Author: EVERYBODY'S "Caribbean" Magazine

DG Overproof Rum & Ting

Rum & Ting

DG White Overproof Rum
From Desones and Geddes

 

NY- EVERYBODY’S CARIBBEAN NEWS SERVICE:  “May I have a DG Overproof White Rum and Ting” was the request of guests at the launching of DG Overproof White Rum at the famed Door Restaurant in Queens, NY.
“Rum and Ting!”

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          Back in the 1940s, during World War II, calypsonian Lord Invader composed the renowned “Rum and Cocoa Cola” hit. In the early 1950s The Andrew Sisters sold over 1,000,000 of the tune. The calypso tune became subject of articles in all the leading publications of that era from TIME to The New York Herald and today rum and Coke remains a popular drink in bars and at social events.
It is now the 21st century, year 2015, and people are asking for “DG Rum and Ting.” Not all rums are equally. They are specifically asking for “DG Overproof White Rum and Ting.”
Desones and Geddes is one of Jamaica’s most famous companies especially for its beverages such as ginger beer and sodas. Ting, a grapefruit soda, bottled by Desones and Geddes, is a product of Jamaica known worldwide.
Desones and Geddes has boldly entered into the rum industry. Connoisseurs say that DG Overproof White Rum is excellent and believe it will soon become internationally famous.

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Former City Councilwoman Una Clarke, mother of Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, was one many personalities who attended the VIP reception to introduce DG Overproof White Rum to consumers in New York City.

       Desones and Geddes selected Riviera Imports to distribute and market DG Overproof White Rum in the U.S.

       DG OVERPROOF 6Riviera Imports, markets spirits, wines and beer brands from around the world. The company is a First-Tier marketer of brands that satisfy distinct consumer segments and offer sustainable growth and profit potential at each industry level. From its inception almost a decade ago, the company has built a diverse brand portfolio whose annual growth rate exceeds 20%. Riviera is led by Edward Caan, CEO and founder. Ed has over 45 years of executive experience in the wine and spirits industry, primarily at Seagram’s.

PHOTOS: Juan Reyes, John Hartwig, Henry Joseph, Hon. Una Clarke and Brian Hartwig joined others in presenting another Jamaican treasure: DG Overproof White Rum.      (photo Roland Hyde)

 MORE PHOTOS OF NY LAUNCH OF DG OVERPROOF RUM

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NY Churches Recognize Jamaica’s 53rd

NY-Aug 3: Jamaica’s Independence Day is Thursday, August 6, when the nation turns 53 but yesterday, Sunday, the Jamaica national anthem echoed in most churches across the U.S. northeast with sizable Caribbean and Jamaican congregation. At St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in the Bronx, NY, Father Steele, a Trinidadian of Grenadian parentage, had the Jamaican anthem rendered twice much to the delight of the large congregation.

JAMAICA CHURCH SERVICE

Many Jamaicans, friends of Jamaicans, descendants of Jamaicans and even members of the clergy proudly displayed the green, yellow and black colors of Jamaica. Most women dresses and headpieces consisted of the national colors too. Jamaican-Americans who are recipients of a Jamaica National Medal proudly wore them.
The official Independence Church Service of Thanksgiving in New York City was held at St. Frances of Rome Catholic Church in the Borough of Bronx. The officiating clergy representing different denominations, elected officials and the congregation came from the boroughs of Queens, Manhattan, Staten Island and Brooklyn. Assemblyman Nick Perry journeyed from Brooklyn.
Bronx, the only borough of New York City located on the U.S. mainland, will be the venue of another major Jamaican event. It is the staging of “Divorce Papers,” the popular 2015 Jamaican play written by Basil Dawkins starring Oliver Samuels with a cast consisting of icons and emerging stars such as Ruth Ho Shing and Maylynne Lowe. It will be held at Lehman Center, Lehman College on Saturday, September 26.
The Rev. Canon Calvin C. McIntyre McIntyre, Rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd, while making a point at the official Service of Thanksgiving repeated a popular Jamaican proverb popularized by Oliver Samuels in the sitcom, “Oliver at Large.”
The Guest Preacher was Rev. Dr. Samuel Vassel, Pastor Church of the Nazarene, Bronx. Rev. Vassel reminded Jamaicans and other Caribbean immigrants to help the islands of their birth but equally contribute to the quality of life in the city they now dwell.
Many Jamaican organizations from Baltimore, Md to Boston, Ma celebrated independence at formal dinner-dance events and parties and concerts. The official and popular Jamaica Independence Ball is scheduled for Saturday, August 15 at the Hilton Hotel in New York City. Most likely Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller will attend.

Jamaica National Patty Day

gk  Today is the launch of the first Jamaica National Patty Day. It is the concept of Golden Krust Restaurant and Grill “to bring recognition to the patty that is indigenous to the West Indies, and more specifically, Jamaica,” explained a spokesperson for Golden Krust.
Jamaica National Patty Day was kicked off on Friday evening at a reception at Brooklyn’s Borough President Office. Borough President Eric Adams and other public officials including Assemblyman Nick Perry were present.
“Knowing my friend and former co-worker, Lowell Hawthorne, who was also employed at New York City Police Department when I was an officer there, I can assure you that Lowell will make future Jamaica National Patty Day popular reaching consumers across our nation,” Adams remarked.
Lowell Hawthorne and his family who established Golden Krust thank consumers nationwide for their support and announced that Golden Krust only a few days ago signed a contract to supply Golden Krust patties on many U.S. military bases around the world.
Today, Saturday, the main celebratory event is at 1381 East Gunhill Road—where it all began. There is live music, a GKNJPD photo booth, giveaways, games, and a variety of other entertaining activities, which will all serve to push the recognition and appreciation of the Jamaican patty.

There is also celebration at locations throughout the system across several states, which include 99 cent patties system wide. All of the Golden Krust locations will be decorated with GKNJPD material. Many of our retail customers have agreed to participate in the holiday, too, and have locked in the dates to help boost the promotion.

Emancipation Day, August 1

EVERYBODY’S “Caribbean” Magazine – NY:  Tomorrow is August 1 but August 1 is not an ordinary day for Jamaicans, Barbadians, Grenadians and other people, especially of African heritage, living in the Anglophone Caribbean. It was on August 1, 1833, after fierce debate, in the British Parliament the Emancipation Act was passed declaring that all slaves in the British West Indies will gain their freedom on August 1, 1834.
Slavery was indeed abolished on August 1, 1834. To mark the event many slaves spent that night praying and solemnly reflecting. However, complete freedom was not granted. The former slaves were to continue working for their former masters under an apprentice system lasting four to six years. The length of time depended on sex and type of work the males did as slaves.
The apprenticeship period ended prematurely on August 1, 1838.
August 1, 1833, August 1, 1834 and August 1, 1838 are milestones – one can say August 1 is freedom day in the English speaking Caribbean. Traditionally, August 1, is a massive holiday weekend – fetes and beach parties. It is carnival in Antigua/Barbuda, Crop Over or Barbados Carnival, carnival in the British Virgin Islands and in the Caribbean Diaspora, it is Caribana or carnival in Toronto.
Only a few civic organizations in a few islands, such as Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago, remind nationals of the significance of August 1 and the reason for the long August 1 joyous-holiday weekend.

T&T NATIONALS IN NY VOTING IN T&T ELECTIONS

PNMHundreds of nationals of Trinidad & Tobago residing in New York City plan to skip this year’s carnival on Labor Day, Mon., September 7 on Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn. They will be in Trinidad & Tobago to vote in national elections scheduled on September 7.

It is a close race between the United National Congress led by Prime MinisterKamla Persad-Bissessar and the People’s National Movement

led by Opposition Leader Keith Rowley.

Supporters of both parties in the tri-state of NY, NJ and CT are busy fundraising for their respective parties.

Jack Warner who is wanted by the U.S. for allegedly accepting bribery when he was a FIFA official is also leading his political party into the election.

The UNC and PNM are still screening candidates.

Mayor de Blasio Loves Jerk

Mayor de Blasio at Grace Jerk Festival Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City at Grace Jerk Festival, Roy Wilkins Park, Queens on Sunday, July 19. He told the 20,000 fans of his Jerk Sandwich. On right is Kaci Fennell, Miss Universe Jamaica who gave demos about preparing great Jamaican dishes. New Yorkers saw Kaci earlier this year at EVERYBODY’S Mother’s Day Concert.

The mayor was accompanied by his wife Chrilane McCray who did not participate in the cooking demo.

Obama & Reagan Jamaica Visits

President Obama(2015)  and President Ronald Reagan (1982)

Historic Caribbean Trips

From Wednesday, April 7 to Thursday April 8, 1982, President Ronald Reagan visited Jamaica. And now, almost to the exact date 33 years later, Barack Obama is the 2nd sitting US president to visit Jamaica and a woman, Portia Simpson-Miller, the Prime Minister of Jamaica, welcomed him.  President Obama also met with other CARICOM leaders, including another female, Prime MinisterKamla Persad-Bissessar of Trinidad & Tobago. How times have changed!  may1982_1
There are many more contrasts between the trips of President Barack Obama and President Reagan. EVERYBODY’S Magazine focuses on them in its April/May edition. (About to print)
Flying with President Reagan, First Lady Nancy Reagan and the White House Press in April 1982 was EVERYBODY’S editor/publisher, Herman Hall.
His vivid eyewitness account of Reagan’s visit to Jamaica and Barbados created a demand for the May 1982 edition. Today, a treasured copy is in the Ronald Reagan Library.
Hall’s historic article of the 1982 presidential visit is reproduced in EVERYBODY’S April/May 2015 edition. You may order it in a few days from www.everybodymag.com.
“I urge everyone to read Hall’s 1982 article. You will find it informative, educational and entertaining,” says B. Wilson, a Caribbean historian. “You will get an understanding of tensions in the Caribbean of 1982 as Grenada charted its independent course. The article provides an excellent snapshot of the region and provides a lens through which to view the growth and maturity of the region.”
What was served at the dinner in honor of Ronald and Nancy Reagan that Wednesday evening? Was it a State Dinner? What music and whose music played? Did Michael Manley attend the dinner? What gifts did Governor-General Sir Florizel Glasspole and President Reagan exchange?
The edition will be released around April 20. For more info call (718) 941-1979.

Lyrikal and Delcita at Mother’s Day Saturday Concert

LYRIKAL

Lyrikal, International Soca Superstar hot from T&T Carnival

 

Kaci Fennell, Miss Universe Jamaica

Kaci Fennell, Miss Universe Jamaica

 

Chucky Gordon, 2014 and 2015 National Calypso Monarch

Chucky Gordon, 2014 and 2015 National Calypso Monarch

The hottest calypso and soca stars including Lyrikal and Chucky Gordon together with Andrea Wright (Delcita) and Kaci Fennell, Miss Universe Jamaica will be serenading moms at this years Mother’s Day Saturday Concert.

The spectacular concert is at  Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts, Brooklyn College, NY on Saturday, May 9 beginning at 8pm.

The superstars honoring moms are:

Lyrikal

Chucky Gordon

Nikki Crosby (Go Granny)

Becket

Biggie Irie

Delcita

Kaci Fennell, Miss Universe Jamaica

The Batingua Dancers

Joshua Boyce

The Sunshine Band

Horace L. Morancie, 1929-2015

Horace L. Morancie
June 27, 1929-February 4, 2015
Former Director of Model Cities
And Trinidad & Tobago Expatriate

Brooklyn, NY – EVERYBODY’S “Caribbean” Magazine – H. Hall
Horace L. Morancie, one of the most powerful Black technocrats of the 1960s and 1970s in Brooklyn, NY, died on Tuesday, February 4 after succumbing to the aging process. He was 85 years old and lived in East New York, Brooklyn. He was a naturalized American, patriotic Trinidadian and active Caribbean-American.
During the civil rights movement of the 1960s white liberal political leaders in New York City sought to place qualified Blacks in high profile administrative positions. Mr. Morancie met the criteria both academically and politically. He was educated at Brooklyn Polytechnic University, Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government, Cornell University and Brooklyn Law School.
At that time Morancie was a Republican. Liberal-Republican Mayor John Lindsay appointed him to lead Model Cities Program in Brooklyn.
Model Cities (of which Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Center on Fulton Street is an example) was part of President Lyndon Johnson War on Poverty Program.
From his office at Restoration Center on Fulton Street, Mr. Morancie had the responsibilities of developing Central Brooklyn such as creating jobs, housing projects, social services, sports and culture.
The construction of the large housing complex at Nostrand Ave. and President Street in Crown Heights was one of Morancie’ initiatives.
During his tenure as Director of Model Cities, the brilliant Morancie was considered by Prime Minister Dr. Eric Williams PNM Government in T&T as an expatriate who should return to contribute in nation building.
As a diehard calypso and steelpan fan, Morancie brought one of Trinidad & Tobago’s major steelband orchestras in the late 1960s to perform at Radio City Music Hall.
Mr. Morancie later led a controversial campaign to move the growing Brooklyn Carnival to Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, where major parades are held.
The attempt brought a deep rift between Morancie and Carlos Lezama. Lezama had recently taken over the carnival organization from Rufus Goring who introduced the West Indian style carnival in Brooklyn. Goring was arrested for staging Brooklyn’s first West Indian carnival in the borough because he did not have a permit.
So damaging was the rift between Lezama and Morancie, Morancie organized his panorama competitions on carnival weekend. One year in the early 1970s he got a permit to stage carnival on Utica Avenue during the same time period that the Lezama-led Labor Day Carnival was held on Eastern Parkway.
The wound between Morancie and Lezama was healed. Morancie was moved when his old warrior and former rival died.
Mr. Morancie ran for Congress as a Republican against Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm but he later became a Democrat.
The night of the birth of Trinidad & Tobago, August 31, 1962, Morancie had an all night celebration at his home. He was an active member in organizing the first independence balls of both Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago. Syd Joe, a Grenadian, who led the leading Caribbean band in New York, Syd Joe & His Caribbean Orchestra in 1962, played at the Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago Independence Balls.
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the independence of Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago in 2012, EVERYBODY’S, the Caribbean-American magazine, honored Mr. Morancie for “his immense contributions in promoting the nation of Trinidad and Tobago abroad, 1962-2012.”
Mr. Morancie is survived by his wife, Gloria; his former wife Yvonne, children from that marriage, Michelle Morancie, PhD, Neal and Craig and several grandchildren.

PERSONAL NOTE: Although, I was aware of Mr. Morancie’s ill health, I am very saddened by his passing. He was a dedicated subscriber of EVERYBODY’S Magazine, my big supporter and motivator when I organized cultural events such as the World Calypso and Soca Monarchs in the 1990s, bringing the world famous Invaders Steel Orchestra from T&T for a two-week tour of NY, NJ and MA in 2000, and when in 2012 I accepted Dawad Phillips challenge to organize Brooklyn Calypso Tent during the week of Brooklyn Carnival.
–— Herman Hall, Publisher; producer of Brooklyn Mother’s Day Saturday Concert at Brooklyn Center and Oliver Samuels plays from MA and CT to Washington, DC

Caribbean Airline-Jet Blue Tower Transcript

Here are communications between JFK International Airport tower personnel and airlines landing and taking off during the minutes when a Caribbean Airlines jet that had just landed allegedly did not follow three instructions from JFK Tower to stop. The result was the sudden abort take off a Jet Blue plane as it moved down the runway to avoid a collision with the Caribbean Airlines plane. The near fatal collision occurred last Saturday night.

Caribbean Airlines owned by Trinidad & Tobago has removed the pilot and copilot from duties pending outcome of investigations by the US Federal Aviation Administration and the Trinidad & Tobago Civil Aviation Authority.

Caribbean Airlines is a replacement of BWIA. Since its establishment, Caribbean Airlines has had accidents. One of its jets crashed in Guyana. Unlike BWIA, its communication and marketing personnel are considered aloof by many in Caribbean Communities abroad.

Transcript of ATC instructions
22:25
Tower: “Caribbean 526…clear to land.”
22:26
Tower: “Caribbean 526 right (via) Juliett, hold short (runway) 22R. Remain this frequency.”
BWA 526: “..to the right (Caribbean) 526.”
Tower : – gave crossing clearance for runway 22R to an Aeromexico flight taxiing ahead of the Caribbean 737 –
AMX : – readback of crossing clearance –
Tower: – gave further taxi instructions after crossing 22R to Aeromexico crew –
22:27
Tower: – take-off clearance for Emirates 206 (B777) on runway 25R –
Tower: “JetBlue 1295 caution wake turbulence, line-up and wait runway 22R.”
JBU 1295: – readback –
22:28
Tower: – gave crossing clearance of runway 22R to Virgin America flight 56 –
22:29
Tower: – gave landing clearance to a United Airlines crew for runway 22L –
Tower: …”JetBlue 1295 wind 240 at 8 runway 22R shortened cleared for take-off.”
JBU 1295: “Cleared for take-off JetBlue 1295 short.”
Tower: – gave instructions to a VFR lighttype –
22:30
Tower: Caribbean 526 hold short…526 STOP!”
Tower: JetBlue 1295 abort take-off.”
Tower: Caribbean 526 (repeat).”
– no reply from Caribbean 526 –
 Source: Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Centre (JACDEC), Germany