· October, 2006

Stories about Caribbean from October, 2006

Guyana: Celebrity culture

  31 October 2006

When Guyana finally develops a celebrity culture, who will qualify? wonders MediaCritic, offering some suggestions as to who might occupy the A-, B- and C-lists.

Trinidad & Tobago: Halloween

  31 October 2006

At Halloween, “not a tradition associated with the English-speaking Caribbean,” Trinidadians seem happy to mimic the styles coming out of North America, observes Laura at the Caribbean Beat weblog, but perhaps that's merely a symptom of some of the country's other positive attributes.

Haiti: Circles of Change

  31 October 2006

A recently posted YouTube video (in kwéyol with English subtitles) introduces a programme in Haiti called Circles of Change, which seeks to empower individuals by developing their sense of personal responsibility and their ability to “teach themselves”. “Can hungry people think,” asks one of the participants. “Can poor people exercise...

Jamaica: Mediocrity

  30 October 2006

“We are the people of the plateau—we work as much as is necessary to reach a flat, safe place,” says Jamaican novelist Marlon James of his compatriots. “Then we stay there for thirty years.“

Bermuda: Dr. Brown's opportunity

  30 October 2006

Valentine Michael Smith leaves aside satire for a moment and considers the opportunity that lies before Bermuda's newly elected Premier, Dr. Ewart Brown.

Belize: Dangriga Town

  30 October 2006

Nyasha Lang reports on a visit to Dangriga Town, Belize, where she visits a radio station run by a Garifuna perfomer and learns how easy it is to fall into the habit of wearing several hats.

Jamaica, UK: Bob lived here

  28 October 2006

JT at the Caribbean Beat weblog notes the addition of a plaque honouring reggae superstar Bob Marley to London's list of blue plaques designating landmarks associated with well-known figures: “It's been an interesting week for reggae in London, as officialdom takes a sudden new interest in the music. On Wednesday,...

Bermuda: PLP Election

  28 October 2006

GS at Pondblog offers an assessment of the results of last night's Progressive Labour Party election in Bermuda, in which Premier Alex Scott was beaten by Ewart Brown: “It wasn't a surprising outcome – Scott is an odd, dithering sort of man who ruled the roost, according to party insiders,...

Bermuda: Cold front

  28 October 2006

As a cold front passes Bermuda, Shawn and Sue comment on Bermudians’ and their own attitudes towards cold weather: “Every year you are here I think you get “wussier” with respect to the cold.“

Barbados: Sensationalism

  28 October 2006

Eemanee criticises Barbados Free Press for demonstrating a “knack for sensationalism” in calling the Chairman of the Barbados Family Planning Association an “abortions provider”: “Let's not forget that the BFPA provides a range of needed services, such as pap smears, men's health services as well as Room 246, a drop-in...

Guadeloupe/Martinique, France: Zouk Nostalgia

  27 October 2006

Reminiscing Martiniquan/Guadeloupean group Kassav's song “Zouk la se sel medikaman nou ni” [” Zouk is our only medicine”], France-based Oliviermr2 posts a graphic depicting a couple dancing zouk and writes (Fr): “With how cold it is right now, that would be very welcome.”

Dominica, UK: Jean Rhys

  27 October 2006

Jeremy Taylor's dislike of the new BBC dramatisation of Dominican novelist Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea leads him to consider, among other things, Rhys's struggle to reconcile “her creole and European selves” and the British reception of her work.

Dominica: Independence

  26 October 2006

On the occasion of Dominica's independence, Kenny Green affirms the strength of the island's culture while sounding a warning: “Dominica has some major questions to ask itself about independence. Most of our income was from a protected relationship with Europe which we scream to regain, brokered by England. Our current...

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Janine Mendes-Franco
Janine Mendes Franco is the Caribbean editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.