Caribbean Beat was launched in January 1992 as the inflight magazine of BWIA (British West Indian Airways), the Trinidad & Tobago-based airline founded in November 1940. The magazine partnered with BWIA for 15 years and 82 issues, publishing quarterly until August 1995, and then publishing bi-monthly from September 1995.
On 31 December 2006, BWIA was wound up and replaced by Caribbean Airlines. Caribbean Beat continued as the inflight magazine with the new airline. On 27 May 2011, Caribbean Airlines acquired a majority stake in Air Jamaica, making it the national airline both of Trinidad & Tobago and of Jamaica. The Air Jamaica brand was phased out in 2015. Caribbean Beat is the inflight magazine of Caribbean Airlines’ full network, and continues to publish every two months as before.
We get requests all the time from people looking for archive material from Caribbean Beat, which sometimes is the only trusted source for a range of West Indian and Caribbean subjects and material — personalities, culture, music, sports, history, business, arts, and more. We recognise how important these archives are, particularly as Caribbean pioneers and personalities pass on, often before their life and work has been properly documented.
We’ve been painstakingly digitising and uploading back issues over several years — scanning photos, transcribing or scanning text, proofing, treating photos, laying out, and finally bringing it all online. As far as possible, we reproduce articles and issues as they originally appeared, not altering or updating them in any way.
Most issues from issue #60 (March/April 2003) through the present are online in full, with small gaps in older issues. Most issues from #1 (March 1992) through #40 (1997) are also online, and we are making progress on issues between #41 and #60.
Given the pitfalls of the digitisation process, errors are sometimes introduced. If you come across anything like that, please contact us so we can correct and address it.
If you require material from a back issue urgently and it is not online or in its complete form, you can order a copy online. Please make sure to indicate which issue you would like in your order.
Martiniquan filmmaker Euzhan Palcy, twenty-five years after she appeared on the cover of the first Caribbean Beat. Photo ©Yannick Coupannec/LeemageA young fancy sailor at rest during Carnival in Port of Spain, Trinidad. Photo by Abigail HadeedJamaican reggae artist Chronnix. Photo by Nickii KaneTwo classics of Old Havana: a vintage car parked beside a baroque colonial-era building. Photo by Delpixart/iStock.comTrinidadian jazz musician and composer Etienne Charles. Photo by Maria NunesTobago-born musical legend Calypso Rose. Richard Holder, courtesy Stonetree Records/MaturityThe greatest Caribbean athlete of all time? Jamaican Usain Bolt is definitely a contender, as he defends his Olympic titles at the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro. Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty ImagesFor wildlife watchers in Guyana, a glimpse of an elusive jaguar is a majestic prize. Photo by Pete OxfordBunji Garlin, Trinidadian soca superstar. Photo by Jonathan Mannion PhotographyAt Guyana’s Kaieteur Falls the Potaro River plunges 741 feet into a sandstone gorge. Photo © Pete Oxford / DanitaDelimont.com The view from a beach near Soufrière includes Petit Piton, one of the twin volcanic peaks that are icons of St Lucia. Photo Danielle DevauxCover Diver Rich Mounce hovers in the massive entrance to Mohrdohr Cavern, south Andros Island, the Bahamas. Photo Brian Kakuk
