Tessanne is by no means your run-of-the-mill artiste – but let’s be serious. no one can deny that this sizzling songbird is talented and able to hold her own, and a note. The shapely 20-something woman is bringing the sounds of alternative music to our indeginous reggae sounds and people are liking it, clearly evidenced by the success of her singles Messenger, BlackBooks, and the run-away-make-you-want-to-grab-the-person-next-to-you-and-hug-them-track that everyone knows, Hideaway.

She spoke to Observer last week about her experience, and as she brought the scenes of the country that temporarily became the centre of the world closer to this writer than ever before, the slight shrill in her voice as she excitedly relays her experience, is evidence that Tessanne Chin is a real person.

“Oh my goodness, it was absolutely great,” the soulful artiste exclaimed on the phone.

“This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, because I finally got to really connect with that side of my heritage,” Chin said.

Of Chin’s sightseeing escapades in Beijing, she says her visit to the Forbidden City was most exciting.

The Forbidden City, which was the Chinese imperial palace from the mid-Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty, is located in the Dongcheng District, in the middle of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum. For almost five centuries, it served as the home of the Emperor and his household, as well as the ceremonial and political centre of Chinese government, and normal people were not allowed in.

“I mean, the attention to detail, just everything about the visit was mind-blowing. I love it,” she said.

Tessanne also toured the Summer Palace, and certainly had her fill of real Chinese cuisine, which she also said was exciting.

Speaking of exciting, Tessanne could not begin to explain how thrilling her performance at the PUMA/Team Jamaica after-party was.

“The crowd was so diverse, and fun to perform to,” she began.

“And our amazing athletes, Usain (Bolt) took on the role of being DJ for the night, so yeah, that made it even more exciting.”

And how was the Olympic champion and world record holder for the 100-metre and 200-metre events on the wheels of steel?

A sharp giggle, morphs into a small laugh and gives way to “he did well. The whole club was having fun.”
So, she’s back, and for now Tessanne Chin will be known as Jamaica’s Messenger to China. not a bad title at all.

Source: Jamaica Observer

After a successful debut as a mas band (D Gulf) in 2008, the husband and wife team of Ronnie and Caroline Mc Intosh launched their 2009 presentation Bakkanal at Club Ambassador, Long Circular Road, St James, on Friday night.In the presentation designer Caroline explores Trinidad and Tobago’s Carnival “then and now” (1839-2008) and creates a practical insight into the fun and excitement of the greatest show on earth.

She says there is never a Carnival without a Bakkanal and invites the masquerader to be a part of some of the events that make Trinidad Carnival a Bakkanal.

The duo showed an enthusiastic Ambassador audience nine sections which included Cockfight, Blue Devils, Chutney Monarch, Panorama, Wasa Fete, Dimanche Gras, Soca Monarch, Calypso Fiesta and Envy, a guest section from New York, USA.

Source: T&T Express

This was one of the central spots for really getting the vibe of the Carifesta Festival, the theme of which is “One Caribbean, One People, One Purpose”.Inside one of the two large warehouse-like exhibition centres, the Trinidad and Tobago booth attracted crowds who had come not only for the craft and literature about T&T but also for the fantastic music of pannist Noel La Pierre, who had the visitors looking on and listening in amazement.T&T steelband music had also held centre-stage on August 23 at the National Cultural Centre with a concert given by the National Steelband Orchestra, and “thrilling” was reportedly the verdict. Not unlike the craft markets we’ve seen at home when T&T has played host, in addition to the participating countries, every single Guyanese who had something to make and sell was present.Areas were devoted to beautiful rattan furniture, clothes, paintings, handicraft, sculpture, plants, music, bouncy castles, slides and swings for children; there were even booths of handicraft and music offered by the Guyanese Rastafarian community. These activities were made even more enticing by the smells of cooking rising from booths on the outskirts as all kinds of Guyanese dishes went on sale.

On stage, the audience enjoyed displays of fast-paced Latin dancing from members of the Brazilian contingent, St Vincent folk songs and dance, the Guyanese reigning calypso monarch Young Bill Rogers and the Bahamians, who will host the next Carifesta in 2010, put on a high-energy performance of their “rake and scrape” and junkanno.But Carifesta has also been about the meeting of minds, the exchange of ideas and the sharing of work among filmmakers, writers and poets with their audience. You could see the purpose of Carifesta at work when late in the evening people living close to the International Conference Centre would gather in the courtyard to look at films on a big screen set up there. Writers like Willi Chen, Austin Clarke, Ian McDonald, Earl Lovelace and many others read at various venues. For a taste of this on Friday evening, we visited the Yumana Yana cultural centre, Georgetown, which is designed as an Amerindian hut. On Friday evening Yumana Yana played host to T&T’s own Brother Resistance and Earl Lovelace, in addition to Guyanese poet Peter Jailall and and Yvonne Weeks, a Monserrat-born poet who grew up in the UK and now resides in Barbados. Again T&T thrilled the small space with Resistance’s “Ring De Bell” and “Columbus lie, is a big dutty lie”.

On Friday morning, Rex Nettleford of Jamaica, Kim Johnson of T&T and Tony Martin among others gathered at the National Conference Centre to discuss “A Caribbean Philosophy? The Role of Ideas in the Making of a Caribbean Nation”.

This was one of several symposia threaded through the week of activities. The first salvo was fired during the opening Symposium of Carifesta X by Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott, who appealed to regional leaders to invest more in the regions’ artists.

Guyana has displayed an unmistakable pride in hosting Carifesta X. Guyanese flags are everywhere, on homes as well as public buildings. At the gospel concert in Carifesta last Thursday night, President Bharrat Jagdeo made the point Carifesta had been born in Guyana, and now 36 years later it would be a hard act to follow because of the new features which have been added. The original Carifesta took place in one location; Carifesta X took place in venues all over the country.

While this made it hard to see everything, visitors who caught the Carifesta fever did not let this deter them. They’ve tasted, bought, danced, partied, enjoyed and have declared themselves so much more enlightened. So much so that it’s been hailed in the local media as the greatest festival of arts ever held in Guyana.

Carifesta X ends today at the National Stadium, Providence.

Source: T&T Express

After claiming pole position last year with Badda Dan Dem, Banton is currently riding high with Sort out Yourself.The 47 year old Burro whose real name is Donovan Spalding, emerged on the musical radar in the late 1970s. It wasn’t until the mid 1980’s that he began to garner some attention. His emergence at the beginning of the digital dancehall craze started by King Jammy, saw him riding some of the more prolific rhythms of the day.

In 1978 he linked up with the Black Hoover sound system and then moved on to Roots Unlimited sound system. While deejaying for the Gemini sound in the early 1980’s, finally began to make some strides. He would later have short stints with the Volcano and Kilamanjaro sound systems.

His first recording was with legendary producer Henry “Junjo” Lawes, Volcano’s owner, and released his first LP in 1985.

Known for his very aggressive style; deep, gruff voice, Burro’s most famous recording to date has been Boom Wah Dis which became a hit in 1998 on the Steely and Clevie produced Street Sweeper rhythm.

Source: Eurweb

Luni Sparks and Electrify retained the title of 2008 Soca Monarch champ of Grenada. The Grenada Soca Monarch finals took place two weekends ago. The main prize was EC$30,000.  The winners have now qualified for the 2009 International Soca Monarch Finals which will be held in Trinidad and Tobago next February.His name is Skinny Fabulous and he’s from St. Vincent and the Grenadines. He currently has the number one song on the charts in Trindad and Tobago with the song Head Bad On the Spot. But just who exactly is Skinny Fabulous? His real name is Omar Doyle and he recently completed a diploma in Media and communications at the UWI Mona Campus. He is currently pursuing his Bachelors Degree.

Over in Antigua, the top 10 finalists for the Antiguan Digicel Rising Stars competition have been selected.  Among the finalists are two duets as well as previous top 10 finalists from 2006 and 2007. The series began on August 11 with a recap show broadcast on ABS television. Antigua’s audition show is due to air on September 14. Voters from Antigua and across the Caribbean will have a week to select their top two for the regional series.

Eurweb.com

The governments of Saint Lucia and Venezuela on Wednesday August 27th 2008, met to discuss among other things an offer from Venezuela of low cost housing units to Saint Lucia as well as the provision of technical scholarships to Saint Lucian students.   The meeting also explored the possibility of yearly student exchange visits.

The Venezuelan Ambassador Eduardo Alfonzo Barranco Hernandez also briefed Prime Minister the Honourable Stephenson King on the current status of the PetroCaribe Agreement. Venezuela also agreed to make available a soft loan of three million US dollars to the proposed Saint Lucia Development Bank for on lending to its clients.

Also attending Wednesday’s meeting  was the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Planning Mark Louis, President of the National Workers Union, Tyronne Maynard and his General Secretary Lawrence Poyotte and General Manager of the Windward Islands Banana Packaging Company Luciano Perez.

A technical team has been set up to finalize a Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries.

Source: St.Lucia.gov

He’s been honored with museums, documentary films, benefit concerts, tribute albums and reverence as one of the 20th century’s greatest cultural icons. Now Bob Marley is being lionized with a new statue, recently erected in the south-east Serbian town of Banatski Sokolac.BBC News reports that the statue was uncovered just after 12am on August 24 during a ceremony with musicians from Central Europe. The statue’s creator, Croatian sculptor Davor Dukic, was also present, along with hundreds of fans paying their respects. The event’s organizers claim that this is the first European statue to pay tribute the reggae legend, who is being honored for having “promoted peace and tolerance in his music.”

The statue, which stands at 6’5″, depicts Marley clenching his right fist and holding a guitar. An inscription on the monument reads, “Bob Marley — fighter for freedom armed with a guitar.”

Serbia and its surrounding countries in the Balkan region have previously built statues of several other contemporary figures in popular culture. Other figures to be recently honored with statues include actors Bruce Lee, Johnny Weissmuller as “Tarzan” and Sylvester Stallone as “Rocky Balboa.” Europe News reports that Marley was chosen over ’60s-era rock stars Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison to be memorialized with a statue.

Bob Marley’s greatest achievements may be in his music, but his social consciousness and political integrity are equally vital to his legacy. The newest tribute to his accomplishments reminds us all that a civilian with humble beginnings can affect the world as profoundly as any general, politician or businessman.

Source: Bob Marley.com

A hurricane warning remained in effect on Friday morning for Jamaica as Tropical storm Gustav continued to rain heavily on the island.

Gustav tore roofs off houses and led to both of Jamaica’s international airports being closed.

The streets in the capital, Kingston, remained deserted as forecasters predicted mud and landslides and serious crop damage.

People in the low-lying area of Portmore to the east of Kingston were evacuated.

Tourists who had tried to end their holidays early on Thursday and fly out of Jamaica were moved to secure hotels after the airports closed.

Forecasters now predict that Gustav will increase in strength and head towards the Cayman Islands later on Friday.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Gustav dumped similiar heavy rain on the island of Hispaniola which is shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Because of the deforested nature of the two countries, the heavy rains led to a death toll of around 59.

Officials say this figure could rise.

Meanwhile, the eighth named storm of the season, Hanna, formed 400 kilometres north-east of the Leeward Islands.

Follow the latest on Gustav and Hanna

Most wanted

Guyana’s Police Commissioner Henry Green believes that Thursday’s killing of the country’s most wanted man and an accomplice has dented the gang’s activities.

Gang leader Rondell Rawlins and Jermaine Charles were the alleged leaders of the gang responsible for two village massacres in Guyana earlier this year.

Commissioner Green described Rawlins as the “mover and shaker” of the gang.

“We have actually broken the camel’s back where this gang is concerned,” Rawlins told reporters in Georgetown.

Different EPA impact

St. Vincent and the Grenadine’s Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves has said that the proposed Economic Partnership Agreement (Epa) with Europe will have different impact on differently-sized economies.

Caribbean Community (Caricom) nations are due to sign the agreement in early September.

The governments of larger economies such as Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago have said that they are ready to sign.

However, there have been second thoughts by some other Caricom states.

Dr Gonsalves said: “Whatever Jamaica gives to the European Union (under the agreement), it gives also to the Domincan Republic.”

“To St Vincent and the Grenadines, it means that Jamaica, given its closer proximity to the Dominican Republic, will have enhanced trade and economic arrangements in that part of the Caribbean.”

Click here for more information on Carifesta celebrations and activities

Denis Chabrol reports from Guyana’s capital, Georgetown, on how Carifesta is benefiting Guyana as it returns to its roots.

Source: BBC News