We are dependent on social heritage, which is a mixture of customs, traditions, moral values, attitudes, festivals, folklore, beliefs and ideals not only makes us who we are but binds us to pass it on from one generation to another.

Festivals have both social and economic angles. In the chaotic and stressful planet we inhabit, happiness is overshadowed by negativity and insecurity and so the need for something that could bring positivity has been felt time and again. Thus, festivals that give us the opportunity to forget all our worries and celebrate the positive side of life, even if it is for a few days, came into existence.

Festivals act like stress relievers and help us balance our emotions. More positivity naturally lowers negativity. It also provides an opportunity to reduce friction and brings estranged friends and relatives together in a bond of love.

Nothing brings people together like festivals do. They play a pivotal role in nation-building; bringing people from every religious, economic and social background together. If we look at the fascinating journey of human evolution, we understand that human beings do not invent or create something unless it is required. There is no written history to explain when festival celebrations started but in ancient Greece and Rome, festivals linked with religion, social organisation and political processes were celebrated 

Ms. Marshall was studying for a career in social work when tuberculosis forced her to drop out of Hunter College, part of the City University of New York, and spent a year at a sanatorium. Immersing herself in books and letter writing, she decided to study English upon her return, then transferred to Brooklyn College and graduated in 1952. She later died at age 90.

Marshall’s writings have poetically evoked the Afro-Caribbean experience in the region and in the Caribbean diaspora. Through five novels and several collections of short stories and novellas, Ms. Marshall created strong female characters, evoked the linguistic rhythms of Barbadian speech, and forged an early link between the African-American and Caribbean literary canons.

She was best know for her debut novel, “Brown  Girl, Brownstones” which tells the story of Selina Boyce, a girl growing up in a small black immigrant community. Her protagonists were almost always women (black women) who possessed a power and self-assurance that was rarely seen in print when she began writing in the 1950s. Her work examined racism, co­lo­ni­al­ism and what she described as an oppressive, far-reaching system of financial exploitation.

(Rajiv Seuchan)

Throughout his musical career, the influence of race, class, and color in Guyana during the 20th century can be found in his music. His experiences demonstrated that Guyanese musicians worked hard. This attribute paid off as many of the musicians of Cummings's era who have migrated established satisfying careers overseas. Overall, it can be said by many that Aubrey Cummings is not only a musician of a generation, he is a cultural hero.

She aided in the promotion of Trinidad and Tobago's cultural legitimacy, which would bring the country into the age of independence.

 McBurnie devoted her life to dancing and is regarded as one of the most influential figures in modern Trinidadian  pop culture. Additionally She established the Little Carib Theatre located in Woodbrook, Port of Spain.

Jade Newton

Rastafari “livity,” or the principle of balanced lifestyle, includes the wearing of long hair locked in its natural, uncombed state, dressing in the colours of red, green, gold, and black, which symbolizes the life force of blood, herbs, royalty, and Africanness, and eating an “I-tal” (natural, vegetarian) diet. Religious rituals include prayer services, the smoking of ganja (marijuana) to achieve better “itation” (meditation) with Jah, and “bingis” (all-night drumming ceremonies). Reggae music grew out of the Rastafari movement and was made popular throughout the world by the Jamaican singer and songwriter Bob Marley.

  Campbell ran in the Democratic primary against state rep Ronald Brise Following where she defeated Desulme by fewer than 400 votes, winning 52% of the vote and advancing to the general election, which she won unopposed.

During her first legislative term, Campbell spoke strongly in favor of pro-life legislation, "speaking out against abortion and quoting the Bible, which prompted Democrat Scott Randolph to remark that he "hoped Campbell enjoyed her two years in the House," implying that he intended to oppose her when she sought re-election. Campbell responded "You have no right. God put me he

Campbell was also the only Florida House Democrat to vote in favor of a bill mandating a 24-hour waiting period to obtain an abortion and co-sponsored legislation banning workplace pregnancy discrimination. She joined with her colleagues in the minority to oppose legislation that provided additional funding to private and virtual schools, instead calling for more money to be invested in public education. Education for all regardless of economic back ground.

 

Birth Aubrey Cummings was born in the year 1947 and grew up in the Alberttown / Queenstown neighbourhoods of Georgetown, Guyana Discovered talent His decision to develop a career in pop music was influenced by Michael Bacchus and the Heartbreakers. The magic of popular music and show business excited him, and he took up the guitar. He is a self-taught guitarist.

The first band Cummings joined was Bumble and the Saints in 1965--the early days of the string band era. He attended Queenstown Roman Catholic Primary School where he developed a reputation as an artist. However, it was not his art that would make Cummings a household name in Guyana during the 1960s and 1970s, it was his music. The birth of his music career Cummings' impact on music in the 1960s Bumble and the Saints was one of the bands that consolidated the shift from the big band sounds of Tom Charles and the Syncopaters, Nello and the Luckies, and Al Seales to the new styles and sounds of string bands.

Guyanese string bands and musicians attracted attention in the Caribbean, and in 1965, Bumble and the Saints toured Barbados with Johnny Braff with moderate success. On his return from Barbados, Cummings joined Joe Wong and the Dominators. Cummings' next stop was with the Music Machine.

The members of the band included Aubrey Cummings, Colin Aaron, George Reid, and King Souflantis. It had strings and brass. The Guyanese "big band" had resurfaced. Music Machine was also the first band since Combo 7 that paid its members monthly salaries. Members of the Music Machine earned themselves "big reputations."

In Barbados, Cummings would establish an active musical career as guitarist and vocalist. In 1984 and again in 1985, Cummings won the Best Male Vocalist Award in Barbados. During the same period, he consistently won prizes at the Caribbean Song Festivals organized by the Caribbean Broadcasting Union. His guitar work also attracted critical acclaim, and he was a regular contributor to the acoustic guitar festivals organized by Barbados' National Cultural Foundation. According to Aubrey Cummings, he said that popular music contributed to the healing of Guyana during the 1960s and 1970s and can do so again. His musical career is a reminder of the pervasiveness of music in Guyanese social life.

Throughout his musical career, the influence of race, class, and colour in Guyana during the 20th century can be found in his music. His experiences demonstrated that Guyanese musicians worked hard. This attribute paid off as many of the musicians of Cummings's era who have migrated established satisfying careers overseas. Overall, it can be said by many that Aubrey Cummings is not only a musician of a generation, he is a cultural hero.

He was found dead in his car at Haggatt Hall, Saint Michael, Barbados in the evening on April 14, 2010

 

In 1947 Holder went for the first time to New York, teaching Caribbean dance at the Katherine Dunham School, and exhibiting paintings at the Eighth Street Galleries.As a painter in England Boscoe Holder has exhibited in many prestigious venues, and in 1981, Sir Ellis Clarke, former President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago presented Prince Charles and Lady Diana with a Holder painting as a wedding gift from the Republic.

Holder formed his group, Boscoe Holder and his Caribbean Dancers, in London, and had his own television show in 1950, Bal Creole aired on B.B.C. The company performed before Queen Elizabeth II at her coronation in 1953: representing the West Indies.