I am a writer and media producer based in Trinidad and Tobago. Follow me on Twitter @JanineMFranco.
Latest posts by Janine Mendes-Franco
14 February 2019
The Caribbean needs to work on its homophobia, but it doesn't need a lecture
"To Gabriel’s credit, he […] accepted he was wrong. That is a solid first step."
12 February 2019
Venezuela's humanitarian crisis puts Trinidad and Tobago's refugee policy under the microscope
Venezuelans fleeing their country have been seeking refuge in Trinidad and Tobago in increasing numbers, but the country is yet to get its act together to deal with the influx.
8 February 2019
Who will win Trinidad & Tobago Carnival's 2019 Road March?
A strong melody, a memorable refrain ... just some of the elements that make up the magical formula for a Trinidad and Tobago Carnival Road March.
Former West Indies cricket great: ‘We have to put a lot of things right to sustain that level of play’
West Indian cricket fans are longing for a return to their side's glory days, but cricket veteran Deryck Murray says there's still a lot of work to be done.
6 February 2019
‘No-confidence’ vote upheld by Guyana's courts
On January 31, 2019, Guyana's acting chief justice ruled in favor of the opposition coalition's 'no confidence' vote. New presidential elections will be called in March.
29 January 2019
Displaced farmers’ coalition reclaims their road to sustainable livelihoods 9 years after Haiti’s devastating earthquake
"We had nothing to fall back on, nothing to sell at the market. [...] What we suffered through the most was the loss of our dignity."
5 January 2019
After a fire destroys Jamaica's LGBT headquarters, 2019 deemed ‘year of rebuilding’
Pending the outcome of an official investigation, Jamaicans have been forming their own conclusions about the cause of a fire that gutted Jamaica's LGBTQIA+ support organisation.
29 December 2018
A ‘no-confidence’ vote finds Guyana politics in uncharted territory
After a surprising "no-confidence" vote, Guyana's president and members of the cabinet must resign, according to the constitution — a first for the country's politics.
19 December 2018
Ten quintessential Christmas tunes from Trinidad & Tobago
Some seasonal songs from Trinidad and Tobago that are sure to put you in a Christmas kind of mood — and that you won't hear anywhere else!
5 December 2018
Trinidad & Tobago court rules Olympian's dreams were killed by ‘biased’ gymnastics federation
The whole fiasco had more twists and turns than a gymnastics routine, but many believe Williams' forced withdrawal was illegal and her attorneys have been fighting for justice ever since.
31 October 2018
For Calypso History Month in Trinidad & Tobago, #metoo does a double-take on empowering tunes
Readers offer a few suggestions for calypsos that make female empowerment their priority.
21 October 2018
Heavy rains and flooding turned parts of Trinidad & Tobago into disaster zones
"Residents are trapped. My road is cut off completely. Not even trucks can access the highway, the water is so high.”
18 October 2018
For Calypso History Month in Trinidad and Tobago, six tunes for the #metoo era
In a genre that has often painted women in a negative light, the tunes that broke the mould are etched forever in the national consciousness.
1 October 2018
Ken ‘Professor’ Philmore, Trinidadian musician who took steel pan music ‘by storm’, dies
"This is the equivalent of a Brahms, Bach or Beethoven passing. This is huge. This is a loss."
22 August 2018
Anatomy of a Trinidad earthquake
"I was silenced, diminished and at the same time in total awe. This was nature and I understood myself to be at the very heart of it."
24 July 2018
‘They can’t duck the question of decolonisation and transformation anymore’
"That's partly why I’m here in Trinidad. It’s really important for us to have spaces and places where [such] concerns are central, in really deep, rigorous, creative, investigative, explorative ways."
13 July 2018
‘In a lot of the post-colonial world, so much of what really drives us is suppressed’
"The majority of students are black. It’s not so much a colour as the fact that they come with emotional relationships to the rest of the world that are different."
9 July 2018
‘Apartheid couldn’t have happened without that spatial carving up of the landscape’
"In South Africa, certainly, architecture was always complicit in oppression. Apartheid might have been a political and social structure, but it was also a physical one," says architect Lesley Lokko.
14 June 2018
Trinidad and Tobago's religious leaders ‘unite to divide’ people around the issue of gay rights
"Doing what you can to reduce murder, child abuse, domestic violence...nah, more important to use your leadership position to say who should or shouldn't be allowed to love each other"
15 May 2018
Trinidadian photographer Maria Nunes pays tribute to ‘Carnival dreamers and makers’ in new book
"For me it’s about immersion. It’s about going all out, no half way business. Also, as a photographer I see myself as a participant too, not a spectator."
