Latest posts by Janine Mendes-Franco from April, 2007
US Virgin Islands: Silly Signs
Writing from the U.S. Virgin Islands, News of St. John chuckles at a few signs of the times…
Cuba: Church Caving to Government Pressure?
Uncommon Sense, citing reports by both Reuters and The Miami Herald, wonders if the Catholic Church has caved to pressure from the Cuban regime in halting the publication of Vitral, a church-sponsored magazine that, according to one anonymous activist, “worried both conservatives in the church and hard-liners in government”.
Jamaica: Frances-Anne Solomon Speaks
Jamaican Geoffrey Philp features writer, producer and filmmaker Frances-Anne Solomon in her own words: “Creation is a form of Terror, particularly when you come from a colonial context and background in which Empire (read: a sense of inferiority) was imposed through education, language, culture, as much if not more than...
Trinidad & Tobago: PM's Residence before Carnival Centre
Trinidad Carnival Diary is puzzled about the T&T government's construction priorities: “While the Prime Minister (or new Prime Minister given that General Elections is carded for later this year) will be sitting pretty in a brand, spanking, new “crib” we masqueraders will have to eat dust on the streets of...
Trinidad & Tobago: Lara Apologizes
The West Indies cricket team's loss to South Africa yesterday will likely leave them out of the World Cup finals – ttgapers.com reports on Captain Brian Lara's apology to the people of the Caribbean and highlights analysis by T&T Cricket Board President Deryck Murray and commentator Tony Cozier, among others.
Jamaica: Film Industry
ART:Jamaica examines the question of what having a Jamaican film industry actually means: “The idea of ‘Film’…is cool, hip, seductive and perhaps for this reason connects with the image Jamaica presents to the world.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Caribbean Fruit
Posting from Trinidad, Thebookmann begins a new photographic series – this time, of succulent Caribbean fruit.
Guyana: World Cup Hosting a Success?
As Guyana's President lauds the efforts of his country in successfully hosting its leg of the Cricket World Cup Super Eight matches, Guyana Providence Stadium calls for “an audit of actual costs”.
Cuba: Supporting Iran's Nuclear Rights
Uncommon Sense refers to an Islamic Republic News Agency story that quotes Cuba's Foreign Minister as saying that Cuba will defend Iran's nuclear rights.
Bermuda: Bridging the Education Divide
Politics.bm quotes an analysis of census data on Bermuda's education divide: “Education should be a source of opportunity, not a mark of privilege. People who can’t afford to send their children to private schools deserve the same opportunities as those who can. But today, that birthright for Bermudian children in...
Grenada: Windies vs. South Africa Today
Today, the West Indies plays South Africa in Grenada. Writing for ttgapers.com, Garth Wattley emphasizes how much is hinging on this particular game: “Both teams need no reminding that any more errors could be fatal now.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Bird Photos
Posting from Trinidad, Caribbean Free Photo has a gorgeous Flickr photoset of birds.
Bahamas, Jamaica: Tribute to Lockhart, Watkins & Tosh
Ringplay Productions pays tribute to Calvin Lockhart and Viveca Watkins – two icons of Bahamian theatre who passed away recently. And WeblogBahamas.com remembers the music of Jamaican Peter Tosh.
Haiti: Cost of Dying
Cuaderno Latinoamericano links to an Associated Press story on the high cost of dying in Haiti: “The cost of a funeral is more than most Haitians make in a year, and it costs a good amount just to pick up the body from the morgue.”
Guyana: Brown Dawg and Cricket Security
Security at the ICC World Cup Cricket tournament is tight – Part 2 of Brown Dawg's post on Guyana Gyal‘s blog explains why.
Bahamas: Tribute for Winston Saunders
Following the death of Bahamian Winston Saunders last year, Ringplay Productions has committed itself to re-establishing the Repertory Season which Saunders himself instituted in the 1980s in an effort to cultivate an ongoing theatre tradition in the Bahamas.
Aruba: Shopping, Aruba-style
Arubagirl gets nostalgic about La Linda , which, to her, represented the glorious disorganization of the Aruban shopping experience: “If one would want an old-fashioned kitchen appliance, La Linda would have it. If you need ponytail holders in obscure colors, La Linda would have it.”
Trinidad, Guyana: Roti Musings
Just in case you were confused about the different types of roti (a soft, flour-based nan that is a staple of Indo-Caribbean cooking) Lifespan of a Chennette clears things up.
Guyana, Jamaica: Driving Miss Crazy?
Living Guyana drives home his point about the local taxi drivers: “Clearly, the Guyana taxi industry lives by two codes – ‘we'll get you there – dead or alive’ and ‘we'll brake when we hit something'”. And the Jamaican blogger at Stories of Me recounts his own driving woes: “Driving...
Barbados: Cricket Obiutuary
Barbados Free Press reprints excerpts from Mike Selvey's “obituary” for Caribbean cricket: “If I shut my eyes, I can still sense the spirit…that existed here before the International Cricket Council got hold of it, ran it out of town, then sanitised it out of existence.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Good Friday Bobolees
The Good Friday tradition of beating bobolees (effigies of Judcas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Christ) has inspired a call by Rights Action Group T&T for the dedication of community bobolees to any of the traitors “who've sold out our country for thirty pieces of aluminum.”
