I am a writer and media producer based in Trinidad and Tobago. Follow me on Twitter @JanineMFranco.
Latest posts by Janine Mendes-Franco from January, 2008
Trinidad & Tobago: Where's The ‘Mas?
Thebookmann attends Trinidadian artist Ashraph's Carnival exhibition: “The Midnight Robber, the Fancy Sailor, Bats, Red Devils and Fancy Indians, Kings and Queens and to its current transitional state of feathers and beads, all inclusive, in a brown paper bag.”
St Vincent & The Grenadines, Belize: Palacio Gone To Soon
St. Vincent blogger Abeni knew the late Belizean musician Andy Palacio personally and says: “News of his death…triggered all those memories of yesteryear. Gone at 47 which seems too soon.”
Barbados, Bermuda, USA: Standing for Change
Cheese-on-bread! notices a similarity between the new Barbados government's campaign slogan and Barack Obama's – and hopes that the “rallying cry will work for him as well as it did for PM Thompson et al…”; while Politics.bm thinks Bermuda's government “represents everything Obama rejects.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Panorama
Thebookmann reports on the pervasive mood as Trinidad and Tobago steelbands move closer to the Panorama finals.
Trinidad & Tobago: On Not Eating Meat
“I am not the preachy sort of vegetarian,” declares Trinidadian Nicholas Laughlin, as he links to an article that “summarises so succinctly the good reasons to stop eating meat–or at least reduce the amount one eats…”
Jamaica: Greetings from Jamaica
Francis Wade blogs about the sweetness of Jamaican greetings.
Bermuda: Police-Blogger Suspended
Bermudan Police Officer and blogger Allan Palmer reports that he is officially “on suspension” following a blog post that he wrote.
Bahamas: Secret Ballot?
Craig Butler at Bahama Pundit thinks that “the voting process in the Bahamas is not secret”.
Bahamas: Moving On…
Rick Lowe at WeblogBahamas.com is fed-up of the two political parties’ bickering about the election results: “It is time for the rhetoric to stop on both sides of the political divide so the country can move forward.”
Belize: Palacio Laid to Rest
Belizean was there when musical icon Andy Palacio was laid to rest.
Jamaica: Safe Sex?
Stunner's Afflictions blogs about the controversial issue of distributing condoms in Jamaican schools.
Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago: Lusignan Massacre
“I've never felt so utterly hopeless about Guyana as I do today, and it weighs all the heavier in this prolonged season of hopelessness about my own country, my own society”: As news spreads about the horrific massacre in the town of Lusignan, Nicholas Laughlin‘s heart bleeds for Guyana.
Trinidad & Tobago: “La Fantasie” & Reality
“For most Trinidadians, giving the name ‘La Fantasie’ to a house is a bitter joke, rousing memories of the hundreds of millions spent to construct the new prime ministerial palace…it also pokes sardonic fun at the fantasy of social and economic progress peddled by the current Trinidad and Tobago government”:...
Trinidad & Tobago: Fancy Sailors
“Every year it seems, the few individuals who have kept the traditions of Old Mas alive are becoming less visible”: Thebookmann features Trinidad and Tobago Carnival's Fancy Sailors.
Trinidad & Tobago: The Bottom Line
“Trinidad is no longer the Land of the Hummingbird but the Land of the Cash Cow…in the new Trinidad Carnival, the only thing that need be considered is not the bottom in the road but the bottom line in the road”: Nicholas Laughlin quotes Trinidad and Tobago journalist B.C. Pires.
Barbados: Impact of CSME
While Bajan Free Press believes “the future of Barbados is inextricably linked to the future of the Caribbean region of which we are a part”, Barbados Underground says: “We will probably import many of the social ills of T&T, Guyana and several of the other islands.”
Bahamas: Freedom of Information
As the Bahamian Prime Minister makes his report to the nation, Rick Lowe at WeblogBahamas.com admits to “feeling like someone was now in charge of The Bahamas”, but adds: “If there was one disappointment for me it is that Mr. Ingraham did not mention when a Freedom of Information Act...
Trinidad & Tobago: Dame Lorraine
Thebookmann attends a traditional “Old ‘Mas” performance in Trinidad and Tobago and posts video of the well-loved Carnival character of the Dame Lorraine.
Trinidad & Tobago: Stolen Generation?
A schoolyard incident in Trinidad and Tobago makes Jumbie's Watch wonder: “How and when did society ‘tief’ our children, and their innocence? And how did we let them get away with it, without even a murmur of protest?”
Jamaica, St. Lucia: Hardwick's Eulogy
“Derek Walcott's prodigious gifts, even in the face of tragedy, continue to amaze me”: Jamaican Geoffrey Philp links to the Caribbean writer's eulogy of Elizabeth Hardwick.
Guyana: Persons of Influence
Do! You! Know!!! Who Guyana-Gyal is?? You should…
