“You see Trinidad and Brazil we have the same vibration. Ile Ife, Ile Ife, she make me to understand.” Bahia Girl – David Rudder A conversation on Africa in the Carnival has to come with caveats. The earliest reporting of the Carnival was done by White elites who were hostile to the activities of the…
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….
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….
Après Carnival-la and we are here in T&T reminiscing on what we’ve just experienced. This was a different season for me, a returning to centre because I was never a big masquerader. All I did this year on Monday and Tuesday was J’Ouvert with 3Canal which was special. My first was their last as the…
I went to the Monday Night Theatre Forum (MNTF) as a reporter with the Caribbean New Media Group (CNMG) in June 2016. I went to report on the talk that veteran actor, director and member of the rapso group 3Canal Wendell Manwarren had to say about his creative life in Trinidad and Tobago. Formed by…
Alison Flood (The Guardian) reports that British-Trinidadian poet Roger Robinson won the Royal Society of Literature’s Ondaatje prize. A Portable Paradise is the second poetry collection to win the award for a book that conjures “the spirit of a place.” In his interview, he says, “I want these poems to help people to practise empathy.” […]…
My new favourite thing for Carnival isn’t new at all. It’s a traditional martial art, or fighting style, that was born in Trinidad to African and Indian parents and seems to be having a revival. It’s called Kalinda or Stickfighting. I first went to Stickfighting last year, and had a blast. My favourite thing are…
If you are coming to Trinidad for Carnival bookmark this post because it has the dates of all the must-see, never-been-to-but-want-to, and regional Carnival events for Carnival 2017. This first is from the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts. The Second is from the National Carnival Commission. This one is the one to…
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbkXH5KxwCk?rel=0] The launch took place Thursday evening. Watching the performance live was interesting, because he walks through the audience and it had a very immersive feel to it. which is insufficiently captured on camera. It also helped having him explain it to you, but I’m reminded of my previous discussion with co-founder of COCO,…
We’d mentioned this before, that the Prime Minister had asked local commercial banks to create accounts for people to donate to the Haitian Relief effort. Now the Bankers Association of T&T has advised that each of its eight member banks has opened an account and it invites the public to make financial donations to assist…