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At the recently held Miss World Pageant in Sanya, China, the world was introduced to an unfamiliar face, that of Bahamian-born Julien ‘Believe’ Thompson. The singer performed his infectious single, "Caribbean Slide" with the contestants during the live show, Julien Believe is Julien Thompson Julien has been singing since the age of eleven, he has been entertaining professionally since 1998 with the group EDJ. The group disbanded after a few years and in 2005, he launched his career as a solo artist. His dream did not come to fruition without his share of rejection, but he had angels, persons who chose to believe with him and continued to push him towards success. The Believe Project is Julien’s way of informing the youth around the Bahamas, the Caribbean and the World, that you must believe in yourself even when no one else will. You must seek out the passion for your life and believe you can do it. No matter what, you should never give up. Young People are stars the world hasn’t met yet. The Bahamian Entertainment Ambassador Julien had the opportunity to travel and perform throughout the Bahamas and the United States including but not limited to New York, California, Atlanta, New Jersey, Philadelphia and North Carolina. International Performer Julien Believe has opened for major artists such as John Legend, Boys II Men, Baby Face, Brian McKnight, Sean Paul, Beres Hammond, Tarrus Riley, Tank, Crisette Michelle, Fantasia, Ginuwine, Johnny Gill, Melonie Fiona and Shontell. Major Bahamian Exposure With his innate ability to network with the best, he has been exposed to the BET Awards as well as the NAACP Awards. He has become very good friends with Mo’Nique, the Queens of Comedy comedian. She is one of the most influential angels in the launch and stability of his career along with Suzanne Depasse. Their words to him in strategic moments have catapulted him to the place he stands today. He has also had the opportunity to sit and learn from the likes of Lil John, Robert Carnes and Jerry Wonder. Singer/Songwriter Julien is a singer and a songwriter. His group EDJ has utilized this gift. He has also been afforded studio exposure with McFadden Productions, Hush Productions, Rockwilder’s Muzik Park, Stargate, Truth Music and Bulldog Productions. He has written with and for John Legend, Crisette Michelle, Shontell, Ryan Beatty and continues to write for up and coming Caribbean sensation Angelique Sabrina. The Caribbean Slide Project The Caribbean Slide is a high-energy line dance song that is being taught to people of all ages throughout The Bahamas and the United States. The vision is to have people learn the dance, record themselves performing the dance, and post it to YouTube!

The Caribbean has well and truly mastered the art of roadside eats and the Cayman Islands is now upping its grilling game. Since the prolific food truck phenomenon burst onto the culinary scene, street-eating has transformed and trickled over into the islands. With schedules getting busier, and no time to linger in crowded restaurants, grabbing a cheap jerk burger and devouring a foil wrapper lunch is becoming the norm. A simple convenience, or an authentic taste of the islands, either way, Cayman is initiating an ever-growing, 'eating-on-the-go' trend. Smokin Bros These guys are raking in the culinary awards and once you sample the super-tasty, slow-wood-smoked, barbecued meat from chefs Cody Bush and Anthony Lawson, you'll see why. This orange-hued, mobile food truck is the latest and greatest addition to the street food movement. To track this trendy truck's whereabouts, just follow the diet-destroying, oh-so-satisfying smell of barbecuing meat and you'll find it. Or you could just check Facebook. Al La Kevroom Cayman's most popular 'kebaby', Al La Kebab hit the road in the form of a large purple truck and a cute play on words. Rolling through the streets of Cayman serving up Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern fast-food dishes like beef, lamb or falafel wraps smothered in tzatziki sauce and veggies, A La Kevroom is a great choice for a filling, on-the-go lunch. Add a side of fries, a pot of gooey, delicious poutine or a healthy-ish tabouleh salad. Red Bay Jerk Chicken A jerk stand that effortlessly captures the essence of the real Caribbean. Come here on a Friday night and you'll find jerk chicken smoked to perfection in roadside, rustic steel drum barrels. You'll have to battle the crowds and possibly an impending jerk addiction, but if you want a taste of culture and Caribbean-style food in one place, get yourself to Red Bay. Eastern Avenue Jerk Chicken Another top jerk spot, you'll find the 'meat master' chef Patrick frying up chicken, pork and other roadside spicy treats on Eastern Avenue on Wednesdays through Saturday. Open until 1am on Friday and Saturday nights, stop by at this time and this small marquee is packed with ravenous locals fighting for a box of the good stuff. The Swanky Stop A fruit-filled, brightly-coloured truck bursting with goodness. Everyday at the cricket pitch, farmer Geoffrey Nixon and co peddles the freshest-of-the-fresh fruits and veggies and blends up smoothie concoctions to die for. Grab a strawberry and banana juice to go, it's killer. Gabriel's Grill Outside seating, reasonable prices and overly-generous, insanely delicious helpings of Caribbean-inspired food is what sets this truck apart. You may miss it on the first attempt, but you'll find Gabriel's Grill, the brainchild of inventive chef, Hansel Rankin, on the corner of Elgin Avenue. Rankin is bucking the farm-to-table trend and instead pioneering a farm-to-street sensation. Go for for the lobster mac and cheese or the rum glazed BBQ chicken with roast breadfruit salad and coleslaw- in fact anything on the menu and you'll be hooked. What are your favourite street eats in the Cayman Islands and the rest of the Caribbean? Share in the comments section below. ............................................................................................... About the Author Monica is an award-winning tv producer, travel tv host, NCTJ qualified journalist, filmmaker and a university certified drone pilot born in the Cayman Islands and raised in the U.K. She started off in the production world as a producer in London, creating videos for the likes of Dragon's Den star Peter Jones & the Richard Branson-backed, Virgin Media Pioneers initiative before leaving behind the dreary city life to return to her Caribbean roots. For two years she was a one-man-band, writing, shooting and editing daily news packages, features, and hosted and anchored news for the national morning show in the Cayman Islands, 'Daybreak' on Cayman 27. Read more

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Kingston Jamaica has been designated a creative Music City by UNESCO among 10 creative music cities that were designated this year. Jamaica’s State Minister in the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment Hon. Damion Crawford has welcomed the news that the push to have Kingston designated a Creative City of Music by UNESCO has yielded significant success. T his comes on the heels of the official announcement by UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova. TEF Provides Over $3.4 Million to Support Venture in Kingston Jamaica The designation resulted from a strategic partnership between the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment through the Entertainment Advisory Board (EAB), the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) and the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) and other stakeholders. The Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) has provided over $ 3.4 million to date to support the venture. The process was initiated by the Ministry’s Entertainment Advisory Board in 2013 and was aimed at ensuring that Kingston Jamaica becomes a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, which focuses on resuscitating the economic viability of cities through arts, culture and community. The venture then received overwhelming support from the KSAC, which played a pivotal role in facilitating the successful submission of a formal application to have the city designated. The announcement also follows a recent trip by the Ministry’s Senior Director of Entertainment, Gillian Wilkinson-McDaniel and Kingston’s Town Clerk, Robert Hill, to Japan to lobby for the designation to be granted at the UNESCO World Creative City Forum. The detailed application was submitted on July 15, 2015 after several consultations spearheaded by the EAB and the KSAC with partners such as the Urban Development Corporation, University of the West Indies, Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, Institute of Jamaica (IOJ) and the Planning Institute of Jamaica. Since then, a national steering committee has been formed with the objective of implementing projects across the corporate area which will foster the development of the creative industries in Kingston Jamaica. “I am very pleased that the initiative was successful and it is further proof that hard-work and partnerships can have a far reaching impact. I am convinced that the designation will help to boost our efforts to position Kingston as a cultural city and will also enhance the appeal of Jamaica to travellers with a special interest in culture,” Minister Crawford expressed. The Minister also believes that the designation will enhance Jamaica’s competiveness. “I am confident that Kingston’s designation as a Creative Music City will boost our standing as a competitive destination in accordance with the World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI),” he said. UNESCO’s Creative Cities programme was started in 2004 as an initiative to unite cities from across the globe through creative industries. It is policy-driven at the municipal and national level. The network is currently formed by 69 members from 32 countries covering seven creative fields – crafts & folk art, design, film, gastronomy, literature, music and media arts. Other cities also recognised as creative cities of music include: Tongyeong (Republic of Korea), Varanasi (India), Adelaide (Australia), Idanha-a-Nova (Portugal), Katowice (Poland), Salvador (Brazil), Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Liverpool (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) and Medellín (Colombia).

Miss Spain Mireia Lalaguna Royo won Miss World 2015 on Saturday, December 19, at the Beauty Crown Grand Theatre in Sanya, China. Top 5 contestants Second Runner-Up went to Miss Russia, Sofia Nikitchuck while Miss Indonesia was the third runner up. Rounding off the top 5 were Miss Jamaica Sanneta Myrie and Miss Lebanon Valerie Abou Chacra . Miss Jamaica Sanneta Myrie In addition to the winning the crown Miss Spain also took the Top Model Award . Other Challenge winners were Miss Indonesia nabbing the Beauty With a Purpose Honor , Miss Philippine winning the Multimedia Award and Vietnam's Tran Ngoc Lan Khue took this year's People's Choice Award . Miss World Jamaica and Miss World Guyan a were the only Caribbean Contestants among the Top 10. Miss Guyana Lisa Punch previously won the talent competition by singing an original composition titled, “ One Last Time,” Miss Guyana Lisa Punch The panel of judges include Julia Morley, the President of Miss World; Ken Warwick, an Emmy award winning Hollywood producer; music conductor Mike Dixon; the head of Miss World, hair and beauty expert Andrew Minarik; stage director Donna Walsh; Miss World 1988 Linda Pétursdóttir (Iceland), Miss World 2001 Agbani Darego (Nigeria), Miss World 2002 Azra Akin (Turkey), Miss World 2007 Zhang Zilin (China) and Miss World 2008 Ksenia Sukhinova (Russia). Show hosts were Tim Vincent, Megan Young and Angela Chow. Congrats to Miss Jamaica and Miss Guyana!

Trinidadian Film, “ Mas Man ” won the Best Feature Documentary at the Long Beach International Film Festival in Los Angeles last month. This 15th award garnered for “Mas Man”, is a film about the work of Trinidadian artist/designer Peter Minshall, produced and directed by Trinidadian Dalton Narine , has lent added credence to what has been seen as unusual impact this film has made on the international circuit. Dr. Daniel Walker, scholar, filmmaker and founding director of the illustrious festival, spoke about the film’s appeal and the jury’s decision: “As a person who wrote a book about the political dimensions of festivals in Cuba and New Orleans, I know I had a high bar to impress, and the film did all that and more.” Narine, a Kendall, Miami, resident and retired features editor at the Miami Herald, says of “Mas Man”, that it is, “above all, a fine arts film, though juries at fifty or so festivals around the world, had promoted it in every category imaginable.” Still, with the film’s latest success, coupled with the tourism prize it received at Document Arts Fest in Bucharest, Romania (as well as its screening in Cannes) both in the past year, the 15 prizes across the board amassed by “Mas Man” attest to the film’s potency on several levels. Those prizes include Best Film, Best Director, Best Cinematography and special awards. Narine says he pushed the film in the Los Angeles area because Don Mischer, a Hollywood producer featured in the film, was a key figure in tapping Minshall, the masman himself, for the Barcelona Olympic Games’ opening ceremonies in 1992. Minshall reprised his role as an artistic director of the Emmy award-winning opening ceremonies at the 1996 Atlanta Games, and Salt Lake City Winter Games in 2002, for which he received an Emmy. That “Mas Man” made an auspicious debut speaks to its staying power. A full-house screening in New York City’s Greenwich Village, proved that Narine and his crew could transform a pastiche of scenes that won the People’s Choice Award for Best Feature Documentary at the 2009 Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival to the top tier of the New York Film Festival in 2010. “In Trinidad, we had a week to put it together,” Narine recalls, “just so the public would get an inkling regarding what the noise was about. It was a ways from being a film. Not even a work in progress. Call it ideas.” Narine credits not only Callaloo Company’s Peter Minshall and Todd Gulick, but also filmmakers Benedict Joseph and Danielle Dieffenthaller, editor Eduardo Siu, Pennelope Beckles,Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival founder/director Dr. Bruce Paddington, as well as Trinidad and Tobago Film Company and GISL for their contribution, particularly as the film underwent a period of gestation. Back then, to accommodate festivals, it required Narine to transfer “Mas Man” to HD hard drive and Blu-ray. “Today, the medium is Digital Cinema Package (DCP),” Narine says, “and we had it mounted, at huge cost, in Hollywood, where the film had a screening at the legendary Ricardo Montalban Theater at Hollywood and Vine.” “Now, it is screenable at any movie house anywhere in the world,” Narine says. “Of course, at the behest of Minshall mas players everywhere, we’ve been pushing a longer cut at 145 minutes on DVD. “Mas Man” has been screened in Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Europe, Australia and the Caribbean. The Trinidadian film received a Best Caribbean Film award in 2012 at a red carpet festival in Antigua that included a American actors, filmmakers from India, and the chair Columbia University’s School of the Arts film division. It also prompted a stir of excitement in Jamaica media a few months ago. But to Narine’s delight, a few Caribbean students at US universities have studied the film for their thesis toward a post-graduate degree. And a group of UWI students chose the work for a class project a couple of years ago. “Mas Man”, along with eleven Narine films about Trinidad & Tobago’s mas/pan culture, are available atmasmanthemovie.com

At the 26th staging of the Miss Jamaica UK 2015 pageant 17 year-old student Jasmine May beat out 11 contestants to capped the title. May , whose parents hails from the parish of Portland in Jamaica will be an ambassador for the annual beauty pageant for a year. Second place went to Rica Kelly , 29, a teacher whose parents are from Westmoreland, while third place went to Chrishauna Champagnie , 19, a law student whose parents are from the parish of Kingston. Chreena Miller , 26, won the most sectional prizes as she won Best Talent, Best Body Tone and voted Best Model for Positive Runway. The hosts for the evening were Andrew Clunis and Deneez Peters and entertainment was provided by reggae sensation S avanna, Hali I and The McKoy Family. Miss Jamaica UK is beauty pageant open to women in the UK of Jamaican heritage, between the ages of 17-27. Each year, contestants from across the country compete to win the coveted title.

TORONTO, Canada – Trini Author, Jennylynd James, Ph.D . who was born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago is excited about her latest memoir entitled, Dérivé: A Trini Expat Comes Home . Dérivé (pronounced Dreevay) is French for drift, go off course, or gallivant. At nineteen, Jennylynd James drifted for the first time from her home in Trinidad and Tobago to attend university abroad. It was the start of a lifelong passion for travel and adventure. This expatriate’s quest to find balance between the need for adventure and the desire to return home is described in a witty collection of stories of nostalgia and mad risk-taking. With a mix of humour and colloquial sayings of Trinidad and Tobago, the reader is drawn into the lifestyle and culture of this Caribbean melting pot. Jennylynd now lives in Toronto, Canada where she has embraced self expression in art, music, and writing. Dérivé: A Trini Expat Comes Home makes for great reading during the holidays and is available on Amazon.com and illustrated e-books on Amazon Kindle. Get your copy today!

The Miss Caribbean Queen 2015 pageant was recently held at the prestigious Shaw Theatre on the Euston Road, London. Amy Harris-Willock , who represented Antigua & Barbuda won the title from a field of sixteen other Caribbean representatives. She was also awarded the best dressed with AgyeFrance. 1st Runner Up went to Jamaica representative Selina Chippy , who also won the People’s Choice award. 2nd Runner Up went Nicole Renwick represented Trinidad and Tobago. While the Miss Personality award went to Rochelle Barrett , another Jamaican representative. The pageant was launched last year to showcase and promote the Caribbean countries. With its logo ‘Positively Promoting the Caribbean’ the event aims to raise awareness of issues relating to the Caribbean people in the UK and the wider Diaspora by inspiring, informing and uniting both those taking part and the UK audience.‎ Organisers Clayton and Jacqui Brown aim to use pageantry to unify, inspire, educate, entertain and celebrate the historical and cultural impact of the Caribbean.

Last year a historic event prompted me squelch my aversion to commercial cruise ships and get on the boat: the inaugural Welcome to Jamrock Reggae Cruise on the Norwegian Pearl, featuring five nights of performances by the biggest names in Jamaican music and helmed by one of today’s most exhilarating artists, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley —yes, Bob’s son (see my NPR coverage of it here: http://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2014/12/04/368256462/a-supposedly-irie-thing-ill-most-certainly-do-again ). This month I couldn’t resist getting on the boat yet again; memories of stellar performances, lively after-parties, Jamaican film screenings and a stunningly diverse, uber-irie crowd proved too potent a lure. On day one I ran into actor Malik Yoba , known for starring roles in the TV shows Empire and New York Undercover and films like Cool Runnings and Why Did I Get Married? Explaining that he too, wouldn’t dare miss the boat, the actor, philanthropist and reggae lover volunteered to chat with Damian Marley about the evolution of the Welcome to Jamrock cruise as a formidable global brand Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley onstage Malik Yoba at the LA premiere of “Empire” MALIK: I gotta say, right off the bat, this boat is a really good time, an incredible experience. I’ve never been on a cruise before, but I came on this one because I wanted to see what the hype was about. DAMIAN: Me neither, before I started this one. MALIK: So how did the idea come to be? DAMIAN: Well, other genres of music have been doing cruises, so the idea of musical cruises is not original. But there has never been a reputable reggae cruise. Yet it makes such sense: warm weather, Caribbean vibes, traveling to Jamaica, reggae music. So the idea itself is not the achievement as much as executing the idea, which proved to be more of a challenge. MALIK: What was the challenge? DAMIAN: One of the challenges is what reggae music faces in general, which is that the music is popular all over the world, but we don’t have the structure, the investors–the business side of it has always been kind of wild west: not organized. So because of that we haven’t had the chance to prove our worth and our value, and prove to investors that we are worth the investment. A lot of promoters, people who charter cruises and so on, didn’t think that reggae fans have enough disposable income to come and enjoy a cruise. But check it out—here we are, one of the fastest selling-out in all of the cruise business, so much so that this year we had two boats instead of one, back to back—this is the second. MALIK: How quickly did it sell out? DAMIAN: The inaugural one sold out in months. This one is sold out; the one before this was short just a few percentage. And the original one, last year, was only promoted on my Facebook page—no advertising. Next year will be even better because we’ll have a bigger ship, with another company, Royal Caribbean. MALIK: This boat is a serious business move, selling not just reggae culture but the brand of Jamaica—the “Welcome to Jamrock” concept. I know how a culture can impact an economy; I remember, after filming Cool Runnings, how that Disney film about the Jamaican bobsled team drove up tourism. Even on a simple, local level, we filmed onsite in Jamaica and someone moved into the shack in the country built for my character in the film! So considering this could be a huge economic driver for the community, what does that look like to you? DAMIAN: How you see it look now, which is a scenario where everyone benefits. This boat sails from Miami to Jamaica and back, so we are bringing 2000-odd people to Jamaica, a lot of whom have never been there, to experience Jamaica and hopefully want to return. Eventually we might partner with the right Jamaican brands, too, once it’s something beneficial to the economy of Jamaica. Marcus Garvey would be proud: We are owning our culture and our economy. And for the music, it all speaks volumes about our value as a genre. Artists who are performing are getting to expose themselves to new fans—there’s people from 52 different nations on the boat. For Jamaican artists without visas, this is their opportunity to perform before an American audience, which is huge for them and their fans. And we just want to keep doing things that are an example of what our value is as reggae music, which I am very proud of. It’s a bigger than just Damian Marley—it encompasses everyone, it’s a unity. And again, that speaks volume in terms of how unity is strength. MALIK: Great point about the power of unity. Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley DAMIAN: This is a true example of one love, which my father sings about. There are different races, different religions, different cultures, but they have a common love for reggae culture. There’s a common thread through everyone on the boat. The artists all brought their A games, top performances. A lot of people share the opinion that these are the best shows from these artists MALIK: I definitely have been hugely impressed by the quality of performances, and I’m a huge fan of so many of these artists, from Barrington Levy to Tarrus Riley. Tarrus and I actually had the opportunity to record a track together at Tuff Gong studio in Kingston, Jamaica, last year, which will eventually appear on an album I’m working on that’s heavily reggae influenced. DAMIAN: I didn’t realize you sing. MALIK: It’s a huge love for me, many years now. So where is this cruise going, in terms of the future? DAMIAN: A bigger boat, as I mentioned. More fans. And for the first two years we kept it strictly Jamaican in terms of performers, but next year we are trying to start embracing the international community of artists; we definitely want to make a statement about the root of the culture being Jamaican but at the same time we don’t build fences so we will open it up to artists like Collie Buddz from Bermuda and J Boog from Hawaii. We will make sure we have current acts and also pay homage to the root of the music and pay homage to the elders. MALIK: I’ve been amazed at how deep people want to go into reggae music—so many conversations about reggae history and more. DAMIAN: Yes. I would personally like this cruise to influence people to get deeper into the music of the artists onboard. So if we introduce a young artist, people are schooled on that artist and we have a whole community of people being schooled. MALIK: So it becomes a career launching pad. DAMIAN: Exactly. And in terms of education about the music—more seminars and educational programming about reggae history and culture. And on a behind the scenes note what I think would also be cool is to have a gathering of managers, producers: The industry people who are on the boat can have a conference to speak about how the music is developing and moving forward. MALIK: One thing, too, is the philanthropic perspective. This is the music that has always preached love—this is gospel music, essentially. DAMIAN: Absolutely. MALIK: Love of god, love of purpose: this is what reggae is. So to that end, I’m quite invested in the idea of infusing a space like this with purpose and meaning—my company, iconic32, is all about connecting pop culture with social good. You had a book drive for Jamaican schools onboard this year; any plans to amplify the social good aspect of this cruise? Actor Malik Yoba at the Thurgood Marshall College Fund 27th Annual Awards Gala at the Washington Hilton DAMIAN: Definitely. We are looking at ways to involve more causes that allow people to give back to Jamaica, which they love so much—it will be part of the future experience for sure. MALIK: I’ve got to thank you for the experience. It really is special, like a secret: all these vibes going on in the middle of the ocean that no one else is a part of. DAMIAN: Like our own country. Our own reggae country. Welcometojamrockreggaecruise.com Source: Forbes ........................................................................................................................... Baz Dreisinger I am: writer, globetrotter, professor, culture-hound. Born and raised in New York City, with one foot fixed in the Caribbean, I have written about travel, the arts and identity politics for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal and many more; I produce on-air segments about global music and culture for National Public Radio (NPR). I am ceaselessly curious, fearless in my journeys, relentlessly ravenous to see and learn more. My global routes marry luxury with local, which is the essence of this travel blog: Welcome to a place where wanderlust meets culture-lust, where otherworldly high-end meets rootsy down-home.

Just hours after announcing on Instagram that God spoke to her, former dancehall artist Lady Saw got baptized in a private at the Emmanuel Apostolic Church on Slipe Road in Kingston. (Photo: David Wright) The 43-year old on Monday afternoon made an announcement that God spoke to her at J Capri’s funeral and she’ll be cancelling all her Dancehall shows. "The Lord has been speaking to me for years and I have been dodging him," Hall told the Observer. She also that she was previously baptized at the age of 12 but admitted that she had no idea what she was doing then. Today I was at J Capri's funeral and God spoke to me again and I said to myself, I want to be a servant of God,” Hall told OBSERVER ONLINE. “I was always worried about money and how I would survive without music, but God said to me 'I have people and I will make a way'." Bishop Thomas and his wife Jillian have indicated that they are willing to support and help the newly converted deejay in any way they can.

Known for her raw and rauchy lyrics Lady Saw whose real name is Marion Hall took to instagram to announce her decision to serve God. “God has just spoken to me,” Hall wrote. “He did so at J Capri service and finish it off in my house.” "I'm now a new servant of the Lord," Hall said. Lady Saw at J Capri Funeral Service She stated that she will be cancelling all her dancehall shows because God has called her to work for Him. “All my dancehall shows will be cancel cause God has call me to work for him now,” she continued in her post. “Glory be to the most high.” This is the second time Lady Saw has been on the spiritual quest for God.

“The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.” Brother Bob made some riveting statements during his time, all which have lived on as part of his legacy. The words he spoke held a truth that could not be explained any other way. He was a wise man who made a deep impact in the country of Jamaica, taking his songs and teachings worldwide. In a city saturated by the deep cultural heritage of the Jamaican people, Kingston has found itself unappreciated by tourists travelling to Jamaica. On more than one occasion I have had people tell me of the beautiful turquoise seas and white sand beaches in the popular tourist locations of Ocho Rios and Montego Bay, but no one has ever mentioned going to Kingston. As the capital city of Jamaica, you would think there would be more of an excitement to travel there and immerse yourself in the country’s history. While arts, culture and entertainment are a prominent part of the city, there is one attraction on top of the list of must-sees in Kingston. Even if you are headed to the beach, take time out of your schedule to head down to Kingston Jamaica to visit 56 Hope Road the home and residence of legendary reggae singer Bob Marley. When you first enter the compound the walls are covered in mural style photos and paintings of some of the most well known highlights in Bob’s life, while living at the house and touring the globe with the Wailers. Everywhere you look there are vibrant bursts of color. Most prominent of them all is the yellow house dominating the center of the property. At the front of the house standing tall is a statue in Bob’s likeness, with his finger pointed towards the heavens in his signature one love pose. On either side are two lions and painted at the base of the statue is a portrait of his three little birds and the prophet Sir Marcus Garvey Jamaican Civil Rights leader and activist. Miss Susan Maxwell, a bubbly ball of energy conducted the tour of the house with such a refreshing and engaging presence, it left little room for distraction as we listened to her prattle away recollecting the stories of Bob’s life. Bob purchased the Marley Home, which currently serves as the Bob Marley Museum in 1975 from Island Records Boss, Chris Blackwell. In 1986 Bob’s widow Mrs. Rita Marley implemented the Museum, which is currently being managed by their eldest daughter Cedella Marley. On May 31, 2001, the Government of Jamaica declared the museum a protected National Heritage Site. When you enter the house there is an over whelming presence of memories and inspiration throughout the air. Every room has a unique personality hosting various displays of photographs and all of his Gold and Platinum Selling albums. In various rooms of the house you can find Bob’s Lifetime Achievement Award which he received in 2001, his Order of Merit medal from 1981. In his recording studio there hangs a genuine Lion’s tail that he received as a gift during his tour in Africa and an exhibit of some of his favourite items of clothing like his trademark denim shirt and khaki pants. The tour of the main house concluded with a glimpse into the legend’s bedroom. Unable to pass the threshold of his dwelling, Bob’s room was staged just as he had left it all those years ago, his bed made up in his favourite denim sheets and his bible open on the nightstand keeping some of his ‘special herb’ safe for when he returns. After the tour of the main house Susan took us down to the first floor kitchen around the back of the house where an attempt on Bob’s life had taken place. The area is now furnished with newspaper clippings of the event, and the walls are marked from the deadly bullets that almost took his life. Walking over the ground where a legend once stood is truly a humbling experience. To know that he once sat on the marble steps in front of his home smoking his special herb, or sat under his favourite tree in the yard rolling a splif, grounds him as a symbol of hope and freedom to the people of the world. Bob’s music has become the signature soundtrack to the lives of people worldwide and the experience standing in that house leaves you feeling nothing less than ‘irie’. Source: Torontocaribbean.com