Trinidadians are being chastised for not learning the lessons of the pandemic. Cultural Studies Lecturer Dr. Kai Barratt says the One Caribbean Music Festival featuring Dancehall artist Adija Palmer aka Vybz Kartel is a type of insecurity that exists in this country for foreign validation. The organisers say the show which is scheduled for Carnival…
Originally published in the Trinidad Guardian in January 2021 under the title ‘Leave me let me wine” this article and video that explored the history of our wine, so the conference mentioned took place in 2021. The Caribbean wine is a thing of wonder, and sometimes derision. We have a love/hate relationship with the movement.…
This was another of the Psychology of Carnival Series I did for teleSUR English. Hoping to find all four. Will include the Wayback Machine Link to the original here. Some notes to consider I now spell the festival as Kambule, which is from the Kikongo word for procession. The old understanding was that it evolved…
I am sharing some of my articles on my blog, because it seems to be the only way to safeguard them from being erased from the internet. Perhaps they may also find a new audience who may have something interesting to add to the reporting. It also allows me to stop wasting my blog space.…
Bahamas Carnival just ended and Machel Montano and Bunji Garlin were there. It was the first time the pair performed their soca hit Busshead outside of Trinidad. The duo were interviewed about their collaboration, and careers, on ILTV’s chat show The Stew. They’ve (the show’s producers) posted the entire episode online, so you can fast…
There’s a conversation that takes place in Jamaica about Dancehall versus Soca very regularly. And that conversation gets very heated around Jamaica Carnival. It’s a hard conversation for me to listen to, because having lived in Jamaica – I studied at UWI, Mona – I hear the xenophobia in the comments. Too often when Jamaican…
Dr. McCartha Linda Sandy-Lewis is back in Trinidad, having arrived safely from Paris. Victoire de Music, we’ve been referring to it as the French Grammy. Her manager says she’s still breaking ground. She is the first Caribbean person to win a Victoire, and to receive a standing ovation at the ceremony for her performance Save…
It’s a Carnival miracle. The blog title is a lie. The feud is over. Machel Montano and Bunji Garlin are together on one track and it’s fire! Heh HA! Fanism unlocked. I lurve eet! My friend Keegan Taylor, soca producer, stick fighter is one of the writers. I heard the song and immediately called him…
Despite a rocky 2 years, Destra Garcia is determined to produce a concert for Carnival 2017. The Queen of Backannal announced that we can definitely expect a Destra concert from her this year. If you remember, her 2015 concert was plagued by late arrivals, but was positively reviewed. Last year she cancelled her 2016 offering…
Patrice Roberts wants you to know that she’s a big woman now. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9ihFiC_OMw?rel=0] And Voice has released the video for his song Far From Finished. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojPxM54slHk?rel=0] All to usher in the Carnival Jumbie that Christmas and New Year’s Celebrations was keeping at bay.