Nina Compton: “I’m going to do something different” | Cookup By Franka Philip | Issue 162 (March/April 2020) Chef Nina Compton discovered her passion for cooking as a teenager in St Lucia. After winning fame on the TV show Top Chef, she’s now turning heads with two restaurants in her adopted city, New Orleans
All that jazz | Closeup By Nigel Campbell | Issue 162 (March/April 2020) Musically, Trinidad and Tobago are best known for calypso and soca, but a thriving jazz scene proves there’s an avid audience for other genres. Nigel A. Campbell profiles Charmaine Forde, Vaughnette Bigford, and LeAndra — three jazz vocalists of different generations whose separate stories make a bigger narrative about paths to musical success
The rightest place | Portfolio By Andre Bagoo | Issue 162 (March/April 2020) “Art has to transform,” says Blue Curry. The London-based Bahamian artist puts unlikely objects into new contexts, writes Andre Bagoo — and sometimes out of place is where things belong
As far as it goes | Snapshot By Sheldon Waithe | Issue 162 (March/April 2020) When Grenadian Anderson Peters won javelin gold at the 2019 World Championships, it took observers by surprise. This was no overnight success, says Sheldon Waithe — but the product of steady hard work and staunch confidence. Now the young athlete is preparing for his biggest challenge yet at the 2020 Summer Olympics
Guyana: so near, so far | Destination By Nixon Nelson | Issue 162 (March/April 2020) There are parts of the Guyanese interior — in the heart of the vast Rupununi Savannah, or deep in the Iwokrama rainforest — that feel thrillingly remote. But daily air links make these wild adventures surprisingly accessible, says Nixon Nelson. And don’t forget the charms of Guyana’s capital, Georgetown
Phagwah: Rite of Spring | Album By Caribbean Beat | Issue 162 (March/April 2020) Celebrated in Trinidad since the nineteenth century, Holi — also known as Phagwah — is the Hindu spring festival, and a time to enjoy the company of friends and neighbours. At the 2019 celebrations in Aranguez, photographer Ziad Joseph captured the joyful free-for-all of colour
Bathsheba, Barbados | Bucket list By Caribbean Beat | Issue 162 (March/April 2020) World-class surfing and dramatic scenery are in ample supply on the island’s rugged Atlantic coast
Q&A with Michael Lees | Screenshots By Jonathan Ali | Issue 161 (January/February 2020) Filmmaker Michael Lees talks about his documentary Uncivilized, recording the six months he spent living in the rainforest of Dominica
Carnival backstage | Closeup By Georgia Popplewell and Laura Dowrich-Phillips | Issue 161 (January/February 2020) Carnival is a time to shine: from performers on the soca and calypso stage to costumed masqueraders in the street and fete-goers showing off their most acrobatic dance moves. But “the greatest show on earth” wouldn’t be possible without the dedication of the many thousands who work behind the scenes — year-round or seasonally — on the organisation and logistics of the festival. Laura Dowrich-Phillips and Georgia Popplewell meet four of the people whose backstage efforts make Carnival happen
Kambule: on morning ground | Snapshot By Attillah Springer | Issue 161 (January/February 2020) Early each Carnival Friday morning, before dawn breaks, crowds assemble at Piccadilly Greens in east Port of Spain for a re-enactment of a key event in the history of Trinidad — and of Carnival itself. Attillah Springer gives an intimate account of Kambule, when the spirits of the ancestors are invoked in a ritual of memory, story, song, and resistance
Look mas | Portfolio By Caribbean Beat | Issue 161 (January/February 2020) Photographer Jason C. Audain’s portraits of traditional Carnival masqueraders record both their intricate costumes and the human energy that powers their performance
The return of the baby doll | Backstory By Amanda T. McIntyre and Jarula M.I. Wegner | Issue 161 (January/February 2020) With a frilly dress and bonnet, carrying a replica of an infant, the traditional Baby Doll is a playful Carnival character with a serious message about the social roles of women and men. A new generation of activists have adopted the Baby Doll as form of feminist intervention, write Amanda T. McIntyre and Jarula M.I. Wegner — like the masqueraders behind the Belmont Baby Dolls band
K2K — Where fashion meets mas (with a purpose) By Caribbean Beat | Issue 161 (January/February 2020) Brand: K2K Alliance & Partners 2020 Collection: The Greatest Show Section: The Power of Believing (Believe that you can, and you will) Photography: Gary Jordan Photography MUA: Dion Samuel Model: Soowan Bramble Website: k2k-carnival.com
Choose your own Tobago | Destination By Nixon Nelson | Issue 161 (January/February 2020) Everyone has a different idea about what makes a dream vacation. Whether you’re looking for quiet time or an adrenaline hit, to explore pristine nature or the stories of history, to get pampered or get wild, Tobago has something for you, writes Nixon Nelson
St Elizabeth, Jamaica | Neighbourhood By Caribbean Beat | Issue 161 (January/February 2020) Tucked away in Jamaica’s southwest, St Elizabeth Parish is a laid-back alternative to the bustle of Kingston and the all-inclusive resorts of the north coast
Back to the Bahamas | Explore By Nazma Muller | Issue 161 (January/February 2020) When the Bahamas was hit by Hurricane Dorian last year, the images of destruction horrified people around the world. But, severe as the damage was, only a small part of the archipelago nation was affected, and one of the best ways to help with recovery efforts is to spend tourist dollars there, explains Nazma Muller
The Pitons, St Lucia | Bucket list By Caribbean Beat | Issue 161 (January/February 2020) These twin volcanic peaks are the most recognisable icon of the island sometimes called “the Helen of the West Indies”
All creatures great and small | Inspire By Erline Andrews | Issue 161 (January/February 2020) Last September, Hurricane Dorian devastated the lives of thousands in the Bahamas — and not just the human residents of the Abaco Islands and Grand Bahamas, but their pets as well. As Erline Andrews learns, in the aftermath of the storm, animal welfare organisations have stepped in to save hundreds of domesticated animals and reunite them with their owners
T&T Carnival | Did you even know By Caribbean Beat | Issue 161 (January/February 2020) Our new trivia column opens with a T&T Carnival quiz. Think you’re an expert on Carnival and calypso history? See how many of our twelve questions you can answer correctly
Q&A with Laura Guzmán | Screenshots By Jonathan Ali | Issue 160 (November/December 2019) Filmmaker Laura Guzmán explains how the life of pioneering Dominican Republic director Jean-Louis Jorge inspired her new feature Holy Beasts
The Jimmy October Project | Snapshot By Laura Dowrich-Phillips | Issue 160 (November/December 2019) “New Calypso” is how twenty-four-year-old Jimmy October describes his genre-bending music — a sound that feels like “home” to listeners in Trinidad and Tobago but also appeals to international audiences. Laura Dowrich-Phillips learns more
George Town, Grand Cayman | Neighbourhood By Caribbean Beat | Issue 160 (November/December 2019) Equally famous for its amazing beaches and diving spots and as an international financial centre, the capital of the Cayman Islands also offers art, nature — and a little taste of Hell
