Guest Columns

My first visit to the seaside was Carenage; and in particular, Williams Bay. We travelled by bus and eventually I would ‘borrow’ my father’s Raleigh bicycle—put the seat to its lowest position and ride there. I remember that Pier 1 was not even a thing. Today, its building is imposing …

Not all women can run away, as advised by Singing Francine. They are treated worse than dogs. They are treated with vindictiveness. They are ‘owned’ and dare not challenge the man or seek to pursue their own decisions or rights. This week, we add Netanya Mohamdally to the list of …

I keep hearing the phrase that ‘Trinidad is not a real place’. I’ve lived here almost the entire part of my life and I know that Trinidad is not a figment of my imagination or some fictional or imaginary parallel universe. But I can relate to the bewilderment, angst and …

Recently I witnessed an act of discrimination at the Ministry of Legal Affairs. Two people were not allowed to enter the building because of their dress. One was wearing mid-calf jeans and the other had jeans with horizontal tears. In my own case I was only allowed in because I …

“Thank God for decisions made to stimulate drilling […] by the Kamla Persad- Bissessar government… Instead of benefitting from flowing gas today, we might well have been on our knees, eating grass.” (Dr Bhoe Tewarie, Trinidad Express, 13 March.) An astounding statement with subtexts! What exactly is he saying and …

Official statistics seeks to inform the public about social and economic matters and helps develop and evaluate public policy. It is the foundation for a properly run society. In 2014, the IMF bemoaned: “Growing statistical shortcomings have rendered the conduct of surveillance ever harder and must be addressed.” In other …

The National Carnival Commission (NCC) may have done more harm than good to the soca music industry by putting money into Soca Monarch. Soca Monarch organisers decided to give the so-called Power Soca more relevance and importance than the so-called Groovy. They decided to pay the Power Soca winner twice …

In 2017, Barbados passed legislation which will provide for the protection of employees in both the public sector and private sector from sexual harassment in the workplace. The Bill further provides a framework for the reporting of sexual harassment cases by employees and a method of resolving such cases. In …

Soca star Machel Montano is now just one hit away from the all-time record for Road March titles, as he was awarded his tenth crown today by TUCO for Famalay—a collaboration which includes Ian “Bunji Garlin” Alvarez and Gamal “Skinny Fabulous” Doyle. Famalay was played 346 times at the respective …

The following is the fourth and final instalment in Owen Thompson’s four-part series on the classic album, More Sparrow More!, by iconic calypsonian Slinger “Sparrow” Francisco: There are other equally telling avenues that allow us to arrive at meaning and afford us powerful glimpses into the unique quality of the …

The following is the third in Owen Thompson’s four-part series on the classic album, More Sparrow More!, by iconic calypsonian Slinger “Sparrow” Francisco: In Sa Sa Ay, Sparrow begins by making us all complicit eavesdroppers, inviting us both at the end of the first and the second stanzas to listen …

“[…] Sparrow took command of a cultural realm that touched a particularly sensitive chord, allowing for the message to be conveyed with extraordinary directness and clarity; the entire country sang along… Musically, and in terms of the procedural norms of an art form peculiar to T&T, Jean and Dinah was …