5th May 2025 was the date of the famed Met Gala. It is a charity ball. Basically a fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute. This year the theme focused on the black male dandy, how suiting became an act of individual stylistic expression and rebellion, and a bold assertion of one’s right…
Returning To Our Roots is a free cookbook created by the World Food Programme’s Caribbean Multi-Country Office. It is an exploration of our food and how we prepare and eat it. It is part of an attempt to ” emphasizes the strategic importance of root crops in addressing the region’s food security, rural development, and…
On Thursday (27th March) UWI’s Literary Cultural and Communications Studies department presented ‘From Steam to Soca,’ the latest in a series of talks on issues that matter to the culture of Trinidad and Tobago. Hosts, and PhD candidates within the department, Abeo Jackson and Omari Ashby interviewed Lady Lava and Squeezy Rankin. Let me first…
One of the things I missed the most about home when I lived away was the food. It’s crazy how many cultures influenced what we eat regularly in Trinidad and Tobago. You can literally taste our history. I remember when I was a student at UWI, Mona a classmate’s husband was on a business trip…
A lone figure steps into the middle of a Belmont Street, signaling the start of the procession. He wears what looks like a floor-length dress; it’s made with dried banana leaves. He has a beaded headpiece that extends past his waist, with two straw-like spears attached to his back. His face, shoulders and arms are…
Note: Published in February of 2023. At the time I wanted a local paper to ask and answer the following: can influencer marketing increase Trinidad and Tobago’s tourist arrivals? The answer seems to be yes, but there is a concern that the opportunity is not being seized. February 19, 2023 – Business Guardian Tracey Lyons-White…
Note: I first wrote this in 2023. This year many people seemed to have taken to Paramin to experience the Blue Devils and just enjoy a different type of Carnival. It really does seem like this Carnival was the one to give us what we needed, and I love that for us. I will explore…
Trinidad and Tobago has officially modified its Coat of Arms to include the steelpan where the three ships of Christopher Columbus used to be. Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley made the announcement, a national one, at his party’s convention: a political event. He said then, “You see them three Columbus boats in the emblem, they…
There were familiar names in both the Carnival Kings and Queen’s categories that made it into the semi-final round of next Wednesday’s (26th February) turn before the judges. Topping the men’s competition, and securing his place in next Wednesday’s semi-finals is Fareid Carvalho with Dralozo: A Being From The Sun. Nicole Hercules’ stunning De Tiger…
I received a late invitation to cover Kings & Queen’s preliminaries in the Savannah last evening. I accepted because it is one of my favourite parts of the Carnival, and a dream of mine to perform. The show, however, always takes too long. But is one of those things where it is better to see…