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A people
without the knowledge of their past history,
origin and culture is like a tree without roots.
Marcus Garvey |
February
2010
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Albert
Huie -Observer photo |
Rex
Nettleford -JIS photo |
On the
31st of January we heard the news that Jamaica's
greatest painter, Albert Huie, had died at 89
after a very long illness. This great man, known
for his incredible use of light and shadow and
who had virtually dominated Jamaican art from
the minute he came home from the 1939 New York
World's Fair with First Place in Art.
Without
even time time to recover from the blow, on the
3rd of February we were hit yet again. Rex
Nettleford, prolific writer, Cultural Icon and
Jamaica's undisputed Lord of the Dance, was gone
too after a massive heart attack while lecturing
in Washington, DC. He had studied at Oxford on a
Rhodes Scholarship half a century ago and came
home to spearhead the renaissance of Jamaican
culture and to become Vice Chancellor of the
University of the West Indies. Prof. was just a
day away from his 77th birthday and less that a
week from the 47th anniversary of the first time
the NDTC took to the stage. |
February is a
significant month in Jamaica's history.
National Hero
Alexander Bustamante was born on the 24th in
1884. In 1974, the by-elections on the 5th marked the first time
18 year olds could vote.
On the 27th in 1977 women made a
career move when Ionie Ramsey graduated as Jamaica's first
female motorcycle cop. The 6th of February 1956
marked the day when Rt Rev Percival Gibson became Jamaica's
first native born Lord Bishop.
Two events
occurred in February which changed the face of Jamaican
entertainment. Reggae legend Bob Marley was born on the 6th in
1945 and on the 8th of February 1963, the newly founded
National Dance Theatre
Company performed its very first production
African Scenario.
It was also in February, on
the 5th in 1793, that Captain Bligh
arrived aboard the Providence with his cargo of
breadfruit.
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On the 12th of January at a
few minutes to five we felt tremors here in
Jamaica. Imagine our horror when, just minutes later, we
learned that the worst earthquake in two centuries had
almost destroyed Haiti, our neighbour to the north and
the poorest country in the hemisphere.
How You
Can Help
Please read our
Blog for details
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Food for the Poor
was started almost thirty years ago by concerned
Christian Jamaicans living in Florida who wanted to help
their less fortunate brothers and sisters at home. A few
years later they expanded their relief work to the
region's most needy country, Haiti. The organisation now
serves 17 countries in the Caribbean and Latin America
and has grown to become the largest international relief
organisation in the United States. It also has one of
the lowest overhead costs (less than 3%) of any Charity
in the world.
See what Food for the Poor has
been doing in Haiti |
See raw news from
the Associated Press |
See
more Jamaican themed Products
My Blog
Not just information
about Jamaica, but a sampling of everything that's on my mind.
Thanks, Dear Reader, for your 24,000 hits on my blog
during
it's first month of existence back in September!
I appreciate your support and will certainly make sure you keep
coming back.
If you missed Fr Ho-Lung and Friends
Jam Reggae Opera
you can
get the soundtrack at their website for a small donation of
US$20.
Newton Marshall, Damion Robb and
dogs
Help send the Jamaica Dogsled Team to the Itidarod by
making a donation on their website.
After much
encouragement from my family and friends, I've launched two new
websites.
WritersTreasury.com,
which offers aspiring authors assistance in turning their
manuscripts into Books, and
ReadersTreasury.com,
with sales links to these books as well as a variety of eBooks,
including some of the Classics for FREE!
Sponsored
Link:
An interesting
tidbit for all of you who have left the Rock for greener
pastures.
The
Happy Planet Index published by the New Economics Foundation
rates all the countries of the World based on economic
conditions, average
life expectancy and a number of other factors. On this Index the
UK comes in at #74, Canada at #89 and the USA at #114. Out of
143 countries, the bottom twenty were all unfortunately in
Africa. And where does Jamaica rank on this HPI you might ask?
Well, we made it in at Number Three (behind Costa Rico
and the Dominican Republic)!
Jamaica-Allspice is
an on-line magazine dedicated to showcasing the diversity of
Jamaica. You can read about
our rich history. For instance did you know that Falmouth is one of
the world's most perfect examples of pure Georgian architecture?
Aside from world famous
reggae artists and athletes, there are also Jamaicans like
George Lecky
who developed the Hope Red, one of the most popular varieties of cattle
in the world.
There's also the very
diverse geography and
wildlife of our Island where, almost side by side;
iguanas sun on barren rocks, crocodiles lie in wait in mangrove swamps
and varieties of birds fly amongst the trees in our
beautiful
mountains. You might even see a rodent the size of a dog, the agouti,
hiding in a tropical rain forest.
There are lots of other
interesting facts. Did you know, for instance, that Jamaica has greater
roadway density than anywhere else in the world? Or that we own more
cellular phones, per capita, than either the USA or Canada?
Enjoy our magazine and
please feel free to send us your comments.
Betty SB
Editor
Contact the
ALLSPICE
"Jamaica Pepper" Eugenia Pimenta: Native Tree the berries of which are a
popular spice which tastes like a combination of several other spices
-- OED
Our magazine gives you several different things which together
give you the mixture which is Jamaica.
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's birth
