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

36 • Phagwah celebrations
March/April 1999
Photo by Sean Drakes
the more seasoned
performers,” she explains.
Hinds, our cover subject
eighteen years ago, is one
such artiste, and she’s
always working behind
the scenes collaborating
with or mentoring younger
talent. Most recently,
she’s signed up to mentor
the young people of the
UNICEF Caribbean Junior
Monarch Competition,
which will launch officially
in August this year.
Soca is still a main
staple in Barbadian
music, meanwhile — and
with names like Damian
Marvay, Nikita, King
Bubba, and Joaquin in the
current mix, it’s not going
to wind up anytime soon.
Wining down — that’s a
different matter.
37 • Wendy Fitzwilliam,
Miss Universe 1998
May/June 1999
Photo by Sean Drakes
39 • Jamaican fast bowler
Courtney Walsh
September/October 1999
Photo by Stu Forester/Allsport
The Caribbean adores its beauty queens. For a small
country, any citizen who wins positive international
acclaim is a hero. And our various Misses Universe and
World over the decades have also proven to be a talented,
enterprising bunch, going on to careers in politics, the
arts, and philanthropy. Grenadian Jennifer Hosten (Miss
World 1970) later became a diplomat. Jamaican Cindy
Breakspeare (Miss World 1976) may be best remembered
as Bob Marley’s muse and the mother of his son Damien,
but she’s also a successful recording artist in her own right.
Her countrywoman Lisa Hanna (Miss World 1993) served
as a Cabinet minister. And among the Trinidadians, Janelle
Commissiong (Miss Universe 1977) and Giselle Laronde
(Miss World 1986) both become successful businesswomen.
No wonder, then, that T&T’s Wendy Fitzwilliam, Miss
Universe 1998, managed to appear twice on Caribbean Beat’s
cover, in July/August 1998 and again less than a year later,
resplendent in Carnival costume. Her “reign” was just the
beginning: a law student when she won her title, she was
later admitted to the bar in her home country, honoured for
her activism in HIV/AIDS awareness, recognised as a Red
Cross Ambassador for Youth, published a well-received
memoir, and now hosts the reality TV series Caribbean’s Top
Model — all while maintaining her elegant but down-toearth
presence on T&T’s social scene.
40 • New directions?
November/December 1999
Illustration by Russel Halfhide
41 • Welcoming a new millennium
January/February 2000
Illustration by Russel Halfhide
Boats were a favourite cover subject in the magazine’s
earlier years — no fewer than nine in all, ranging from
fancy yachts to humble pirogues. How do other categories
compare in the rankings? Three covers have depicted
botanical subjects, and three have featured children playing
on beaches. Seashells? Two. Surf-, windsurf-, and kiteboards?
Three. Rivers? Five. At the other end of the scale:
sportsmen and -women? Eighteen. Musicians? Twenty-four.
We aren’t called Caribbean Beat for nothing.
44 • Bougainvillea greeting
July/August 2000
Photo by Sean Drakes
45 • Sailing off St Vincent
September/October 2000
Photo by Chris Huxley
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