The Caribbean Ruby

By: Meechi
meechi@excapethematrix.com

  

    Put away that winter coat, shelve your scarves and pack those mittens, winter is over!  Spring Break and summer vacations are fast approaching.  If you haven’t found a place to visit, may I suggest Barbados, West Indies?  With an average 80 degree temperature, and the first of the Caribbean Islands to see the sunrise, Barbados will certainly warm your heart and quicken your spirit.

     Barbados is a democratic society/Commonwealth country that gained its independence on November 30, 1966.  However its first inhabitants were the Arawak Indians.  Later claimed and colonized by Captain John Powell in 1536 for England, Barbados became a major industrial location for tobacco, cotton and sugarcane. The economy remained heavily dependent on sugar, rum and molasses production through most of the 20^th century, although tourism and manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry, making it the country’s main economic focus.   

    The island is 166 square miles of pure tropical bliss; its parishes include Christ Church, St. Andrews, St. George, St. James (my favorite spot), St. John, St. Joseph, St. Lucy, St. Michael (the capitol city, Bridgetown is located here), St. Peter, St. Phillip and St. Thomas.

  

RELIGION

   Most Bajans’ are Protestant Christians mainly of the Anglican Church, however there are several religious practices that range from Roman Catholic, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Hindu and Muslim.  I remember on my vacation, I awoke to the sound of a church singing a hymn on a bright Sunday morning.  I thought I was in heaven.

 

ART

    Many slaves didn’t have time to develop a traditional art form. Still widely appreciated, the developed art form took on a more useable aesthetic.  Individuals would fashion ordinary calabash pots which were normally used for carrying water into artistic pieces that were covered in decorative patterns.  Today, calabash pots are still used to make decorative handbags while retaining their useable appeal. In addition to this skillful craft, the island hosts an array of fine arts, fashion, jewelry items, poetry and writings.

 

 

ENTERTAINMENT

     Crop Over, the largest festival and cultural event on the island and second to the carnival held in Trinidad and Tobago, begins in July and ends on the 1^st Monday in August. Known as Kadooment Day, it is the carnival of the year that marks the end of the sugarcane harvest, hence the name Crop Over. During the festival and carnival seasons, the masquerade costumes are skillfully crafted by hand and later awarded prizes at an annual contest. This is one sweet event! Locals and visitors alike participate in frenzied parades as they travel up and down the streets wining their waists and bouncing to the sounds of Soca, Calypso, Reggae and R&B. You’ll definitely need a Red Bull or two for this. Barbados also hosts its own International Jazz Fest in January and a Conga line celebration held in April that celebrates Caribbean music. While you’re there, try the flying fish, macaroni pie and Mount Gay rum.  You’ll want to stay forever!!    

 

Did you know?

The first records of rum and grapefruit are said to have come from Barbados.

Citizens are called Bajans.

Barbados is the closest Caribbean Island to Africa.

Barbados and Japan have the highest per capita occurrences of centenarians in the world.

Due to free education, 99% of the population is literate.

In the late 70’s, Nina Simone had an affair with a well known Prime Minister. She chronicled it in her autobiography, I Put A Spell On You (1992).

Pop Star Rihanna is a native of Barbados