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THE SAFFIR- Category Five: More than 155mph (more than 249kph) Category Four: 131- Category Three: 111- Category Two: 96- Category One: 74-
A VIEW OF TOURISM V.S. Naipaul in The Middle Passage (1962): "Every poor country accepts tourism as an unavoidable degradation. None has gone as far as some of these West Indian Islands which, in the name of tourism, are selling themselves into a new slavery."
WHAT IS THE WEST INDIES? This term is used in several senses: (1) In its widest geographical sense, to the islands of the Greater and Lesser Antilles excluding the Bahamas. (2) In relation to the Federation of the West Indies, a union of British possessions excluding Guyana and Belize. The union lasted from 1958 to 1962. (3) In relation to members of the Caribbean Community (Caricom). (4) In relation to the cricket team that draws its players from countries in the region. (5) In relation to the official title of the regional University of the West Indies.
BUSH TEA Bush Tea is known and used all over the Caribbean. It refers to any of a variety of plant potions made by boiling or heating herbs in water. BUSH BABY A Bush Baby is a baby who is brought up on bush tea. Sometimes this happens because the infant's stomach does not tolerate cow's milk well.
DRINKING FROM THE BITTER CUP Many people still remember the family ritual observed in childhood of drinking from the bitter cup. In much of the Caribbean, amargo bitters (Quassia amara) has been regarded as good medicine for a number of conditions, including fever (especially malaria), stomachache, constipation, poor appetite and lack of energy. Chips of amargo wood were soaked in a cup of water and drunk. Another way it was used was to obtain a cup commercially produced on a lathe from the wood itself. Water, wine, or other alcoholic beverage would be placed in it and allowed to absorb the bitters. The bitter cup was generally taken during the weekend. Quassin, the bitter substance, is regarded as the bitterest substance found in nature. JOHNNYCAKE A dense flatbread used in many parts of the Caribbean, usually made of cornmeal, shaped into a flat cake and baked or fried on a griddle. The type of batter and method of cooking varies from place to place. For example, Bahamas johnnycake, rather like a sweet cornbread, is sweeter than Barbados johnnycake. In Jamaica, johnnycakes are often made with wheat flour and without cornmeal and is usually fried. Varieties of johnnycake are also made in the U.S. New England states and in the upper Midwest. RADIO CARICOM Radio CARICOM, the Voice of the Caribbean Community, was launched on Tuesday, July
4, 2004, at the Opening Ceremony of the Twenty- Some of the delicacies that available when Indians celebrate their major festivals include phulourie, potato ball, bigany, bara, gulgula, prasad, channa (chick peas), chutney (mango, tamarind), ghoja, mahambhoog, and kheer or sweet rice. CAN IGUANAS BITE? Yes. They can and they do bite humans. Many people who keep iguanas as pets have come to learn this the painful way. Even small or young iguanas can inflict nasty flesh wounds. Large males can tear flesh, causing wounds that need for stitches or even surgery. They have rows of very sharp serrated teeth (from 60 to over 100) hich they use with a tearing action when eating in the wild. The teeth are continually replaced. As the iguana grows in size and the jaws lengthen and more teeth are added behind the already established ones. In some places, including New York City, the keeping of iguanas as pets is banned. When a hurricane is born, it is given a name that stays with it until it dies. Hurricanes formed in the Caribbean used to be named after the particular saint's day on which the hurricane formed. In 1953, the U.S. National Weather Service, the federal agency that tracks hurricanes and issues warnings and watches, began following a practice initiated by an Australian meteorologist and used women's names for tropical storms. In 1979, the agency began using men’s names as well. The World Meteorological Organization, which prepares the list of names, selects
one name for each letter of the alphabet, except the letters Q, U, Y, X and Z. English,
French, or Spanish, the major languages spoken in countries bordering the Atlantic
Ocean, are used for Atlantic Ocean hurricanes. The name of the first hurricane of
a season starts with the letter A, the next with the letter B, and so on. Six lists
of names are used for the Atlantic - THE FIRST CARIFESTA THEME SONG WELCOME TO CARIFESTA composed and sung by Guyanese calypsonian Malcolm Corrica (Lord Canary) for the first ever Carifesta Welcome to CARIFESTA '72 Oh what a great cultural break- The whole Caribbean territory, South and Central America will be Getting together and taking part In this Festival of Creative Arts Where Drama, concerts, folk groups and dance, Art and literature will be in exuberance. CHORUS CARIFESTA '72 CARIFESTA I'm inviting you To twenty- frolic and fun, CARIFESTA '72 CARIFESTA it's a big to- We welcome you to CARIFESTA '72 The dark hand rising grasping the sun, Depicts the skills and aspirations of the tropical man with talent untold. All of this CARIFESTA will unfold, The children pageant, the children art exhibition Will sure please your heart. So book your passage B.W.I.A. For CARIFESTA '72 right away. CHRISTOPHENE or CHO- Christophene (scientific name: Sechium edule) is a small edible pear-
HOW SUGAR IS MADE IN THE CARIBBEAN Sugar cane resembles bamboo, but where bamboo has hollow "cells", sugar cane has a porous membrane or pulp in the cell. After the cane is reaped from the canefields, it is transported to the mills. In Guyana, the transportation is done in punts or shallow steel barges. The cane pulp is now shredded and crushed by huge rollers to extract the juice inside. The extracted liquid is then treated, boiled to drive off water, leaving sugar crystals which are refined into different grades. Some of what remains is molasses, which is either used to make rum or is exported. The left over fiber, called bagasse, is in many instances used as fuel for the furnaces Caribbean countries do not have a national holiday for thanksgiving, as is the practice in the United States and Canada. The closest observation to it is found in the harvest services in Christian churches. At these harvest festivals, people take produce from their farms and gardens to the church where they are featured in a special worship service thanking God for his blessings. Churches are usually decorated with baskets of fruit and vegetables, usually placed on display around the altar, on ledges and other convenient places. Vases of flowers may also be included. In some churches, the produce is distributed among the poor and elderly or used in fundraising for the church. Harvest Festivals remind Christians of all the good things God gives them. The occasion inspires a feeling of gratitude and encourage a spirit of sharing with others who are less fortunate. |
is a native of Mexico and is known by many other names including Cho-CARIBBEAN JOTTINGS -