Caribbean Beat — May/June 2017 (#145)

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Contents 

No. 145 May/June 2017 

30 

58 

EMBARK 

17 Datebook 

Events around the Caribbean in May 

and June, from the Timehri Film 

Festival in Guyana to Dominica’s Hike 

Fest 

24 Word of Mouth 

The Pure Grenada Music Festival 

makes room for many genres, and 

traces of Bhojpuri, brought from 

India over a century ago, still liven 

Guyanese speech 

30 icon 

Derek Walcott (1930–2017), 

St Lucian poet, playwright, and 

Nobel laureate 

32 Bookshelf, playlist, and 

screenshots 

This month’s reading, listening, and 

film-watching picks, in our books, 

music, and film columns 

36 Cookup 

The chocolate revolution 

Trinidad and Tobago’s cocoa has 

long been considered among the 

best in the world, even though 

production has been declining for 

decades. A new generation of artisan 

chocolatiers are hoping to change 

that trend — while creating unique 

world-class chocolate products at 

home. Franka Philip finds out more 

ARRIVE 

58 destination 

Heartland album 

For generations, the plains of 

Caroni in central Trinidad were the 

agricultual heart of the island. The 

busy town of Chaguanas and its 

vendor-lined streets now dominate 

the area, but across the surrounding 

countryside still sprawl small farms 

and villages. Photographer Andrea 

de Silva and writer Alva Viarruel 

explore this landscape of Indo- 

Trinidadian culture 

72 neighbourhood 

Gros Islet, St Lucia 

No longer a sleepy fishing village, this 

community near St Lucia’s northern 

tip has become the island’s tourism 

centre, thanks to its proximity to 

Rodney Bay 

IMMERSE 

76 offtrack 

Sunshine in paradise 

How did tiny Nevis come to have 

one of the Caribbean’s most famous 

beach bars? Garry Steckles meets 

Llewellyn “Sunshine” Caines and 

hears the story behind his Pinney’s 

Beach establishment, its celebrity 

clientele — and the lethally delicious 

Killer Bee rum cocktail. Plus: why a 

new geothermal project could soon 

make the island one of the world’s 

greenest destinations, and an 

exporter of energy to its neighbours 

82 layover 

Nassau, the Bahamas 

On a business trip to the capital of 

the Bahamas with a few hours to 

spare? Overnighting before you board 

your cruise ship? You can catch the 

essential flavour of Nassau even on a 

brief visit 

40 panorama 

25 for 25 

Caribbean Beat celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2017. But 

this isn’t only an opportunity to look back at our quarter century of 

publication: it’s also a moment to look ahead to the new generation 

of talented, determined Caribbean people who will shape the 

decades ahead. In this special feature, we introduce twenty-five 

remarkable young people aged twenty-fove and under. Athletes and 

entrepreneurs, artists and scientists — they and their contemporaries 

are the future of our region 

8 WWW.CARIBBEAN-BEAT.COM

CaribbeanBeat 

An MEP publication 

76 

Editor Nicholas Laughlin 

General manager Halcyon Salazar 

Online marketing Caroline Taylor 

Design artists Kevon Webster & Bridget van Dongen 

Editorial assistant Shelly-Ann Inniss 

Business Development Manager 

Trinidad & Tobago 

Yuri Chin Choy 

T: (868) 460 0068, 622 3821 

F: (868) 628 0639 

E: yuri@meppublishers.com 

Business Development Manager 

Caribbean & International 

Denise Chin 

T: (868) 683 0832 

F: (868) 628 0639 

E: dchin@meppublishers.com 

ENGAGE 

84the deal 

thorny balm 

The spiky Aloe vera plant is a favourite 

of Caribbean gardens, its bitter gel 

used as a moisturiser, stomach remedy, 

and ingredient in healthy tonics. You 

might imagine you could build a whole 

industry around this handy plant — 

and Aruba has done just that. Shelly- 

Ann Inniss visits the island’s biggest 

aloe farm, and learns how this wonder 

of the kitchen and medicine cabinet is 

an economic wonder, too 

Media & Editorial Projects Ltd. 

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

T: (868) 622 3821/5813/6138 

F: (868) 628 0639 

E: caribbean-beat@meppublishers.com 

Website: www.meppublishers.com 

86On this day 

The birdman 

It’s considered a landmark of 

ornithology, and it was published one 

hundred and ninety years ago: John 

James Audubon’s massive Birds of 

America. Born in Haiti, Audubon had 

a restless life spread across continents, 

but along the way he transformed 

himself into a leading expert on the 

birdlife of North America. As James 

Ferguson explains, his legacy in science 

and conservation still endures 

Read and save issues of Caribbean Beat on your smartphone, 

tablet, computer, and favourite digital devices! 

Printed by Solo Printing Inc., Miami, Florida 

Caribbean Beat is published six times a year for Caribbean Airlines by Media & Editorial Projects Ltd. It is also available on 

subscription. Copyright © Caribbean Airlines 2017. All rights reserved. ISSN 1680–6158. No part of this magazine may be 

reproduced in any form whatsoever without the written permission of the publisher. MEP accepts no responsibility for 

content supplied by our advertisers. The views of the advertisers are theirs and do not represent MEP in any way. 

Website: www.caribbean-airlines.com 

94 Onboard entertainment 

Movie and audio listings, to entertain 

you in the air 

96 parting shot 

Suriname’s blue poison dart frog is a 

living treasure of the rainforest 

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

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

WWW.CARIBBEAN-AIRLINES.COM 9

Cover Jamaican reggae 

artist Chronnix 

Photo Nickii Kane 

This issue’s contributors include: 

Jamaican Tanya Batson-Savage (“25 for 25”, 

page 40) is the publisher and editor-in-chief 

of independent publishing house Blue Moon 

Publishing and the online arts and culture magazine 

Susumba.com. She is the author of Pumpkin Belly 

and Other Stories and the play Woman Tongue. 

Andrea de Silva (“Heartland album”, page 58) 

is an award-winning photographer, contracted 

to Reuters news agency. With over thirty years’ 

experience in media, her work has been featured in 

both local and foreign publications. She also owns 

and manages the photography and multimedia 

company Silva Image. 

From an initial background in finance, Shelly-Ann 

Inniss (“Thorny balm”, page 84) decided to 

explore her love for writing and media. A Trinidadbased 

Barbadian writer and editorial assistant at 

Caribbean Beat, she is an explorer and adventureseeker 

at heart. 

Neil Marks (“Say it your way”, page 26) is a Guyanese 

freelance journalist and stringer for Reuters. He has 

specialised in environmental reporting for many years, 

and recently won the Prince Albert II of Monaco/UNCA 

Award for climate change reporting. 

Born in the UK, Garry Steckles (“Sunshine in 

paradise”, page 76) is a widely travelled journalist 

and editor, now based in St Kitts. He is the author of 

a biography of Bob Marley, and a longtime Caribbean 

Beat contributor. 

Alva Viarruel (“Heartland album”, page 58) is a 

multimedia journalist who began in the field of 

photography thirty-five years ago. He now works with 

the Department of Information at the Tobago House 

of Assembly. 


A MESSAGE From THE CARIBBEAN AIRLINES TEAM 

Welcome to Caribbean Airlines! We are delighted that you’ve 

chosen us as your travel partner. 

We continue to celebrate our tenth anniversary in 2017 

with many exciting developments, including the start of twiceweekly 

service to St Vincent and the Grenadines. Caribbean 

Airlines is one of the first airlines to offer non-stop flights to 

the newly opened Argyle International Airport, which also 

serves as an international gateway to the beautiful Grenadine 

Islands. Flights to St Vincent leave Piarco International 

Airport at 1.55 pm every Friday and Sunday, with return 

flights departing St Vincent at 3.35 pm on the same days. 

We are in the business of connecting people, and the 

St Vincent service will develop closer links for commerce 

throughout the region, as well as create opportunities for 

travellers by providing convenient connections between the 

Caribbean and North America. Our teams are excited about 

this addition to our network and the opportunity to give you 

more regional travel options and seamless international travel 

connections. It’s the perfect time to explore this beautiful 

country of thirty-two islands. 

To serve you better, we have relocated our Port of Spain 

City Ticket Office to the upper level of the Parkade Building, 

at the corner of Queen and Richmond Streets in downtown 

Port of Spain, Trinidad. The strategic positioning of this ticket 

office gives us the opportunity to deliver seamless travel 

engagement, with spacious and comfortable facilities, and to 

offer you additional conveniences. 

As the weather warms up in North America, activities are 

plenty, and we encourage you to fly with us to enjoy events 

such as: 

• Memorial Day, United States, 30 May: this holiday 

rivals Thanksgiving with some of the best shopping 

that the US has to offer. Make your reservations 

early and fly with us to enjoy this long weekend of 

shopping and entertainment 

• Film Month Miami, June 2017: featuring everything 

from niche indies to internationally renowned and 

critically acclaimed films 

• Blue Note Jazz Festival, New York City, 1 to 30 

June: an amazing lineup of 150 concerts at fifteen 

venues throughout New York 

• Taste of Toronto: 15 to 18 June: Garrison Common 

at Fort York will transform into a foodie wonderland 

as the World’s Greatest Restaurant Festival returns 

for four days of fantastic food, drink, and summer fun 

courtesy svg tourism authority 

Friendship Bay in Bequia, one of the thirty-two 

islands of St Vincent and the Grenadines 

culture, and uniqueness of our region to international travellers. 

There’s also a host of activities within the region, and we’re 

happy to take you there, too. These include: 

• Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival, Nassau, 5 to 7 May: 

remember, Caribbean Airlines flies between Nassau 

and Trinidad and Tobago three times per week, on 

Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday 

• Pure Grenada Music Festival, 5 to 7 May 

• Caribbean Fashion Week, Jamaica, 7 to 11 June 

• Guyana Independence Day, 26 May 

Remember: when travelling, Demand Value. Choose 

Caribbean. 

Please visit our website at www.caribbean-airlines. 

com. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram 

@iflycaribbean. 

Thank you for choosing Caribbean Airlines — we are 

grateful for your business, and look forward to serving you 

throughout our network. 

Yours in service, 

The Employees of Caribbean Airlines 

Caribbean Airlines will also participate in the Caribbean 

Tourism Organisation’s Caribbean Week New York from 3 

to 10 June. This event highlights the diversity of the authentic 

Caribbean. Over the years, Caribbean Airlines has worked 

closely with the CTO to promote the sights, sounds, colour, 


AdvertoriAl 

The Bahamas 

T 

hat’s the tag line for Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival 

2017 . . . and bet your favourite pair of shoes it 

will be just that! 

Sizzling sounds of eager and excited contestants 

in the Music Masters competition, like “Super” 

Sammie Starr — proud winner in 2015, who gave way to 

“Fabulous” Fanshawn Taylor in 2016. The creative genius 

of these talented Bahamian artistes reaches boiling point: 

powerful lyrics set to masterful music laced with the unmistakable 

pulsating Bahamas Junkanoo “rake-n’-scrape” 

rhythm. 

Fiery performances by popular local artistes like longstanding 

lead performing band Visage, led by lawyer Obi 

Pindling, who’s been soulfully supplying The Bahamas 

with soca rhythms for over thirty years. Like good wine, 

Visage gets better by the year. The outstanding front line, 

featuring Dyson Knight, Wendy Lewis, Nehemiah Hield, 

Benjamin “Benje” Alexander (from St Lucia), and Shawn 

Ferguson, will take you on a heated, mesmerising, musical 

journey to be remembered for many a year. 

Machel Montano, headliner for BJC 2015, kept patrons 

on their feet in a Friday-night frenzy until five in the morning. 

Bunji Garlin, Fay Ann Lyons, and the Asylum Band 

heated up the shoreline on Junkanoo Beach in 2015 and 

2016, headlining the close-out concert after Road Fever. 

And BJC 2017 will feature T&T Road March winners MX 

Prime and the Ultimate Rejects — yes, you heard right! Plus 

many other stars from the Carnival mecca which is Trinidad 

and Tobago. 

Our Road Fever street parade, with a temperature off 

the mercury column, will cause you not to blink. You can’t 

afford to miss the harmonious yet free-spirited gyration of 

bodies dressed in a festive array of colourful Carnival costumes 

— assembled creatively and skillfully sculpted by Bahamian 

artisans, powering through the streets of Nassau. 

The band Visage performs at the launch of Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival 

So — fabulous costumes, sensational soca, soft white 

sand, beautiful balmy breezes, mouth-watering local delicacies, 

and world-class mega-stars all at the same time? 

Impossible, you think? Uh uh! Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival 

2017 is the place to be on 28 and 29 April in Freeport 

and 4 to 6 May in Nassau! 

Come, we’ll show you — it’ll be hot like fire! 

Visit bahamasjunkanoocarnival.com or 

bahamas.com. 

In the Caribbean, we fly on Caribbean Airlines, direct from Port of 

Spain, Trinidad to Lynden Pindling International Airport, Nassau, on 

Sundays, Tuesdays, and Fridays. See you in The Bahamas! 

Written by Elaine Monica Davis 


datebook 

Your guide to Caribbean events in May and June, from a film festival in 

Guyana to a celebration of hiking in Dominica 

rphstock/shutterstock.com 

Don’t miss . . . 

Fiesta de San Juan 

24 to 27 June 

Trinidad, Cuba 

Caribbean festivals usually mean love, partying, and a salutation to 

culture. In Cuba, the Fiesta de San Juan, falling in the traditional season 

of midsummer, is most popular in the city of Trinidad. With origins in 

Spain, the celebrations include a cavalcade of horses and cowboys and a 

coronation ceremony for “the Queen and the Ladies.” Look out too for 

traditional music and dancing, plus plenty food and rum. 

How to get there? Look out for 

news about future Caribbean 

Airlines flights to José Martí 

International Airport in Havana 


datebook 

If you’re in . . . 

ST LUCIA 

GUYANA 

ST VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES 

Soleil: St Lucia Summer 

Festival 

12 May to 29 October 

Venues around St Lucia 

stlucia.org 

Timehri Film Festival 

31 May to 4 June 

Moray House, Georgetown, and other 

locations 

timehrifilmfestival.com 

Maroon Festival 

Three days before or after the full 

moon in June 

Ashton and Clifton, Union Island 

discoversvg.com 

courtesy st lucia summer festival 

For decades, St Lucia Jazz has been 

one of the major music events in 

the Caribbean, running for ten to 

fourteen days in May. But why should 

the fun stop there? In 2017, St Lucia’s 

answer is a brand-new summer 

programme of six different festivals. 

It begins on Mother’s Day 

weekend, 12 to 14 May, as the iconic 

Jazz Festival raises the temperature 

with a programme starring local, 

Caribbean, and international artistes. 

Trinidadian kaiso king David Rudder 

and American pan maestro Andy 

Narell kick things off, alongside 

performances by singer and actress 

Vanessa Williams, the Malavoi creole 

jazz band from Martinique, and 

Cuban Latin jazz artiste Richard Bona. 

After you tap to the jazz, you 

can groove at the soul station at the 

Roots and Soul Festival from 16 to18 

June; pump and wine at St Lucia 

Carnival from 14 to18 July; indulge 

your tastebuds at the Food and Rum 

Festival, 24 to 27 August; then top 

up in the freedom of sound at the 

Country and Blues Festival from 15 to 

17 September. The cool-down session 

comes on 28 and 29 October, at the 

Arts and Heritage Festival. As St Lucian 

soca star Teddyson John sings, “Come 

on everybody, allez, allez, allez, allez!” 

courtesy timehri film festival 

Sample the talent on and behind the 

big screen in one of the Caribbean’s 

most nature-rich countries. Now 

in its second year, the Timehri Film 

Festival — named for Guyana’s 

indigenous rock paintings — draws 

work from Guyanese and Caribbean 

filmmakers, including the diaspora. 

The line-up includes feature films and 

documentaries that not only highlight 

the Guyanese landscape, history, and 

culture, but also incorporate elements 

of nearby Trinidad and Tobago’s Green 

Screen environmental film festival. 

“Many of the great films being 

made in the Caribbean aren’t being 

seen by Guyanese audiences,” says TFF 

director Romola Lucas. Consequently, 

Lucas’s team created the festival to fill 

that void and encourage the growth 

of film as an artform in Guyana. 

Expanding to work with the Green 

Screen Festival is more than just a 

talk-shop partnership. “With climate 

change already impacting us, all 

communities must become better 

informed, and empowered, to make 

decisions about their future,” says 

Green Screen founder Carver Bacchus. 

Unity towards film arts and a healthier 

environment aims to strike a balance 

as we see ourselves, our culture and 

experiences, on the cinema screen. 

It’s said that if you keep the ancestors 

in mind, they will bless you throughout 

time. And on Union Island in the 

Grenadines, keeping the spirit of the 

Maroon ancestors alive is at the centre 

of this annual festival. “Maroon” is a 

form of giving thanks, and the festival 

is held to pray for rain with hopes 

of starting the planting season. It’s 

also a practice of acknowledging the 

forefathers through harvest rituals 

transported from West Africa and 

continued down the generations. 

During the day, Union Island 

residents sacrifice food as an offering, 

cooked using a heating base of 

three big rocks and firewood. And 

at night, traditional African dances 

are expressed through choreography 

known as the Big Drum Dance. 

It includes the distinctive Nation, 

Bongay, Cheerup, Calendar, Alleh, 

and Ladderis dances. Shakes of the 

maracas, songs in patois, and chants 

reminiscent of all ancestors like 

the Yoruba and Congo boost the 

drumming. Some traditions fade with 

time, while others are here to stay. 

Listen for the blowing of the conch 

shell. This signals the beginning. 

Event previews by Shelly-Ann Inniss 

Pawel Kazmierczak/shutterstock.com 


datebook 

Magical May 

Indian Arrival Day 

Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago 

Commemorate the start of 

indentured Indian immigration 

to the Caribbean, which 

enriched the region’s history 

and culture — on 5 May in 

Guyana, 30 May in T&T 

amanda richards 

30 

01 

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

16 17 1 

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

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

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

May 5 Arrival Day Mela, G\Town 

May 6 - 7 Nitrageet Dance, G\Town 

May 26 Independence Day, Countrywide 

July 29-30 Moruca Expo, Moruca Region 1 

August 1 Emancipation Day, National Park 

August 3-6 Bartica Regatta, Bartica Region 7 

August 13 Lake Mainstay Regatta, Essequibo 

August 18 - 21 Berbice Expo & Trade Fair, Berbice 

August 26 Naya Zamana, G\Town 

Sept 1 - 30 Indigenous Month, Countrywide 

Sept 16 Nereid’s Yacht Rally, Essequibo River 

Oct 19 Diwali Motorcade, Georgetown 

Oct 29 Rockstone Fish Festival, Rockstone 

Nov 12 Motor Racing Championships, Timehri 

Nov 17-26 Guyana Restaurant Week, Georgetown 

Nov 21-26 South Rupununi Safari, Rupununi 

Nov 25-26 Rupununi Expo, Lethem 

Dec 31 Horse Racing, Rising Sun Turf, Berbice 


Hike Fest 

Dominica 

dominica.dm 

The first three Saturdays of the month are reserved 

for trekking through the rainforests, hiking trails, and 

other rugged sites of the Nature Isle 

[6, 13 and 20 May] 

[9 to 12 March] 

Kendra Nielsen/shutterstock.com 

International Sea-to-Sea Marathon 

Tobago 

Run a full marathon, a half marathon, 

5K or 10K through the world’s oldest 

legally protected rainforest, from Tobago’s 

Caribbean coastline to the Atlantic 

[20 May] 

Lamentin Jazz Project 

Martinique 

lamentin-jazz-project.com 

Come for jam sessions, workshops, concerts, 

forums, and special discoveries in a musical 

atmosphere where harmony reigns 

[29 May to 4 June] 

Ends 4 June 

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

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 30 01 02 0 

16 17 18 19 


datebook 

Jazzy June 

Caribana 

Barbuda 

Soca, reggae, and calypso lovers 

jam in a festive atmosphere on the 

picturesque beach-fringed island 

[1 to 4 June] 

Pineapple Festival 

Eleuthera and Harbour Island, Bahamas 

It’s a traditional symbol of welcome — celebrate 

pineapple heritage with the plaiting of the pineapple 

pole, old time pineapple sports, and an eclectic range of 

pineapple-themed activities 


St Martin Book Fair 

Venues around Sint Maarten and 

St-Martin 

The Caribbean’s most multilingual 

literature celebration is back with 

three days of readings, discussions, 

and performances in English, 

Dutch, and French 


[19 to 25 April] 

Horus2017/shutterstock.com 

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

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


courtesy barbados association of flower arrangers 

Fisherman’s Birthday 

Celebration 

Gouyave, Grenada 

Local street food, especially tasty 

and unusual fish dishes, takes 

precedence, but don’t forget the 

music and other entertainment 

[29 June] 

Flowers in Paradise 

Barbados 

Expect an extravaganza of blossoms at this World Association of Floral 

Artists (WAFA) event, showcased for the third year in Barbados 


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

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


word of mouth 

Dispatches from our correspondents around the Caribbean and further afield 

Keep it 

pure 

David Katz looks 

forward to the 

multifaceted Pure 

Grenada Music Festival 

alexandra quinn 

Unlike the many genre-specific 

festivals regularly staged on larger 

islands, Pure Grenada’s roster 

is an inclusive one, the multifaceted 

approach allowing for jazz, blues, soul, 

and other foreign forms, along with the 

mainstays of soca, reggae, dancehall, and 

related variants — so long as the performer 

in question has enough artistic integrity 

and originality to be deemed worthy of 

making the cut. 

Now in its second year, the annual 

Pure Grenada Music Festival unfolds at 

different venues across the island during 

the first weekend of May. As with 2016’s 

inaugural event, the music of Grenada 

and the wider Caribbean region is the 

festival’s main focus, counter-balanced 

by the presence of a handful of highprofile 

international acts. With the 

flagship Festival Village located on the 

edge of one of the most beautiful natural 

harbours in the world, and themed music 

nights taking place on the exclusive 

confines of Calivigny Island, attendees 

are truly in for a feast of the senses, and 

in keeping with the ethos of “purity,” the 

festival has a commitment to minimising 

any potentially negative impact on the 

environment, with recyclable materials 

mandatory for food vendors and a general 

view to “going green.” 

There’s also a high proportion of local 

performers on the bill, most of whom 

are largely unknown to the outside 

world — the festival thus gives a chance 

for Grenadian acts to be heard by new 

audiences who may be encountering the 

island’s culture for the very first time. 

It’s all part of the festival’s commitment 

to nurturing local talent, and all profits 

are channelled into Music & Beyond, 

the non-profit organisation established 

to support the island’s budding musical 

practitioners. 

Upcoming artists to watch for this year 

include Lion Paw and the D Unit Band (a 

group that has backed some of the biggest 

names in reggae, led by a singer heavily 

steeped in the gospel of his childhood), 

the hybrid jazz-rock outfit Quiet Fire 

(whose bassist, Dexter Yawching, hails 

from Trinidad, and violinist, Aixa Miguen, 

from Cuba), the smooth R&B of balladeer 

Sonika (the first Grenadian singer to have 

a VEVO channel), and the conscious 

dancehall of A#keem & Nature Claim, 

who will be performing at Pure Grenada 

in unplugged acoustic mode. In contrast, 

the presence of Tarrus Riley, Queen 

Ifrica, and Third World from Jamaica will 

surely delight reggae connoisseurs. 

The initial spark behind Pure Grenada 

was a general “rebranding” of the island 

that places emphasis on Grenada as a 

desirable destination for travellers interested 

in arts, culture, and eco-tourism. 

Reaching Grenada from Europe has 

become somewhat more challenging in 

recent years, since several international 

carriers curtailed their routes to the Spice 

Isle. Yet those that make the effort to 

travel here are rewarded by the island’s 

relaxed pace and unspoilt beaches, all 

freely open to locals and tourists alike. 

Grenada has always taken a sensible 

approach to its tourism, which has seen 

it thankfully avoid the overdevelopment 

of neighbouring tourism hotspots, and 

this inclusive aspect is also reflected in 

the festival itself, which has kept many 

of its events free of charge, so that local 

residents will not face unwarranted 

exclusion. 

If you’ve never been to Grenada 

before, Pure Grenada makes the perfect 

time for a maiden voyage — and if you’ve 

already been blessed enough to spend 

time on her shores, it’s just another reason 

for a welcome return. 


word of mouth 

Say it 

your way 

amanda richards 

As Guyana marks the 

anniversary of Indian 

Arrival in May, Neil Marks 

explains how traces of 

Bhojpuri still liven everyday 

Guyanese speech 

I 

grew up in predominantly East Indian 

communities of Guyana, spending 

half of my school years in a place 

called La Grange, in West Bank Demerara, 

and the other half at Enmore, East Coast 

Demerara. 

It’s safe to say, then, that I was indoctrinated 

in the Indo-Guyanese Creole that 

was the everyday language in these places. 

Back in those days, I hardly bothered 

about the strange words used at home and 

next door and among friends at school. Of 

course, they were strange only to those 

who didn’t understand these words, and 

whenever I did speak Indo-Guyanese 

Creole, I’d be labelled “coolie,” the 

derogatory word used for the men and 

women who were recruited from India to 

work on the sugar plantations under the 

system of indentureship. 

Beginning on 5 May, 1838, almost 

239,000 Indians made the treacherous 

journey across the oceans and were 

deposited on various plantations across 

the then-colony of British Guiana. One of 

those plantations was Enmore. 

The sugar estate was next door to 

where I lived. The sugar workers I saw 

come and go on a daily basis were descendants 

of those who came on the ships. 

Some of the older folks had memories 

of grandmothers and grandfathers who 

came and decided to stay when indentureship 

ended, one hundred years ago 

this year. 

Those who chose not to return to India, 

and made a life for themselves and their 

families in Guyana, spoke their language 

and practiced their cultures, most of them 

steeped in Hindu rituals. The language 

they spoke was Bhojpuri, related to Hindi, 

with elements of the local dialects of the 

states they came from, usually either Bihar 

or Uttar Pradesh. 

Of course, Bhojpuri was not the only 

language spoken by the Indians who 

settled here. There were also Avadhi, 

Maithili, Khari Boli (Old Hindi), and 

Tamil. However, through association, 

a form of Bhojpuri overtook the other 

languages. 

The Bhojpuri words still used today 

often occur in everyday life — to pass 

instructions, to issue a strong warning, 

to win the affections of another, or just to 

engage in idle chatter. 

I prefer the Bhojpuri words used to 

differentiate relations. So, for example, if 

someone tells me that so-and-so is their 

grandfather or grandmother, I don’t have 

to guess or ask whether they mean from 

the paternal side or the maternal side. 

Nani and Nana are your maternal grandmother 

and grandfather, and Ajee and Aja 

are from your paternal side. 

If someone threatens to jataha me, I 

know to keep moving, or they’ll lick me 

down with a piece of wood. If I am told 

to maanjay the bartan, I know I have to 

do the dishes, or if I am told to bring the 

chaddar to wash, I know to go and get the 

sheets off the bed. 

When it comes to food, asking for 

more surwah means the sauce from the 

curry or stew. Of course, if the food is 

delicious, I’ll sannay the plate, using my 

fingers to lick off everything, making sure 

the plate is good as clean. 

To swar or paku someone is to cajole 

them into going along with your scheme. 

And if you allow that to happen, well, then 

you’re a good-for-nothing, so be prepared 

for an insult like korhee or katahar or 

lamata coming your way. 

These are just trinkets of what remains 

of the Bhojpuri language in Guyana. I 

suspect its survival depends on those 

who are not afraid to speak it, and in some 

effort to preserve or document this part of 

our culture. n 


ADVERTORIAL commemorating the 80th anniversary of the OWTU 

The OWTU: 

Consistent, Patriotic, and Revolutionary Since 1937 

Written by Ozzi Warwick, Chief Education and Research Officer, OWTU 

The Oilfields’ Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) is one of the oldest, and the most 

powerful, assertive and outspoken trade unions in Trinidad and Tobago. It 

represents workers from very significant sectors of the local economy, 

including oil, electricity, education, light and heavy manufacturing, and 

other services. Today, it continues to contribute to the development of the working 

class locally, regionally, and internationally. The OWTU has built a solid reputation 

based on its working-class ideology and leftist views on political change. Renowned 

for agitating for economic changes in society, the Union has indisputably made 

significant contributions to national development. The OWTU is known to challenge 

the status quo, and has always engaged in struggle on the basis of equity and social 

justice for all. 

This year the OWTU marks its 80th Anniversary. In 1937, the working class of 

Trinidad and Tobago, and other parts of the English-Speaking Caribbean, arose in 

a huge wave of anti-colonial revolt. Fighting against intense exploitation by the 

colonial authorities, workers demanded improved working and living conditions, the 

right to vote, nationalisation of key sectors, and independence. 

On June 19, 1937, workers in the oilfields in Fyzabad initiated strike action, led by 

the iconic militant national leader Tubal Uriah “Buzz” Butler. The struggle became 

nationwide, involving workers from the sugar plantations and other exploited 

workers throughout the country. Many workers were killed during the weeks of 

insurrection that followed. It was out of these dynamic and historic circumstances, 

Tubal Uriah Butler 

Courtesy the Quintin o’Connor Library, oWtu 

28

ADVERTORIAL commemorating the 80th anniversary of the OWTU 

and in “blood, sweat, and tears” that the 

Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union was born. 

From its inception to this date, the OWTU 

has been infused with the spirit of that 

1937 movement: the spirit of fighting for 

the rights of ordinary citizens and the poor. 

In eighty long years, the OWTU has 

had only five President Generals, as its 

membership has always been very careful 

in choosing a leader: 

1937–1943 Adrian Cola Rienzi 

1943–1962 John F.F. Rojas 

1962–1987 George Weekes 

1987–2008 Errol K. McLeod 

2008–present Ancel George Roget 

Under the current President General, 

Ancel Roget, the OWTU has re-affirmed 

its vision to achieve a society with the 

power to determine its destiny on the 

basis of equity, social justice, and a decent 

standard of living for all. Accordingly, the 

Union continues to advance its role by 

organising, educating, mobilising, and 

making significant political interventions. 

From birth, the OWTU has relentlessly 

pursued this vision by undertaking 

numerous activities. The Union also invests 

extensively in training and education of its 

members and Union Officers to ensure 

workers receive optimum representation 

in a changing world. 

In 2016, the OWTU, in collaboration with 

the Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM), 

presented to the government of Trinidad 

and Tobago “Labour’s 

Economic Alternative 

Plan” (LEAP), in an 

attempt to address 

certain challenges 

being experienced 

due to the global 

economic situation. 

LEAP was meant 

to be an alternative 

to the current 

economic approach 

that reduces workers’ 

terms and conditions, 

causes significant job 

losses, and threatens 

the social fabric of the country. 

Top photo: OWTU members protesting 

Above photo: OWTU President General Ancel Roget 

The OWTU also has a strong internationalist and regionalist position, 

supporting the Assembly of Caribbean People (ACP), and participating in many 

regional initiatives to strengthen the Caribbean’s regional integration process. 

The Union, as a member of IndustriALL Global Union, and the World Federation 

of Trade Unions (WFTU), has always strongly advocated for international working 

class solidarity to combat the negative impact of global capital and its economic 

crisis. 

“ 

” 

The Caribbean Society, built by the 

labouring classes, must continue to forge its 

own destiny, constructing a path for social 

justice and equity for all. 

— OWTU President General Ancel Roget 

29

ICON 

Horst tappe/getty images 


Derek Walcott 

(1930–2017) 

St Lucian poet, playwright, and Nobel laureate 

He was a prodigy, and he knew it. He self-published 

his first book, 25 Poems, when he was just 

eighteen, paying the printer’s bill with $200 borrowed 

from his mother, and selling copies on 

the street. Somehow, a handful of books trickled 

out of St Lucia, passed on from one literary 

enthusiast to another, and the news spread from island to island 

of this extraordinary and precocious talent. 

Among the Caribbean writers of his generation, one after 

another has spoken or written of the immediate inspiration of 

Derek Walcott’s first book, modest for its size but not for its 

ambitions. To his earliest readers, 

Walcott’s poems hinted that these 

small, peripheral islands might have 

a great literary destiny. 

In Walcott’s youth, the shelf 

of Caribbean poets was still 

uncrowded. It was easy for him, 

perhaps, to quickly adopt the role of 

pre-eminent West Indian poet — in 

which, for more than six decades, he 

was essentially unchallenged. His 

1992 Nobel Prize merely affirmed 

that the rest of the world recognised what his readers at home in 

the Caribbean had long accepted. 

In his autobiographical epic Another Life, Walcott described 

his youth in St Lucia and the trajectoy of ambitions that would 

inevitably take him away from his birthplace into long years 

of what sometimes seemed exile: to university in Jamaica, a 

brief time teaching in Grenada, repeated visits to the United 

States, where he was based during the 1980s. But during the 

astonishingly productive stretch of his thirties and forties 

Walcott lived in Port of Spain, the gloriously unruly city where 

he found inspiration and a kind of refuge. The journalist Lennox 

Grant had good reason to call him a St Lucia-born Trinidadian, 

even if Walcott himself claimed the island of his birth with a 

single-minded fidelity, saying “I’ve never felt I belong anywhere 

else but in St Lucia.” 

To his earliest readers, 

Walcott’s poems hinted 

that these small, peripheral 

islands might have a great 

literary destiny 

No Caribbean poet following Walcott could escape wrestling 

with his words, his images, and his vision of the archipelago 

as a place where everything that mattered was new, and the 

legacies of Africa, Europe, and Asia were an inheritance to be 

transformed in art and poetry. He believed he was writing in the 

company of Homer, Shakespeare, Milton, and Yeats. He shaped 

the language we think in and speak in, which means he changed 

the way we understand the world. He was a poet whose books 

people reach for in times of trouble, sorrow, celebration. He 

wrote often about the light: the physical light of the Caribbean, 

for which he had a painter’s eye, but his poems are also 

touched with a metaphysical light, 

illuminating and consoling. 

Walcott proved beyond doubt that 

the English language is the property 

of no single nation or culture. (Of his 

first book published in Britain, the 

eminence Robert Graves famously 

wrote: “Derek Walcott handles 

English with a closer understanding 

of its inner magic than most (if not 

any) of his contemporaries.”) He 

had a fierce and almost religious 

devotion to the landscape of St Lucia and the broader Caribbean, 

which he immortalised in his lines and metaphors. He believed it 

was the job of poets to give names to the places, people, and things 

which history had rendered anonymous, and he emboldened other 

poets to do the same. He showed that even the most humble village 

on a tiny island on the fringes of the world could be a place of epic 

beauty — despite, or even because of, its “insignificance” — once 

written into his poems. 

Above all, he was the living proof that one of us — born in 

tiny Castries, educated in Kingston, living and working in Port 

of Spain — could become one of the great poets of all time, 

writing from the circumstances of everyday life. “At the end of 

this sentence, rain will begin.” 

Nicholas Laughlin 


Bookshelf 

Augustown, by Kei Miller (Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 256 pp, ISBN 

9781474603591) 

In Augustown — a place which is at once like the real-life August Town, 

and its own creation altogether — Kei Miller brings us a tale taller than 

moko jumbie stilts: one of preachermen who can ascend heavenward with 

nothing more than the seeds of their faith to buoy them. Miller’s novel 

takes the historic truth-kernel of Jamaican Revivalist preacher Alexander 

Bedward and fashions it into not a myth, but a versioning of truth that 

might have been left out of colonial schoolbooks. Acts of miraculous 

faith occupy the same space as symbolic gestures of defiant hatred: a 

schoolteacher struggling with his own demons scissors off the dreadlocks 

of a young boy-child, casting a close-knit community into an uneasy limbo 

of power-plays and dire confrontations. Through this unravelling of hair 

and safety, the novel’s warning could not be plainer: it takes more than 

faith, even the kind that eclipses gravity, to right wrongs that are as old as 

slavery, and as toxic to the human spirit. 

The omniscient speaker of Augustown tells us: “But always there was 

this divide between the stories that were written and stories that were 

spoken — stories that smelt of snow and faraway places, and stories that 

had the smell of their own breath.” Through the voice of blind seerwoman 

Ma Taffy, whose own emtombed ciphers could fell those in the highest of 

offices, that spoken history comes blinking into the written light, in prose 

that compels and uplifts. 

Here Comes the Sun, by Nicole Dennis-Benn 

(Liveright, 352 pp, ISBN 9781631491764) 

Nicole Dennis-Benn’s debut 

novel trains a rifle-scope on 

the Jamaican tourism industry, 

pointing several accusatory 

fingers at those who 

oil its well-greased cogs for 

profit. In her examination 

of the lives of a Jamaican 

matriarch, Delores, and 

her two daughters, Margot 

and Thandi, Dennis-Benn 

grabs concerns of colourism 

and sexual exploitation by 

the roots, revealing how 

they infuse the daily lives 

of this small, fraught family. Margot, who anchors Here 

Comes the Sun’s storytelling bulwark, is a confidently 

mapped anti-heroine: a perilous warning of the dangers 

of survival at any cost; a portrait of complex and courageous 

womanhood in a world where no male saviours 

are either realistic or forthcoming. Dennis-Benn’s debut 

mightily resists the interpretation of Jamaica as just one 

thing: neither paradise nor ghetto, neither slum nor idyllic 

resort. In this novel, the spaces between social classes, 

between women and all the secrets they keep buried, tell 

the most turbulent of truths. 

Morning, Paramin, by Derek Walcott and Peter 

Doig (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 120 pp, ISBN 

9780374213428) 

In Morning, Paramin, 

almost all the roads lead to 

home. This hybrid collection 

of poems and paintings 

combines the work 

of 1992 Nobel laureate 

Derek Walcott, who died in 

March, and Scottish figurative 

painter Peter Doig. 

These, the final poems of 

Walcott’s to be published 

in his lifetime, reveal not 

only a preoccupation with 

death, but an unstinting, wide-eyed acceptance of what 

might lie beyond the veil. Walcott’s verse meets Doig’s 

oil and tempera paintings with humour, ribald selfreflection, 

pathos, and open sentimentality. These are 

poems that do not apologise to anyone, celebrating a 

friendship between poet and painter, offering Trinidad 

in all its colour, noise, and surprising quiescence to Doig 

as “a country full of paintable names: / Paramin, Fyzabad, 

Couva, where the trees rhyme . . . where headstones 

multiply like sails on a Sunday, / where a widower tacks 

under a pink parasol, / where people think pain or pan is 

good for the soul.” 


Travels with a Husband, by Patricia Mohammed 

and Rex Dixon (Hansib Publications, 216 pp, 

ISBN 9781910553695) 

The difference between 

tourists and travellers is an 

emotional one: to travel 

consciously often means to 

eschew five-star comforts for 

deeper illuminations. Such 

is the case in this charmingly 

well-considered book of journeys 

from Trinidadian scholar 

Patricia Mohammed and her 

artist husband, London-born 

Rex Dixon. Whether they contemplate 

the sobering realities 

of quotidian life in Haiti, or 

offer letters and tributes to the figures who have touched 

their twinned lives (as in the moving “Letter to Vincent”, 

the master painter van Gogh), the views in Travels with a 

Husband embrace the unknown. Avoiding the prescriptive, 

this memoir in passport stamps circumnavigates stations of 

the globe through the ebb and flow of seasons, political 

affiliations, shifting languages, and personal passions. 

Allowing the reader in with humour-leavened humility, 

and the possibility of a new horizon peeking around each 

corner, here is a guide for all true sojourners of both vast 

regions and domestic plains. 

Aching to Be, by Andrew J. Fitt (Ponies and 

Horses Books, 60 pp, ISBN 9781910631492) 

St Lucia-born, Trinidad-based 

writer and visual artist Andrew 

J. Fitt was diagnosed with cerebral 

palsy at nine months old. 

Despite this pronouncement, 

which would directly impact 

the ambit of his childhood and 

adult life, Aching to Be is not a 

litany of woes. In clear, crisply 

self-aware prose, Fitt traces his 

life with CP using a winning 

blend of dispassionate observation 

and perfectly timed jokes 

at his own expense. Miniature in comparison to many 

other memoirs, Fitt’s account of his struggles and successes 

is a careful and shrewd paragraph-by-paragraph 

reckoning, where every word counts. There is a dearth 

of literature in the Caribbean written by people who live 

with neurological disorders; Aching to Be stands in that 

lacuna as a necessary installment from an undaunted, 

engaging voice. 

Reviews by Shivanee Ramlochan, Bookshelf editor 


playlist 

R.E.D. British Dependency (VPAL Music) 

Anguillan music trio British 

Dependency — Joyah (bass), 

Ishmael (guitar), and Jaiden 

(drums) — have released a 

new album of music which 

they classify as “reggae plus”: 

jah music enhanced with a 

little soul, rock, blues, and 

anything that tickles their 

fancy from the palette of 

Caribbean sounds. This ten-track album, their fourth — its 

title is an acronym for “Represent. Empower. Defend.” — 

touches on myriad topics, from love to a wider reckoning 

of life on that small island in the big world. The lead-off 

single, “Close Your Eyes”, sparks a conversation about 

what is modern love: “Now how does it feel that he’s 

loving you / While you’re loving me? / Does it show?” 

Island love is not so special, after all. Infidelity aside, the 

album showcases how Caribbean rhythms have become 

pervasive, as all islands groove to the tempo and metre 

that move bodies to dance, and make minds think of 

solutions to eternal problems. 

Born to Shine Vaughnette Bigford (self-released) 

Creole chanteuse Vaughnette 

Bigford delivers a sublime 

mix of tunes from her native 

Trinidadian songbook on her 

debut album Born to Shine. 

With a restrained but fine 

voice that captures the timbre 

and phrasing of excellent jazz 

singing, Bigford transforms 

familiar calypsos and island 

pop songs from the 1970s and 80s into well-wrought 

modern jazz and R&B settings that highlight fine examples 

of local songcraft. “All these years of toil, burning the 

midnight oil / Creating something from nothing,” wrote 

soca pioneer Lord Shorty in 1978. Bigford literally and figuratively 

has done just that with these rehashed songs. The 

proverb “don’t judge a book by its cover,” may be applied 

here — defaults in packaging design aside — as we bask in 

the splendour of what’s inside the music. High production 

value, lucid enunciation of lyrics needing to be heard, and 

elevation of island song are the hallmarks of an audacious 

debut destined to shine brightly. 

Single Spotlight 

Blow Way Lancelot Layne (Cree Records) 

African-Caribbean oral traditions 

in music were formative 

to rap. In Trinidad, rapso 

— “the poetry of calypso 

and the consciousness of 

soca” — is the descendent 

of the chantuelle and griot 

traditions of the island’s early 

music. Lancelot Layne was 

a founding pioneer of this 

form of music, spawning a generation of acolytes. On this 

compilation, German label Cree Records collects Layne’s 

corpus grounding the music of that Afro-Caribbean 

diaspora in word play and a lyrical construct that focuses 

on inspiration, confidence, and assertiveness: “If a man 

want to set false standards for you to follow / To he, what 

you say? Blow way!” Layne recorded from the early 1970s 

until the 80s, and presaged ideas and attitudes in line 

with a sense of fearlessness that would nurture a genre, 

an industry, and an icon. The continuing collection and 

commercial compilation of the Trinidadian music canon 

by Cree adds an ironic twist to the celebratory chauvinism 

Layne anticipated. 

Carnival Mista Savona featuring Solis & Randy 

Valentine (Evidence Music) 

Picture this: an Aussie DJ who 

plays reggae in the continent 

down under hatches an idea 

to marry the music of Cuba 

and Jamaica — so near, yet 

so far, and not done until 

now — and share it with the 

world. The forthcoming project, 

long in gestation, is called 

Havana Meets Kingston, and 

this single, “Carnival”, is the 

lead-off track. Jake Savona is reputedly Australia’s leading 

reggae and dancehall producer, and on this project, 

inspired by the cultural interloping of Ry Cooder and the 

resultant Buena Vista Social Club album and film, Savona 

serves up a delightful world music fusion exercise that 

seeks to translate rhythms and languages into fun. Sung in 

both English and Spanish, the percussive clave of Cuba and 

the rolling bass riddim of Jamaica showcase their common 

Afro-Caribbean roots. “Give me a signal if you feel the 

vibe / Give me a light, look alive / Reggae music in Havana 

everything is nice.” Indeed! Welcome to the Carnival. 

Reviews by Nigel A. Campbell 


SCREENSHOTS 

Cargo 

Directed by Kareem Mortimer, 2017, 102 minutes 

Kareem Mortimer, it could be said, is an auteur of the 

ocean, a filmmaker for whom the sea is more than just the 

beautiful blue element surrounding the hundreds of islands 

that comprise his native Bahamas. In his cry-for-compassion 

debut Children of God, it was 

a medium through which two 

young men explored their feelings 

for one another, while in Wind 

Jammers, his (co-directed) second 

film, a teenager faced down racial 

prejudice through her mastery of 

sailing. 

The Caribbean Sea also plays 

a primal role in Mortimer’s third 

feature, Cargo, his most urgent 

and unsettling yet. It tells the intertwined tales of contrasting 

characters: Kevin, a white Bahamian who becomes a 

fisherman after he’s convicted of embezzlement and has 

his family deported from the United States, and Celianne, 

a Haitian migrant who grinds out a living as a waitress in 

Nassau and hopes to escape with her son to Miami. When 

an opportunity arises for Kevin to make money by smuggling 

Haitians on his boat, Celianne has a chance to realise 

her dream. 

Acted with a grim determination by the British actor 

Warren Brown, Kevin is a film noir sort of protagonist, a 

man who — blinded by privilege — does bad things but 

believes he is a good person. Gessica Geneus is sympathetic 

as Celianne, at first a biddable 

young woman who allows 

herself to be taken in by Kevin’s 

bravado, until his sinister side 

begins to show and her agency 

blossoms. 

Set against the two leads, 

Cargo’s supporting characters 

aren’t as memorably realised. 

The exception is Major, the businessman 

whose lucrative scheme 

Kevin signs up to. “I don’t deal in the slave trade,” 

protests Major (an entertainingly salty Craig Pinder). 

Yet it is a kind of contemporary slave trade — one that, 

ultimately, Mortimer isn’t afraid to present in all its deepwater 

tragedy. 

For more information, visit facebook.com/Cargo2016 

The Empty Box 

Directed by Claudia Sainte-Luce, 2016, 101 minutes 

Mexican Claudia Sainte- 

Luce’s endearing debut, 

The Amazing Catfish, 

advanced the progressive 

notion that people 

don’t need to be related 

to one another to be 

family. The Empty Box, her weightier follow-up, inverts 

this idea: simply because someone is of your blood, that 

doesn’t necessarily make them kin. 

A young waitress named Jazmin (played by the 

director herself) lives alone in Mexico City. When the 

undocumented Haitian father from whom she has 

been estranged for years, Toussaint (a commandingly 

understated Jimmy Jean-Louis), is diagnosed with senile 

dementia, she grudgingly takes him in, and the pair 

must work towards some sort of accommodation, if not 

reconciliation. 

Jazmin comes across as something of an emotional 

cypher, which can make it difficult to sympathise with 

her. Yet when Sainte-Luce flashes back to Toussaint’s 

childhood in Haiti — shot, like the rest of the film, in 

exquisitely atmospheric tones — she achieves a poetic, 

dreamlike resonance. 

For more information, visit facebook.com/lacajavaciapelicula 

The Skyjacker’s Tale 

Directed by Jamie Castner, 2016, 76 minutes 

It was a story that served 

as a bloody postscript 

to Black Power. In 1972, 

eight people — seven 

of them white — were 

shot and killed at a golf 

course in the US Virgin 

Islands. Five men — all Afro-Caribbean — were found 

guilty of murder and given life sentences. One of them, 

Ishmael Muslim Ali (formerly Ronald LaBeet), hijacked 

a commercial airliner in 1984 while being shuttled 

between prisons. He had the flight diverted to Cuba, 

from where he continues to protest his innocence. 

Mixing interviews with re-enactments, veteran 

Canadian documentarian Jamie Castner’s tabloidesque 

take on the Fountain Valley massacre (as it came to be 

known) ambles along engagingly. However, the film’s 

central claim — that the defendants were tortured while 

awaiting trial — remains unproven after four and a 

half decades. Further, Castner is too enamoured of his 

charismatic main subject, refusing to challenge Ali on his 

version of those tragic events. 

For more information, visit skyjackerstale.com 

Reviews by Jonathan Ali 


cookup 

The 

chocolate 

If you’re a foodie in Trinidad 

and Tobago, you can’t have 

failed to notice it: the rapid 

growth of the artisanal 

chocolate industry over the 

past decade. The country’s 

cocoa is revered around the 

world, but traditionally the 

crop has been exported for 

processing elsewhere. A new 

generation of chocolatiers 

are changing that trend, 

reports Franka Philip, 

with positive results for 

the economy and for rural 

communities 

I 

used to boast to my foodie friends in London 

that posh chocolates like Green & Black’s and 

Valhrona Gran Couva were made with cocoa 

from Trinidad and Tobago. “Our Trinitario 

bean is one of the best in the world,” I would 

say. But lately, I’ve gone from boasting about 

the Trinidadian components in Green and Black’s 

to bigging up local artisanal chocolate that’s good 

enough to sit comfortably alongside those notable 

foreign brands. 

In the last decade, the chocolate industry in 

T&T has gone from zero to hero, due to the efforts 

revolution 

of a bunch of people who feel confident enough to invest their hearts, souls, 

and savings into breaking new ground. The public now has the opportunity 

to taste excellent-quality local chocolate at events all year round. They can 

learn more about the industry from farmers and chocolate makers themselves, 

and depending on the event, visitors can even “dance the cocoa” 

(literally dancing on cocoa beans to dry and polish them). Gourmet shops 

and restaurants now host exclusive chocolate tasting sessions where, just 

like wine tasting, people are taught about the subtleties and nuances of 

Trinidad chocolate. 

Our chocolatiers are also creating hybrid flavours like Scorpion pepper, 

guava, and chadon beni (similar to cilantro). Local artisanal chocolate has 

made such an impact, departing visitors now often take back chocolate bars 

as well as the traditional bottle of duty-free rum. 

In the early part of the twentieth century, cocoa agriculture was one of 

Trinidad and Tobago’s most vibrant sectors. Records show that in the 1920s 

T&T produced more than 35,000 metric tons of cocoa a year, making it one of 

the world’s top producers at that time. But that was before oil and gas. Once 

this country became dependent on the energy sector, the cocoa industry 

declined steadily. Now, the country produces less than 1,000 metric tons 

annually. 

Cocoa harvesting is a communal activity. As Gillian Goddard of Sun Eaters 

Organics explains, the current resurgence of the industry has been positive 

for rural communities. “Many communities in Trinidad and Tobago were 

built around an agricultural base of cocoa. As we moved nationally from an 

agriculturally based economy to a petroleum-based economy, these communities 

lost their cultural structures and became dangerously fragmented,” 

Goddard says. 

“Cocoa is a crop that required a fair amount of collective activity and in 

which the entire community would be engaged. As cocoa lost its importance, 

it was not replaced by anything that kept cohesion intact.” 

Goddard is one of the founders of the Alliance of Rural Communities, 

which is promoting community chocolate-making. She has seen the benefits 

of this in her work with the Brasso Seco Chocolate Company, based 

in a small village in the Northern Range. “Now that the communities are 

making chocolate, they have an opportunity to be involved in something 

which requires communication, co-operation, and attention to detail close 

to home,” Goddard explains. “In one of the communities, there have been 

children’s chocolate camps, and most of the nine- to eleven-year-olds know 

the basics of making chocolate, are familiar with the taste of their chocolate, 

and can even make a bit of money, when they want, helping wrap bars or 

put on labels.” 


WWW.CARIBBEAN-AIRLINES.COM 37 

elena moiseeva/shutterstock.com

Records show that in the 

1920s T&T produced more 

than 35,000 metric tons of 

cocoa a year. But that was 

before oil and gas 

haak78/shutterstock.com 

Isabel Brash of Cocobel got into making chocolate quite 

by accident. An architect and artist, Brash started by 

experimenting with cocoa from her brother’s estate in Rancho 

Quemado in south Trinidad. Almost ten years later, her line of 

chocolates is considered one of the very best. Despite her success, 

she is concerned about the sustainability of the agricultural end 

of the industry. 

“I still think there needs to be more done on the farming side 

than the chocolate production side. We need cocoa to make 

chocolate,” she says. “We need farmers and chocolate makers 

to work together. We need farming to be pushed in schools, 

from pre-school up, as a respected form of income, and farmers 

need to feel integrated into the manufacturing side of things. So 

I would love to see more and more younger people with great 

business minds getting into cocoa farming, and having direct 

relationships with chocolate makers.” 

Another huge step for the chocolate industry came in 2015, 

when the Trinidad and Tobago Fine Cocoa Company opened 

a cocoa processing plant in Centeno, central Trinidad. Ashley 

Parasram, a Trinidad-born British entrepreneur, has invested 

millions of dollars in this facility, which has been exporting 

high-quality cocoa products to Europe. Speaking in the British 

restaurant trade magazine The Caterer, Parasram said, “We 

are developing rigorous quality control standards across all 

our partner cocoa estates with established management of the 

beans, the fermentation period, and the whole process from 

plantation to final product.” 

The Trinidad and Tobago Fine Cocoa Company has partnered 

with British chocolatiers Artisan du Chocolat to produce a 

range of dark and milk chocolates which are smartly packaged in 

tins shaped like T&T’s national musical instrument, the steelpan. 

The tins caused a sensation among Trinis in London who saw 

them for sale in places like Harrods and Borough 

Market. When I met Parasram last year and tasted 

the chocolate, I understood why those diaspora 

Trinis were making such a fuss. We spoke about 

the rave reviews, and Parasram said he was proud 

the chocolate gets such a positive reception, and 

that it’s easily identifiable as a product of Trinidad 

and Tobago. 

But what does the future hold for this fastgrowing 

industry? 

The recession doesn’t seem to have 

stopped that growth. In February 2017, a new 

player, Tamana Mountain Chocolate, entered the market. 

Headquartered in the lush but remote village of Mundo Nuevo 

in the hills of central Trinidad, the organisation says it is geared 

towards stimulating agriculture in that community. 

Gillian Goddard — whose work revolves around organic 

farming and encouraging others to revive indigenous methods 

of food production — thinks the time is ripe for T&T to become 

a global leader in quality value-added cocoa products. “Most 

countries that make chocolate are not cocoa-growing countries,” 

she says. “Trinidad and Tobago not only has an ecosystem 

that produces some of the highest quality beans in the world, we 

also have an economic climate that allows locals to be able to 

pay for the highest quality chocolate. 

“The chocolate makers have the context to experiment, 

improve, and eventually reach the highest global standard with 

the end product. We can have control over the genetics and 

processing of the beans in a way that cocoa bean importers 

rarely have. And,” Goddard notes, “we have a massive variety 

of other agricultural products with which we can combine our 

chocolate.” 

Paying farmers adequately and more widespread use of local 

chocolate are ways Isabel Brash feels the industry can remain 

buoyant. “Why not just make sure the cocoa beans get their 

value’s worth, whether the buyers are local or foreign?” she 

asks. “The industry would never have slumped so badly if farmers 

were being paid properly for their work.” 

Brash adds, “It would also be great if restaurants and hotels 

and schools would serve only local cocoa products. The whole 

island needs to be involved in the healing of the industry. If all 

consumers, all markets, understand where the money is going 

and how it affects us as a whole, don’t you think they would 

spend a little more on the local cocoa?” n 


Immerse 

Soca artist Nailah Blackman, one of the twenty-five talented Caribbean people aged twenty-five and under profiled in the following pages 

idouglasphoto

panorama 

In 2017, Caribbean Beat 

turns twenty-five. It’s a 

moment to look back — 

but also to look forward. 

Meet twenty-five talented 

young people born in 

the past quarter-century, 

a new generation of 

Caribbean achievers 

who will help shape our 

region’s future 

Since the first issue of Caribbean Beat was published in 1992, we’ve profiled 

hundreds of our region’s best and brightest — achievers and innovators from 

all fields, hailing from every part of the Caribbean archipelago. Our 144 back 

issues form an archive of Caribbean exemplars of the present and the past. 

Now, as we commemorate the magazine’s twenty-fifth anniversary, we look 

to the future. 

In the following pages, we introduce you to twenty-five extraordinary 

young women and men from across the Anglophone Caribbean, all of 

them aged twenty-five or under, their lifespans thus far coinciding with 

the magazine’s. As you’d expect, a fair share of them are athletes — sports 

being a field where the young naturally excel. But you’ll also find artists 

and activists, entrepreneurs and scientists. Already accomplished in their 

respective fields, they also represent the Caribbean’s hope for the future 

— and they’re not alone in their generation. If their intelligence, energy, 

and dedication are anything to go by, that future is bright. Meet them now, 

and expect to hear more from them in the months and years to come — 

including in the pages of Caribbean Beat. 


Shineque Saunders 

Spoken word artist • Trinidad and Tobago 

Born 1999 

If the past five years have seen a boom in the popularity 

of spoken word poetry in Trinidad and Tobago, one key 

catalyst is the number of events involving schools and 

universities, introducing a new generation to the lyrical 

artform. That includes a national spoken word “intercol” 

run by the Bocas Lit Fest and 2 Cents Movement, in which 

competitors represent schools across T&T — won in 2016 

by seventeen-year-old Shineque Saunders of Pleasantville 

Secondary School in south Trinidad. Her “Chronicles of a 

Tomboy” combined humour with sly commentary to catch 

the judges’ approval, and Saunders’s victory whetted her 

appetite for performance poetry: in April 2017 she made it 

to the hotly contested finals of the First Citizens National 

Poetry Slam, which for T&T’s spoken word fans is like 

qualifying for the FIFA World Cup. 

curtis henry, courtesy the 2 cents movement 

Shanna Challenger 

Environmentalist • Antigua and Barbuda 

Born 1995 

jeremy holden courtesy shanna challenger 

As an undergraduate at UWI’s Cave Hill campus, 

Shanna Challanger kept hearing that her ecology 

degree was worthless. “Too many times I was told 

that because of my degree I would ‘never’ be able 

to work in the Caribbean,” she says. But it turned 

out her dream job was waiting for her back home in 

Antigua and Barbuda, where an ambitious project 

aims to remove invasive species from the small, 

remote island of Redonda, restore its ecosystem, and 

preserve its critically endangered endemic species. 

As programme co-ordinator, Challenger has a rare 

responsibility, and a rare opportunity, to restore a 

part of her homeland to its original pristine state. 


nickii kane 


Chronixx 

(a.k.a. Jamar McNaughton) 

Reggae artist • Jamaica 

Born 1992 

2013 was the year a twenty-one-year-old 

Chronixx blazed across Jamaica’s reggae skyline, 

emerging as one of the frontrunners in the 

movement which became known as the reggae 

revival. A crop of younger musicians tapped into 

roots reggae, presenting a return to the “roots 

and culture” ethos which marked the music in 

the 1970s. Chronixx rocketed to the top of local 

charts with first one single then another that 

would become future anthems. 

At first, it appeared as though Chronixx had 

burst upon the scene from nowhere. In fact, 

although his EP Hooked on Chronixx only started 

finding favour with mainstream audiences in 2013, 

it had been simmering on the underground since 

2011, when it was first released. And that apparently 

meteoric rise was the result of a life marinated in 

music — in his home, school, and church. 

Jamar McNaughton emerged from a musical 

family, with his stage name coming from his 

father, the singer Chronicle — before Jamar 

became Chronixx, he was known as Little 

Chronicle. Though his father introduced him 

to many in the reggae and dancehall industry, 

Chronixx spent much of his early life singing in 

church. 

A key part of his musical immersion came 

at his high school, St Catherine High in Spanish 

Town. Although it isn’t officially a performance 

art high school, it is one of the schools in Jamaica 

that most privileges the arts, where others focus 

on cricket, football, and track and field. Although 

Chronixx performed regularly at church, even 

going on a tour of the island, it wasn’t until he was 

in the eleventh grade, the year he would graduate 

from high school, that he felt brave enough to face 

the stage at St Catherine. 

But even before that, starting at age fourteen, 

Chronixx had followed the path of the music 

producer. He produced riddims for artists such as 

Konshens and Popcaan, until his friend and fellow 

producer Teflon convince him to produce his own 

music. 

Chronixx is a clear successor of Bob Marley, 

and even more so of Peter Tosh — though he 

admits to influences from a variety of genres. 

Tosh’s influence has marked his fashion style also, 

including his penchant for berets and fatigues, 

uniforms of the revolutionary. His 2014 release 

The Dread and Terrible Project echoed Tosh’s 1981 

album, Wanted Dread and Alive. 

Dread and Terrible quickly topped the US 

Billboard reggae charts, and the iTunes reggae 

charts in the UK and Japan. Since his first tour 

in 2013, Chronixx has performed in New York, 

London, Australia, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, 

and of course at key reggae festivals in his own 

homeland, such as Reggae Sumfest. His first fulllength 

album, Chronology, was released in March 

2017, and Chronixx is the face of Adidas’ new 

2017 “Spring Spezial” collection. 

But despite his increasing fame, Chronixx is 

wary of stardom and its trappings, even while 

holding firmly to the importance of music as 

a tool to inspire and create change. This isn’t 

surprising from the young man who came to 

public acclaim with the song “Odd Rass”, which 

eschewed a willingness to follow preset paths. He 

is a man bent on following his own rules, while 

keenly aware that the industry he is in has laid 

down a set which he may follow or not. 

“The industry set hurdles and you can jump 

dem until you don’t mind jumping dem, but 

me don’t like hurdles,” he says. “I have the 

opportunity to decide what is a challenge and 

what is not.” 

Chronixx’s vision is simple: music is a 

revolutionary act, as bourne out in songs like 

“Behind Curtain”, “Here Comes Trouble”, “Ain’t 

No Giving In”, and “Warrior”. He views himself 

as a warrior for change. “Is works you a do. 

Everything fi have a message,” he says. 

Yet, despite his militaristic viewpoint, he is 

gifted with a wide, beautiful smile and easy, 

unaffected charm. He is ready for battle and 

willing to stand his ground, but he isn’t combative. 

“I trust the magic within music, and I trust the 

perfection of inspiration,” Chronixx says. 

Tanya Batson-Savage 


Kamara Jerome 

Entrepreneur • St Vincent and the Grenadines 

Born 1992 

courtesy kamara jerome 

Scientists often talk about the “eureka” moment 

when an idea is born. For Kamara Jerome, it came 

on a sea journey from the Grenadines to St Vincent. 

When his boat ran out of gas six miles from shore, 

Jerome realised the constant sunlight overhead and 

gusting winds offered other possibilities for fuel. 

Leap ahead a couple of years: the prototype solarpowered 

boat designed by Jerome’s Emerald Energy 

won the 2013 Caribbean Innovation Challenge 

and then went on to the regional TIC Americas 

Challenge for young entrepreneurs. Now based 

in the US, Jerome is working on a new renewable 

energy project which he’s in the process of patenting. 

It’s safe to say his future looks green. 

Akino Lindsay 

Martial artist and activist • Jamaica 

Born 1996 

The martial arts, practitioners will tell you, are less 

about aggression, more about discipline and self-control. 

Those qualities have served Akino Lindsay well. The 

software engineering student at UWI won the attention of 

Jamaican sports fans after he took a gold medal at the 2015 

International Sports Kickboxing Association (ISKA) World 

Championships — the fourth Jamaican to hold an ISKA 

world title, and the youngest, at age eighteen. But Lindsay 

isn’t interested only in medals. Joining the Fight for Peace 

programme working in volatile communities, he teaches 

taekwondo to at-risk young people — along with those 

lessons about discipline and self-control. His work recently 

won Lindsay a Michael Johnson Leadership Award, for sports 

and community leaders under twenty-three around the world. 

courtesy Kelly magnus 


Maya Cozier 

Filmmaker • Trinidad and Tobago 

Born 1993 

The daughter of artist parents — Irenée Shaw and 

Christopher Cozier — Maya Cozier has creativity 

deep in her DNA. Heading to the prestigious School 

of Visual Arts in New York City, she first planned to 

study photography, but quickly switched her major to 

film. Her thesis project, Short Drop, shot in Trinidad 

and using local actors (including veteran Albert 

Laveau), won an award from SVA, and has been 

appearing at film festivals. Meanwhile, now graduated 

and back in Trinidad, Cozier is working on a featurelength 

screenplay which she hopes to produce in 2018. 

“There are a lot of good stories to be told between the 

region and the diaspora,” she says, “and I think we 

can finally tell these stories on our own terms.” 

kern mollineau, courtesy maya cozier 

Firhaana Bulbulia 

Activist • Barbados 

Born 1994 

Firhaana Bulbulia was in the first year of her 

undergraduate programme in psychology when 

she founded the Barbados Association of Muslim 

Ladies, aimed at creating developmental projects for 

the girls and young women of her country’s small 

Muslim community, and a forum for sharing ideas. 

Describing herself in a 2016 interview as “extremely 

passionate about girls’ rights, girls’ education, 

girls’ inclusion in society,” Bulbulia soon joined the 

Caribbean Regional Youth Council — and in May 

2016 she was named a Queen’s Young Leader, one of 

a handful chosen from across the Commonwealth for 

their achievements and promise. 

courtesy Firhaana Bulbulia 


Nowé Harris-Smith 

Visual artist • The Bahamas 

Born 1993 

courtesy nowé harris-smith 

She discovered a passion for drawing at the age 

of ten, and she’s never stopped. Now a student 

at the University of the Bahamas, Nowé Harris- 

Smith is already on the radar of curators across the 

Caribbean, with a solo exhibition at the National Art 

Gallery of the Bahamas to her credit. Photography is 

her current medium: Harris-Smith’s Bahamian Project 

is a portrait series documenting iconic men and 

women of her home country, and other recent work 

explores what she calls “the connection between 

skin and metallic surfaces; most importantly the 

richness within black culture.” 

Kirstan Kallicharan 

Cricketer • Trinidad and Tobago 

Born 1999 

Back in 2013, when Kirstan Kallicharan broke Brian 

Lara’s longstanding record in Trinidad and Tobago’s 

Secondary Schools Cricket League, the sports 

community took notice. Then Kallicharan broke 

the record again — and again, eventually scoring 

an extraordinary 404 not out in a 2014 match. No 

surprise, then, when he was selected for the winning 

West Indies team for the 2016 Under-19 World Cup 

— and named T&T’s Youth Cricket of the Year. 

ash allen photography 


Johanan Dujon 

Entrepreneur • St Lucia 

Born 1993 

courtesy johanan dujon 

In 2014, when giant masses of brown Sargassum 

began washing up on Caribbean shores, burying 

pristine beaches under mounds of smelly seaweed, 

it seemed like a crisis to some. But to others — 

like Johanan Dujon — it looked rather like an 

opportunity. Because, properly treated, Sargassum 

actually makes an excellent biofertiliser, potentially 

reducing the use of harmful chemicals in agriculture. 

And it’s a resource that is literally washed up 

out of the sea. Dujon’s company Algas Organics 

manufactures an organic plant food suitable for 

use in home gardens or on farms, with a growing 

regional market. And there’s more to come: among 

Dujon’s “top secret” current projects are “a range 

of natural/organic agro inputs ranging from biostimulants 

to bio-pesticides” — good business and 

good for the environment. 

Meleni Rodney 

Athlete • Grenada 

Born 1998 

When Kirani James — himself an under-twenty-five 

achiever — took gold at the 2012 Olympics, it gave 

budding athletes in his native Grenada a winning 

perspective on the 400 metres. For Meleni Rodney, 

that’s meant bronze in the 2014 Summer Youth 

Olympics, Grenada’s first ever, and silver in the 2016 

OECS Championships. And she’s just getting started. 

“I want to be my country’s first female World and 

Olympic Champion and also to be the world’s fastest 

woman in the 400 metres,” Rodney says. 

haron forteau 


idouglasphoto 


Nailah Blackman 

Calypsonian and soca artist • Trinidad and Tobago 

Born 1997 

Living in the shadow of a music icon parent has 

its dividends — or not, if one is to gauge the 

relative minor successes of Jakob Dylan, James 

McCartney, and Julian Lennon — if the DNA for 

talent and the potential for a musical future get 

passed on. In the Caribbean, the Marley family 

seems to bear that theory out. And Trinidadian 

soca icon Ras Shorty I had enough performance 

genes for an entire clan. His children all have 

relatively successful music careers, and that 

success has now moved on to a third generation 

with the burgeoning career of his nineteen-year-old 

granddaughter Nailah Blackman, daughter of Abbi 

Blackman, a T&T Calypso Queen in her own right. 

Among Caribbean millennials, Nailah 

Blackman has shown a determined focus on 

career and success. She began her singing 

profession at age eleven, when she joined her 

aunt’s all-female gospel band, Nehilet Blackman & 

the AGB, then segued to a solo singer-songwriter 

career at fifteen. Veering away from her soca 

heritage, Nailah sang her original compositions — 

short odes to teenage love and heartbreak with an 

indie pop ethos that she calls “not-so-Caribbean 

music” — on a number of self-produced YouTube 

videos, featuring just guitar and voice. Her talent 

was undeniable and addictive. 

She’s clear on where she wants to go: “The 

direction in my career is to corner my home 

market, which is the Caribbean, in order to access 

the right links outside to put my ‘not-so-Caribbean 

music’ where it needs to go, and in the ears of the 

people who need to hear it.” She adds, “I’m working 

on new music for the Carnival circuits around the 

world. I intend to hit each one of them so they can 

know who Nailah Blackman is.” 

That kind of focus is exemplary for a 

generation in the Caribbean sometimes 

nurtured on a kind of self-defeating dependency. 

Fortunately, Blackman’s biography was guided 

by her grandfather’s creative self-sufficiency, 

which saw the soca innovator retreating from 

his success and excess to a holistic and simple 

lifestyle, where he and his children — including 

Nailah’s mother — performed together and 

endured. 

With a voice that balances between the 

trademark vibrato of a Gwen Stefani and the soft 

squeak of bubblegum pop singers, Nailah has 

blossomed as a singer-songwriter in the past three 

years, trading her naïve love songs of regret for 

double entendre soca anthems on the theme of 

going “low, low, low.” In 2017, coming full circle 

to her soca roots, she released the Carnival hit 

“Workout” with soca star Kes, which had fetes 

moving and exposed her to a wider audience via 

the International Soca Monarch finals. 

With two single releases under her belt — 

“Cigarettes” and “Workout” — Blackman is 

always cooking up something in the studio. Her 

next single is a dancehall tune she’ll be launching 

in Jamaica, and she’s completed an EP for 

worldwide release later this year. She displays 

an insouciant fashion style that already has 

major brands seeking her out for endorsement, 

and as she matures, a new fan base is charting 

her growth as an artist and an avatar of young 

Caribbean influence. 

Nigel A. Campbell 


Mark Ramsay 

Video game designer and writer • Barbados 

Born 1994 

The Caribbean is full of avid video gamers — but 

professional studios, creating new games based 

on our own stories? Those are rare. Mark Ramsey 

was still a university student when he co-founded 

Couple Six Inc., where he’s added his storytelling 

flair to Le Loupgarou, a game based on traditional 

Caribbean folklore and set in 1930s Barbados, now in 

development. Ramsay is also a writer of recognised 

promise, fiction winner of the 2015 Small Axe Literary 

Competition. He’s currently working on a collection 

of short fiction “exploring a future Caribbean where 

humans and artificial intelligences live adjacent to 

each other — and what that might look like when we 

reconstruct memory, history, and identity in a world 

beyond those things.” Stay tuned . . . 

neil springer, courtesy dazzle magazine 

Meshach Pierre 

Biologist and photographer • Guyana 

Born 1993 

A chance encounter on the campus of the University 

of Guyana turned out to be a decisive moment for 

science student Meshach Pierre. Recruited to assist 

a team of visiting researchers, Pierre found himself 

fascinated by their ornithology field project — and 

eventually switched his career focus from medicine 

to conservation biology. Birds are his primary 

interest, though he’s also won a research fellowship 

to study jaguars and their prey. And learning to use 

a camera during his fieldwork triggered a passion 

for photography — Pierre’s images of birds have 

been exhibited in Georgetown, and he sees them as 

a medium for spreading awareness of his country’s 

extraordinary biodiversity. 

andrew snyder 


Shaunae Miller 

Athlete • The Bahamas 

Born 1994 

Quinn Rooney / getty 

As we reported in the July/August 2016 Caribbean 

Beat, Shaunae Miller was one of the Bahamas’ top 

medal contenders going into the 2016 Summer 

Olympics. Her fans hoped for a dramatic finish to 

the women’s 400 metres — and Miller gave them 

even more than they expected. Her breathtaking 

“golden dive” over the finish line, securing her 

the win, was controversial but decisive. “I have a 

long way to go,” Miller said matter-of-factly after 

her Olympic win, with her sights set on “being the 

best.” Defending her gold medal at the 2020 games 

is definitely part of the plan. 

Jake Kelsick 

Kiteboarder • Antigua and Barbuda 

Born 1993 

Kiteboarding since the age of ten, Jake Kelsick 

has a head for both speed and height. Deciding early 

on a pro career in his chosen sport, he became a fulltime 

kiteboarder straight out of secondary school, 

mentored by Antiguan kiteboarding legend Andre 

Phillip. A sideline in photography and videography 

has kept Kelsick busy on his travels, capturing 

heartstopping footage of wave-skimming acrobatics. 

His motto? “Have fun, ride as much as you can, and 

do something worth remembering.” 

andre phillip 


Zharnel Hughes 

Athlete • Anguilla 

Born 1995 

Matt Lewis - British Athletics / getty 

His 100-metre gold medal at the 2013 CARIFTA 

Games was just the warning shot. Two years later, at 

the Adidas Grand Prix, Zharnel Hughes came within 

a whisper of beating sprint superstar Usain Bolt, 

who he now trains with at the Racers Track Club in 

Jamaica. Hughes could have been a threat at the 

Rio Olympics, except for a damaged knee ligament, 

which derailed his 2016 season. “I am still very 

young,” he says matter-of factly, and the 2020 Tokyo 

Olympics may turn out to be his moment of glory. As 

his native Anguilla isn’t recognised by the Olympics, 

Hughes officially competes for great Britain — but 

when he takes a medal, fans at home will cheer him 

on as a son of the soil. 

Akela Jones 

Athlete • Barbados 

Born 1995 

Just twelve when she won silver in the girls’ under-17 high jump at 

the 2008 CARIFTA Games, Akela Jones was only getting started. 

The first Barbadian ever to win a medal at the World Junior Athletics 

Championships — in the long jump — she was also the 2015 NCAA 

heptathlon champ, and represented her country at the 2016 Summer 

Olympics, bearing the flag at the closing ceremony. 

Ian Walton / getty 

Jeanelle Scheper 

Athlete • St Lucia 

Born 1994 

Patrick Smith / getty 

She was born in Jamaica, but high jumper Jeannelle Scheper proudly 

competes in St Lucian colours, and was her country’s flag-bearer at 

the 2016 Summer Olympics. A CARIFTA Games and CAC Junior 

Championships gold medallist, Scheper wants to inspire a future 

generation of St Lucian athletes, with plans to start a high jump clinic 

at home after she graduates from university in South Carolina. 


Michelle Thomas 

Attorney and activist • Jamaica 

Born 1991 

“For me, to be a lawyer and not give back to 

society would be the highest level of hypocrisy,” 

said Michelle Thomas in a 2016 interview. And 

giving back is exactly what she does, with gusto. 

Her list of projects is dauntingly long: she’s director 

of cultural programmes at the NGO Jamaican 

Youth Empowerment through Culture, Arts, and 

Nationalism; founder of the No Crime Movement, 

building a platform for human rights in Jamaica; 

and her latest project, Herstory, works to raise 

awareness about domestic violence via schools and 

communities. No wonder Thomas was a finalist for 

the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Awards — just a few 

months after being named Jamaica’s Commonwealth 

Youth Worker of the Year. 

courtesy michelle thomas 

Dejour Alexander 

Soca artist • St Kitts and Nevis 

Born 1996 

Like many of the young people featured in these 

pages, Dejour Alexander started early, winning his 

first calypso competition in primary school. And 

he was just fourteen when his first big break came, 

winning the ZIZ 50th Anniversary Song Competition 

hosted by the National Broadcasting Corporation of 

St Kitts and Nevis. Making a music video was part of 

the prize — and that’s when his career took off. By 

2013, he was on stage at the St Kitts Music Festival, 

the youngest-ever artist to join the lineup. His 

signature sound, blending soca, reggae, and hip-hop, 

makes him wildly popular with young Kittitians, and 

he’s poised for his regional breakthrough. 

courtesy Dejour 


Cameron Spencer-IDI-IDI via Getty Images 


Jason Holder 

Cricketer • Barbados 

Born 1991 

Several hours of training, a plunge into an ice bath, and a 

soothing massage begin a typical day for Jason Holder, the 

current West Indies Test and One Day International Captain. 

From the age of nine, Holder has been inseparable from the 

clashing bat and ball. He “heart-warmingly” realised his 

goal to play for the West Indies when he made his ODI debut 

in January 2013. His Test debut came in June 2014, versus 

New Zealand, playing at home in Barbados. And just a few 

months later, Holder made history when he was unexpectedly 

appointed captain of the Windies’ ODI team in December 2014 

— the youngest player ever to captain a regional senior team, 

at the age of twenty-three years and seventy-two days. 

While Holder’s brother and uncle represented Barbados 

on the basketball court, young Jason sat enraptured in front 

of the television watching the feats of his cricket heroes Brian 

Lara and Courtney Walsh. This encouraged his parents to 

enrol him in the Empire Sports Summer Camp, where his 

cricket passion intensified. He became, and still is, a member 

of the Wanderers Cricket Club, oldest in Barbados. 

Leadership, passion, and focus have kept Holder at the 

helm as he weathers his cricket years. At both his alma 

maters, Charles F. Broome Memorial Primary School and 

the St Michael School, Holder rose to captain the respective 

cricket teams. He’s not bossy by nature — in fact he’s notably 

soft-spoken — but his love for the game pushed him to throw 

his bachelor’s degree in management studies to the offside, to 

focus on his sporting career. 

One of his proudest moments came in 2015, when he 

scored his first Test century against England, and also won 

his first Man of the Match Award for leading the West Indies 

to victory. 

Although he doesn’t love flying, Holder appreciates the 

ability to travel and experience other cultures, leave a lasting 

impression on people’s hearts, and sometimes entertain them, 

too. Like the patrons at a karaoke bar in St Lucia, who he 

recently serenaded with teammate Ashley Nurse. Apparently, 

they requested an encore. 

Underneath his serious exterior, suggesting a maturity 

beyond his years, is a very jovial soul, often fooling around 

with friends, teammates, and crew. If he had a superpower, he 

says, it would be invisibility — a perfect condition to play the 

best prank. 

Knowing where he came from, the hard work he’s 

invested, and how easily it could vanish, make staying 

grounded easy. He admits his lifestyle hasn’t changed 

drastically either. “I live the same life and feel pretty settled,” 

he says. 

Set to celebrate his second year of Test captaincy in 

September, Holder says one of the best pieces of advice he’s 

received came from IPL Knight Riders coach Jacques Kallis: 

“when in doubt or under pressure, take the positive route.” It’s 

become his mantra, especially when he’s faced with adversity. 

Overall, Holder aims to be one of the best all-rounders in 

the game, adding to the strong legacy of West Indies cricket. 

“We’ve struggled for a while, but I want to be instrumental 

in its turnaround, and leave knowing I’ve made a positive 

contribution,” he says. He encourages young people to pursue 

their dreams by setting a process to achieve their goals and 

reach for them. 

And his own next big challenge? Ensuring the West Indies 

qualifies for the 2019 World Cup, which means rising in the 

ICC ranks by the deadline in September 2017. Holder will 

be giving it his all — and making sure his teammates do the 

same. 

Shelly-Ann Inniss 


Keemo Paul 

Cricketer • Guyana 

Born 1998 

Ashley Allen / WICB Media 

Whatever your fears about the future of West Indies 

cricket, there’s no need to worry about the supply 

of young talent for the game — as the five players 

in these pages suggest. Take Keemo Paul, who 

grew up on the banks of Guyana’s Essequibo River. 

Selected for the West Indies team for the 2016 

Under-19 World Cup, Paul played a decisive role in 

the hair-raising final, when the West Indies grabbed 

victory from favourites India. Recently named to 

Guyana’s senior team, Paul is another name to 

listen out for in the hoped-for resurgence of West 

Indies cricket. 

Kadie-Ann Dehaney 

Netball player • Jamaica 

Born 1996 

Her nickname, “Tall Girl,” hints at the reason for Kadie-Ann 

Dehaney’s success at her chosen sport. After joining Jamaica’s women’s 

netball team for the 2015 World Cup and leading the Sunshine Girls on 

their tour of England last year, Dehany found herself heading Down 

Under — signed by the Melbourne Vixens for the current season. 

courtesy melbourne vixens 

Hayley Matthews 

Cricketer • Barbados 

Born 1998 

randy brooks/wicb media 

A sports prodigy? At age twelve, Hayley Matthews was already 

playing for the Barbados senior women’s cricket team. Her 

West Indies debut came just four years later. Fast-forward to 

the 2016 World Twenty20: Matthews, who turned eighteen midtournament, 

won herself the title of Player of the Final for her 

spirited batting, leading the West Indies to a resounding victory 

over Australia. 


ARRIVE 

andrea de silva 

58 Destination 

Heartland album 

72 Neighbourhood 

Gros Islet, St Lucia 

76 Offtrack 

Sunshine in paradise 

82 Layover 

Nassau, the Bahamas 

The ornate façade of the Dattatreya Yoga Centre in Carapichaima, central Trinidad

Destination 

HeartlANd 

ALbum 

The rolling plains of Caroni in central 

Trinidad were once the island’s 

agricultural heart, its villages shaped by 

the traditions of the indentured Indian 

immigrants who first arrived in Trinidad 

in May 1845. Today, the bustling town 

of Chaguanas and its ever-growing 

suburbs dominate, but the surrounding 

countryside is still a landscape of farms, 

bordered by the Caroni Swamp to the 

north and the industrial zone of Point 

Lisas to the south. And this remains the 

heartland of Indo-Trinidadian culture, 

where familiar landmarks include 

temples and mosques, and the Indian 

Caribbean Museum preserves artefacts 

of a way of life that’s been evolving for 

over a century and a half — captured 

in this portfolio of photographs by 

Andrea de Silva, with captions by 

Alva Viarruel 


Roopnarine Birbal, 

known to his friends 

as “Sarge,” cuts 

sugarcane on lands 

his family owns at San 

Pedro Poole. Despite 

the end of industrial 

sugar production in 

Trinidad, the Birbals 

still grow cane which 

they juice and sell 


A vegetable vendor plies his trade 

outside the market on the crowded 

Chaguanas Main Road, where buyers 

crowd the sidewalks and spill onto 

the streets of the bustling Borough 

known for its bargains 



Chunks of wood burn to ash on a 

pyre at the cremation site in Waterloo, 

with the famous Temple in the 

Sea in the background. Cane-cutter 

Siewdass Sadhu, to fulfill a sacred 

pledge, built his first Hindu temple 

on land, but the structure was 

demolished and Sadhu imprisoned 

for two weeks in 1948, when he 

was found guilty of trespassing on 

private property. He decided then 

to rebuild the temple in the Gulf 

of Paria, the logic being that no 

man owned the sea. Over twenty 

years, and working singlehanded, he 

constructed a spit off the shoreline, 

finally completing the new temple 

in 1968. He died two years later. 

Sadhu’s temple was falling 

apart when Randolph Rampersad 

sought help to rebuild it in 1995. 

Rampersad’s father Ramyad had 

died in 1994, and was cremated on 

the shore in Waterloo, next to the 

temple. Months later, Rampersad 

returned to mourn the death 

of his mother Rajwant. In those 

moments of grief, he looked to the 

temple and thought it would be 

a good memorial to his parents, 

and to Sadhu, to repair the thendilapidated 

structure in time for 

the 150th anniversary of the arrival 

of the first Indian immigrants in 

Trinidad. 

“There is a great ambience to that 

shoreline.” Rampersad says, “and 

my idea was to create a place where 

one could meditate and find peace. 

It is open to everyone, and all are 

welcome to come freely to sit and 

meditate” 



64 WWW.CARIBBEAN-BEAT.COM 

A replica of the ship Fath-al- 

Razak, which brought indentured 

labourers from India to the shores 

of Trinidad, under construction 

on the grounds of the Indian 

Caribbean Museum of Trinidad and 

Tobago in Waterloo. The museum, 

located in a former school building, 

also preserves household and 

religious artefacts, and a replica of 

a thatched-roof house with walls 

made of dung and clay, similar 

to those which housed earlier 

generations of Indo-Trinidadians

ETHE RUM AND CACHAÇA MAST 

RAISE A TOAST 

TO THE HOUSE 

THE HOUSE OF ANGOSTURA, HOME TO THE WORLD’S FINEST RUM RANGE, 

IS PROUD TO BE AWARDED FOUR GLOBAL RUM MASTER AWARDS! 

THE RUM AND CACHAÇA MASTERS 

GOLD 

2017 


GOLD 



GOLD 


SILVER 


RS 

WWW.ANGOSTURA.COM

Samdayei Sonny, a former canecutter, 

was raised by her mother, who 

worked in the sugarcane fields of 

Caroni Limited, after her father died 

when she was two years old. Sonny 

still does gardening near her home in 

Princes Town — not to earn a living, 

but “to occupy myself and pass the 

time,” she says 


The wife and children of the late Winston Nanan sit in one 

of the boats used to carry people on tours of the Caroni Bird 

Sanctuary. At front is Nanan’s widow Milly, flanked by her 

daughters Lisa and Laura Nanan-Babwah. At back are sons 

Victor, Dexter, and Allister Nanan. 

A self-taught ornithologist and conservationist, Winston 

Nanan spent countless hours traversing the Caroni River and 

its tributaries to observe, photograph, and document the 

birds and wildlife of the swamp, which his father introduced 

him to at the age of twelve. In the early days, the swamp tour 

used a flat-bottomed boat which Nanan pushed along with a 

pole, before he was able to buy an outboard engine to motor 

his way through the murky waters. The highlight of the journey 

is the spectacle of flaming red Scarlet Ibis heading home 

to nest on an island in the river, in the hour before sunset. 

In 2015, after Nanan’s death, the bird sanctuary he had 

explored and cherished for sixty-two years was renamed in 

his memory 


Caroni 

Swamp 

chaguanas 

Temple in 

the Sea 

Indian 

Caribbean 

Museum 

Time of arrival 

First celebrated as a public holiday in 1995, 

Trinidad and Tobago’s Indian Arrival Day on 

30 May commemorates the start of indentured 

immigration from the Subcontinent in 1845. 

Now the culmination of a month of activities 

celebrating Indo-Trinidadian heritage, the holiday 

is marked with cultural performances, religious 

ceremonies, and a parade, among other events. 

Caribbean Airlines operates numerous 

daily flights to and from its hub at 

Piarco International Airport in Trinidad, 

connecting to destinations across the 

Caribbean and North and South America 


ADVERTORIAL 

A 

“currylicious” 

experience 

With a name renowned 

for great taste, Hosein’s Roti 

Shop celebrates over 35 years 

of providing quality food and 

excellent service. 

Like any classic success story, Hosein’s 

Roti Shop’s evolution from single restaurant 

to national staple is one of dedication and 

tenacity. The first outlet was located at El 

Socorro Road, San Juan, Trinidad. Founder 

Jamal Hosein originally sold various fast 

foods such as pizza, burgers, and fried 

chicken before the demand for his most 

popular dish, roti, surpassed all others. 

Hosein responded to that demand, and over 

time the business evolved to become the 

country’s largest commercial roti-seller, 

with branches in Port of Spain, Arima, San 

Juan, and Tunapuna. 

When it comes to taste, Hosein’s Roti 

Shop has elevated cooking to 

a fine art. 

Their delicious East Indian cuisine has made them a household name. Signature curry dishes 

are created with a special blend of spices and seasonings that make for an eating experience 

like no other. 

From the smooth, silky texture of their buss-up-shut to the soft, melt-in-your-mouth 

quality of their dhalpuri roti, customers can’t get enough of these delectable dishes. So 

delicious is the taste of a Hosein’s roti, so flavourful the ingredients, one bite will have you 

begging for more. 

The menu includes other sumptuous delicacies like dhal and rice, pholourie, pies, and a 

variety of breakfast items such as sada, baigan (melongene) choka, tomato choka, fried 

carailli, fried ochro, smoked herring, saltfish, and much more. 

Products are prepared fresh daily, so customers receive hot, mouth-watering dishes, inhouse 

or on-the-go. 

Signature curry dishes are created with 

a special blend of spices and seasonings 

As patrons of Hosein’s Roti Shop can attest, customer satisfaction is top priority. Variety, 

quality, and freshly-made food are all words synonymous with Hosein’s Roti Shop — a homegrown, 

family-owned enterprise that has been around long enough to understand the 

constantly changing needs of its customers, and provide a service that makes Hosein’s the 

industry leader. 

For the “currylicious” experience you’ve been craving, Hosein’s Roti Shop is open for 

business seven days a week. Do yourself a favour and visit them today — 

your tastebuds won’t regret it!

NEIGHBOURHOOD 

Streetscape 

Gros Islet itself remains a mostly 

residential and mostly quiet district, 

with a handful of picturesque 

nineteenth-century buildings 

scattered among houses and shops. 

Immediately to the south of the 

village proper, across the marina 

dotted with yachts, the Rodney Bay 

tourism area is a hive of hotels large 

and small, holiday villas, restaurants, 

nightclubs, shops, and watersports 

outfits. The fanciest hotels line 

Reduit Beach, one of St Lucia’s most 

popular bathing spots, with views 

across the bay to Pigeon Island and 

the Caribbean Sea beyond. And 

north of Gros Islet is the posh Cap 

Estate — here you’ll find some of 

St Lucia’s most luxurious residences 

and boutique resorts, as well as the 

home of poet and Nobel laureate 

Derek Walcott, who died earlier this 

year. 

Mitch Kinvig/shutterstock.com 

Gros Islet, 

St Lucia 

Once a small fishing village, this 

community near St Lucia’s northern 

tip has become the island’s tourism 

epicentre — but still holds on to 

some rustic touches 

Marion Nelson & Allen Sherman, St. Lucia Oral History 

Holy icons 

The late Dunstan St Omer was as 

famous for his friendship with Derek 

Walcott — who fictionalised his friend 

as “Gregorias” in Another Life — as 

for his murals in churches and other 

public buildings across St Lucia. 

St Omer’s murals in the cathedral 

in Castries and the Roseau Valley 

church are his most celebrated, but 

the Roman Catholic parish church in Gros Islet, dedicated to 

St Joseph the Worker, also boasts a series of the artist’s 

religious paintings. Duck into the church for a glimpse of these 

works, and enjoy the peace and quiet. 


WICB Media Photo/Randy Brooks 

Hit for six 

On the outskirts of Gros Islet and nestled 

among the Beauséjour foothills, St Lucia’s 

national cricket stadium was renamed in 2016 

for Darren Sammy, the first St Lucian to captain 

the West Indies cricket team. A venue for 

international cricket since 2003 — when the 

West Indies played a Test match here against 

Sri Lanka — the stadium was sited in the driest 

part of St Lucia, though you wouldn’t guess it 

from the lush green turf. 

Jump up 

Once a week, quiet Gros Islet shows its other, more extroverted face, 

as home of a wildly popular and long-established Friday-night street 

party. Vendors’ stalls form an outdoor stage several blocks long, and 

the rum and Piton beer flow freely. When they aren’t dancing to soca, 

zouk, and reggae, partiers can refuel themselves with freshly caught 

and cooked seafood and barbecued chicken. The party goes late, and 

you can hear the music way off — just follow your ears. 

Co-ordinates 

4.1º N 60.9º W 

Sea level 

Gros Islet 

St Lucia 

jaminwell/istock.com 

History 

“Big Island” — the literal translation of its French name — was settled 

in the eighteenth century by French colonists, who founded one of 

St Lucia’s first Roman Catholic parishes here. In 1778, when the island 

was captured by the British, the Royal Navy established a fort on 

the bay, named for Admiral Rodney. (The name stuck.) During the 

Second World War, the US military established one of their series of 

Caribbean bases here, and began the long-term project of draining the 

bay’s mangrove swamps to create a seaplane marina. In later decades, 

Rodney Bay has become St Lucia’s main tourist district, thanks to 

the sheltered bay, perfect for watersports, and relative proximity to 

Castries, six miles south. 


Alex Edmonds / shutterstock.com 

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Pigeon Island 

With its twin hills creating a distinctive profile, Pigeon 

Island, across Rodney Bay from Gros Islet, once really was 

an island, but the construction of a causeway in 1972 joined 

it to the mainland. Now a national park, Pigeon Island over 

the centuries was home to indigenous Arawaks and Caribs, 

the base of sixteenth-century pirate François le Clerc, 

then site of a British fort. To improve the sightlines and 

permit surveillance of French warships, Admiral George 

Rodney is supposed to have ordered all the island’s trees cut 

down. Later on, the island served as a quarantine station, 

US observation post, and private home of a British stage 

actress, famous for her parties. The current park preserves 

various archaeological traces and ruins of this colourful 

history. Today’s visitors can explore these sites, hike up and 

around the peaks (the views are worth the effort), and enjoy 

a dip at two small beaches. And of course Pigeon Island is 

also the main stage for the annual St Lucia Jazz Festival. 

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ADVERTORIAL 

Walking a path 

of faith and tradition 

As a nation blessed with 

rich traditions and cultures, 

Trinidad and Tobago charts a 

path that has been paved by 

the legacies of those who have gone 

before. It is a path continuously defined 

by daring visionaries committed to 

preserving our customs for the sakes 

of those who will be called upon to 

carry on in the future — the youth. 

For close to a decade, working 

together with the Sanatan Dharma 

Maha Sabha (SDMS) and hundreds of 

young people, Republic Bank has continued 

to build upon the vision of an 

empowered present-day generation as 

the best way to safeguard one of our 

nation’s most precious cultural forms 

— the Chowtaal Sammelan — pledging 

our support to make it possible for 

more than forty Hindu schools around 

the country to compete in the singing 

of Chowtaal songs, a beloved Phagwa 

staple. 

Our work with the SDMS is something 

that we have believed in for 

“We continue to challenge young 

achievers to dig deep within.” 

several years because, with hearts set 

on empowering young people through 

culture, Republic Bank has never lost 

sight of the path. 

Working together with the national 

community, through the Power to 

Make A Difference, we continue to 

challenge young achievers to dig deep 

within and be brave enough to share 

their gifts with the nation and the 

world. 

This is the key to building successful 

societies. This is our source of inspiration 

as we continue to invest in holistic 

development. This is the heart of what 

drives our partnership with the SDMS, 

our ongoing efforts to celebrate and 

support our rich Hindu culture, and the 

very heart of our support of the beautiful 

Chowtaal Sammelan. This path we 

travel is truly our own, for it is as one 

people that we must aspire, and it is as 

one people that we shall achieve.

OFFTRACK 

The white sand and blue 

waters of Pinney’s Beach, 

home of Sunshine’s 


Sunshine 

in paradise 

Just seven miles long by six wide, Nevis is a dot 

on the map of the Leewards — but a dot that 

boasts stunning natural beauty, a rich history, and 

one of the Caribbean’s most famous beach bars. 

Garry Steckles tells the story behind Sunshine’s 

and its famous Killer Bee cocktail, and explains 

how a new geothermal energy project could soon 

make Nevis one of the world’s greenest places 

Peter Phipp/travelshots.com 


errol pemberton 

Sunshine’s laid-back beach 

bar — and “Sunshine” 

Caines himself, opposite 

Imagine this: a sumptuous lobster lunch, served in the casualchic 

surroundings of one of the world’s most renowned 

beach bars, with the blue waters of the Caribbean lapping 

gently on the sand a few feet away. Imagine, also, that this 

is happening on a tiny tropical island, a dot in the Eastern 

Caribbean that just happens to be breathtakingly beautiful, 

steeped in history, and a getaway of the rich and famous. Finally, 

imagine that this sun-kissed paradise without a single traffic light 

is blessed with an abundant source of affordable, squeaky-clean 

energy that generates so much electrical power it will probably be 

Let’s find out a little more about a man who took a few cases 

of chicken legs, a simple steel-drum barbecue, and some 

coolers of beer and turned them into one of the world’s 

most famous bars. 

Llewellyn “Sunshine” Caines didn’t get where he is today by 

chance. He got there with hard work and dogged determination 

in the face of adversity that often looked insurmountable. Some 

of Sunshine’s early problems were courtesy of jealous rivals who 

made life difficult for him when he first tried to set up in business 

on a popular beach in St Kitts, the island where he was born. 

Llewellyn “Sunshine” Caines didn’t 

get where he is today by chance 

ST KITTS 

The Narrows 

able to export what it doesn’t need to nearby St Kitts, the other 

half of a twin-island federation with a remarkable past and a 

future that couldn’t be more promising. 

Sounds too good to be true, right? 

Wrong. 

Welcome to Sunshine’s Bar and Grill. 

Welcome to Nevis. 

Welcome to an island with a population of twelve thousand 

that’s on the verge of becoming “the greenest place on Earth.” 

Pinney’s Beach 

NEVIS 

Sunshine’s Bar 

and Grill 



courtesy sunshine’s bar

Pinney’s Beach has 

changed dramatically, 

with upscale 

restaurants dotted 

along its miles of 

pristine white sand. 

And Sunshine’s has 

become the yardstick 

by which success on 

Pinney’s is measured 

courtesy sunshine’s bar 

The delicious but deadly Killer 

Bee, Sunshine’s trademark rum 

cocktail 

Others include devastating hurricanes and fires. “I have been 

blown away five times and burned down twice,” he says. 

Sunshine, who acquired the name from his grandmother 

when he was born with a sunny smile lighting up his face, 

decided to give Nevis a try after being made unwelcome by 

rivals on St Kitts. Legend has it that a friend with a boat used to 

carry Sunshine and his food, drinks, and barbecue across The 

Narrows to Nevis every morning, and drop him off on Pinney’s 

Beach next to the ritzy Four Seasons Resort and scores of wellheeled 

patrons. 

The legend’s only partly true. This was all happening in the 

mid-1980s, before the Four Seasons was built, and Sunshine 

used to rely on his friend with the boat to bring customers to his 

simple setup in front of where the resort now stands, with palm 

trees for shade and upturned beer crates for seats. Work started 

on the Four Seasons in the late 80s, with Sunshine catering to 

its hungry construction workers and making a permanent move 

to live in Nevis. A promising future beckoned, and Sunshine, an 

astute businessman as well as restaurateur, wasn’t about to drop 

the ball. 

The Four Seasons opened in 1991, and Sunshine was more 

than happy to move his simple set-up a few dozen yards down 

the beach and wait for business from its wealthy guests. And 

wait he did. For a long, long time. 

Says Sunshine, “At first, my place was only frequented by 

locals, as it was a very small, humble shack on the beach. I 

waited five long years to get my first Four Seasons guests ‘brave’ 

enough to venture off property and check out my place. I am still 

very good friends with these people today.” 

Undeterred by the long wait for Four Seasons patrons, Sunshine 

had begun to slowly expand, adding a few picnic tables for 

his guests and then a thatched palm-leaf roof for better shade. 

This simple setting soon became a popular hangout for locals 

and tourists. 


Green Nevis 

As well as being blessed with spectacular 

natural beauty, magnificent 

beaches, a benevolent climate, and 

tranquility that’s almost tangible, Nevis 

has a remarkable history that’s out of all 

proportion to its thirty-six-square-mile 

size. Alexander Hamilton, America’s first 

secretary of the treasury, was born here; 

Britain’s greatest naval hero, Horatio 

Nelson, was married here; it was one 

of the first Caribbean islands to grow 

sugar cane; and its stately Bath Hotel 

was the first hostelry in the region to 

cater to the comforts of well-heeled 

travelers. And now it’s poised to make 

history once again, this time with geothermal 

energy. 

The island’s geothermal project is 

back on track after some financing 

snags, and Nevis’s deputy premier and 

tourism minister Mark Brantley says the 

target date for its electricity being in 

the Nevis grid is 2018. The geothermal 

plant’s objective is straightforward: to 

harness high-temperature steam rising 

from a large, inexhaustible geothermal 

reservoir below the island’s surface and 

turn it into electrical energy. The steam 

will be directed through a turbine that 

turns an electrical generator to produce 

that energy. 

Says Brantley: “Geothermal energy 

would be revolutionary for our little 

island, weaning us entirely off fossil fuel 

for electricity generation and allowing 

us to meet our target of becoming the 

greenest place on planet Earth. 

“Our tagline is ‘Nevis Naturally’, and 

geothermal energy will be a giant leap 

forward in us attracting global attention 

for our efforts to reduce carbon 

emissions and reduce our carbon footprint 

to zero. We also expect cheaper 

energy to bring spinoffs in economic 

activity with light industry, electric 

scooters, electric cars, and the like. 

“Lastly, if the science holds true, 

Nevis has enough geothermal that it 

can satisfy all of its needs, its sister 

St Kitts’s needs, and still have power 

for export to neighbouring islands. This 

means that green energy becomes a 

critical industry for the island.” 

Brantley is also confident that geothermal 

will be good for Nevis’s tourism 

industry. “We feel that this fits beautifully 

into Nevis’s image as a pristine, 

high-end destination dedicated to the 

preservation of our natural environment 

and developing responsibly and 

sustainably. Our model is high-end, 

low-environment-impact. We think it’s 

a narrative that the discerning traveller 

will appreciate and gravitate to.” 

Geothermal has an impressive 

array of advantages over other known 

sources of energy. Most important, it’s 

much more efficient than diesel, the 

costly imported source of generating 

electrical power for just about all of the 

Caribbean, and it doesn’t billow greenhouse 

gases into the air. 

More than a quarter century since Sunshine served 

his first customers, Pinney’s Beach has changed 

dramatically, with upscale restaurants dotted along its 

miles of pristine white sand and more development on the way. 

And Sunshine’s, still with its local vibe and still serving simple but 

succulent food, has become the yardstick by which success on 

Pinney’s is measured. 

Sunshine’s is also top of the island’s “must-visit” list, attracting 

scores of the celebrities for whom Nevis is the Caribbean 

Sunshine’s other trademark is a 

lethal rum-based cocktail called the 

Killer Bee, the ingredients of which 

are on the highly classified list 

getaway of choice. Asked to list the big names who’ve hung 

out at Sunshine’s, the still-modest proprietor pauses before 

reciting an off-the-cuff list of what he describes as “a few” of 

his celebrity customers: Oprah Winfrey, John Travolta, Sarah 

Jessica Parker, Edie Falco, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de 

Rossi, Lady Sarah Ferguson, Julian Lennon, Wayne Gretzky, 

Kelly Ripa, Michael Strahan, Regis Philbin, Beyoncé and Jay 

Z, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, Mel Gibson, 

the Reverend Al Sharpton, Eddie Murphy, Steve Croft, the late 

Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, Britney Spears, Roger 

Daltrey, Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, Bob Saget, 

Meryl Streep, Michelle Pfeiffer, and even Canadian Prime 

Minister Justin Trudeau. 

Sunshine, after his experiences with hurricanes and fires, 

maintains he doesn’t believe in anything “fancy” when it comes 

to beach bars, but there’s no question that the latest incarnation 

of Sunshine’s is the biggest and best yet, with a recently 

introduced and instantly popular outdoor circular bar and a 

handful of comfortable and cosy private dining booths added 

to the eclectic mix, vividly painted in Sunshine’s trademark red, 

gold, and green. 

Sunshine’s other trademark is a lethal rum-based cocktail 

called the Killer Bee, the ingredients of which are on the highly 

classified list and which, while quite delicious, is best enjoyed 

with a modicum of caution. 

Sunshine’s location for the past few years has been the primo 

oceanfront spot among a cluster of popular beach bars and 

restaurants. And, of course, it’s still only a short stroll down the 

beach from the Four Seasons — whose guests quickly learn to 

savour, and respect, those rum cocktails. n 

Caribbean Airlines operates regular flights to V.C. Bird 

International Airport in Antigua and Princess Juliana 

International Airport in Sint Maarten, with connections 

on other airlines to Vance W. Amory International 

Airport in Nevis 


LAYOVER 

alarico/shutterstock.com 

It’s probably the cruise ship capital of the Bahamas, and by some estimates, nearly eighty 

per cent of visitors here stay in Nassau for less than a day. But whether you’re on a 

similarly tight itinerary or just have a long layover before heading elsewhere, both the 

city and New Providence Island are compact enough for some quick explorations. 

Many visitors to the Bahamian capital spend less 

than twenty-four hours here before joining a cruise 

ship — but that’s still enough time to taste the 

delights of Nassau 

courtesy national museum of the bahamas 

BlueOrange Studio/shutterstock.com 

The Bahamas’ national dish? Cracked 

conch, of course. You can find these 

battered conch fritters all over Nassau, 

but some of the most popular food 

shacks serving the seafood delicacy are 

in Arawak Cay, west of downtown. Or 

try conch in the form of a zesty salad. 

Nassau has its share of museums — covering 

everything from art to pirates — but none 

is more charming than Balcony House, a 

modest eighteenth-century cottage on 

Market Street. Painted bright pink with 

white trim, and named for its shuttered 

second-story balcony, it’s now run as a small 

history museum — just the right size to linger 

in for an hour, soaking in the atmosphere of 

long-ago Nassau. 

Sherry Talbot/shutterstock.com 

New Providence, like most of the 

Bahama islands, is entirely surrounded 

by extraordinarily blue, clear sea. 

And the sight of those waters as 

your plane swoops in to land may be 

just too tempting to resist. So grab a 

taxi to Cable Beach, on the western 

outskirts of downtown Nassau, where 

you’ll find the needful: soft white 

sand, crystal-clear water, a deckchair if 

you so desire. 

dnaveh/shutterstock.com 

Looking for a souvenir that screams 

“Nassau”? Head to the fabled Straw 

Market, where you’ll have your pick 

of straw hats, straw baskets, straw 

placemats, and more. And make sure to 

ask the vendor if your choice object is 

made in the Bahamas from traditional 

palmetto straw — some of the wares 

you’ll see displayed here are actually 

imported from abroad. 

You’d be forgiven for thinking that pink 

is the Bahamas’ national colour, so often 

does it turn up in Nassau architecture. 

Pink is also practically the theme colour of 

Ardastra Gardens, Nassau’s four-acre zoo 

and conservation centre, famous for its 

flamingo breeding programme. 

Caribbean Airlines operates regular flights to Lynden Pindling International Airport 

in Nassau from Kingston, Jamaica, and Port of Spain, Trinidad, with connections to 

other destinations across the Caribbean and North America 

Ramunas Bruzas/shutterstock.com 


ENGAGE 

courtesy the national audubon society 

84 

The Deal 

Thorny balm 

86 

On This Day 

The birdman 

John James Audubon’s Scarlet Ibis, from the landmark Birds of America

THE DEAL 

Thorny 

balm 

Across the Caribbean, the Aloe 

vera plant is a mainstay of home 

gardens, its bitter gel used for 

everything from stomach troubles 

to sunburn. But in Aruba, aloe is 

more than a home remedy: it’s 

the basis of an entire industry, as 

Shelly-Ann Inniss reports 

Photography by jimmyvillalta/Istock.com 

“ 

Go out in the garden 

and cut some aloes” 

are dreaded words 

for many Caribbean 

children. Aloe’s bitter 

taste is enough to prove that all your facial 

muscles really work. 

Aloe vera is literally a pharmacy in 

a plant. Its gel contains seventy-five 

minerals and eighteen amino acids and 

vitamins. For centuries it has been used 

medicinally, including as a moisturiser, to 

treat burns and skin conditions, for hair 

loss, acne, and endless other purposes. 

Many backyards in the Caribbean 

have a plant. Of course, you’ll find 

the occasional person growing aloe 

merely for decorative purposes. But it’s 

commonly used as a laxative, or to aid 

with digestion. In Barbados, where I 

grew up, parents and grandparents rub 

it on the hands of children to discourage 

them from sucking their fingers. There’s 

even an old legend about keeping it in the 

kitchen to guard against evil. Some people 

mix it with citrus or mango juice, but that 

barely masks the cutting bitterness. And 

these days, do-it-yourself aficionados are 

experimenting and creating charming 

cosmetic inventions as well. 

One plant with so many uses should 

make aloe a way of life — and, in Aruba, it 

already is. A drive around the island reveals 

that Aruba is one of the driest places in the 

Caribbean. Cacti grow haphazardly and at 

times form natural residential fences. Even 

the country’s highest point, called the Hay 

Stack, is covered in cacti and succulent 

plants. One of these species is a gem in 

plain sight. 

In the 1920s, two thirds of the island 

were covered with “lily of the desert” 

— an old name for the aloe — and to 

commemorate the plant as one of Aruba’s 

first sources of substantial income, 

aloe appears on the country’s coat of 

arms. While other islands around the 

Caribbean exported sugar, bananas, 

coffee, cocoa, citrus, nutmeg, and other 

crops, Aruba was steadily cultivating 

aloe and successfully distributing aloe- 


Fields of spiky Aloe vera in 

Hato, Aruba 

his company Aruba Aloe Balm NV was 

the biggest producer of aloin (the yellow 

substance located just below the outer 

skin of the plant), then mainly used as 

a laxative, and sold to international 

pharmaceutical companies via Curaçao. 

According to Dr Koos Veel, current 

managing director of Aruba Aloe, thirty 

per cent of the world’s aloe was produced 

by the Aruba Aloe factory back in those 

days — a huge achievement for a little 

company on a tiny Caribbean island. 

When demand from pharmaceutical 

companies diminished — because 

the Aruba factory was their direct 

competition for processed medicinal 

as well, where many local products contain 

pure Aloe vera gel. 

If you visit the Aloe Balm headquarters 

— home to the Aloe Museum and 

Factory — you can observe the entire 

process, from the cutting of the leaf to 

the final product on the shelf. Free tours 

are available in English, Dutch, Spanish, 

Papiamento, and Portuguese — a great 

outing for the entire family. The museum 

houses antique aloe tools, equipment, and 

machinery, and is also furnished with a 

library covering the history, manufacture, 

and healthy qualities of Aloe vera. 

Aruba Aloe’s first onsite retail store 

opened in 2000, and has since expanded 

In the 1920s, two thirds of Aruba was covered with 

“lily of the desert” — an old name for the aloe 

based products around the globe — aptly 

earning the name Island of Aloes. 

The aloe industry here dates back to 

the eighteenth century, when Mon Plaisir 

and Socotoro were the largest producers. 

In more recent years, houses and buildings 

have replaced many aloe fields, leaving a 

sole remaining plantation in Hato, on the 

northern outskirts of Oranjestad — the 

legacy of an enterprising businessman 

from more than a century ago. 

In 1890, Cornelis Eman purchased 

a dusty plot of land in Hato, burned by 

the sun and battered by strong winds, 

but perfect for growing aloe. Eman saw 

the value of the plant, and set about to 

produce aloe commercially. By 1905, 

products — the Eman family got creative. 

Cornelius’s son Jani had the foresight 

to embark on the cosmetic side of aloe 

production. Aruba Aloe Balm became 

one of the first companies in the world 

to manufacture cosmetic products made 

from the aloe gel, launching its first line in 

1968, before the rest of the world followed 

suit in the late 1970s. And to this day, 

Aruba Aloe continues to grow the plant 

and produce and package their products 

onsite in Hato. 

Aloe has been used cosmetically for 

over 3,500 years, due to its healing 

powers. It’s said that Cleopatra 

herself used it as a sun-protectant. The 

next time you go cosmetic shopping, check 

the label. You’ll find aloin or a variation of 

aloe extract on many ingredient labels. 

In 1990, the Cosmetic, Fragrance, and 

Toiletry Association — now called the 

Personal Care Products Council — stated 

that aloe is by far the most popular 

cosmetic and toiletry ingredient in the 

United States. It’s certainly true in Aruba 

to sixteen locations throughout the 

island, stocking over two hundred 

different products. No stranger to 

accomplishments, in 2016 Aruba Aloe 

won an international award for a soap 

called Dream. Working with a distributor 

in Florida, Aruba Aloe exports to Central 

and South America, the United States, 

Europe, Africa, plus several Caribbean 

countries. Soldiers in Iraq even use one of 

its products, called Alhydran, for burns. 

There are several wonders of the 

world, and I’m a strong believer that 

aloe is one of them. This one plant 

is able to diversify an economy, with 

opportunities in education, health care, 

light manufacturing, and tourism. There’s 

even a month dedicated to the plant: the 

Happy Island, through the Aruba Tourism 

Authority, will host Aloe Wellness Month 

in June. 

So if you find yourself in Aruba and 

overdo it in the blazing sun, you’ll know 

where to look for relief — that “lily of the 

desert” that Caribbean households have 

depended on for generations. n 


on this day 

The 

birdman 

One hundred and ninety years ago, one 

of the most celebrated landmarks in 

ornithology made its debut: John James 

Audubon’s massive Birds of America. Born in 

Haiti, Audubon was a restless traveller who 

transformed himself into an expert on the 

birds of North America — and his legacy in 

art, science, and conservation endures to this 

day, as James Ferguson explains 

Illustration by Rohan Mitchell 

Of all the weird and wonderful 

pictures that have 

ended up in my house 

over the years, there is 

one I particularly like. 

Bought ages ago by my 

wife from a junk shop, it depicts a pair of 

Scarlet Ibis (Eudocimus ruber). In fact, only 

one of the birds is properly scarlet, its long 

narrow bill reaching over the head of its 

mostly brown juvenile companion, as it 

stares out into what appears to be a lagoon. 

Of course, these spectacular creatures will 

be well known to anyone who has visited 

Trinidad’s protected Caroni Swamp bird 

sanctuary, where they roost every evening 

in the mangrove trees after their daily commute 

across the Gulf of Paria to feed on 

crustaceans on the Venezuelan coast. The 

Scarlet Ibis is also one of Trinidad and 

Tobago’s two national birds. 

This image, decorative yet rigorously 

detailed, was produced by the 

naturalist and painter John James 

Audubon in a massively ambitious project 

that involved eighty-seven sets of five 

illustrations, totalling 435 hand-coloured 

plates that were published over an elevenyear 

period. Birds of America began its 

extended publication in Edinburgh 190 

years ago this year, in 1827, and stands 

as a landmark in ornithology, printing 

technology, and marketing. 

By the time of Birds of America, 

Audubon was an American citizen, but 

his roots were in the Caribbean, even 

though his parents were French. He was 

born as Jean Rabin in 1785 in Les Cayes 

in the French colony of Saint-Domingue 

(now Haiti), where his father, formerly a 

naval commander, had bought a sugarcane 

plantation. He was illegitimate, his 

mother a chambermaid who died when 

he was only six months old. As the tensions 

that would culminate in the Haitian 

Revolution mounted, his father decided 

to take the three-year-old to Nantes in 

France, where young Jean was formally 

adopted by his father and his (highly 

forgiving) wife. 

Audubon’s childhood was spent in 

France during the tumultuous period of 

the 1789 Revolution and its aftermath. He 

seems to have had a natural affinity with 

wildlife, and with birds in particular, and 

loved walking in the Breton countryside. 

After a brief and unsuccessful experiment 

with seafaring, he was sent on a false 

passport by his father to the newly independent 

United States in 1803, in order 

to avoid conscription into the French 

military. His father had meanwhile sold 

up in Saint-Domingue and bought a lead 

mining business in Pennsylvania. With 

his new Anglicised name, he arrived in 

New York, ready to make a fortune. 

Or so his father hoped. But Audubon 

was a restless character, and his career 

was erratic and colourful. He married 

and had children, but he also tried, and 

failed, to run a trading business, and 

ended up bankrupt and in jail. At one 

point he turned to hunting to feed his 

family, dressing as a frontiersman and 

wielding a tomahawk. But, throughout, 

he kept drawing, collecting, and taking 

notes. His method was unusual: he would 

first shoot the specimen in question with 

fine shot, then prop the dead bird up 

with wires to achieve a lifelike effect. All 

were drawn life-size, even large turkeys 

and eagles — hence their sometimes 

contorted appearance as they were fitted 

into sheets no bigger than thirty-nine by 

twenty-six inches. 

Slowly, Audubon’s collection 

expanded. While his wife Lucy worked 

teaching the children of wealthy plantation 

owners, he also gave art lessons, and 

this enabled him to travel and begin his 

vast enterprise of drawing every bird in 

America. By 1824 he had amassed enough 

drawings to approach a publisher in Philadelphia; 

he was flatly rejected. 

So it was that Audubon, with his 

hoard of over three hundred drawings, 

arrived in Liverpool in the 

autumn of 1826, looking to publish and 

promote his life’s work. His reception in 

Britain was warmer than he could have 


hoped for. He gave talks, organised exhibitions, 

and accepted commissions. His 

frontiersman image also proved highly 

marketable, and “the American woodsman,” 

as he was dubbed, became something 

of a celebrity. This he used to gather 

subscriptions from the great and the good, 

including King George IV, who signed up 

to buy a copy of his work in advance. 

Committing these subscriptions and his 

own money to the project, he did not need 

a publisher, and took all the profits himself. 

His investment has been calculated 

at $115,000 (around $2 million at today’s 

value), but selling some two hundred sets 

at $870 each brought in about $175,000. 

Subscribers received a fresh set of five 

hand-coloured printed engravings, based 

on his drawings, every month or two. An 

accompanying explanatory text was also 

published in five volumes. 

This vast “Double Elephant Folio,” 

printed in Edinburgh, was followed by 

a smaller and more affordable edition, 

again sold to subscribers, and then more 

editions followed. Finally wealthy, Audubon 

returned to the US, where he bought 

a twenty-acre estate by the Hudson 

in northern Manhattan. He continued 

to draw new species, travelling from 

Newfoundland to Florida, and published 

Ornithological Biographies in 1841. He was 

working on a book on mammals when 

his health began to fail, and he died on 

27 January, 1851, at his Manhattan home. 

Reproductions of Audubon’s images 

are widely available these days, but if you 

should wish to acquire one of the original 

two hundred sets — as did a Qatari sheikh 

at an auction at Christie’s in London in 

2000 — you would have to pay something 

like £8.8 million. But Audubon’s real legacy 

perhaps lies in the National Audubon 

Society, a non-profit environmental pressure 

group, with five hundred chapters 

across the US and many affiliated groups 

in the Caribbean. Established in 1905, it 

educates the public about conservation 

and protection and operates sanctuaries 

in many different habitats. 

Audubon’s best-known drawing is 

probably the American Flamingo (Phoenicopterus 

ruber), the large wader with 

electric red-orange plumage. In his depiction, 

it is bending its long, elegant neck 

down at the water’s edge (and hence neatly 

filling the page). Given Audubon’s early 

life, it is suitable that this iconic image is 

of a bird that is still today found in Haiti — 

though under threat — as well across the 

Caribbean from Trinidad and Tobago to 

the Bahamas. His notes on the Flamingo, 

taken at the Florida Keys, are largely 

factual and rather dry, but one brief section 

reveals the sheer joy and excitement that 

bird-watching always gave him: 

Ah! reader, could you but know the 

emotions that then agitated my breast! 

I thought I had now reached the height 

of all my expectations, for my voyage 

to the Floridas was undertaken in 

a great measure for the purpose of 

studying these lovely birds in their 

own beautiful islands. n 


puzzles 

1 2 3 4 5 

CARIBBEAN CROSSWORD 

Across 

6 This St Lucia park isn’t just for the birds [6,6] 

9 Monkey with strong lungs [6] 

10 Dehydrated, like tomatoes [8] 

11 He deals in “alternative facts” [4] 

12 This one knows it all [6] 

14 British honour [3] 

16 It takes the sting out of sunburn [4] 

17 Freshwater fish [5] 

19 Like vinegar or lemon [4] 

21 The best card [3] 

23 Religious divide [5] 

25 Five-hundred-mile auto race [4] 

27 Natural Caribbean asset [8] 

28 Musical dramas [6] 

29 Central Trinidad village [12] 

Down 

1 A Nevis cocktail with a sting [6,3] 

2 Most strange [8] 

3 Picnic invaders [4] 

4 Tinkerbell, perhaps? [5] 

5 It modifies an adjective [6] 

7 Echolocation device [5] 

8 Media like Facebook [5] 

13 Nassau’s island [6] 

15 Stuffing wildlife [9] 

8 

6 7 

9 10 

11 12 13 14 

16 17 18 19 20 

21 22 23 24 25 

26 

27 28 

29 

18 Ephemeral [8] 

20 This arrival day is celebrated in Trinidad and Guyana [6] 

22 Abs exercise [6] 

24 Man’s closest relative [5] 

26 Take over [5] 

15 

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE 

There are 10 differences between these two pictures. How many can you spot? 

by James Hackett 

Spot the Difference answers 

There are clouds present in the background of the right picture; the woman’s t-shirt is a different colour; the man has patterned trousers; 

there is grass on the trail; there are fewer details on the woman’s shoes; the man’s socks are different; the image on the right has more 

greenery; there are stitching details on the woman’s trousers; the man’s backpack has different details; the birds are missing. 


WORD SEARCH 

anniversary 

arrival 

athlete 

azure 

Bahamas 

Bhojpuri 

business 

Caroni 

celebrity 

Charlestown 

conscious 

filmmaker 

flamingo 

gateway 

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ibis 

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musician 

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Rodney Bay 

roti 

rum 

sunburn 

Sunshine 

tourism 

Waterloo 

youth 

zone 

C E L E B R I T Y B E A F B G 

O H R O T I T J F U G R I A E 

N K A Y K P O A L S S R L H O 

S V T R I I U Z A I U I M A T 

C R H B L N R Z M N N V M M H 

I O L H L E I G I E B A A A E 

O D E O E A S A N S U L K S R 

U N T J R P M T G S R W E U M 

S E E P B P Z E O R N A R N A 

Y Y O U E L O W T W S T C S L 

O B R R E E N A P I N E A H A 

U A U I E N E Y B Z V R R I Z 

T Y M U S I C I A N J L O N U 

H A L I O N H O U S E O N E R 

A N N I V E R S A R Y O I T E 

Caribbean Beat Magazine 


Sudoku 

by www.sudoku-puzzle.net 

Fill the empty square with numbers 

from 1 to 9 so that each row, each 

column, and each 3x3 box contains 

all of the numbers from 1 to 9. For 

the mini sudoku use numbers from 

1 to 6. 

If the puzzle you want to do has 

already been filled in, just ask your 

flight attendant for a new copy of the 

magazine! 

Sudoku 9x9 - Puzzle 1 of 5 - Very Hard 

Hard 9x9 sudoku puzzle 

8 3 5 

1 3 4 5 6 

9 

4 6 1 7 

3 9 

9 7 4 2 

3 

9 6 2 8 7 

2 7 3 

www.sudoku-puzzles.net 

Sudoku 6x6 - Puzzle 1 of 5 - Easy 

Easy 6x6 mini sudoku puzzle 

5 6 3 

1 6 

4 

3 4 1 


5 

www.sudoku-puzzle.net 

Solutions 

Caribbean Crossword 

Word Search 

Sudoku 

Mini Sudoku 

Sudoku 6x6 - Solution 1 of 5 - Easy 

Sudoku 9x9 - Solution 1 of 5 - Very Hard 

5 4 6 2 3 1 

3 2 1 6 5 4 

7 6 2 9 1 8 3 4 5 

1 3 8 4 5 7 9 2 6 

5 9 4 6 2 3 1 7 8 

C E L E B R I T Y B E A F B G 

O H R O T I T J F U G R I A E 

H 

9 

S 

8 

P 

6 

K 

1 

4 2 6 8 9 1 7 5 3 

3 7 5 2 4 6 8 1 9 

8 1 9 7 3 5 4 6 2 

6 8 1 5 7 9 2 3 4 

9 4 3 1 6 2 5 8 7 

2 5 7 3 8 4 6 9 1 


W 

2 

A 

3 

I G E O N I 7 S L A N D 

4 

F 

A 

5 

L I T O I V 

O W L E R 10 S U N D R I E D 

1 6 4 5 2 3 

2 5 3 1 4 6 

4 1 2 3 6 5 

6 3 5 4 1 2 


L 

11 

A 

16 

C E D A Y R 

I A R 12 E X 13 P E R T 14 O B E 

A B S R T 

L O E 17 T R O U T 

18 19 20 

A C I 

H P E L Y 

D 

A 

21 

C 

22 

E V E X N 

E S 

23 24 25 

C H I S M I 

N D Y 

S 

27 

R 26 U H D P D I 

U N S H I N E 28 O P E R A S 

N U M N R R N 

A R A P A C H A I M A 

C 

29 

N K A Y K P O A L S S R L H O 

S V T R I I U Z A I U I M A T 

C R H B L N R Z M N N V M M H 

I O L H L E I G I E B A A A E 

O D E O E A S A N S U L K S R 

U N T J R P M T G S R W E U M 

S E E P B P Z E O R N A R N A 

Y Y O U E L O W T W S T C S L 

O B R R E E N A P I N E A H A 

U A U I E N E Y B Z V R R I Z 

T Y M U S I C I A N J L O N U 

A N N I V E R S A R Y O I T E 

H A L I O N H O U S E O N E R 



Caribbean Beat Magazine

87% (2017 year-to-date: 31 January)

Caribbean Airlines 

/ 

Across the World 

CARIBBEAN 

Trinidad Head Office 

Airport: Piarco International 

Reservations & information: 

+ 868 625 7200 (local) 

Ticket offices: Nicholas Towers, 

Independence Square, Port of Spain; 

Golden Grove Road, Piarco; 

Carlton Centre, San Fernando 

Baggage: + 868 669 3000 Ext 7513/4 

Antigua 

Airport: VC Bird International 


+ 800 744 2225 (toll free) 

Ticketing: VC Bird International Airport 

Hours: Mon – Fri 8 am – 4 pm 

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

or + 268 462 0528 Mon, Wed, Sat. 

Hours: Mon – Fri 4 am – 10 pm 

Barbados 

Airport: Grantley Adams International 

Reservations & information: 1 246 429 5929 / 

1 800 744 2225 (toll free) 

City Ticket Office: 1st Floor Norman Centre Building, 

Broad Street, Bridgetown, Barbados 

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

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

ext. 4628 

Grenada 

Airport: Maurice Bishop International 

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Ticketing: Maurice Bishop International Main 

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Jamaica (Kingston) 

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1 888 359 2475 (Local) 

City Ticket Office: 128 Old Hope Road, Kingston 6 

Hours: Mon-Fri 7.30 am – 5.30 pm, 

Saturdays 10 am – 4 pm 

Airport Ticket Office: Norman Manley Airport 

Counter #1 

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Airport: Sangster International 


+ 800 744 2225 (toll free) 

Ticketing at check-in counter: 

8.30 am – 6 pm daily 

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Nassau 

Airport: Lynden Pindling International 

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(local) 

Airport Ticket Office: Terminal A-East Departure 

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

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9 am – 5 pm daily 

St Maarten 

Airport: Princess Juliana International 

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(local) 

Ticket office: PJIA Departure Concourse 

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

St Lucia 

Airport: George F L Charles 

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Ticket office: George F.L. Charles Airport 

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Baggage contact number: 1 758 452 2789 

or 1 758 451 7269 

St Vincent and the Grenadines 

Airport: Argyle International 

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Ticketing: Argyle International Airport (during flight 

check-in ONLY) 

Tobago 

Airport: ANR Robinson International 

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Ticket office: ANR Robinson International Airport 

Baggage: + 639 0595 / 631 8023 

Flight information: + 868 669 3000 

NORTH AMERICA 

Fort Lauderdale 

Airport: Hollywood Fort Lauderdale International 


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

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

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– 2.15 pm) 

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4th floor) 

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departure times 

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Ticket Office: Paramaribo Express, N.V. Wagenwegstraat 

36, Paramaribo 

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737 onboard Entertainment — MAY/JUNE 

Northbound 

Southbound 

M A Y 

Hidden Figures 

An elite team of black female mathematicians at NASA help win 

the space race and advance the quest for equality. 

Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe • director: Theodore Melfi 

• drama • PG • 127 minutes 

Sing 

A koala named Buster decides to host a singing competition to 

attract more customers to his theatre business. 

Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Seth MacFarlane • directors: 

Christophe Lourdelet, Garth Jennings • comedy, family • PG • 108 minutes 

Northbound 

Southbound 

J U N E 

Passengers 

On a spacecraft, a passenger wakes ninety years before anyone 

else. Faced with the prospect of a life alone, he decides to wake 

up a second passenger. 

Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Pratt, Michael Sheen • director: Morten Tyldum • 

sci-fi, romance • PG-13 • 116 minutes 

A Dog’s Purpose 

A devoted dog searches for meaning in his life — a journey that 

spans several different owners and lifetimes. 

Josh Gad, Dennis Quaid, Britt Robertson • director: Lasse Hallström • 

comedy, drama • PG • 100 minutes 

Audio Channels 

Channel 5 • The Hits 

Channel 7 • Concert Hall 

Channel 9 • Irie Vibes 

Channel 11 • Kaiso Kaiso 

Channel 6 • Soft Hits 

Channel 8 • East Indian Fusion 

Channel 10 • Jazz Sessions 

Channel 12 • Steelband Jamboree

parting shot 

Born 

blue 

Native to the rainforest of 

southern Suriname, the blue 

poison dart frog — also called 

okopipi in the indigenous Trio 

language — earns its name 

with both its astonishing azure 

skin and its poison glands, 

designed to deter predators. 

Each frog has a unique pattern 

of black spots, as distinctive as 

fingerprints on a human 

Photography by 

ABDESIGN/Istock.com 


Partnering with 

Caribbean Airlines and RBC sign new agreement 

continuing 10 year relationship 

January 12th, 2017 marked a significant 

milestone in the decade-long relationship 

between RBC Royal Bank Limited and 

Caribbean Airlines Limited when the 

extended agreement between the two 

entities was signed. 

This agreement further highlights the 

partnership of two strong, well-established 

brands in the Caribbean: RBC which has 

operated in the Caribbean for more than 

100 years and Caribbean Airlines which has 

been recognized for the sixth consecutive 

year as the “Caribbean’s Leading Airline” 

at the Annual World Travel Awards. 

Chief Executive Officer of RBC Financial 

Caribbean Limited, Rob Johnston, said: 

“The renewal of this great partnership is a 

significant one for RBC as it represents our 

commitment to our clients and to 

delivering improved products and services 

that cater to their evolving needs. We are 

proud of our relationship with Caribbean 

Airlines, another strong, regional brand 

which is committed to serving the people 

of both the Caribbean and the Caribbean 

diaspora.” 

Acting Chief Executive Officer of Caribbean 

Airlines, Captain Jagmohan Singh said: “As 

we celebrate our tenth anniversary in 2017, 

Caribbean Airlines is delighted to once 

again partner with RBC to deliver value to 

our customers. This partnership meets one 

of our key objectives of being customer 

focused, and improving the overall service 

offering to travelers.” 

In addition to the existing rewards 

programme, the new RBC Caribbean 

Airlines credit card will offer both retail and 

business clients premium benefits such as 

travel insurance, concierge services and 

other reward earning opportunities that 

will allow clients to redeem faster. 

Watch out for exciting changes to our RBC 

Caribbean Airlines credit card in 2017! 

Up, up and away – Captain Jagmohan Singh, CAL CEO (Ag) left, shares a 

moment in the cockpit with RBC CEO - Mr. Rob Johnston. 

An historical moment indeed – Captain Jagmohan Singh, CAL CEO (Ag) left 

renewed partnership. Looking on are the executive teams of both RBC and CAL. 

From right - Mr. Darryl White, RBC Managing Director (Trinidad & Tobago), 

Mr. Clayton Van Esch, Head, Products, Marketing & Channels, RBC Financial 

Caribbean , Mr. Sean Quong Sing, CAL V.P. Commercial (Ag) and Mrs. Alicia 

Cabrera, CAL Senior Marketing Manager. 

The sky is the limit – A proud moment for the Executive teams of RBC and CAL 

as they celebrate this partnership. 

® / Trademark(s) of Royal Bank of Canada. Used under licence.

Caribbean Beat — May/June 2017 (#145)

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