Nailah Blackman: welcome to the evolution | Snapshot By Laura Dowrich-Phillips | Issue 152 (July/August 2018) With music in her bloodline, T&T’s Nailah Blackman was almost destined for a career behind the microphone. She was the breakthrough performer of Carnival 2017, still a teenager — but, as she tells Laura Dowrich-Phillips, her ambitions go beyond soca, to another stage of musical evolution
Turn of the tide | Panorama By Caribbean Beat | Issue 152 (July/August 2018) A new exhibition of contemporary artists explores the “submarine” links among the islands of the Caribbean archipelago. A portfolio of artworks from Relational Undercurrents, now on view in New York City
Tessa Mars: full free | Closeup By Shereen Ali | Issue 151 (May/June 2018) Haitian artist Tessa Mars is influenced by her country’s revolutionary history as much as her own family’s intellectual tradition, and her lifelong fascination with riddles. Her colourful paintings often feature a semi-autobiographical character named Tessalines — and deal in complex ideas about identity and freedom. Shereen Ali finds out more
FIFA World Cup: Caribbean footballers by proxy | Snapshot By James Ferguson | Issue 151 (May/June 2018) For sports fans around the world, the arrival of June means the start of the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals. No Caribbean team qualified this year, James Ferguson writes, but that doesn’t mean our region won’t be represented
Port of Spain: the story of a city | Backstory By Judy Raymond | Issue 151 (May/June 2018) A childhood encounter with a touring steelband began Stephen Stuempfle’s connection with Trinidad. Now the US scholar has written an illuminating history of Port of Spain in the era before Independence. As Judy Raymond learns, Stuempfle’s research has only deepened his love for T&T’s capital
André Alexis: the puzzle of “home” | Closeup By Donna Yawching | Issue 150 (March/April 2018) Born in Trinidad, brought up in Canada, writer André Alexis is a “Nowherian” — and that complicated identity, along with his passion for exploring big ideas, drives his philosophical and deeply literary novels. A recent string of awards has raised his international profile, but as Donna Yawching learns, it was no overnight success for one of the most original writers in both Caribbean and Canadian literature
Skip Marley: “I’m not trying to fill his shoes” | Own words By Nazma Muller | Issue 150 (March/April 2018) Twenty-one-year-old Skip Marley, grandson of the legendary Bob, on growing up in Jamaica’s musical royal family, his hopes for stardom, and the message of his songs, for his own and every other generation — as told to Nazma Muller
Miriam | Showcase By Michelene Adams | Issue 150 (March/April 2018) “Every Saturday is the same story.” A tale of a woman and her four persistent suitors — fiction by Michelene Adams
Winston Duke: “I’m unfinished” | Own words By Caroline Taylor | Issue 149 (January/February 2018) Tobago-born actor Winston Duke, appearing in the eagerly awaited Black Panther movie, on his love of stories and magical realism, how his village childhood shaped his ethos, and his love of soca music — as told to Caroline Taylor
Ten for the Road By Caribbean Beat, Philip Sander and Attillah Springer | Issue 149 (January/February 2018) Of the eighty-plus songs that have won the official Road March title, some are little remembered, some have become “back-in-times” favourites, and a few are considered landmarks — whether for their musical qualities or for trends they ushered in. Here are all the recorded Road March winners up to 2017 — and our picks for an all-time Road March top ten
Walk tall, moko jumbie | Closeup By Ray Funk | Issue 149 (January/February 2018) It’s one of the oldest masquerades in T&T’s Carnival, brought across the Atlantic from West Africa. The moko jumbie tradition once seemed to be dying away, but in recent years a handful of enthusiasts have created a moko jumbie revival, training hundreds of young people in the art of stilt-walking. Ray Funk investigates, and explains the power of these towering figures
How to win the road (march) | Backstory By Mark Lyndersay | Issue 149 (January/February 2018) T&T’s Carnival is full of rivalries and competitions, and none is more fierce than the annual Road March battle. Mark Lyndersay traces the history of the musical title that reflects the will of masqueraders on the street — and we dare to share our picks for the top ten Road March songs from the 1930s to the present day
Pasito a pasito: Daddy Yankee & Luis Fonsi | Backstory By Nazma Muller | Issue 148 (November/December 2017) The Caribbean musical hit of 2017? That’s “Despacito”, the steamy song by Puerto Ricans Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, which has been breaking records all year. Nazma Muller investigates its runaway success, and explains why “Despacito” has roused controversy for more than its lyrics
The games are afoot | Snapshot By Mark Lyndersay | Issue 148 (November/December 2017) Video games aren’t just for teenagers to have fun — globally, they’re a highly lucrative business, requiring state-of-the-art technical know-how, creative flair, and significant investment. Mark Lyndersay meets the minds behind Couple Six and Coded-Arts, video game developers in Barbados and T&T, whose agenda includes creating games that reflect the culture of their home islands
Tracing Circles and Circuits | Panorama By Alexandra Chang | Issue 148 (November/December 2017) A new exhibition spread across two museums in Los Angeles uses artworks and archival materials to show how different generations of Chinese Caribbean artists deal with issues of migration, diaspora, and cultural identity. Curator Alexandra Chang explains
June Soomer: a voice for all | Backstory By Shelly-Ann Inniss | Issue 147 (September/October 2017) As head of the Association of Caribbean States, appointed in 2016, St Lucian June Soomer keeps regional integration high on the agenda. She tells Shelly-Ann Inniss how her career as historian and diplomat prepared her for this trailblazing new role
