to discussion

panels tackling topical issues, and the popular Bios & Bookmarks series,

broadcast on Sunday afternoons, where authors read from and discuss

their recent books. The highlight is a virtual festival on the weekend of

23 to 25 April, offering two and a half days of sessions where stories and

ideas from the Caribbean are front and centre. Here’s our pick of the 2021

NGC Bocas Lit Fest programme — and a sneak preview of what’s in store

for book lovers.

Writer Vahni Capildeo,

chief judge for the 2021

OCM Bocas Prize

The OCM Bocas Prize announcement

The most coveted annual award for Caribbean

literature recognises winners in categories for

poetry, fiction, and non-fiction — with an overall

winner to be announced by chief judge Vahni

Capildeo on the evening of Saturday 24 April.

Look out, too, for recorded readings by the

shortlisted writers.

Imagining the Caribbean future

A high-level debate on the festival’s Sunday

morning brings together a distinguished panel

representing politics, science, and economics

to consider the way ahead for the Caribbean,

and answer questions posed by young people

from across the region.

A landmark novel turns twenty-five

Published in 1996, the now classic novel Cereus

Blooms at Night by Trinidadian-Canadian

author Shani Mootoo broke barriers in placing

complex queer Caribbean characters at the

heart of a story about love and loss. A special

event marking the book’s quarter-century

anniversary brings its author together with

writers of a younger generation to discuss its

legacy.

Remembering “Shake” Keane

Vincentian icon Ellsworth “Shake” Keane, who

died in 1997, is remembered for both his music

— he was a celebrated jazz trumpeter — and his

poetry. Writer Philip Nanton brings him to life in

a new biography, celebrated with an evening of

poems and music.

Celebrating 2021’s new books

At the heart of the festival programme, authors

of new books share their words and discuss

their ideas. Look out for sessions focused on

historical fiction, contemporary noir, magic

realism, transnational family stories, and more.

Hayley Madden, courtesy Bocas Lit Fest

For more information on the NGC Bocas

Lit Fest, visit bocaslitfest.com. The 2021

festival programme will be launched in

March, and virtual events are streamed

at youtube.com/bocaslitfest and

facebook.com/bocaslitfest

18


need to know

Listen In

Everchanging

Amanda Choo Quan talks to Gillian Moor about the

T&T musician’s long-awaited album

“I’m honoured,” Gillian Moor responds. I’ve just thanked her

for the interview — one in which, in her soft but precise way,

she has guided me through her new album (“It’s the best

thing I ever made,” she states). In truth, I should have said

it first. Moor’s career started in 1992 as part of Homefront,

a trio making a name when rapso could sell out stadiums

in Trinidad and Tobago, and the Caribbean Sound Basin

studio was used to record music by the Notorious B.I.G. and

General Grant (instead of for, well, who knows?).

Despite the waxing and waning of T&T’s mainstream

interest in local, non-soca music, Moor has written and

performed on her own for a quarter of a century. She has

served as both griot and gatherer, turning venues into

confessionals with her raw kaiso-rock — and launching the

careers of others through Songshine, an open-mic series she

started in 2004 and paused in 2019 due to COVID. Musician

and actor Nickolai Salcedo has described it as his “first start.”

Documented sparingly, Moor’s songs have mainly been

the domain of the stage — ranging from sparkling numbers

performed acoustically at festivals (the folksy “Hold on

Tight”, for instance), to gritty, vulnerable feminist anthems

best heard at a club under cover of darkness (“Half a Heart”).

Everchanging, Moor’s new full-length album, is therefore

both retrospective and debut. “I have been in the space

so long, and yet . . .” she says. In the end, the album — the

summation of her career — was made possible partly by a

grant from the state-owned enterprise MusicTT, and partly

through extensive fundraising.

Finally released in July 2020, Everchanging is at once

intimate and political, truth-telling about the enduring

pain felt by society’s silenced (particularly by women and

the underclass). It’s also musically deft, steered by Moor’s

piercing vocals — rich and reminiscent of Lilith Fair — and

dipping into blues, funk, calypso, and hard rock. This is

all the work of Moor and her team, which includes the

producer Ravi Maharaj, a.k.a. a_phake, and musicians Joanna

Hussein and Jon Otway.

“When we crafted the order of songs, we wanted to take

people on a journey that would have a couple of unexpected

twists,” Moor explains. “Go dark at some point, come back

from that, show heartbreak, show anger, show despair. But

it always comes back to hope.” A standout is “Big Snake

(War on Crime)”, a rollicking protest anthem that borrows

melodically from extempo — replete with sly saxophone —

giving way to a harder, trickier rock rhythm over which Moor

wryly sings “We gonna lock up all them smokers / Kidnap

and murder stop / And give the police endless power / Trust

those cops.”

“Big Snake,” written long before Black Lives Matter, is

testament to the sticking power of astute songwriting. It

feels, as does the album, as though recorded live, bringing

to mind Moor lit up on stage, baring soul and teeth in a time

before. Let Everchanging tell us why it should not take a

pandemic to remember Trinidad’s surfeit of talent.

For more information about Everchanging, visit

www.gillianmoor.com

© copyright 2020 splice studios/abigail hadeed, courtesy gillian moor


need to know

Courtesy Akilah Watts

On View

New Barbadian

artists at CaFa

For ten years and counting, Barbados’s

Caribbean Fine Art Fair (CaFa) has

celebrated the region’s visual artists and

their role in the international art scene. The

fair — which runs this year from 10 to 24

March, virtually and in-person — showcases

individual artists and small thematic exhibits

by art galleries. One 2021 highlight is a nontraditional

exhibit curated by Zoe Osborne

of Mahogany Culture Collective, featuring

seven up-and-coming Barbadian artists

— Brandon K. Best, Alex Gibson, Housing

Area, Sydney McConney, Akilah Watts, Chris

Rocket, and John Alleyne — at the Exchange

Centre Gallery in Bridgetown. Diaspora

Dialogue, a CaFa signature exhibit, is also

scheduled, including a virtual panel. Look out

for work by Dominica’s Earl D. Etienne and

Puerto Rican Diogenes Ballester, alongside

global diaspora artists from Africa and the

United States, and exhibits from US-based

galleries Calabar and Ebony Art.

Among the emerging artists featured at

CaFa 2021 is Barbadian Akilah Watts, who

works in media including drawing, painting,

and sculpture. Her most recent works

touch on issues of race and culture, as well

as ideas of belonging and beauty

Left Just a Roll and Set

(2020, acrylic, 24 x 24 inches)

Below Fresh to Death

(2020, acrylic, 24 x 24 inches)

For more information about the CaFA programme and participating

artists, visit cafafair.com

Courtesy Akilah Watts

20


need to know

courtesy hairouna film festival

Word of mouth

Caribbean stories at the

Hairouna Film Festival

Vincentian filmmaker Aiko Roudette, director of the annual Hairouna Film

Festival, shares her perspectives on contemporary Caribbean film, as HFF makes

its virtual debut from 20 to 28 March

Each year, when reviewing films

submitted for consideration to be

screened at the Hairouna Film Festival,

we are filled with joy at what we

encounter: a flood of films from Trinidad

and Tobago, Cuba, St Lucia, Barbados,

Jamaica, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Dominica,

Martinique, Puerto Rico, and of course

St Vincent. Films that are brave, hilarious,

and strange. Some are comedies, some

are dramas, but they are all love letters

to our beautiful region, born from

the committed vision of a Caribbean

creative. Even those films that deal with

darker themes of corruption, envy, or

abuse promote ideas of a strength and

manner of dealing with hardship that is

uniquely Caribbean.

These are our Caribbean stories, and

they come from the heart of who we

are. In Mama’s Story from Barbadian

filmmaker Chukwuemeka Iweza — an

official selection for HFF 2021 — the

character Ms Unis acknowledges the

role of folktales in passing along cultural

realities.“Every folk song got a lil bit of

truth in it,” she says. Akin to a folktale

passed from ear to ear, film is our twentyfirst-century

way of transmitting and

creating our own cultural truth.

In the last decade, filmmaking

equipment has become more accessible

across the Caribbean, resulting in a

steady stream of cultural production

that honours, celebrates, and upholds

our region. This vision of Caribbeanness

brings us together to exchange ideas,

bonded through different perspectives

on shared experiences. It is the unifying

quality of these films that presents

us with great healing potential on a

personal and collective level.

One of the Hairouna Film Festival’s

main objectives is to spread this

potential to as many Caribbean people

as we can. We consider ourselves an

equal opportunities social impact

project. Our festival is entirely free,

happens outdoors in public places, and

travels to approximately eight different

Vincentian communities each year. In

2021, we will be virtual, which means

that even more people across the region

and the world will have the chance to

participate. Workshops, screenings, and

post-screening Q&As will be held online

at the end of March. This year, we will

also launch the first ever National Script

Writing Competition held in St Vincent

and the Grenadines, open to Vincentian

nationals, including those living in the

diaspora. Finalists will be invited to a

three-day writing residency where they

will get mentorship from top industry

professionals, and the winner will be

awarded funds and supported through

the production of their short film —

bringing another unique Caribbean story

into the world.

For more information about the 2021 Hairouna Film Festival and its virtual

programming, visit www.hairounaff.org


bookshelf

This month’s reading picks from the Caribbean

Reviews by Shivanee Ramlochan, Bookshelf editor

Inheritance: The

Story of a West Indian

Family

by Ian McDonald (Paria

Publishing, 88 pp, ISBN

9789768244437)

Prolific poet, essayist, and

fiction writer Ian McDonald

turns his attentions to

chronicling his redoubtable

family tree. What might

we expect from a veteran

Caribbean writer who

describes himself as

“Antiguan by ancestry,

Trinidadian by birth,

Guyanese by adoption,

West Indian by conviction”?

In Inheritance, the

worlds of McDonald’s

foremothers and -fathers

are peppered with exploits,

tales of warfare and

conquest, entrepreneurship

and landed interests. A

gold-hued plane propeller

hangs in pride of place

in St George’s Cathedral,

Antigua, a tribute to the

Royal Air Force hero after

whom the author is named.

Yet for every larger-thanlife

predecessor, this slim

volume heralds quieter

matriarchal lives, the vital

industry of women, and

the voices of those whose

records could not be

pristinely documented.

of colour

by Katherine Agyemaa

Agard (Essay Press, 180 pp,

ISBN 9781734498417)

“It is possible to spend

your entire life searching

for something that you

miss. / That thing can be

a colour.” To approach

of colour with a linear,

prescriptive architecture

of understanding is to be

dismayed. What Agard,

who has dual Ghanaian-

T&T citizenship, instead

presents is labyrinthine,

genre-combative meditations

on unbelonging, the

configurations of racial

identity both in and away

from “home,” and how the

self behaves when it is seeking

itself in art, politics, and

education. Drawing richly

on her family’s histories,

Agard summons visual

archives, chat exchanges,

historical documents, Peter

Doig’s Lapeyrouse Cemetery

paintings, and postage

stamps: all in service of

a visionary ethnography.

Braiding these cues, signifiers,

and markers is the

author’s disruptive, poetic

text, as confessional as it is

curious, as it is remarkably

urgent.

My Mother’s House

by Francesca Momplaisir

(Alfred A. Knopf, 304 pp,

ISBN 9780525657156)

In Haiti-born, US-based

Francesca Momplaisir’s dark

debut, the walls themselves

are scorched with terrors.

Wielding psychological

horror like a truncheon,

this tale of an immigrant

family’s settlement in New

York City twists conceptions

of expected diasporan

narratives, asking hard

and profound questions

about what it means to

belong, and to where.

Pushing anthropomorphic

tropes to grizzly limits,

Momplaisir rattles the

rafters of domestic safety,

casting the wildly unlikely

protagonist Lucien, whose

ambitions morph into his

own grotesque undoing

in the alleged land of milk

and honey. The house, La

Kay, is as important as the

family she holds within

her walls. Momplaisir

casts her scrutiny beyond

her inhabitants, creating

room in her dimensions for

wrenching reflections on

Amadou Diallo and Abner

Louima: both subjects of a

brutal America.

The Wondrous and

Tragic Life of Ivan

and Ivana

by Maryse Condé (World

Editions, 368 pp, ISBN

9781642860696)

Guadeloupean Maryse

Condé, who won the famed

2018 “alternative” Nobel

Prize (the New Academy

Prize in Literature), has

remarked that the win

placed Guadeloupe more

solidly on the global

cultural and literary map.

The Wondrous and Tragic

Life of Ivan and Ivana,

translated from the French

by Richard Philcox, plants

stakes in that specific firmament

of world literature, in

both satiric and subversive

flourishes. In Condé’s visioning

of the lives of fraternal

twins Ivan and Ivana lies

an energetic, compulsive

exploration of sibling interdependence

and aggressive

radicalisation, situated

at the divergent triplepronged

crossroads of faith,

mania, and superstition.

Guadeloupe and Mali are

front and centre, a canny

retooling of the canon to

signify the importance of

worlds outside the

Anglophone metropole.


playlist

This month’s listening picks from the Caribbean

Reviews by Nigel A. Campbell

Single Spotlight

Feel Good Playlist,

Vol. 1 – Stripped

Sessions

Kalpee (FVP Records)

When artists strip away the

production value of an album

— an “unstripped” EP of the

same name was released last

year — down to just voice and

one instrument, the listener

becomes part of an intimate

dialogue that can go either

good or bad. Bad is easy to

do, good takes work. Clearly,

Trinidadian singer Kalpee has

done the work to move the

five songs here away from

minimalist island pop infused

by his Caribbean accent and

modern mechanical riddims

towards a sonic profile that

suggests acoustic chill and

mature reflection. His voice is

direct and clear, juxtaposing

ideally with a guitar at its

reverberating best. Here is

a chance to do more than

just mentally “go tropical.”

Instead, listen to the angst

and ardour, the adoration

and apathy of Caribbean

youth. With musical cues

suggesting reggae — “Put a

Record On” hints boldly at

Marley’s “Three Little Birds”

— and calypso on “Climb”,

the singable lyrics resonate

universally.

Aftermath — Reprise

Payge Turner (Middleman)

A funny thing happened

some months ago. Trinidadborn

singer Payge Turner

— now based in Seattle, via

Kansas — entered the US

television competition The

Voice and blew the socks off

a nation. Not the US, yet, but

her own native land — with a

voice and posture that point

to great things, if curated

wisely. On her new single,

Turner mines her song catalogue

to reprise a ballad that

speaks to a kind of traumatic

loneliness: “Deep down you

cripple the feeling you’re losing

your mind / Damn, don’t

you replay the pulse of the

aftermath.” The song takes a

turn from its original acoustic

alternative/progressive vibe

to develop a more traditional

electric rock tinge, progressing

towards a denouement

that finds peace again. Turner’s

voice — which wowed a

nation, chauvinistic but clueless

of a career — shows signs

of power that transcends

the easy connection to a

soul singer’s sonority. Talk

about discovering anew, or

the Columbus effect — this

song reintroduces island

greatness.

América Vibra

Natiruts & Ziggy Marley,

feat. Yalitza Aparicio (Sony

Music Entertainment Brasil)

The ubiquity of reggae music

is cemented by the fact

that Brazilian reggae band

Natiruts (say “natty roots”)

asked Ziggy Marley, son of

the icon, to share the singing

credits on this trilingual

song asking for unity in the

Americas. Joining the singers

is Oscar-nominated Mexican

actress Yalitza Aparicio of

Roma fame, to speak into

existence the words that

open the song, in Spanish:

“We don’t want walls. We are

bridges.” Released on the day

Donald Trump stopped being

US president, this song is a

precursor of a kind of hope

for a renewed connection

within the Americas to values

that affect all. Social justice is

highlighted in English lyrics by

Marley, and in Portuguese by

Natiruts vocalist Alexandre

Carlo. “Our dreams are so

big,” he sings, “they can’t fit in

the cellars of this ignorance

/ And the awareness of what

we are and can be is the

fire of hope.” The idea of

consciousness, of messaging

the Third World, has always

been at the centre of reggae

music. This wins.

I’m Thinking You

Should

Will The Wolf feat. X.O.

Drew (On Lock Records)

During the COVID-19 pandemic

of 2020, island artists

and songwriters had time

to reflect. They had time

to record and rejig careers

to fit the new space where

audiences are now. The

evolved sensibility of singersongwriters,

capturing these

times in short sound bites,

is appealing. At just under

three minutes, this song —

which could be a cautionary

tale of breakup confusion

and remorse — serves up

an island pop groove that

belies the singer’s origins.

Will The Wolf has transformed

from one half of the

introspectively acoustic

Trinidad pop duo Buffalo &

Black to become more than

a voice, but an entertainer

also using the medium of

video to tell stories that tug

at heartstrings and show

sides of Caribbean life that

are sometimes beyond the

mainstream. With production

from Michael “Tano”

Montano, the song percolates

at a cool tempo with a

modern hip-hop groove.


explore

Barbados

by road

Barbados is world-famous for its spectacular

beaches — but when you’re ready to

experience the rest of the island’s natural

beauty and cultural riches, there’s no better

way than a road trip. A full gas tank, your

favourite playlist, and good vibes are all you

need to enjoy these three itineraries

Courtesy Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc.


The rugged coast at

Bathsheba, one of the

classic sights on a drive

along the east coast of

Barbados


25

If you have a

whole day . . .

Loud whistles and the clickety-clack of train wheels on a twenty-four-mile

track were once familiar sounds through Barbados’s dense canefields,

forests, and gullies. Evidence of the island’s Victorian railway — in operation

from 1883 to 1937— still spans the former route from Bridgetown to

Belleplaine in St Andrew parish. Here’s what you’ll find along the way.

Foursquare Rum Distillery and Heritage Park: cleanse

your palate with rum, the island’s pride and joy — after

Rihanna, of course. Lively insights about the rum-making process,

from sugarcane to bottle, never disappoint.

Neighbourhood rum shops: these watering holes pop up

along the journey, sometimes with smiling invitations to join

a friendly game of dominoes. A casual meal of local fare and a

rum punch are recommended for refuelling.

Sunbury Plantation House and Museum: constructed

in flint and other imported stone for one of the island’s first

colonial settlers, it’s the only great house in Barbados with all

rooms open for viewing.

Hackleton’s Cliff: perched a thousand feet above the sea,

with sweeping views of the east coast almost to the northern

tip of the island. Ask locals about the associated folktales,

which you’ll never forget.

The Soup Bowl: dramatic waves frilled with white foam are

ideal for surfing competitions in Bathsheba, on the island’s wild

east coast.

St Nicholas Abbey Heritage Railway: though not on the old

train route, this is a bonus for railway buffs. An actual steam

locomotive excursion takes you past the historic great house

and ends at Cherry Tree Hill.

st nicholas abbey

soup bowl

hackleton’s cliff

Sunbury plantation

rum shops

FourSquare


A rum tasting at historic

St Nicholas Abbey

Courtesy Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc.


27

If you have

half a day . . .

Treasure hunts are only for children — said no one. Barbados is

full of scenic vistas, and some say the landscape gets more picturesque

the further north you go. There’s plenty to discover —sometimes

just around the corner, and in sunken gardens, too.

Arlington House Museum: this elegant threestory

eighteenth-century house in Speightstown

is full of memories of Barbadian heritage, told

through interactive technology.

Barbados Wildlife Reserve: roam freely and at

your own pace, like the animals in their natural

habitat. Green monkeys rustling in the bushes,

birds tweeting to each other, and reptiles basking

in the sun are just some of the attractions at this

sanctuary in St Peter.

Farley Hill National Park: majestic in its glory

days, this hilltop mansion — now an awesome ruin

surrounded by mahogany woodlands — overlooks

the east coast. It’s a cosy and shady escape to

nature for a picnic, a wedding, and serenity.

Hunte’s Garden: once a natural limestone gully,

transformed in the 1950s into a lush utopia of miniature

secret gardens and rare exotic plants, best

admired on a stroll.

Arlington house

museum

barbados wildlife reserve

farley hill national Park

Hunte’s garden


A profusion of tropical

flora at Hunte's Garden

Simon Dannhauer/Shutterstock.com


29

If you have a

couple of hours . . .

If you have just a morning to spare, Bridgetown and its Garrison — a

UNESCO World Heritage Site — is a must-do. Explore the historic centre

of the island’s capital on foot, then head by car through the western outskirts

and along the south coast.

Agapey Chocolate Factory: from bean to

bar, pleasure your tastebuds with a tour of this

cocoa workshop on Hincks Street.

Wickham Lewis Boardwalk: a picturesque

gateway to the city’s Broad Street, bopping

catamaran cruises, and flight-seeing via helicopter

tours.

National Heroes Square: a prime stage for

cultural events in the city against a backdrop

of historic monuments and architecture,

including the nineteenth-century Parliament

Buildings.

Drill Hall Beach: just a stone’s throw from

the historic Garrison Savannah and its military

environs, tranquillity abounds — and so do

baby turtles scurrying to the sea.

agapey

chocolate

factory

National heroes

square

wickham lewis

boardwalk

bridgetown

Garrison

savannah

drill hall beach


National Heroes Square at

the heart of Bridgetown

AGF Sri/Alamy Stock Photo


31

offtrack

Ziad Joseph


Just south of Paria Bay,

a short hike into the

forest, the river takes a

plunge at Paria Falls

Paria

bound

Trinidad’s north coast, where

mountains tumble down to the sea, is

home to popular beaches like Maracas

and Las Cuevas — but also to littleknown

bays accessible only by hiking,

plus forest trails, waterfalls, and some

of the island’s most dramatic scenery.

Nixon Nelson heads out to Paria Bay,

one of the gems of the north coast


33

About an hour into the hike to Paria

Bay, I lost my sole. More precisely,

the sole of my left sneaker. Perhaps

it was not entirely unexpected. My

favourite and most comfortable

sneakers were at least eight years

old, visibly tattered, and I’d wondered if they were

up to one last big hike. The answer came on an uphill

stretch of the trail which recent rain had churned up

into a slick of mud.

Some prompt bush engineering was called for.

Luckily, my companions were an architect and a

designer. With a length of wiry vine, a shoelace

rejigging, and a few careful knots, my left sneaker

was soon sufficiently repaired to get me through

the rest of the day, and I could once more turn my

focus from the state of my footwear to the spiritraising

scenery of Trinidad’s north coast trail.

Trinidad’s Northern Range rises abruptly

from the sea, creating a dramatic

landscape of forested slopes, sheer rock

cliffs, and sandy bays

Ziad Joseph

Matthew Tung

In most Caribbean islands, you can follow

almost the entire coastline by paved road. But

thanks to overlapping quirks of geography and

history, the north coast of Trinidad — a fifty-mile

expanse between Scotland Bay in the west and

Point Galera in the east — is only partly accessible

by road. The island’s Northern Range rises abruptly

from the sea, creating a dramatic landscape of

forested slopes, sheer rock cliffs, and sandy bays,

but the mountains also cut off the north coast from

the populous plains to the south. In the nineteenth

century, as Trinidad’s agricultural economy shifted

from lowland sugar to hillside cocoa and coffee,

numerous small estates were established here,

connected to the capital, Port of Spain, by boat. But

the tiny villages and homesteads dotted along this


Preparing for the Paria trail

Depending on your level of fitness, the hike

from Blanchisseuse to Paria Bay should take

approximately two to three hours each way.

Leave as early as you can, to get started before

the hottest part of the day. The trail includes

some fairly steep stretches, but nothing too

strenuous for a fit hiker. Wear sturdy sneakers

or hiking shoes — and consider boots in the

rainy season, when conditions can get muddy.

A trekking pole or walking stick may be helpful

on the includes and declines. You’ll almost certainly

want a sea or river bath at Paria, so wear

or bring a swimsuit and lightweight towel. Make

sure to bring adequate water — you’ll probably

want two litres per person for the entire day.

The trail crosses several small streams that are

usually safe to drink from, once the water is

running freely. Time your departure from Paria

to allow enough time to get back to your car.

If a full day on the trail sounds too strenuous,

you can also get to Paria by boat from

Blanchisseuse, though it can be a choppy ride.

Above The broad sweep

of Maracas Bay, Trinidad’s

most popular beach

Opposite page Sunset at

Macqueripe Bay, with the

mountains of Venezuela

in the distance


35

Along the coast

Hiking trails, waterfalls, caves — Trinidad’s

North Coast has them all, but the top

attractions are its beaches. From popular

bays with parking, changing, and eating

facilities to near-secret coves accessible

only by hiking and climbing, this fifty-mile

stretch of coastline takes years — or a

lifetime — to fully explore.

Maracas Bay

Ever popular, and always crowded

on weekends, Trinidad’s most

celebrated beach is the place

for traditional shark and bake —

and still manages to be a quiet

escape on weekdays

Yarra Beach

A picture-perfect beach

with a small river lagoon.

Keep your eyes peeled

for the sign along the

North Coast Road

Saut D’eau

The trail to this tiny bay starts in

the mountain village of Paramin.

It’s a challenging downhill trek

— and an even more challenging

uphill return — but worth it for

the sheer tranquillity

Las Cuevas Bay

Just a fifteen-minute drive

past Maracas, Las Cuevas

is quieter and calmer, and

better for swimming

Macqueripe Bay

This small and perfectly sheltered

bay is perfect for swimming — and

offers clear views of Venezuela

across the Bocas del Dragon. A

zipline crosses high above the

bay, for the adventurous, and a

nearby trail leads to an abandoned

satellite tracking station built when

Chaguaramas was a US Army base

Blanchisseuse

Named (in French Patois) for the longago

washerwomen who bleached their

garments on sun-baked river stones,

this once sleepy village is now home

to a scattering of holiday homes and a

couple of modest resorts and restaurants.

Marianne Bay is the main beach

attraction, and a hike up the river brings

you to the celebrated Three Pools

wild, beautiful coast remained relatively isolated

for decades.

Then came the Second World War. The British

government leased Trinidad’s Chaguaramas Peninsula

to the United States to establish a sprawling

military base, and residents of Port of Spain

were suddenly deprived of their most accessible

beaches. In recompense — the story goes — the

US Army carved a winding road up through the

Northern Range to Maracas Bay, which soon

became, and remains, Trinidad’s most popular

beach, as famous for its shark-and-bake vendors as

for its broad horseshoe of sand.

Today the North Coast Road runs past Maracas

and Las Cuevas to the village of Blanchisseuse,

halfway along the coast. At the island’s northeastern

tip, the villages of Toco, Grande Riviere, and

Matelot are similarly connected to the eastern

towns of Sangre Grande and Arima. But the central

eleven-mile stretch of coast remains inaccessible

by car — a largely unspoiled reach best known to

fishermen, hikers, and campers.

Coming from the west, the hike to Paria Bay

starts more or less at the Blanchisseuse

Spring Bridge — a historic suspension bridge

over the Marianne River. A ninety-minute drive from

Port of Spain, the bridge marks the end of the paved

thoroughfare and the start of a dirt road which

tends in the rainy season to a condition of muddy

adventure. The first couple of miles past this point,

beach houses perch along the rugged shoreline,


Paria Bay

The broad beach lined

with coconut trees and

the perfect waterfall

are rivals for the main

attraction at Paria

Grande Riviere

In recent decades, the beach at Grande Riviere has

become celebrated as one of the best places in the

world to see endangered leatherback turtles as they

come ashore to lay their eggs

Toco

This quiet, close-knit village

strung out along the coast is the

closest part of Trinidad to the

sister isle, Tobago

Madamas Bay

Some call it the most

beautiful beach on the

north coast, with its fine

sand, clear lagoon, and hills

towering behind. It’s also

one of the most remote

Matelot

In Trinidad, the name of this

village is almost proverbial

for somewhere far away. It’s

the end of the paved road

from Toco — “behind God’s

back,” residents will tell you

with some pride

Point Galera

The Northern Range

tumbles into the waves

where the Caribbean

Sea meets the Atlantic

Ocean — overlooked by a

white-painted Victorian

lighthouse

Gran Tacarib

A couple hours’ hike past

Paria, Grand Tac feels a

world away from

Trinidad’s bustle. Great for

an overnight camping trip,

or accessible via a (usually

rough) boat ride

eventually giving way to modest farms.

At small Laspor Bay with its rocky stacks, the

hike really begins. The trail narrows to single file,

and enters what feels like true wilderness.

Various hiking guides and websites describe

the Paria trail as anything from moderately challenging

to difficult. The challenge depends partly

on your fitness level and, indeed, partly on the

weather — several months into the rainy season,

parts of the trail can be a muddy slog. But the

topography offers a welcome alternation of uphill

and downhill slopes, and long level stretches no

more strenuous than a stroll. Experienced Paria

hikers know that on the outbound journey, the second

of the big “hills” after Laspor is the toughest.

Mostly hugging the coastline, with inspiring

River meets sea

at Yarra

views of glistening water and crashing waves far

below, the route occasionally veers inland. It’s

all but impossible to get lost — this trail has been

well tended for generations. On official maps of

Trinidad, it’s even labelled as the Paria Main Road

— a name that dates back a century and a half, to

Ziad Joseph


37

Right Cathedral Arch

frames the view at

Paria Bay

Below The view from

Turtle Rock, along the

Paria trail

when the trail was first cut to allow access on foot

or by donkey to the old cocoa estates.

The sights and scents of the forest change

gradually over the months, as different trees move

through their blossoming and fruiting seasons —

today you catch a whiff of ripe hog plums, another

time it might be the musky perfume of a flowering

cannonball tree. You can see or hear dozens of bird

species flitting through the forest canopy. And it’s

easy to spot one of the trail’s most striking wildlife

species, the emperor butterfly, its wings flashing

a brilliant iridescent blue as it lazily flutters by.

Meanwhile the sea breeze never pauses, rustling

among the treetops.

An hour past Laspor Bay, keep an eye out for

Turtle Rock, a gnarled outcropping jutting into the

sea. A narrow branch off the main trail descends

Rachel Lee Young

through wind-stunted trees to the giant crag, offering

views for miles up and down the coast. It’s the

place to pause for a snack, catch your breath, take

a selfie or two, before the last stretch of trail.

Paria Bay announces itself with the so-called

Cathedral Arch, an example of nature’s own

architecture and an almost obligatory backdrop for

photos. It marks the westen end of the bay, a halfmile

sweep of sand and pounding waves. Fill your

lungs with sea air, and revel in the view. If you’re

tempted to a swim, trek down to the farther end of

the bay, where a patch near the mouth of the river

is sheltered from the swells and tides.

But the day’s adventure isn’t over. You’ll have


Ziad Joseph

to get back on the trail to experience Paria’s true

gem. Halfway along the beach, a sandy trail heads

inland before meeting the bank of the Paria River.

Clumps of bamboo offer shade, and soon you’ll

hear the muffled rush of the Paria waterfall. It

takes a bit of a rocky scramble — or a wade and

swim — to get to the natural pool where the waterfall

cascades thirty feet into cold, emerald-green

water. Most days, you’ll have this gorgeous spot

to yourself. Flowering trees tower high above the

gorge and schools of small fish dart around your

knees as you ease your way into the pool. Float

away and let the delicious cool soothe your aching

muscles. Let your senses free. n

The sights and scents of the forest change

gradually over the months, as different trees

move through their blossoming and fruiting

seasons


39

backstory

The

miseducation

of Merle Hodge

Trinidadian writer Merle Hodge began

her career by publishing what would

become a beloved Caribbean classic,

Crick Crack, Monkey, in 1970. Five

decades later, as she prepares to

publish her third novel, Hodge tells

Andre Bagoo what took so long — and

what drives her interest in capturing

the often confusing experience of

Caribbean childhood on the page

Photography by Mark Lyndersay

It may be hard for some to picture it, but Merle

Hodge was once a schoolgirl. Before she

became a doyenne of Caribbean literature

— her 1970 debut Crick Crack, Monkey is

now considered a classic; Haitian-American

writer Edwidge Danticat calls her “a giant” —

she was like one of the children in her books. Each

of her novels is an elegant précis of the distortions

wrought by colonialism in pre-Independence

Trinidad. In that Trinidad, school is no gateway to

enlightenment: it becomes the conduit by which the

subject is disciplined and punished.

“During my student days in England, I went

to Denmark from time to time, and worked in

a children’s home,” Hodge tells me, in reply to

emailed questions. “When we took the children for

walks in the woods, they could tell you the name

of every tree, flower, or weed along the way. When

we read to them from their storybooks, I saw that

the stories were peopled by characters who looked

just like them.

“All of this was in sharp contrast to my childhood experience,” she continues.

“These children had a strong sense of who they were, and what that meant. Nobody

was suggesting to them that they would be better people if they were somebody else,

somebody from a different place. Crick Crack was, to a large extent, a looking back at

my childhood from this vantage point.”

It is a vantage point relevant to all Hodge’s work. After Crick Crack, Monkey came

the novel For the Life of Laetitia (1993); an influential manual on grammar, The Knots in

English (1997); and now, fifty-one years after her debut, One Day, Congotay, scheduled

for publication in September 2021 by Peepal Tree Press.



41

Hodge was born in Curepe, Trinidad, in

1944, one of four children. Like her sisters,

she spent time in two households: that

of her parents and that of her grandmother. Her

grandmother had a separate home, but sometimes

visited to take care of the children. (Hodge chafes

against the notion of the “nuclear family,” which

ignores the fact that, in the Caribbean, children

frequently inhabit a network of households.) With

the aid of scholarships, Hodge went to Bishop

Anstey High School in Port of Spain, then to

the University of London, where she studied

French language and literature and Latin. She left

Trinidad in 1962, the very year the country became

independent. Crick Crack, Monkey was written

between Britain, Denmark, and France.

The novel is a bildungsroman, narrated by Tee.

After the death of her mother triggers a custody

battle, Tee moves between two worlds: the semirural

realm of cantankerous Tantie and the urbane

sphere of waspish Aunt Beatrice. This movement

brings about a clash of intersectional values surrounding

class, culture, community, and race.

Tee’s “education” is not limited to academics. Soon

there are competing claims to her loyalty. By the

novel’s last line, as she pays Tantie a painful final


Each of Merle Hodge’s novels is an elegant

précis of the distortions wrought by

colonialism in pre-Independence Trinidad

visit, Tee looks upon Tantie with disdain: “I desired

with all my heart that it were next morning and a

plane were lifting me off the ground.” It is a line

that resonates, I feel, with the conclusion of V.S.

Naipaul’s Miguel Street, where the unnamed child

narrator scornfully looks upon all the characters

he has just described, and flees “walking briskly

towards the aeroplane.”

But Crick Crack’s politics play second fiddle to

its stylistic verve. The strength of its prose comes

from its perspective: it is written from the view of

the child, forcing a distillation. For long stretches,

it is clear Tee is yet to come to terms with her

mother’s death (in childbirth) and the subsequent

disappearance of her Papa (who, having gone off

“to sea,” may have migrated, may have taken ill,

may have —). It is not that children are unable to

process truth; it is that they find themselves within

narratives they cannot control. Pre-destination

and fate: these are concerns, to some extent, of

all writers. But through these inferences, Hodge

questions the future of the Caribbean project itself.

The impression is powerful.

Similar elements take flight in For the Life

of Laetitia, a novel which, published almost

two decades after its predecessor, revisits and

reverses some of the choices made in Crick Crack.

Just as Tee splits into a double character, so too

does Laetitia. But while more is at stake in the

second book, Laetitia eventually exudes agency

and self-determination.

“In the late 1970s, I taught [in Trinidad] in a

newly built senior comprehensive school,” Hodge

says of the origins of her second book. “I set out, I

think, to look at the high school experience in the

era of Independence — almost two decades in —

that had brought on an expansion of secondary

education.

“In contrast to Tee lifting off to escape and

disown her world, Laetitia insists on going home,

embracing and claiming her heritage. She has

stood up to the classist and racist teacher in

defence of her friend Anjanee. In this respect,

Laetitia can be seen as a companion novel. Tee’s

capitulation is replaced by Laetitia’s resistance.”


43

Talking to Merle Hodge

Excerpts from the writer’s interview with Andre Bagoo.

In recent years, “young adult” fiction has become a big subgenre

in the writing world. Your books for me are relevant to

all ages, but they could fit into this category nonetheless.

Is the “young adult” label useful? Or should we simply focus

on the writing and what it achieves?

Over the years many people have told me, to my surprise at

first, that children from that age upwards have been reading

[Crick Crack, Monkey] with interest. World literature contains

many novels which employ a child as protagonist, or as

seeing-eye, but are not aimed specifically at children. Some

of these works appeal to young readers, and some don’t. Child

readers might understand and enjoy a piece of fiction at one

level and not decipher everything in it. For example, we might

read Alice in Wonderland as children and be quite entertained

by it, but need to read it again as adults to gain a full understanding

of issues involved. In the labelling of books by readership,

it might be enough to indicate that a book is suitable

for readers “of all ages” — your apt formulation — rather than

label it categorically into “young adult,” which could perhaps

deter adult readers.

In your first two novels, children are often treated as pawns or

collateral to the agendas of adults, caught up in adults’ egos,

ambitions, agendas, prejudices, insecurities, etc. In T&T, we

now have a Children’s Authority to investigate violations of

children’s rights, but it seems unable to keep up with reports.

Looking at current events, do you think we have made enough

progress on recognising children as full human beings?

Recognising children as full human beings? We have some

distance yet to go. Slavery has left its impact on Caribbean

culture. Adults may view children with the apprehension that

the slave-owner felt about the enslaved — the potential of


Hodge has spent decades teaching and

lecturing in several countries, administering

writing residencies — for twenty years she

has led the Cropper Foundation’s biennial writers’

workshop in T&T, alongside Funso Aiyejina — and

sitting on a range of key advisory bodies in the

Caribbean. Activism has been part and parcel of

her career.

For example, in 2017 Hodge wrote a letter to

the editor of the news website Wired868 after

political rhetoric about re-introducing corporal

punishment resurfaced. “Let’s leave the children’s

well-being out of the politicking, please,”

Hodge urged. “In the twenty-first century, to

beat or not to beat children is no longer a topic

up for debate.” Even her manual on grammar,

The Knots in English, makes an impassioned case

for distinguishing between Creole grammar

and English grammar: “We have a language of

our own, and English is another language that

we have to learn.” Activism is a central theme,

too, in her new novel, which, at the time of our

interview, Hodge was still putting the finishing

touches on.

“All three novels have been written in occasional

snatches of time in between other work –

studying; demanding day job; activism,” she says.

“One Day, Congotay has been about twenty-five

years in the making.”

The new novel, Hodge explains, is set in

Trinidad in the period between 1900 and 1955.

The protagonist is Gwynneth Cuffie, a school

teacher. Teacher Gwynneth puts her energies

“All three novels have

been written in occasional

snatches of time in between

other work,” says Hodge.

“One Day, Congotay has

been about twenty-five

years in the making”

into the struggles of her time, such as the battle

for political and cultural self-determination and

the early labour movement. She also engages in

struggles that are of another time: her advocacy

for children, and her ideas regarding a woman’s

place, go against the grain of mainstream opinion.

Gwynneth’s activism is closely interwoven with

her personal life, and the novel is as much a

glimpse of a people’s history as it is the story of

one woman.

The classroom of today — with its laptops, tablets,

mobiles, online distractions — looks nothing

like the classroom of pre-Independence Trinidad.

All of Hodge’s novels are time capsules, but they

challenge us to ask how much things have really

changed. From first to last, her projects manifest

the fact that, as formidable as she is today, Hodge

is fully aware of, indeed has written paeans to, the

wisdom of children. n

the latter to get out of hand and overpower their owners.

Hence the whip and the range of other inhumane punishments

devised for keeping the enslaved in check. Hence

the strong resistance of adults, right up to the twenty-first

century, against abandoning corporal punishment in favour of

a non-violent approach to child-rearing.

The women’s movement has done enough advocacy

to convince most of the population that a man beating his

female partner is just as unacceptable as any adult beating

any other adult — called “assault” under the law. Yet a woman

or man beating a child is seen as natural and necessary behaviour.

Advocacy for non-violent behaviour has not had much

impact there. Verbal or emotional abuse of children is also

quite in order. Some of our interactions with children do suggest

that we do not see them as fully human.

Crick Crack, Monkey was published in 1970, For the Life of

Laetitia in 1993, and now, three decades later, you’re about

to publish a third. What are the factors that contribute to

how long you take to write? Can you describe your writing

process for readers?

I don’t have anything as planned and disciplined as a set

process, except for a lot of self-critique and rewriting. This

ongoing revision might be part of what accounts for long gaps

between one book and another. And then, I don’t generally

have the whole novel in my head when I begin writing. I’m not

sure any writer does. Often an individual scene from somewhere

along the chronology of the story will come into my

head, and I write it down as soon as I get the time. I don’t have

the luxury of writing continuously for any significant stretch

of time. What makes the “process” even more haphazard is

that sometimes there is time but no inspiration to write.

After One Day, Congotay, when is the next novel coming?

I might attempt some short stories. I would hate to start a

novel and not live to finish it.


45

bucket list

Courtesy Discover Dominica Authority

Waitukubuli Trail,

Dominica

The Caribbean’s longest hiking trail takes

you through the stunning landscape of the

Nature Island

dominica

From Scotts Head in the south to Cabrits National Park in the north,

Dominica’s Waitukubuli National Trail runs for 115 miles across the

island, through some of the Caribbean’s most dramatic scenery. Opened

in 2013, the trail — which bears the indigenous name of the island — is

divided into fourteen segments, many of them challenging, each a good

day’s hike. For the intrepid, the two-week journey, with overnight stays at

villages and campsites, is an unforgettable experience, while more casual

hikers can tackle individual segments, many of which run past some of

Dominica’s most famed natural attractions.

Roseau

46


Boeri Lake in Morne Trois

Pitons National Park, near

the Waitukubuli route

Courtesy Discover Dominica Authority


47

destination

Són city

Near the eastern end of Cuba,

Santiago is a regional capital, a

treasure house of history — and,

Donna Yawching writes, the

island’s most musical city. The

soundtrack is driven by the rhythms

of són, she learns — and the soul of

Santiago is in its musicians’ fervour

for their heritage

On Calle Heredia, people are dancing. Swirling,

swaying, shimmying: complicated patterns

of movement turning sound into substance.

Underlying it all, the driving rhythms of són,

the music that defines Cuba’s eastern provinces.

Santiago de Cuba, the regional capital, is

beyond a doubt the island’s most musical city. It throbs, day and

night, with everything from sexy salsa to romantic bolero; from

primal drumming to intricate choral confections. Music — most

of it live — exudes from bars, parks, concert halls, patios, even

private homes. Rhythm, in this city, is life, and dancing is as

inevitable as breathing.

Not surprisingly, Santiago and the surrounding Oriente province

are the birthplace of són (pronounced “song”), a genre which

has branched out in multiple directions, the best known today

being salsa. (Cubans, in fact, are somewhat dismissive of salsa,

despite its worldwide popularity. “Soneros say that salsa doesn’t

really exist,” declares Fernando Dewar, leader of the Septeto

Santiaguero, a band which has won two Latin Grammy awards.

“Salsa is a movement, not a genre. Són is the trunk of the tree.”)

Every tree, of course, has roots; and these are what make

Cuban music so rich. With its history of Spanish colonialism, the

enslavement of Africans, and French immigration, the threads

have wound together to create an intricate tapestry of sound that

hearts and feet and hips cannot resist. From the soulful bolero

to the wicked guaracha, the intimate trova to the compelling

conga, the polyrhythms of the various Cuban musical traditions

bring joy to a society where life is often hard.

At the heart of it all, says Juan Carlos Berbes, a specialist

at Santiago’s Museo de la Musica, is la trova — music

born of one man and a guitar, the trovador, the cantante

ambulante. “You could find him on a street corner, a park bench, a

barbershop, under a balcony, anywhere.”


Looking over the rooftops

of Santiago de Cuba

to the towers of the

cathedral

Vadim Nefedoff/Shutterstock.com

Trova — clearly an offshoot of the European troubadour

tradition — appeared on the Cuban scene around the end

of the nineteenth century, with the legendary José “Pepe”

Sánchez, who moulded the music into something distinctly

Cuban. “It is, in fact, the first genre of real Cuban music to

rise up,” Berbes says. “All the subsequent genres come out of

la trova, and bear some aspects of it; they took the elements

that suited them and created something new. Trova enriches

them.” Trova is not, primarily, meant for dancing; it is poetry

on the hoof. “The songs tell a tale, a story, something that

happened, en una manera pausada: tranquilly, poetically. It is

to be listened to.”

Drifting from the countryside into the city, trova became less

picaresque, picking up a few additional instruments on the way:

Santiago de Cuba is beyond a

doubt the island’s most musical

city. It throbs, day and night, with

everything from sexy salsa to

romantic bolero


49

Tony Pleavin/Alamy Stock Photo

Són vs salsa

Salsa dancers rehearsing in a

courtyard in Santiago de Cuba

So where does salsa come into the picture? Every Cuban dances it, but every

Cuban musician declares that his music is són. According to Fernando Dewar,

leader of the Grammy Award-winning Septeto Santiago, salsa is “not a genre,”

but rather a fusion of styles created in New York, when Latin musicians from

various countries and traditions came together to play.

A new mix emerged from these collaborations, with hotter rhythms and —

for the dancers — quicker turns. Són, I am told, is danced “a contra-tiempo” to

the bass, while salsa is danced “a tiempo.”

“For someone who doesn’t know the genres, it’s complicated to tell the difference,”

says Dewar. “There are many small details.”


Conga

Completely separate from the són tradition, conga is

nevertheless a vital part of the Santiageuran identity. Far

removed from the silly conga lines of American movie

tradition, Cuban conga delves all the way back to the

roots of the enslaved Africans who were brought to the

island by Spanish — and later French — colonials, mostly

in the nineteenth century.

Conga is essentially an ambulant percussion group:

various styles and sizes of African drums beat to age-old

rhythms as large crowds shuffle and dance (it’s called

arrollando) behind them. Community-based, they came

about as accompaniment to the African celebrations and

festivals during and after the days of slavery. Today they

are an essential part of the annual Santiago Carnaval.

and listen appreciatively, són sweeps you irresistibly to your

feet, mojito forgotten on your table as you abandon yourself

to the beat. “It invites you to dance,” says Berbes, in the year’s

understatement.

“The són cubano is the fusion of Spanish and African music,”

says musician Ernesto Valera, explaining its infectiousness.

“Són is characterised by its cadenza, or rhythm: not too fast, not

too slow.” Valera is the leader of the Familia Valera-Miranda, a

group famous for being among the region’s earliest performers.

Dating back to 1868, this musical family played at rural celebrations

and fiestas, passing their lyrics and melodies from generation

to generation. Valera views it as his sacred mission to keep

the tradition alive. “It’s an obligation,” he says simply.

maracas, clave, a bit of percussion. The poetry became more

important than the wandering; today, most Cuban towns and

cities have a Casa de la Trova, where this form of music, and its

offshoots, are performed.

By 1925, trova music was evolving into something more

lively, with the appearance on the scene of Miguel Matamoros,

initiator of the són and bolero movements. The prolific Trio

Matamoros dominated the scene for more than thirty years,

generating such standards as “Són de la Loma”, “Lagrimas

Negras”, “Alegre Conga”, and “Juramento” — all of which

remain popular today, thanks to the ubiquitous music groups

that perform them in Santiago’s many bars and patios.

The essential quality of són, says Berbes, is that it is bailable

— danceable. While trova encourages you to sip some rum

While trova encourages you to sip

some rum and listen appreciatively,

són sweeps you irresistibly to your

feet, mojito forgotten on your table

as you abandon yourself to the beat

This is a sentiment echoed by many of the city’s soneros.

There is a widespread consensus that the country’s

traditional music needs to be staunchly defended from

modern incursions such as the hip-hop–inspired reggaetón,

beloved of Cuban youth. “Són has lost strength,” laments Valera.

“Reggaetón has invaded. I don’t like it — the lyrics are stupid,

empty, gross, insulting to women.”

“It is inevitable that the young people are attracted to music

coming from different countries,” points out Maria-Mercedes

Soto, leader of Morena Són, one of the rare all-female groups.

“The outside influence is very strong.”


51

Attila Kleb/Alamy Stock Photo

The government, however, has pushed back. “Five years ago,

all you heard on the street was reggaetón,” says Berbes. “But now

the traditional music has returned and is making a comeback.

It is being presented in many venues, all over the place. The

authorities want to keep the tradition alive.” And what the Cuban

authorities want, the Cuban authorities get. Traditional musical

instruments (such as the trés guitar, the clave, the bongos) are

now taught in the conservatories, alongside the classical.

“Before, the trovadores were street musicians,” says Soto.

“Now they have better technical formation.” Her own band is an

There is a widespread consensus

that the country’s traditional music

needs to be staunchly defended

from modern incursions such as

reggaetón, beloved of Cuban youth

example, with all her musicians possessing the sought-after Aval

de Professionalidad, a performing licence granted only after a

stringent audition before an official panel of top musicians. The

licence may be essential for the soneros to find work, but as for

the music itself — “nuestra musica,” Soto adds with a smile, “ya

en la sangre está” (“it’s in the blood”).

Today, the heart of Cuban són is the city of Santiago, where

bars such as ARTEX and the Casa de la Trova on Calle Heredia

offer trova and són (in all its variations: bolero-són, guarachasón,

són montuno, són guaguanco) from 11 am to 7 pm daily. The

Sala de los Grandes (above the Casa de la Trova) takes over at 10

pm, presenting the larger, louder groups to an enthusiastically

dancing audience of locals and visitors alike.

The Septeto Santiaguero is a big favourite at this venue —

when they’re not busy touring abroad or producing Grammyaward–winning

albums (2015, 2018). The group plays “traditional

music with contemporary amplification,” says Dewar. “We

have to defend the tradition. If we lose this music, we lose the

essence of who we are.” n


The instruments of són

What creates those unique rhythms,

those catchy melodies and complex

harmonies? Són throws a couple of

unfamiliar instruments into the mix.

The clave: Essentially, two short hollow

sticks, knocked together to keep time.

It looks dead simple, but it is the heart

of the music: all the other instruments,

and the singers (and the dancers), take

their tempo from the clave. “It is the

boss,” says Juan Carlos Berbes. The

player must have a rock-solid sense of

rhythm; if he falters at all, says Ernesto

Valera, “puede ser un desastre” (“it

could be a disaster”). The clave’s different

tempos and rhythms define if a

piece is trova, són, bolero, rumba, etc.

The trés: This is a guitar like no other,

the lead instrument in són. Described

by Wikipedia as a “three-course

cordophone of Cuban origin,” the trés

(“three”) is somewhat smaller than

a regular acoustic guitar, and tuned

differently. Its six strings are strung in

pairs; it is not strummed, but rather

intricately picked to support or play

counterpoint to the singer. Complex

trés improvisations are common; one

veteran tresero described his instrument

as “the piano” of són.

The botijuela: This unusual instrument

is actually made of clay: an earthenware

jar formerly used to transport

liquids. Musicians blow into a small

hole carved in the side; the low hollow

sound emerges through the mouth

of the jar. While sometimes used in

són, the botijuela is more commonly

to be found accompanying the purely

African rhythms of the conga.

The quijada (jawbone): Teeth and

all! The cleaned and dried jawbone

of a donkey or cow, this is struck and

shaken, to click and buzz and rattle as

part of the percussion. It’s most likely

to be found in the more folkloric versions

of són.

Opposite page Musicians on

Santiago’s Plaza de Dolores

Right The distinctive trés

guitar, lead instrument in són

Bildagentur-online/Schickert/Alamy Stock Photo


53

snapshot

Higher

and higher

LPS/Roberto Tommasini/Alamy Live News


For years, the title of St Lucia’s

most medalled athlete has been

held by high jumper Levern

Spencer, who first made her

mark at the age of fourteen,

over two decades ago. Her

career is a textbook example of

the value of persistence, writes

Sheldon Waithe — and her

biggest goal, an Olympic medal,

still lies ahead

Levern Spencer at the 2019

Palio Città della Quercia

athletics meet in Italy

There’s something to be said for perseverance. Elders

know what they’re speaking about when they impart

their gems of wisdom to unsuspecting young folk,

and the adage of doggedness holds particular value,

particularly in the sporting arena. Levern Spencer

epitomises this attribute in spades, along with the

other maxim of fine wine only getting better — or, in her occupation,

higher — with age.

The lanky high jumper is the most decorated athlete in St Lucia’s

history: that’s across gender as well as time. If that suggests she’s

been at the international forefront for many years, then that’s correct

— but it’s within the last decade that Spencer has combined

talent, skill, belief, and experience to make giant leaps forward at

major global athletics competitions. And that’s meant medals by the

bucket-load for St Lucia.

Spencer’s ability was apparent from her early ventures into athletics

at secondary school, but her career has still been a pleasant

surprise. “I had no idea sports would take me this far,” she says. “I

was just running around, jumping, having fun, but then I broke the

St Lucian national record when I was only fourteen. Just breaking it

meant that’s something — you can take this up as a career.”

The Carifta Games, the annual regional competition that consistently

spawns future world-beaters, soon followed. Spencer did not

exactly waltz in to take the top step of the podium — rather, it took

her three years to finally earn Carifta gold, in 2001. Then something

clicked within. The realisation that she could win at that level

pushed her to claim a bronze medal at the World Youth Championships

in Hungary that same year. It was the further confirmation

required to set her on a path to the top. Spencer completed 2001

with gold in the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Championships.

St Lucia took notice, and named her Sportswoman of the

Year. No one could have predicted then that she would take that title

a further fourteen times (and still counting).


55

Peters won gold at the 2019

World Championships with a

throw of 86.89 metres

Jaroslav Ozana/CTK Photo/Alamy Stock Photo

For Spencer, representing her nation is a

source of both pride and motivation. Her

exploits made her an unofficial envoy for

years, before St Lucia made it official in 2019,

bestowing the title of Goodwill Ambassador. “As I

travelled around the world, the question ‘Where is

St Lucia?’ is one I’ve had to answer many times,”

Spencer says. “And that question is normally asked

after I have defeated opponents from so-called big

countries. I have always seen my sport as one way

of promoting my country.”

The support of her immediate family —

together with her strong faith and her relationship

with numerous sponsors — spurs her forward

year upon year, helping to explain Spencer’s

age-progression equation. However, it’s what she

deems her extended family — her nation — that is

her biggest motivation, a fact that Spencer revisits

consistently. “It is always comforting to know that

when you have given of your best to make your

country known, your efforts are recognised and

appreciated by the people who matter. And that is

all of St Lucia,” she says.

Spencer looks to her countrymen even when it’s

not all medals and titles. “Even when I have been

criticised for not meeting expectations, I looked

at it as they wanted me to be the best — and so I

used that criticism as a stepping stone in my quest

to get to the top.”


“There are still goals to be

achieved and dreams to be

realised,” says Spencer

“I had no idea sports would take me this

far,” Levern Spencer says. “I was just running

around, jumping, having fun, but then I broke

the St Lucian national record when I was

only fourteen”

Fact file

Levern Spencer

St Lucia

High jumper

Born 23 June, 1984

Height: 5 feet 9 inches

Personal best: 1.98 metres (Athens,

Georgia; 8 May, 2010)

Spencer achieved middling results in the

2002 Commonwealth Games and 2003 Pan

Am Games — her first major competitions

— a trend that continued at her first senior World

Championships in 2005. But by the time the

Commonwealth Games came around again, she

was a true contender. By then she was in the US

college system, gaining the all-important finishing

touches of technical support at the University of

Georgia, where she studied health promotion and

behaviours. The university has a proud history of

producing Olympians in swimming and athletics,

and Spencer was determined to be added to that

list. “Georgia has really good academics, but also

really good coaches,” she explains. “My teammates

were really supportive. Everybody cheers, even in

practice, making it like a competition every time.

With the balance of academics, it was a really good

place for me.”

Graduation was not only literal: on the field

she stepped up to a bronze in her second Pan

Am Games, and achieved the qualifying mark

to attend her first Olympics in Beijing, as part of

St Lucia’s three-person team. The standard

attained, she began her remarkable decade of

achievement and elevation: bronze at the 2010

and 2014 Commonwealths, attending her second

Olympics in 2012, CAC Games gold in 2014 —

then the first really big one, gold at the 2015 Pan

Am Games. Her nation welcomed home their

heroine with typical Caribbean revelry, celebrating

their first gold medal.

Spencer made the 2016 Olympic final, eventually

leaping to sixth place, surpassing all expectations.

Then she obliterated the field at the 2018

Commonwealths, to banish past disappointments:

once again, St Lucia celebrated an unprecedented

gold. She continued their party with a second Pan

Am gold in 2019.

St Lucia’s iconic volcanic spires, Petit Piton and

Grand Piton, symbolise the ups and downs

that led to Spencer’s eventual triumphs: a

smaller peak of early success, followed by a trajectory

towards the larger peak that truly dominates all as it

reaches for the sky. So it’s apt that Spencer enjoys

spending time around her island’s iconic landmarks.

“I love to climb the Pitons, and walk around the

beautiful scenery in St Lucia,” she says. “This twentyyear

journey has not been smooth sailing. I’ve had

mountains to climb and rivers to cross, but with the

help of God, support of my management team, and

unfailing love of my St Lucian people, I have pressed

towards the mark.”

The winner of the high jump at the Rio Olympics

was thirty-seven years old. Levern Spencer

turns thirty-seven this year. The chance of St Lucia

earning its first Olympic medal has never been this

good, and when the Tokyo Olympics finally happen,

Spencer aims to deliver. “There are still goals

to be achieved and dreams to be realised.” There’s

that perseverance once again . . . n


57

CaribbeanAirlines

Cargo

did you even know

Get lit

The month of April brings the start of the Caribbean’s

literature festival season, with T&T’s NGC Bocas Lit Fest

on the weekend of the 23rd to the 25th. Are you a book

lover? Think you’re well read in Caribbean literature?

Try our trivia quiz, and check your score in the answers

below!

1. What was T&T author V.S. Naipaul’s first published

book?

Miguel Street

The Mystic Masseur

The Suffrage of Elvira

A House for Mr Biswas

2. Which of these authors famously writes under a pen

name?

Olive Senior

Jamaica Kincaid

Caryl Phillips

Dionne Brand

6. Pitch Lake is a book by which of these T&T authors?

courtesy Ingrid Persaud

3. Which Jamaican author’s debut novel concerns a

fateful struggle between two village preachers?

Alfred Mendes

Valerie Belgrave

Lawrence Scott

Andre Bagoo

John Hearne

Patricia Powell

Marlon James

Kei Miller

7. How many Nobel Laureates in Literature has the

Caribbean produced?

4. T&T-born Ingrid Persaud (pictured above) recently

won the 2020 Costa Book Award for best debut novel,

with Love After Love. Her book takes its title from a poem

by which Caribbean writer?

Eric Roach

Lorna Goodison

Kamau Brathwaite

Derek Walcott

5. Which of these novels was adapted into a BBC TV

series directed by Horace Ové?

Wide Sargasso Sea,

by Jean Rhys

The Orchid House,

by Phyllis Shand Allfrey

Two

Three

Four

Five

8. Aldrick, Sylvia, Fisheye, and Pariag are characters in a

novel by which of these writers?

Austin Clarke

Ismith Khan

Earl Lovelace

David Dabydeen

9. And a question for the most faithful Caribbean Beat

readers: who is the only fiction writer ever to appear on

the cover of the magazine? Check our online cover gallery

if you can’t figure it out!

The Ventriloquist’s Tale,

by Pauline Melville

Brother Man,

by Roger Mais

George Lamming

Merle Hodge

Oonya Kempadoo

Elizabeth Nunez

Answers: 1 The Mystic Masseur 2 Antigua-born Jamaica Kincaid, whose real name is Elaine Potter Richardson 3 Marlon James, John Crow’s Devil 4 Derek

Walcott 5 The Orchid House 6 A trick question! Alfred Mendes published his novel Pitch Lake in 1934, and Andre Bagoo published a book of poems with

the same title in 2017 7 Three: Saint-John Perse of Guadeloupe (1960), Derek Walcott of St Lucia (1992), and V.S. Naipaul of T&T (2001) 8 They are all

characters in The Dragon Can’t Dance, by Earl Lovelace 9 Oonya Kempadoo — our March/April 2002 issue


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Caribbean Beat — March/April 2021 (#163)

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