Reggae icon, Bob Marley would have been 67 years old today. It’s interesting to see how many people Bob touched with the message of his music. When I was planning my trip to South Africa, I happened upon a link to an Earth Festival that was being put on by the Knysna Rasta Village. I called the village right away and made arrangements to visit. I looked forward to the tour and to...

I saw Etana in concert a few years ago in Jamaica. About a year or so before I did, I had heard about a young singer who had given up a recording contract in the States to return to Jamaica to devote herself to the music she wanted to sing and to do it her own way. I was impressed and when I heard she was to perform at the...

As I looked for photos for today’s Travel Photo Thursday, I was surprised by all the photos I’ve taken of food. But I shouldn’t have been. I love looking at food, the way it’s presented, the interplay of colors and textures, even the shape of the plate it’s presented on. As I look at these photos, I recall something Solange, my almost-mother-in-law, used to say, “La nourriture doit plaire a l’oeil...

I used to feel a little envious when my aunt would talk about the island hopping she and her friends did when they were at the University of the West Indies. Back then, the best way to travel among the islands was by boat. The trip she talks about often took place the year she graduated. She and some of her class mates decided to accompany those from different islands...

Marcia Griffiths was born in Kingston in 1949. She started singing professionally in 1964 but became an international sensation in 1989 when a deejay in Washington, DC began playing a little song she recorded seven years earlier. The Electric Boogie, with its infectious, feel-good rhythms, spawned a new line dance, the Electric Slide, which still draws young and old to dance floors at weddings, family reunions and parties. It was...

One of the things I look forward to each week is watching the cruise ships as they pull into Montego Freeport.  On Wednesdays, its usually a ship from Carnival’s fleet. On Thursdays, it’s one from another fleet, like Royal Caribbean or MSC Cruises. To my surprise today, two Carnival ships, the Conquest, and the Magic – the newest Carnival ship to stop in Montego Bay – have come in. The Magic can...

This week, all roads will lead to the Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival which is set to start tomorrow, January 26th and run until January 28th at Greenfield Stadium in Trelawny. Headliner Celine Dion, who’s performing for the first time in the Caribbean, The Voice’s Cee Lo Green, Earl Klugh, The Temptations Review, featuring Dennis Edwards, Heads of State (Bobby Brown, Johnny Gill, Ralph Tresvant), Shaggy, Etana, Marcia Griffiths, John...

As someone who makes several trips a year, I’ve never thought twice about or been concerned by the fact that I can’t swim. That is, until now. Two incidents over the past few weeks have me thinking that I need to learn. First, was the report of the Australian visitor to Victoria Falls who swam to safety after her bungee cord snapped. Then reports surfaced last week that some passengers...

This week, we received news that Grammy award winning singer, Etta James, had passed away five days before her 74th birthday. I was ‘introduced’ to Ms. James when I was a student at university. Back then, as I’ve written in previous posts, my friends and I would share the music of our favorite artists. Etta James was one of my friend’s. Born Jamesetta Hawkins in Los Angeles in 1938, Etta James...