When thinking about a Halloween costume, the first and most obvious option might be to transform into your favorite celebrity, remaking one of their album cover looks or an iconic red carpet moment. We can’t wait to see what 2021’s costumes have to offer, but until then, we took a look through some of the world’s greatest Caribbean American music artists’ Instagrams and came up with the top three ladies who know how to stand out on October 31st. Here’s are some of our favorite celebrity Halloween costumes from Nicki Minaj, Cardi B and Beyoncé from years past.
Nicki Minaj
Though Trini gyal Nicki Minaj’s outlandish stage outfits have become the basis for others celebrity Halloween costumes (cut to Lil Nas X dressed in full Harajuku Barbie drag), the singer herself has been known to indulge in the holiday’s fancy. After announcing her marriage to former flame Kenneth Petty, the couple decked out in not one, but two sets of Halloween costumes.
First, a DC Comics inspired couples’ costume with Petty as the Joker and Minaj as Harley Quinn. Petty was decked out in the Joker’s signature white face makeup with and painted on smile while Minaj played badass sidekick with Harley Quinn’s iconic dual colored hair and red, white and blue outfit.
The same year, the duo dressed as legendary Halloween horror Chucky and the Bride of Chucky. No doubt playing into the just married role, Minaj is in a blood stained wedding dress and Petty can be seen proposing with a ring attached to a cut off finger.
Cardi B
Cardi B always goes all out for her Halloween costumes, so naturally we have to show you two of our fav looks. Last year the Latin Caribbean superstar shocked with a gold Medusa outfit complete with a full snake body, gold cuffs, gold claw talons on her fingers and a crown of gold serpents. The costume not only showed off the singer’s amazing body but her dedication to the holiday. The same year, Cardi B also dressed her daughter, Kulture Kiari Cephus, as a little Wonder Woman mini-me and we are living for the cuteness.
Back in 2019, Cardi B shimmied into a skimpy version of Uma Thurman’s Poison Ivy costume with thigh high green stilettos, a barely there green leaf bodice and underwear set and a long red wig. Enough said! We declare her the Queen of Halloween.
Beyonce
Bahamian-American beauty Beyoncé and husband Jay-Z dressed up as Olympic medalists and record-setters Florence Griffith Joyner and Tommie Smith for Halloween 2018. Ms. Knowles’ outfit included a purple one-legged leotard with white cleats and FloJo number, nearly identical to what Joyner was wearing at the 1988 Olympic trials. Like Beyoncé, hubby Jay-Z’s outfit was virtually identical to Smith’s vintage team USA jacket, pants, black glove and gold medal. Jay-Z even recreated the legend’s iconic 1968 Olympics Black Power Protest photo on the medal stand.
Heartman (Mandy Cummins make-up, Kiru actor) Photo by Risee Chaderton-Charles
Every Caribbean island has its own cultural folklore featuring ghosts, ghouls and scary creatures that allegedly roam the island — scary urban (and country) legends that locals still swear by to this day. You’d be surprised at how many Caribbean folklore stories share similar qualities, story lines or creatures to Western myths of zombies, vampires and spirits. Learn a little bit more about some of the creepiest Caribbean urban legends from Jamaica, Trinidad, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Guyana.
Duppy
You’ll hear talk of duppies in any Jamaican home. Originating in Africa and later brought to the islands, duppies’ existence stems from the Bantu religion that had a heavy focus on worshipping ancestors. Comparable to a common ghost or spirit, duppies are generally departed loved ones who appear to you when you are in need of advice, cheering up or a good scare.
Evil duppies set out to haunt the living and can even hurt or kill people if controlled by Obeah-men, practitioners of a dark spritiual craft. A duppy can appear in the form of the departed person, an animal, a puff of smoke, a shadow or even a cold breeze. Evil duppies generally take on larger, more sinister looking forms like the sadistic Rolling Calf (read more below).
Most Jamaicans living on the island, and even those residing in other parts of the world, believe in duppies’ existence, taking no chances to come into contact with them. Many locals even have tales of personal experiences with duppies or of seeing a “good duppy” in their dreams.
The Soucouyant
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5GCZ2OzYIc
One of the most popular Caribbean urban legends is the Soucouyant, sometimes referred to as Ole Higue. Native to Dominica, St. Lucia, Haiti and Trinidad, the creature takes on the form of an unassuming elderly woman in daylight and a shapeshifting fireball demon once the sun goes down. The Soucouyant sheds her skin at night, turns into a fiery skeleton and, similar to a vampire, sucks the blood of her victims. She can allegedly be stopped by throwing rice, sand or salt because she is compelled to count the individual grains.
In a twist of fate, the Soucouyant or Ole Higue will die if she consumes too much and kills her victim, who will then transform into a new Soucouyant, ill fated to live out the rest of its days as a bloodsucking creature of the night. The appearance of a black and blue circular mark is the tell-tale sign someone has been visited by and victim to a Soucouyant. While the legend has faded in some islands, Haiti and Trinidad still find the Soucouyant to be an elusive but persistent creature. Some even believe the shed skin of one is a valuable asset for Voodoo and black magic rituals.
The first mention of Haitian zombies was in the early 1600s and mirrored the belief of enslaved Africans that death would bring them back to a heaven-like afterlife in Africa where they could be free, but that suicide would force them to “live” in the plantations forever, condemned to become soulless zombies that could be brought back by Vodou priests. In traditional Caribbean urban legends, Haitian zombies are actually just depicted as undead enslaved Africans, not as rotting corpses trying to eat human brains.
Rolling Calf
The Rolling Calf myth revolves around a specific evil duppy who terrifies and tortures people, sometimes killing them with fiery breath or sharp horns. Originating in Jamaica during the 1800s, this Caribbean folklore became popular as there was little electricity, making evenings extra dark and spooky and the perfect setting to share spine chilling stories of creatures who roam nearby at night. The half man half cow creature, often depicted as a large, sinister bull, has blood red eyes and wears a thick chain around its neck. It is said that when a person hears this ominous rattle, they know the Rolling Calf is coming for them, immediately instilling fear and panic.
Various Caribbean urban legends suggest that the Rolling Calf is said to be the spirit of someone who was dishonest, evil and wicked during their life on earth. However, occasionally a Rolling Calf is a lost soul who seeks out evil people among the living, punishing them for their wrongdoings. The myth states that there are ways to escape an attack from a Rolling Calf, such as throwing various objects on the ground as it is compelled to count just as all duppies are. Other methods are to continuously make the sign of the cross or threaten it with a whip.
La Ciguapa
Ciguapa by Felix Esteban Rosario. Pastels on paper.
The siren-like demon, La Ciguapa is part of ancient Dominican folklore. Disguised as a beautiful, sultry woman with long black hair and striking features, La Ciguapa lures lonely men and boys out into the woods to feast on their bodies and trap their souls forever. It is said that once a man lays eyes on La Ciguapa, he is entranced and will follow her deep into the woods and back to her lair. The Caribbean creature’s feet face backward, making her hard to track.
La Ciguapa typically comes out at night and, for many, is considered an omen of death if heard or seen. One is never to look into her eyes as she will immediately enslave you. This urban legend is still told to children today, warning them to never go into the woods at night. Many Dominican locals have even claimed to see La Ciguapa in the flesh, others weren’t lucky enough to escape her.
The Bacoo
The Bacoo is a mischievous spirit that resides in a corked bottle.
Hailing from Guyana is the Bacoo, a spirit in the form of a mischievous little man that resides in a corked bottle. Though not inherently evil, the Bacoo is controlled by evil dwellers and requires a lot of milk and bananas to keep him happy. If well fed, the Bacoo will reward his owner with wealth and good tidings, but if he is undernourished, he will wreak havoc and attempt to harm whoever keeps him. Though many now believe that the Bacoo is a myth, Guyanese locals will still occasionally throw an empty wine bottle with a cork into the river just in case a Bacoo is living in it.
The Heartman
Hailing from Barbados, this Caribbean folklore has been passed on from generation to generation as one of the creepiest, most menacing creatures around. The Heartman is often used to scare children into behaving, because the legend states that the creature comes after disobedient kids, carving out their hearts and feeding them to the devil. He is pictured as a skeletal man with cow legs, dressed in all black with chains, weapons and a huge black hat. The Heartman’s signature is a black hearse he drives around in, frequenting churches and parishes, sometimes giving candy to children to trick them into getting close enough for him to attack.
Douen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsiEXO-7vfA
One of the most popular Caribbean urban legends is the douen from Trinidad and Tobago. Originating from West African storytelling, the douen is a small creature embodying the soul of an unbaptized child who has died and now eternally wanders around in the forest. The child wears large straw hats to hide his featureless faces and his feet face backwards, so tracking where he’s been and where he is going next is nearly impossible.
While their 2-foot frame is not threatening by appearance, the douen’s intentions are. They attempt to lure other unbaptized living children into the forest to become lost forever, eventually dying and becoming douen as well. It is said that you should never call your child’s name in an open area or near a forest, for the douen will call them as well, leading them astray to never be found again.
Mami Wata
Mami Wata is a water spirit widely revered in West Africa but also deeply embedded in Caribbean folklore, particularly in regions like Haiti, Trinidad, and Jamaica. She is often depicted as a beautiful, seductive woman with a fishtail, embodying the duality of life — both nurturing and destructive. Brought to the Caribbean through the transatlantic slave trade, Mami Wata is said to control the seas, bestowing wealth and protection to those who honor her, but bringing disaster to those who offend her. In various legends, she lures men into the water, where they may receive mystical gifts or vanish forever.
Loup Garou
Photo: Public domain
The Loup Garou, or werewolf, is a shapeshifter legend that originated in France but took root in the French Caribbean, particularly Haiti and Martinique. The term “loup garou” translates to “wolf-man,” and the creature is said to transform at night, feeding on human blood, much like a vampire. This legend merged with local superstitions, becoming a feared figure in rural communities. Some versions of the legend say that the Loup Garou is cursed and must pass its condition to another to be freed, while others suggest it is the result of dabbling in dark magic or making pacts with the devil.
The Lusca is a terrifying sea monster said to inhabit the blue holes of the Bahamas, particularly around Andros Island. Described as part octopus, part shark, the Lusca is believed to be responsible for unexplained drownings and disappearances in the deep underwater caves. The Lusca is often seen as a protector of the sea, punishing those who exploit its resources or disturb its underwater domain. Despite modern scientific exploration, the blue holes’ mystery continues to fuel the belief in this monstrous creature.
Baron Samedi is one of the most iconic figures in Haitian Vodou, the loa (spirit) of death, resurrection, and the afterlife. Dressed in a black tuxedo, with a top hat and dark glasses, he is often portrayed as a skeletal figure with a sense of humor and a love for rum and tobacco. Baron Samedi is the gatekeeper of the cemetery and is responsible for guiding souls into the afterlife. His roots trace back to West African spiritual traditions, blending with Catholicism in the Caribbean. As a mediator between the living and the dead, he is both revered and feared, particularly in Haitian Vodou ceremonies.
Lagahoo
The Lagahoo, also known as the soucouyant’s male counterpart, is a shapeshifting creature that roams the night in Trinidad and Tobago. Similar to the Loup Garou, the Lagahoo can take on the form of a large dog, horse, or even a man, with glowing eyes and the ability to transform at will. This creature is said to have a penchant for wreaking havoc, sometimes sucking the blood of its victims or causing general mischief in rural areas. The legend of the Lagahoo was brought to the Caribbean by French settlers and evolved with African and indigenous influences. It’s often used as a cautionary tale, particularly for children, to encourage good behavior and keep them from wandering at night.
Other Characters From Caribbean Folklore
Some notable mentions of Caribbean folklore left off of this list due to their lack of fright are Anansi, a little spider man known for being a trickster and Jamaican River Mummas, or mermaids, which have actually been reported under the Flat Bridge that goes across the Rio Cobre.
Flickering candles and lights everywhere are a spectacular sight during the season of Diwali in Trinidad. The name Diwali, made popular in certain Caribbean circles by the dancehall riddim featuring Sean Paul’s “Get Busy” rather than exposure to traditions in this sacred annual festival of Lights, in fact has deep South-Asian roots. Hinduism is the third most practiced religion in Trinidad and Tobago with around 40% of the population being Indo-Trinidadian, resulting in a number of celebrated holidays, including Diwali, coming from Hindu traditions.
Most Hindu holidays typically follow the 12-month Hindu lunar calendar in order to preserve the original cultural traditions. Many of these lunar months overlap the January-December model, thus the five-day Diwali celebration typically takes place in late October and November. The celebration starts on the 13th day of the lunar month of Ashwin — the month which begins on the first full moon after the autumn equinox — and ends during the early half, or “light half,” of the lunar month Kartika.
Photo: Khokarahman, CC BY-SA 4.
The Mythology Surrounding Diwali
Candlelight celebrations, fireworks and sparklers, and paper lanterns floating above the dark night sky — this is Diwali, a festival of light celebrating the triumph of light over darkness.
According to mythology, Diwali, sometimes spelled Divali, is a celebration of Lord Rama’s victory over Ravana, a demon king, after a 14 year exile. Lord Rama is a reincarnated form of the Hindu god Vishnu, known as “The Protector of Good.” Other traditions celebrate the time when Durga, or Mother Goddess, saved the gods from a half demon half buffalo creature named Mahishasur.
Photo: Anushka, CC BY-SA 4.0
Both of these battles show that goodness and light prevail over evil and darkness and out of these lessons, light has become the cornerstone of all Diwali celebrations. Diyas, or clay lamps, known to be a symbol of good luck, can be seen in many homes and these and other forms of light are traditionally used to rid homes and their inhabitants of any metaphorical darkness, instead welcoming wisdom and good fortune. Lights are also used to pay respect to Rama’s long trip back home and the diyas are a guide to aid in lighting the path for his return.
Photo: Mokshada Sethi, CC BY-SA 4.0
Diwali in Trinidad
In Trinidad, Diwali is a time for families to come together, catch up and celebrate. Introduced to Trinidad and Tobago by East Indian indentured servants and laborers in the mid 1800s, Diwali is now a national holiday with celebrations held all over the island. Traditionally, Hindus across Trinidad and Tobago will visit the National Council of Indian Culture (Divali Nagar Site) in Endeavour in the days leading up to Diwali to pray and worship the deities.
Photo: Prakhar Chaudhary, CC BY-SA 4.0
In the days or weeks leading up to the festival of lights, Hindus typically participate in fasts, abstaining from meat, and offer prayers to Lakshmi, daughter of the Mother Goddess Durga, known to bring material and spiritual wealth. Hindus in Trinidad also take the time to do a deep cleaning of their homes, clothes and any spaces that need some upkeep. Prayers and reflection are constant throughout the week-long celebration and on the observed day of Diwali families and friends all participate in the ritual of lighting diyas at dusk.
Afterwards, there is a feast of authentic food, drink and dessert. Some signature Diwali dishes in Trinidad consist of roti, curried mango, curried Channa and Aloo (chickpeas with potatoes), sweet rice, sweet cake and barfi.
Photo: Jitze Couperus, CC BY 2.0
Another tradition for Diwali in Trinidad is the Ramleela, a ten day reenactment play of the ancient epic of Ramayana which chronicles Rama’s life, exile and return. The play is just another way to respect and remember the power of goodness over evil.
The Caribbean may be all about sunshine and good vibes, but when the sun goes down and the moon come out, so do lots of ghosts and ghouls. Every island has its spooky side. Here are some of the haunted destinations in the Caribbean you might (or might not) want to see.
Rose Hall — Montego Bay, Jamaica
Now a popular venue for romantic weddings, Rose Hall Great house has a dark history that belies its elegant architecture and expansive gardens. The infamously cruel plantation owner Annie Palmer (dubbed the white witch of Rose Hall) called this place home. Legend has it that guests can see her reflections in the antique mirrors around the mansion, as she guards her property from the afterlife. You can enjoy the spooky atmosphere during Rose Hall’s legendary night tours, or (for those faint of heart) explore the historic property by daylight.
El Convento — San Juan, Puerto Rico
A historic hotel in San Juan, El Covento offers more than your regular room amenities. A former Carmelite convent dating back to the 1600s, the building now houses one the the city’s chicest boutique hotels. But it’s not clear whether the previous residents have actually checked out. Guests report sounds of the covent’s nuns swishing through the haunted hallways. A few even claim the convent’s founder, Dona Ana de Lansos y Menendez de Valdez, woke them up (gently, of course) when they overslept. Now that’s a wake-up call!
Fort Catherine, Bermuda
Originally built in 1614 by the British, St. Catherine Fort on St. George’s island has seen many a naval showdown. So it’s natural the historic site has collected some spirits along the way. One persistent ghost named George became such a nuisance around the lower chambers that some locals got fed up and held an exorcism in the 1970s to set him free. The ceremony however didn’t seem to work and Bermudans have since learned to embrace their friendly ghost. Now the fort (featuring George and his spooky antics) has become a popular destination for local haunted history tours.
Guajataca Tunnel — Isabela, Puerto Rico
El Tunel de Guajataca, or the Guajataca Tunnel in Isabela, Puerto Rico, is a man-made tunnel constructed in the early 1900s. The tunnel was used as a sugar cane route, transporting the sugar from farm to city. However in the early 20th Century, tragedy struck when a freak train accident killed dozens of passengers. The tunnel is now allegedly haunted by the victims and visitors to the site have reported hearing the echo of voices as they passed through. Though the beachside site is now popular for photographers as one of the fascinating haunted destinations in the Caribbean, be prepared to get goosebumps walking through the tunnel.
Eden Brown Estate, Whitehall, Saint Kitts, Nevis
Nevis, the small Leeward island, is one of the spookiest places in the Caribbean. While the remote island is home to many creepy spots, the Eden Brown Estate is one of the more infamous. In 1822, Miss Julia Huggins lived on the island and was engaged to be married, moving into the estate after the wedding. However on her wedding day, her fiance accused his best man of trying to have an affair with his bride-to-be. They ended up dueling and tragically killed each other, leaving Huggins heartbroken and alone. It is believed that she still roams the estate to this day, with visitors reporting sounds of weeping, especially at night. Bring a friend if you want to check it out — this estate might be too scary to brave alone.
Chase Vault — Oistins, Barbados
Built in 1724, this halfway underground crypt in Barbados was bought by a wealthy family for the burial of relatives. The Chase family buried three family members together in this spooky tomb — but they didn’t stay buried.
After reports that something weird was happening at the vault, the burial team arrived back at the site. They removed the heavy marble that covered the entrance and were shocked to find the three coffins tossed around and now standing against the walls. They moved them back to their original place but years later, when opened again, the coffins were displaced in this same way. The team found no visible evidence of weather or human manipulation, so they moved the coffins back and added sand to see footprint tracking. Months later, the coffins were once again violently strewn against the walls and there were no prints in the sand. After all of this commotion, the coffins were moved to another location, but the crypt remains open to the public. Enter at your own risk.
Grand Cimetière De Port-au-Prince, Haiti
As one of the most infamous locations for Vodou practice in Haiti, the Grand Cimetière De Port-au-Prince might be one of the most haunted destinations in the Caribbean, for both the living and the departed. In 2010, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti, leaving hundreds of families in need of a burial site for their lost loved ones. Unfortunately, many were not able to afford the fees and families began to leave them in makeshift graves along the sidewalk outside of the cemetery gates. The cemetery itself suffered major damage from the tragic 2010 earthquake, leaving collapsed tombs, exposed coffins and scattered bones along the walkways. The ongoing, mysterious practice of Vodou within the cemetery is a startling sight for visitors, with locals bringing offerings to scatter throughout the rubble and graves.This array around the cemetery definitely adds to the spooky vibe as visitors to the site still report sounds of spirits and ghost sightings.
Ruins of Lazaretto de Isla de Cabras — Toa Jaja, Puerto Rico
In the 19th Century, Isla de Cabras, a small island off Toa Jaja, Puerto Rico, was used as a quarantine station for European ships passing through. During the time, Yellow Fever and Cholera were running rampant, so anyone that was infected would stay on the island to avoid contaminating people on the mainland. Many sick travelers were exposed to inhumane treatment and most died from either the poor conditions or their diseases. Their spirits are said to still haunt the coast.
You usually see an in-ground pool shine the most when it’s warm. As the star of many outdoor gatherings and pool parties, your swimming pool can witness glory in warmer temperatures with the sole purpose of cooling people down. However, you can still incorporate your pool into your parties without getting your feet wet by using these tips that utilize it in unique ways and dress it up for all occasions.
Set Your Pool as the Focal Point of Your Event
Arranging tables, chairs, and food stations around your pool maximizes space usage and brings attention towards the pool rather than away from it. This technique can aid in transforming the pool area into an eye-catching backdrop for stellar snapshots.
Light the Way
When it comes to those celebrations that run well into the night, lighting a path to ensure the safety of guests is essential, and what better way to do that than with string lights? Not only do these small but delicate lights illuminate your festivities, but they are a fun way to dress up your pool area.
Add Floating Décor To Coincide With the Theme
Pool noodles aren’t the only floating devices here! You can add beautiful accents such as decorative balloons and flowers to your pool to spice up its appearance to fit any event. You can also add floating pool signages as an innovative wedding monogram or thoughtful sentiment.
Dress Up Your Pool’s Edges
You don’t have to fill your pool with décor to have it look its best. If floating décor isn’t the best fit for you, consider dressing up your pool’s edges by creating a decorative border to highlight your event’s main feature.
Make Your Pool an Aisle or Dance Floor
As a feature no one can forget, you can’t go wrong with adding an aisle in the middle of your pool in preparation for a wedding or equipping it with a dance floor cover for extra flair! One look at your new dance floor and guests will never want to leave!
Incorporating your pool into parties adds a fun twist to future celebrations without having to cut back on the size of the event and guest seating. And the best part? No need to worry about after-care of pool noodles.
Last weekend’s event was definitely one for the record books, and we have the Miami Carnival 2021 photos to prove it. Back in person after going virtual in 2020, the paint and mud were flying, the elaborate feathered costumes were out in full force and attendees were celebrating until the wee morning hours.
The weekend-long fete was packed full of people celebrating the most looked forward to Caribbean event of the year and we were lucky enough to get a backstage pass. If you weren’t able to attend this year, or if you are already missing the energy Carnival emanates, take a look through these Miami Carnival 2021photos with images from the road march, J’ouvert and Panorama.
Can’t wait for even more Carnival extravaganzas? Check out some other east coast Carnivals here.
In a year like no other, 2020 and its lingering aftereffects forced us to reconsider every aspect of our lives. Yet there was one part of my life I never anticipated changing so much due to help relieve COVID fatigue ― my entire relationship with exercise.
Over the years, I’ve worked out, often motivated by goals of losing weight and building a fitter body. But when the pandemic hit, I realized that exercise was more than the pursuit of a physical ideal. Working out became fundamental to my psychological well-being. I began a ritual of walking in the mornings and soon added online yoga on Sunday mornings. By the summer, I was swimming regularly again. These moments offered space for meditation, helping to calm me and clear my head. Even when I increased the pace and signed up with a personal trainer this year, the mental rejuvenation I found from these exercise sessions was emotionally powerful.
Scientific Approach
Seeing exercise as integral to mental health is part of a current scientific and cultural rebranding of how we value working out. For so long, mainstream messaging married exercise to weight loss and appearance, but it did not focus enough on the potent psychological benefits.
“Exercise has great benefits for our mental and emotional health, reducing pain and discomfort and increasing feelings of pleasure and a sense of general well-being,” explains Dr. Joan Muir (no relation), a Jamaica-born psychologist now based in South Florida. Recent research also suggests that physical activity can even help ease more severe mood disorders like depression and anxiety. This link to improving chronic mental conditions isn’t as clear, but “exercise [does] release endorphins, which are a group of hormones that reduce stress and elevate mood,” adds Dr. Muir.
Recent medical findings have debunked many of the myths we’ve learned about weight loss. According to Dr. Muir, the physiological benefits are well-documented, as exercise “helps our bodies function better, improving our movement, posture, sleep and digestion.” Exercise alone, however, actually has a limited impact on helping us drop unwanted pounds. One 2013 research survey by Dr. Klaas R. Westerterp showed that the average person burns only a fraction ― 10% to 30% ― of the energy we gain from food. The lion’s share is consumed by basic bodily functions. In actuality, we have limited control over speeding up our own resting metabolism rate, guiding how much fuel we burn.
A New Relationship
Understanding this can diminish the shame many experience while working out since exercise for the sole purpose of improving our looks can be harmful. I’m sure many entering a gym are familiar with that feeling of toiling toward what feels like an unreachable perfect body while being surrounded by others who seem to have achieved it effortlessly. Instead, having a more holistic view of exercise could encourage more people to get active and have better relationships with their bodies overall. We need to begin working out for body and mind.
Faced with a common crisis this past year, it seems many began building new relationships with working out. The widespread weight gain nicknamed “the COVID 15” pushed many people to address their fitness. But while they sought exercise to combat the weight gain, they discovered its mental health benefits as well. Suriname native Roxanne started exercising more after gaining weight “from too much snacking and sitting around while working from home.” She quickly found emotional value in routines like yoga. “It suits my spirit, the calming energy and solitude. It’s a time to quiet the mind.”
An Essential Element
Ann-Marie training G. Wright Muir (the author)
As a competitive bodybuilder, my personal trainer Ann-Marie is the classic picture of sculpted physical fitness. But for her, exercise has never been just for appearance’s sake. “Like everyone, I get stressed with just everyday life, being pulled left, right and center,” says Ann-Marie. “Exercise has always been my outlet.” So when her trainer announced that he had to close the gym because of COVID-19 restrictions, she was devastated. “Not exercising was not an option for me, because staying at home 24/7, working from home with zero exercise would’ve definitely hurt me mentally and physically.”
To compensate, Ann-Marie created her own rigorous at-home routine. Amid the uncertainty, exercise became an emotional anchor. “Even though we went through such a dark and gloomy time, my happy place was [found in] running around my neighborhood.”
Kathy with Jamaican Consul General Oliver Mair after finishing a 5k
“People think it’s about how you look, [but] it’s also about how you feel,” shares my friend Kathy about her relationship to exercise. She has always been active, but after surviving COVID-19, jogging became her way to reconnect with her body and overcome the traumatic experience. “That has motivated me to do more,” she said. “I wake up every single morning so grateful to have survived something that so many people did not.”
Though we still have much to learn about the complex connection between body and mind, as Kathy and so many others have learned, few things feel as life-affirming as committing to move the bodies we have been given.
If you’ve read Staceyann Chin’s 2009 coming-of-age memoir, “The Other Side of Paradise,” you know that even as a little girl in rural Jamaica, she was outspoken. As her older brother described her in the book, she was always the child who wanted to talk “‘bout things what nobody else want talk ‘bout.”
Some things never change. In her years as a critically-acclaimed poet, playwright, performer and activist, Chin has been an unyielding advocate for the marginalized while challenging the powers that be. No status quo is safe. She moved from dismantling social hypocrisies with her thunderous performances on the iconic HBO TV show “Def Poetry Jam” to capturing her convention-breaking journey to motherhood in her 2015 one-woman play “MotherStruck!”
For me, perhaps her greatest impact lies in her work giving unprecedented LGBTQ+ visibility to the Caribbean diaspora. She was the first Caribbean queer activist and public figure I knew that so openly spoke to our experiences. For more than 10 years, I quietly came out to close friends and family, then finally came out publicly in 2013. I decided then to write a memoir sharing my own story.
Discovering Chin’s book empowered me to begin. Her frankness connects with me profoundly as a Jamaican who grew up in a culture that has shunned queer Caribbeans. There was and often continues to be blatant hostility spewing from speakers at Saturday night dances, and fire and brimstone at Sunday morning church service.
Room to Speak
For Chin, speaking out has never been a question of bravery, but one of sheer survival ― a way of reclaiming herself in the aftermath of an earth-shattering moment in her life. While she was a student at the University of the West Indies, Mona, she was sexually assaulted by a group of men who attacked her for daring to confidently and openly exist as the gay woman she is. Simply living on the island was a risk. In the relative safety of New York — a strange city in a strange country — performing her unedited, unfiltered poetry and sharing her truth on stage felt freeing.
It was so important to me to have room to speak, to feel as if my story could be told and heard.
“It was so important to me to have room to speak, to feel as if my story could be told and heard,” she shares with me in an interview, recalling her development as an artist in those early days. “I started to tell the story to whoever would listen, the small cafes in Brooklyn and confessional groups with other Black lesbians.”
These first forays soon led her to bigger national stages — from the “Def Poetry Jam” TV and Broadway shows to her landmark interview on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in 2007. “I was at the right place at the right time, with the right identity marker,” says the author. “I was interesting and new enough for the powers that be to take notice of me.”
The American Dream-come-true narrative could have easily overshadowed the subtle complexities of her story. But while the Big Apple provided her refuge in one way, she quickly realized that New York was no paradise. In the city, “it was good to be a gay woman, but I found that it was increasingly difficult to be Black,” she explains.
In response to the reality of living in America, her work has confronted racism, economic inequity and other injustices holistically. The result is always raw and vulnerable. In her book of poetry “Crossfire: A Litany for Survival,” published in 2019, we experience the depth and breadth of her passions, exploring love, sexuality, politics, feminism, family, domestic violence, international human rights and other topics at the intersection of her experience as a lesbian, immigrant, single mother and Black woman.
From One Generation to the Next
Courtesy of Haymarket Books
Her advocacy and art have only intensified since becoming a mother. Her 9-year-old daughter, Zuri, is already enthusiastically engaged in her mother’s activism. You can watch her blossoming as a thoughtful speaker on Chin’s inspiring YouTube series “Living Room Protest.” Alongside banter about street safety and back-to-school worries, mother and daughter have created their own safe corner of the web to passionately discuss social issues, including body positivity, gun control and rights for migrant families.
Though becoming a mother has only made the urgency of her causes more acute, Chin knows real change is a long game. “It might be slower than we would like,” she says, “but those of us who do the work know that the work is for your life and for your children’s lives, and for your children’s children’s lives.”
For her next book project, she’s interested in exploring her relationship with her mother, who was estranged during her childhood ― a journey captured in a documentary in development called “Away With Words,” to be directed by Jamaican-Canadian filmmaker Laurie Townshend.
For now, her journey has taken her back to Jamaica. In the heart of the pandemic, Chin left New York with Zuri to visit the island for just a few weeks. Months later, she’s still there and has no idea when she’s leaving.
Connections at the Heart
The Jamaica she left all those years ago has changed in many ways, thanks to the hard work of local activists and organizations like the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG). On the world stage, Jamaican contemporary literature is also prominently represented by other LGBTQ+ authors like Nicole Dennis-Benn, Marlon James and Kei Miller.
Courtesy of The People Speak
As far as overall attitudes, “they have definitely shifted in the middle class,” says Chin. “But we have to recognize that such privilege begets safety.” As a child of humble beginnings, she says, “I’m very aware that poor people are unsafe.” So she focuses her advocacy far beyond LGBTQ+ issues. She fights for all who need the fight. “So it’s not just poor, gay people [who] are unsafe. Poor, straight people are unsafe. Poor girls are unsafe. Poor, Black men too are unsafe from the police here.”
The unsafe are the people who drive the creativity at the core of her art. One of her greatest badges of honor, she says, “is that my books are the most stolen in Barnes and Nobles in New York City.” She supposes the people who steal them are very much like the young woman she was when she first came to America — struggling to get by, trying to find a safe place in a system “that doesn’t speak for them or take them into consideration.”
She hopes that she has provided a safe harbor in her book and that those who need to see their experiences reflected back in the stories they read, wherever they are, will always find a home among her words.
Tucked away among the bustling bars and art galleries of Wynwood lies a piece of pre-revolutionary Cuba rescued from history. Welcome to Cervecería La Tropical ― home of the original Cuban beer and a revival of Cuba’s oldest brewery, now reborn in Miami.
Under a lush canopy of palm trees, guests now taste the beer that birthed the whole industry on the island. The Blanco-Herrera family opened the first Cervecería La Tropical brewery in 1888 on the banks of the Almendares River in Havana. By 1904, the property grew into a true destination. There was live music and dancing amid romantic tropical gardens and baseball games in a stadium where the infield dirt was made of crushed beer bottles. Crowned as one of the prides of Cuba, the brewery, at its height, was reportedly responsible for over 60% of all beer production in the country.
Photo: Cervecería La Tropical
This changed following the Cuban Revolution when the brewery was seized and nationalized by the Cuban government. Eventually, the original brewery fell into a state of disrepair and was closed. And unlike other Cuban brands like Bacardi, the beer was not available outside the island.
It was decades later, in 1998, that Manny Portuondo, a fifth-generation member of the Kohly family who sold the land to the Blanco-Herreras for the original Cervecería La Tropical, embarked on the journey to restore this Cuban treasure in his hometown of Miami. With his partner Ramon Blanco-Herrera, a fourth generation grandchild of La Tropical’s founder, he fought to restore both their families’ legacies. Portuondo even mortgaged his house to pay for La Tropical’s label trademarks.
Photo: Cervecería La Tropical
In all, restoring the brand became a two-decades-long process with extensive research into the brewery’s history. “I would spend months going through catalogs, books and magazines, looking for any book, article and piece ever written about La Tropical,” Portuondo recalls. “I became an expert in the Cuban beer industry, in La Tropical history, and the contribution that La Tropical gave to Cuban society.”
The final piece came when he found the last head brewer at La Tropical, Julio Fernandez-Selles, who coincidentally lived only 10 blocks from Portuondo’s home. Selles has since passed away, but he was key in recovering the formula. “Not only did he validate the framework of the recipe that I had, but he showed me how to brew it,” says Portuondo. “The method of brewing is different, but the base of the original formula is basically the same.”
Working with their brewmaster Matt Weintraub, this formula became the brand’s La Original Ámbar Lager ― a refreshing, clean brew with notes of honey. They also developed a new pale ale called Nativo Key Suave IPA, charged with hints of mango, passion fruit, pineapple, lemon and lime. Now, both beers have a glamorous home in the newly opened Cervecería La Tropical compound, a joint venture with Heineken N.V.
Many Cuban-American families are leveraging Cervecería La Tropical as a community space to tell the stories of the old country, and what it meant to them, and imparting that heritage to the generations that come after them.
In many ways, the new brewery’s design pays homage to its historical predecessor in Cuba. Walking onto the grounds feels a little like stepping back in time. Standing at the entrance are two vast white pillars with flamingos and the words “Jardines La Tropical” embossed in gold, the design, inspired by Cuba’s Oldest Brewery, is ornate grand gate.
Beyond these pillars lies a 10,000-square-foot courtyard with a performance stage and a botanical garden with foliage, including rare orchids, curated by Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. The brewery’s interior also impresses. Visible to guests, the shining steel stills are equally beautiful and powerful, with an annual brewing capacity of 32,000 hectoliters per year. Covered in colorful decorative tiles and murals by artist Ernesto Maranje, the restaurant has ample seating options and the taproom offers 6 craft beers with plans to increase to 20.
Photo: Cervecería La Tropical
The stunning design makes the property feel right at home in trendy Wynwood. But Portuondo hopes the space also reflects Cuba’s Oldest Brewery and the soul of the brand. It wouldn’t be surprising on any given Sunday to find three generations of a Cuban family at La Tropical. As Portuondo explains, many Cuban-American families “are leveraging Cervecería La Tropical as a community space to tell the stories of the old country, and what it meant to them, and imparting that heritage to the generations that come after them.”
I’ve seen people come in here and have tears in their eyes because it’s bringing them back to their youth in Cuba.
For executive chef Cindy Hutson of famed Caribbean-inspired restaurant Ortanique on the Mile, it was Portuondo’s vision and passion that persuaded her to join the team. “I kind of go on gut feeling for projects that I do,” she says. “I have to share the passion with whoever is creating the project. And I felt it immediately with Manny.”
She has channeled his passion for the brand’s cultural heritage through the menu with the flavors of guava, mango, and other tropical ingredients sourced from the neighboring garden grounds. Signature dishes offer contemporary takes on Cuban classics, like customer-favorite Cuban-style empanadas. She has even taken inspiration from the brewery’s beers, serving up mussels with beer-braised Spanish chorizo and bacalao fritters beer-battered in La Original.
Photo: Cervecería La Tropical
The beer and the food are only small, albeit delicious, parts of a much larger story. “I’ve seen people come in here and have tears in their eyes because it’s bringing them back to their youth in Cuba,” shares Hutson. For Portuondo, there’s no greater legacy. “At the end of the day for me, my partner’s family, and other Cubans, the revival of Cervecería La Tropical is not just about the beer. The beer and La Tropical [are] just a means to extend our heritage into the next generation.”
Photo courtesy of Steve Bennett (Uncommon Caribbean)
The Caribbean region is a collection of more than 7,000 islands, each with its own separate and delicate ecosystem. Separating these islands is more than one million square miles of open seas, perfect for one of your next Caribbean diving vacations.
For centuries, this mass expanse of water has been counted upon by the people of the region to provide everything from food and nourishment to transportation and commerce. Annually, millions of visitors from all over the world are lured to our shores, in large part, to marvel at and frolic in our seas. In the Caribbean, clean and healthy seas are truly everything. Unfortunately, few bodies of water are under more environmental stress.
Climate change, invasive species, litter and pollution all pose an increasing threat to the overall health of Caribbean marine ecosystems. Thankfully, a growing number of scientists, artists and local volunteers across the West Indies are finding innovative new ways to fight back and safeguard our seas.
Visitors to the region can help too. Here are a few opportunities to consider for your next Caribbean escape.
Replant Coral Reefs in Grenada
Photo courtesy of Steve Bennett (Uncommon Caribbean)
The Caribbean and coral reefs go hand-in-hand. However, if we don’t take action quickly, one of those hands will be waving bye-bye to the other.
It is estimated that more than 50% of the Caribbean’s coral reefs have died since 1970. While this statistic by itself is hard to believe, the future forecast is even bleaker. As seas grow warmer due to climate change and more plastics and other forms of litter invade our oceans, the world’s coral reefs disappear more rapidly. Some studies even suggest that all coral reefs may be nearly extinct within 20 years.
Today, several different organizations are actively attacking this issue across the Caribbean. One of them, Caribbean Reef Buddy in Grenada, invites volunteers to join in the fight.
Caribbean Reef Buddy offers several volunteer programs all based upon marine environment sustainability. The organization offers shark monitoring, lionfish containment, dive training and coral restoration at their innovative undersea coral nursery.
Curacao Lionfish Safari
Photo courtesy of Steve Bennett (Uncommon Caribbean)
The King Kong of invasive marine species in the Caribbean, the lionfish has been devastating marine ecosystems throughout the West Indies in recent years.
How bad is this venomous, invasive beauty? According to Molly Buckley, owner of SCUBA Dive Shop in St. Croix, lionfish “can decimate a Caribbean reef in just weeks. They eat non-stop and can lay up to 30,000 eggs. They are a huge threat to the Caribbean.”
In an effort to fight them, many dive shops across the Caribbean offer Lionfish Safari experiences where divers are invited to spear the troublesome species. LionfishCuracao not only offers packages instructing divers in the best hunting techniques, but they also sell jewelry made from your lionfish catch!
Coastal Conservation in Aruba
Photo courtesy of Steve Bennett (Uncommon Caribbean)
It’s staggering to even consider but according to Ocean Conservancy, eight million metric tons of plastics end up in our oceans every year. To make matters worse, that immense figure is added to the already overwhelming 150 million metric tons of plastics already in our waterways.
The easiest thing we can all do to fight this, of course, is to clean up after ourselves and ensure that our waste is disposed of properly. In the Caribbean, the Aruba Reef Care Project helps to promote both good habits while also keeping Aruba and its surrounding waters litter-free.
The Happy Island’s largest volunteer initiative, Aruba Reef Care brings together more than 800 participants from overseas and across the island to clean up the island’s most popular beaches and dive sites. The annual event, which celebrates its 27th year in 2021, also helps raise awareness of the growing problem of plastics and other forms of litter in our seas.
Marvel at Underwater Art in Martinique
The fight to safeguard our seas calls to action those who truly care about the Caribbean. However, the work doesn’t always have to be strenuous. Sometimes, as in the case of the Caribbean’s undersea sculpture gardens, the simple act of admiring art can have a positive impact on the environment.
Art pieces anchored to the seafloor, like those found at the Molinere Underwater Sculpture Park in Grenada and Amphitrite in Grand Cayman, have created an uncommon new style of undersea attraction for scuba divers and snorkelers to enjoy. Attractions like these give natural reefs and Mother Nature a break from heavy human traffic, allowing some added time and space to rejuvenate.
Photo courtesy of Steve Bennett (Uncommon Caribbean)
Among the more culturally moving and significant of these Caribbean undersea museums is the Martinique New Underwater Sculpture Park. Nestled beneath the waves off Saint-Pierre, the Martinique New Underwater Sculpture Park is the brainchild of Laurent Valere. One of the Caribbean’s most celebrated contemporary artists, Valere is also the master talent behind the Anse Cafard Slave Memorial — a powerful and poignant remembrance of the slave era.
Pivoting away from the past, Valere’s undersea installations speak more to the future and encourage respect for and preservation of our oceans.
The installation is composed of two huge figures. Each represents a legendary character pulled from old Martinican myths. The first, Manman Dlo, is a mermaid who sailors have always been cautioned to avoid as she likes to overturn ships, thereby drowning all the passengers aboard. The second, Yemaya, is a sultry siren meant to symbolize the “Woman of the Sea.”
Together, the message the pair conveys is simple: respect the sea and appreciate her beauty lest we all perish. It is a lesson well-learned and enjoyed with a side of Creole culture.
