“What shit you talking, bro?” Bobby asked, his jaw literally dropping. “We talking bout the same song?” Even before Calypso Fiesta, I had shared Soul of Calypso with my pardna on WhatsApp. We both agreed then that it was not the “hit calypso” Machel would have us believe it is. …
Read More »Kitchener and Sparrow not good enough for top ten? Ah wanna fall!
Is greatness, like beauty, in the eye of the beholder? The question is broached in a not-very-good Calypso History Month piece penned by Debbie Jacob in a recent Newsday article under the headline: ‘My top ten calypsoes’. Alas, she offers no answer. “When it comes to narrowing down all the …
Read More »Vaneisa: Dear President Kangaloo, here’s one way to advocate for change in our youth
President Christine Kangaloo played a hopeful string of chords for me with her inaugural address. She spoke of modernising the protocols that govern how citizens and her office interact, and “having its facilities put to even greater use in hosting cultural, educational and artistic ventures, particularly among the youth”. My …
Read More »Vaneisa: Inside an abandoned world; breaking the cycle of violence and cruelty
LAST August, I wrote about Wishing for Wings, the 2013 book by Debbie Jacob, and the 2022 film by Dr Kim Johnson. I’d written about the indefatigable efforts of these two in promoting the culture of this melodious, cacophonous paradox called Trinidad and Tobago. The film’s premiere was then being …
Read More »Vaneisa: Foggy days of fatigue and other post-Covid symptoms
I’ve come to believe that what I had thought to be a vicious bout of both acid reflux and one of my lifelong afflictions, bronchitis, was really some form of Covid. By the time it occurred to me that it might be, it was too late for a conclusive test; …
Read More »Vaneisa: A poignant wingspan of beauty and hope—the prison reform passion of Debbie and Kim
Grief was palpable in her Facebook post; a jolting reminder of the savage, indelicate and arbitrary nature of life. Akili Charles had been gunned down in the night, mere days after his legal challenge to the criminal justice system had been supported by the Privy Council. Those accused of murder …
Read More »The Art of Rebellion: How Baby Doll was Carnival’s first masquerader for feminist social justice
“[…] Delicate pink or white lace accentuates the dress. Gossamer veils cascade from oversized hats or bonnets tied beneath the chin by a silky ribbon. Supple white gloves, a veil or mask, sheer stockings, and, on the feet, tightly laced Mary Janes—if you own a pair. A doll with rosebud …
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