Volume 5 , Number 1
February, 2007
ST. THOMAS, US VIRGIN ISLANDS (VI DAILY NEWS- 1/22/07)- For the
10th straight year, the farmers of Bordeaux put on quite a party. And for
the 10th year, the BORDEAUX FARMERS RASTAFARI AGRICULTURE
& CULTURAL FAIR was peaceful and positive while showcasing crops
and arts created locally.
Hundreds of people gathered at the site of an old tennis court where
rustic wooden booths adorned with handmade ornaments and colorful
cloth displayed the best crops from local farmers. Cassava, pumpkins and
various herbs could be found. Savory odors from bubbling ital foods
wafted among the diverse crowd.
And while food, music and festivities created a lively atmosphere, a
serious issue was at the core of the fair: Farmers on St. Thomas struggle
with limited resources to provide a living for their families and to produce
food for the community. They face several challenges, including a short-
age of water reservoirs and land.
WE GROW FOOD INC., which hosts the annual event, recognized their
Farmer Of the Year- Monica Smith- who stated, "Without agriculture,
our community, our culture is gone."
Bands, dances, a fashion show and poetry readings entertained the
crowd. A youth activity center gave young children activities such as
basket weaving, jewelry making, calabash art and pillow making, as well
as learning about planting and farming.
"It's very important that we pass it on and that they embrace it," said
Jahstar Ko-Nya, secretary of We Grow Food, about teaching farming
to the young.
ST. JOHN, US VIRGIN ISLANDS (VI DAILY NEWS-1/22/07)- The chief of
VI National Park's Division of Resource management criticized the federal
government's failure to raise funding for the park for the fourth consecu-
tive year. Rafe Boulon said that with rising salaries and expenditures,
there is a lack of funds for projects within the park. That is a big part of
why FRIENDS OF THE PARK are such an asset and their fundraising is
invaluable.
A big success for the park and Friends of the Park has been the preserva-
tion efforts at Estate Mahoe Bay. A meeting has been set with the Trust
For Public Lands to discuss the partitioning of the estate. "The good
news is there is not going to be a big development there," said Boulon.
(see ARCHIVED NEWS homepage lead story for some history)
The park's board is also working on the School Land Swap program.
Boulon said that the park has identified a parcel of land in Estate Cather-
ineberg that the board would be willing to set aside for a K-12 school on
St. John if the VI government can come up with an equal value piece of
land within or near the borders of the park.
A large part of the success of the park has been fueled by the man-hours
pumped into it. In 2006, the park had 147 volunteers who logged more
than 18,000 hours of volunteer work. The Friends of the Park's fund
raising goal for 2007 is $790,000.
COCKPIT COUNTRY, JAMAICA(BBC/CARIBBEAN-1/8/07)- Jamaica's
Maroon community's not buying the argument that they would benefit
from bauxite mining in their jungle territory. They say they will fight any
plans for mining in the rugged region where they live.
Maroon leader Sydney Peddie said they refuse to be sold on the argu-
ment that mining there will benefit them and the country. "That is a widely
held view, but we regard the Cockpit Country as our home so we are not
interested in getting development from that source," he said. Peddie
points to other parts of Jamaica he says were destroyed by bauxite explor-
ation, and argues that the mountainous part of north western Jamaica,
where the Maroons have lived for centuries have historical, cultural and
environmental significance that can't be ignored.
Cockpit Country is a special place to Maroons and they regard it almost
as sovereign territory. It is where the first freed slaves made their home
and successfully fought off invasions by the British forces before making
peace with them in 1739.
The Jamaica government has backed away from offering licenses for
bauxite mining in the area after protests from environmentalists. The
island is the world's 5th largest producer of bauxite- the raw material for
aluminum.
MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA (JA OBSERVER-1/16/07)- In spite of a few
hiccups, this year's REBEL SALUTE (sponsored by Tru-Juice) upheld
its high standard of providing quality entertainment from the moment the
first note sounded off.
However, this year's event paled in comparison to Rebel Salute's of the
past in terms of attendance and the general ambiance which is associated
with a show that has carved its niche in the live concert business.
Buju Banton was awesome and had everyone mouthing the words to his
popular songs which included: Nutten Wid Dem, Better Days and Bongo
Cart. After a hit-filled 50 minutes, he left his satisfied audience loudly
applauding.
The Abyssinians, who have not performed on a local stage in 27 years,
provided a musical lesson about the era of the early 1970's when the bass
line was a leading component of reggae. Their performance was marred
when the backing band failed miserably in their attempt of the accompan-
iment to the group's signature anthem, "Satta-a-Masagana". Despite the
glitch, the reggae warriors were still much appreciated.
Kenyatta Hill, son of the late icon Joseph Hill, handled his father's mater-
ial well when Culture took the stage and the crowd responded.
Also performing were Tony Rebel, Lutan Fyah, Jah Mason, Tarrus Riley,
Diana King and Gentleman.
ST. CROIX, US VIRGIN ISLANDS(VI DAILY NEWS- 2/8/07)- An engag-
ing documentary on legendary "Scratch" band performer James "Jamesie"
Brewster is having its premiere showings here and on St. John. The 70
minute film was directed and produced by Andrea Leland and features
Brewster and his band, The All-Stars, performing at St. Croix venues as
well as music festivals in Chicago and Indiana.
Leland, an award-winning filmmaker who lives on St. John, collaborated
with Brewster for 3 years to complete the documentary. The result is a
spirited musical journey focusing on Scratch music- the indigenous,
grassroots form of folk music from the Virgin Islands.
When the 74-year-old Brewster talks with other musicians about the
historical significance of the music, he is both uncompromising and
humorous. Leland says he was the perfect subject because he is a true
artist who is "stuck in the old time". "He is a tradition bearer, someone
who bridges the past and present," she said.
Leland has traveled around the Caribbean sice the 1970's and was always
intrigued with the different types of expression in the region; the indigen-
ous music varied among islands, but bore similarities. When she inquired
about Scratch music in the VI, she was told that the only person to docu-
ment was Brewster.
The documentary shows Brewster making a banjo out of a sardine can
and carved wood. He explains that Scratch music got its name from slaves
who created instruments "from scratch". He bristles whenever the music
is referred to as quelbe. "I never know nothing named quelbe," he says.
The music is a fusion of Bamboula rhythms and chants, Caruso (a song
form and style that dates back to the earliest days of slavery), European
fife and drum and Quadrille music.
Leland says her goal was to preserve and celebrate Virgin Islands culture.
"We encourage everyone not to forget that with the focus often being on
tourism and politics, Virgin Islands culture is very unique and should be
celebrated." (ed. note: visit www.jamesieproject.com for mor info. The St.
John showing is Mar.2nd at the St. John School of the Arts in Cruz Bay.)
ST. THOMAS, US VIRGIN ISLANDS (VI DAILY NEWS-1/27/07)-Puffing
their cheeks full of air, children blew bass tones out of their newly-made
rhythm pipes at Reichold Center of the Arts in one of several workshops
teaching hundreds of elementary school students traditional crafts and
games of the Virgin Islands. "Playing Ring: In De Yard" transformed the
center's grounds into a sea of cultural activity with community leaders
sharing everything from "scratch" instrument making to storytelling,
Quadrille, headwrapping and a host of games from the territory's past.
Over the course of four hours, students took turns twisting multi-colored
ribbons into beautiful patterns on the maypole, tying squares of madras
into stunning headwraps and learning how challenging old games such
as cocks, tops and tee-toe-tom can be. Other activities included maurel
and hopscotch, marbles and action games. Camille "King Darby"
Macedon belted out impromptu Calypso while showing how to make
sardine can banjoes, a skill he learned when he was 8-years-old.
The "Playing Ring" series was launched at the center last year with a
focus on Quelbe (or Scratch music), the official music of the V.I., to
highlight local culture.
PORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD (BBC/CARIBBEAN-2/1/07)- There are
concerns in St. Lucia about lower than expected ticket sales for Cricket
World Cup matches that will be played there. So far, 65% of tickets have
not been sold.
Officials of the organizing committee have said that St. Lucians them-
selves don't seem that interested. But the president of the hotel and tour-
ism association counters that numbers are not the all important factor. He
believes that the preliminary games in St. Lucia are less attractive than the
others. He sees this as one of the reasons for low sales. It is different for
the semi-finals which are already sold out.
Another suggestion for low overall ticket sales- Jamaica, Trinidad and St.
Kitts included- is that stadium security arrangements are putting a damper
on the traditional West Indian way of enjoying cricket. To use a conch
shell would require special permission. Hotel and airline rates are another
factor.
St. Lucia is one of nine host venues in the region for Cricket World Cup.
In addition to perliminary matches, the island will host one semi-final on
April 25th.
