feature week ending February 6, 2014
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| www.caribbeantimesinternational.com
Jamaica loses a Reggae Ambassador – William 'Bunny Rugs' Clarke dies at 65
Guyana's acting Tourism Minister Irfaan Ali (second left); Public Relations Consultant Kit Nascimento (left); and Roraima Group of Companies Chairman, Captain Gerry Gouveia with selected couples at the launch of the sixth Wedding Expo last Friday at Duke Lodge, Duke Street, Georgetown (Carl Croker photo)
G
uyana’s sixth annual Wedding Expo was launched last Friday at Roraima Duke Lodge, Duke Street, Georgetown, with about 10 couples, who want to be officially paired, gracing the occasion. Roraima Group of Companies Chairman, Captain Gerry Gouviea said the annual exposition continues to raise the platform for small business to showcase their work and build partnerships.
Gouviea said the Guyana tourism sector is on the rise, and called on all to get involved. “Tourism entities are not coming on board… I believe that with more partnership, Guyana’s tourism sector can thrive,” he said. Meanwhile, Guyana’s acting Tourism Minister Irfaan Ali, who also addressed the launch, said plans are in train to make the South American country a wedding destination, with more partnerships from
both the public and private sectors. Ali added that with the establishment of a “wedding direct webpage” showcasing Guyana, the country will quickly gain recognition in this regard. The minister applauded the sponsors whom over the years have made the Wedding Expo a memorable one for the participants. This year’s Wedding Expo will be held from March 28-30. The sponsors include Roraima
Inn, Arrowpoint Resort, Kings Jewellery World, Fly Jamaica, Handin-Hand Insurance Company, K&Y Party Rental, Guyana Times and Karen’s Cake, Bromeliad Make Up, among others. On a different note, Minister Ali pointed out too that more persons have been asking for a second dinner at Fort Island, after the great experience from the first ever “Romancing the Fort” in December 2013. (Guyana Times)
Plans afoot for Caribbean’s second spoken word festival
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a s c a d o o ’ s C a r i b b e a n New Voices International Festival of Spoken Word will be held from August 10-16. In part, it will commemorate International Youth Day, observed on August 12, as well as a wider celebration. In an interview with TT media, event organiser Mtima Solwazi explained the benefits of holding Cascadoo’s second spoken word festival in August, since that month is internationally recognised as the “What Will Be Your Legacy?” month. Cascadoo held its inaugural festival in 2013, presented by the Oral Tradition Roots Foundation in conjunction with the Poet Society of TT. Last year’s festival focused on spoken word as an art form and sought to showcase the concerns of the artist in society. Its headline performers went by the combined stage name “Vocal”– Voices of Canadian Artists Across Latitudes. Each of these performers, while based in Canada, had significant ties to the Caribbean and its diaspora. Their
Mtima Solwazi, of Cascadoo’s Caribbean New Voices International Festival of Spoken Word. Photo courtesy: Mtima Solwazi
presence at the 2013 Cascadoo festival was partially sponsored by the Canada Council for the Arts. The event was co-managed and co-ordinated by Canadian spoken word artist Anthony Bansfield, known by the stage name “nth digri.” This year’s festival structure, Solwazi says, will remain identical to its previous year’s, but for the “panchayats” forum discussions, modelled on a village council
style of dialogue between elders and students. These panchayats will take the form of panels, with room for greater interchange, an improvement on last year’s lecture-based format. In addition to the panchayats, workshops will be delivered by industry professionals and practising spoken word artists. Solwazi reported that 2013’s workshops proved useful to those in atten-
dance, based on feedback received. Some of 2013’s workshop moderators included children’s author Joanne Gail Johnson; poet and arts facilitator Rachel Collymore; and the popular spoken word group Freetown Collective. Solwazi is excited about this year’s spoken word contingent, represented under the banner of “Clip,” which stands for Changing Lives in People. Where the focus in 2013 was on the plight and circumstance of the individual artist in society, Solwazi says, this year’s theme seeks to engage in wider dialogue on societal issues. The artists comprising the Clip group are Lamont Carey (USA); Charlie Bobus (Jamaica/ Canada); Muslim Belal (UK/Kuwait) and Miss Quote (Jamaica/USA). This particular quartet of artists, Solwazi says, has experienced firsthand many of the societal issues they address at the microphone. So Solwazi is confident the Clip team will bring a necessary dose of reality to the spoken word forum. (Excerpted from TT Guardian)
Third World’s lead singer, Bunny Rugs (foreground), performing at a Jamaica Jazz and Blues festival held at the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium in Jamaica last year. The reggae band was celebrating its 40th year. At right is bandmate Stephen ‘Cat’ Coore. (Jamaica Observer file photo)
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amaican Bunny Rugs was a struggling singer in 1976 when he went to a New York City club named the Bottom Line to see a band called Third World. "It so happened that a friend of mine saw the advertisement in the Village Voice and called me and said 'Are you going to see Third World?' I said yes and changed my mind about five times," Rugs told American author David Katz in 2003. "I eventually went to the concert and I've been with them from that day until now." Rugs, who died Sunday at his home in Orlando, Florida at age 65, was the voice of Third World for 37 years. Colin Leslie, his close friend and a former member of Third World, said the singer passed away at 11:00 pm, surrounded by family and close friends. Rugs, who would have turned 66 on Thursday, was released from the Intensive Care Unit of an Orlando hospital last week after receiving two weeks of treatment for leukemia. During his last Jamaican performance with the band in December at a function organised by the National Commercial Bank in Kingston, Rugs spoke about his illness. At the time, he said he was receiving holistic treatment. Born William Clarke in Mandeville, Bunny Rugs' early years as a musician was on the Kingston club scene in the early 1970s with the Inner Circle band. He migrated to the United States during that period and worked the live circuit in New York City as a mem-
ber of the band, Hugh Hendricks and the Buccaneers. He returned to Jamaica in 1974 and hooked up with a band named the Bluegrass Experience which also included former Studio One session guitarist Eric Frater and Upsetters keyboardist Glen Adams. After a stint with producer Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Rugs officially joined Third World in 1976, shortly after watching them at the Bottom Line. The band's drummer at the time was Willie Stewart who had been a member for less than one year. Monday, Stewart remembered Rugs as "a man who loved his art. He was never sad, always had a joke." Rugs' first show with Third World was a Carifesta date at the Carib Theatre in 1976. He made his recording debut on the band's album, ‘96 Degrees In The Shade’, that year. He sang lead on the title song as well as a number of their hits including ‘Now That We Found Love’, ‘Always Around’, ‘Talk to Me’, ‘Reggae Ambassador’ and ‘Sense of Purpose’. Along with founding members Stephen 'Cat' Coore (guitar) and Ibo Cooper (keyboards), bass player Richard Daley, Stewart and percussionist Irwin 'Carrot' Jarrett, Rugs was part of a classic Third World lineup that was signed to Island Records, CBS and Mercury Records. Rugs also recorded solo projects during breaks from Third World. He released the 15-track set ‘Time’ on September 11, 2012. (Jamaica Observer)