05142021 WEEKEND

Friday, May 14, 2021

books photography interview gardening history entertainment puzzles

Weekend

‘Ghetto’ motherhood Page 07

Beauty captured Local photographer aims for world-class work

pgs 08 +09

02 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 14, 2021

books

Local magistrate delves deep into relationships with three new books

By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Features Writer | fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

W

hen he’s not adjudicating on criminal and civil matters in the lower court, Senior Magistrate Derence Rolle Davis is busy travelling the world, interviewing people, and finding solutions for some of life’s toughest questions.

As a presiding officer of the court for 15 years, he has used his vast

experience in dealing with people from all walks of life to explore the very core of all relationship issues; a theme he elaborately expands on in his three new books: “Men Exposed!”, “What the Other Woman Thinks” and “Jude and the Joke: A True Story”.

Today, Magistrate Rolle Davis is hosting a signing for his three books at the Chapter One Bookstore

opposite the University of the Bahamas from 10am-1pm.

He said his first book, “Jude and the Joke”, is based on actual events, although the names of people and places have been changed to protect the identity of the individuals involved.

“It puts you on an exciting ride from the start to the finish, so hopefully it will thrill the audience who read it,” he said. “When they begin, they’ll see that from the moment the book starts it has you questioning yourself about what is going on and then finally it gets to where it’s going.”

Meanwhile his second book, “What the Other Woman Thinks”, said Magistrate Rolle Davis, is a story that was “written for women, by women about women; but for men to understand them.”

“As one woman puts it, even women don’t understand women,” he teased. “The book starts with a complete synopsis of over 300 women who have been interviewed by me from all over the world. I’ve spoken to women from Africa, Europe, America, Canada and the Caribbean, so it has a For this third book, “Men Exposed!”, Magistrate Rolle Davis interviewed over 200 men. He hopes the book will be beneficial for both genders.

“I talk about the life experiences of men and how it is that they are living in this world today,” he explained. “So, I’m hoping a man will examine himself and see that it’s just not sex that makes man... because the greatest requirement of a man is to love, provide, protect, and finally, to please. A woman also has the opportunity to look at what various men from around the world view as their responsibilities, so it (gives them) an expectation as to what it is a father should be”.

As to the question how he manages writing full bodies of work while being a magistrate, he revealed that time management is the key to his success.

“It has more to do with simply organising yourself,” he said. “I try to do whatever I have to do right away. I hate procrastination, and so that is how I keep things balanced.

I’m not usually idle, so I think that’s the key to being able to write and still focus on being a magistrate.”

Copies of “Jude and the Joke: A True Story”, “Men Exposed!”, and “What the Other Woman Thinks” are available for purchase at Bookworld and Stationers and at Chapter One Bookstore.

The Tribune | Weekend | 03

Friday, May 14, 2021

Weekend Inside

My Perfect Bahamian Weekend Lattia

Songwriter and entertainer

Interview 4 – 5

Natascha Vazquez is breaking ground on a new space where local artists will be able to create, display and sell their work.

Puzzles 6 Entertainment7

Cindy the Creative deals with ‘ghetto’ nature of motherhood in new comedy show

Photography 8-9

Codel Newton reaches for the stars as he shoots magazine-worthy images

Books 10 -11

Shanty town girl turned author seeks to uplift others, plus retired educator works through grief over stolen pets

Q: What are you binge-watching?

“Right now, I am all about the home renovations. My favourite show is ‘Fixer Upper’. I love Joanna’s style of design. It’s my taste.”

Literary Lives 12 – 13

The conclusion of the remarkable life story of a pioneering prima donna who broke down racial barriers

Forgotten Facts 14

The past glories of the ‘Official Houses’

Animals 15

A nerve-racking experience at the vet, plus Pet of the Week

10

Gardening 16

How to go bananas

Cover | Codel Netwon

THIS WEEKEND IN HISTORY May 14

• In 1796, the English physician and scientist Edward Jenner gives the first successful smallpox vaccinationto James Phipps, an eight-year-old boy who was the son of Jenner’s gardener.

•In 1804, the Lewis and Clark expedition leaves St Louis, Missouri, on a mission to explore the Northwest from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean.

• In 1948, Jewish Agency Chairman, later Premier, David Ben-Gurion proclaims the State of Israel, establishing

the first Jewish state in 2,000 years. US President Harry S Truman immediately recognised the new nation.

Today’s birthdays: Movie

producer George Lucas is 77. Movie director Robert Zemeckis is 70.

Actor Tim Roth is 60. Actor Cate Blanchett is 52. Singer Shanice is 48. Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg is 37. Actor Lina Esco is 36. NFL player Rob Gronkowski is 32. Actor Miranda Cosgrove is 28.

May 15

• In 1618, German astronomer Johannes Kepler discovers the third of his three planetary laws his “harmonics law” that relates the time it takes a planet to complete one orbit to its mean distance from the Sun.

Q: Rum, wine, cocktail, or Kalik?

“Wine. There’s no other choice than a good Moscato for me. I enjoy it at any time of the day.”

Q: If you could be quarantined with any

• In 1940, Richard and Maurice McDonald, inventors of the “fast food” concept, open the first McDonald’s restaurant in San Bernardino, California.

Businessman Ray Kroc eventually bought them out in 1961 and expanded McDonald’s into a global franchise.

celebrity, who would it be and why?

“I would love to be quarantined with Jay Z or Kayne West; they are both musical geniuses. I would love to just sit back and watch their process of the music, the business, the hustle, the mogul and enterprise.”

Q: Beach or sofa?

“Beach of course. Vitamin D is important. The water, when the sun hits, looks like dancing diamonds to me. I find the waves very tranquil. And I love the feeling of the sun as it kisses my skin.”

Q: If you could have a COVID-free trip, where would you go?

“I want to go to Spain, Italy and Isarel.”

• In 1836, famed American writer Edgar Allan Poe (26) marries his 13-year-old cousin Virginia Clemm.

• In 1982, Paul McCartney has his biggest hit record of his post-Beatles career: “Ebony And Ivory.” Recorded as a duet with the great Stevie Wonder, the song took the top spot in the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks.

• In 1920, Joan of Arc ( Jeanne D’arc) is canonised a saint. She is considered a heroine of France for her role during the Lancastrian phase of the Hundred Years’ War (1337 - 1453) • In 1929, the first Academy Awards are held in Hollywood at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, California, in the form of a dinner party for around 250 guests.

Today’s birthdays: Musician-

Today’s birthdays: Actor Pierce

composer Mike Oldfield is 68.

Actor Lee Horsley is 66. Tennis player Andy Murray is 34.

May 16

Brosnan is 68. Actor Debra Winger is 66.

Singer Janet Jackson is 55. Actor David Boreanaz is 52. Political commentator Tucker Carlson is 52. Actor Tori Spelling is 48. Actor Megan Fox is 35.

04 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 14, 2021

interview

Natascha Vazquez A new art gallery where people can create, display and sell their art all in one space is her soon-to-be realised dream. The painter and curator tells Cara Hunt how a successful Instagram page celebrating local artists as turned into an exciting business venture.

B

eauty, and by extension art, is in the eye of the beholder. And Natascha Vazquez is excited to break ground on a new business venture that will bring beauty to all, by providing Bahamian artists and art enthusiasts alike with a new space to showcase and appreciate the best the country has to offer.

Art has always been a major part of Natascha’s life. She has an MFA in Painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design and a BFA in Painting from Rollins College, Florida. She has exhibited her work in both solo and group exhibitions and at fairs in the Bahamas, France and the United States.

Her work is a part of various collections, including the Savannah College of Art and Design Permanent Collection, the Dawn Davies Collection and the D’Aguilar Art Foundation collection.

Natascha had been employed as the curator at Baha Mar’s gallery before the property had to close due to the COVID -19 pandemic.

“I was working at The Current when COVID hit and like many persons I was placed on furlough. After six to eight months being at home, I knew that I had to do something to pass the time,” she told Tribune Weekend.

That something turned out to be an Instagram page devoted to promoting the sale of art.

“I know a lot of artists and I know that the majority of them depend on the sale of their art to make a living, and with all the galleries and studios closed, and with all the lockdowns and social distancing, that was very difficult,” she said.

“At the same time, a lot of people were stuck at home staring at blank walls and wanting to redecorate because they had extra funds because of not being able to move around because of lockdowns. So many people wanted to fill those spaces with art but had no way to physically go out to source it. Also, I think that they had more time to just go on social media and get ideas.”

Her Instagram page allowed her to post images of all kinds of artwork, creating a virtual art gallery of pieces which could then all be sold. She was also able to hold virtual art exhibits.

Her online platform was such a success that it led to her new venture: the Contemporary Art Gallery Bahamas.

“It naturally evolved into something more,” she explained.

“My husband and I just broke ground on our new gallery. It will be called the Contemporary Art Gallery Bahamas, or CAB for short.

CAB will be an independent studio and gallery. She said the idea was a natural fit for her.

Friday, May 14, 2021

The Tribune | Weekend | 05

Natascha hopes her new gallery will allow for more people to invest in Bahamian art and support local artists. For now, CAB will focus solely on Bahamian artists. It will also offer curatorial services.

“We will guide you through planning, acquiring, framing and presentation and installation of artwork. Sourcing artwork within our network of over 100 Bahamian artists will provide you with a wide range of styles and mediums to fulfill your expectations for the spaces in which you are designing,” she said.

Natascha offered this advice to aspiring art collectors: “Be true to what you like. You should only invest in art that you love, because art is very personal. You want something that you will relate to and enjoy looking at every day. I had a client who fell in love with a particular painting of a home in Harbour Island and knew she had to have it because it reminded her of her childhood summers there. You will be connected to those kinds of pieces forever and those pieces then become the ones that stay in your family and are passed down.”

She also noted that anyone can begin to acquire art regardless of their budget.

“You don’t have to feel like it’s something you can’t afford to collect. There are great pieces out there at all price points. I sell pieces that are a few hundred dollars and some that are tens of thousands of dollars, so just find something in your budget that speaks to you.”

(ABOVE) GROUND is broken for the Contemporary Art Gallery Bahamas (RIGHT) OIL on canvas by Lynn Parotti “I have always been an artist and in the art community, and of course I curated at an art gallery, so this is something that I am very familiar with,” she said.

Natascha explained that the gallery will have several separate spaces. First, it will be an art gallery where work from Bahamian artists can be displayed, and at the same time all the items will be priced for purchase. There will also be pieces that can be commissioned.

A second space will be designated as a studio where group and private art classes can take place.

“There will also be a kitchen in the facility so that we can host dinner events as well,” she said.

Natascha said she is especially excited that patrons will be able to do pottery and ceramics at the gallery.

“I know that there are other places where you can paint items that are already made, but we will have a kiln so that persons can make the actual pieces themselves,” she said.

While Natascha believes virtual galleries and online platforms definitely have their place in promoting the arts, there is nothing like seeing your favourite piece of art in person.

“I think that it is very important to see art in the flesh, especially if it is a piece that you are considering purchasing, because it can be a significant price,” she said.

“They are both significant platforms. Of course, virtual allows you to reach a wider audience.”

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06| The Tribune | Weekend

B E l cHE l YA

Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so the each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Conceptis Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday

● The Target uses words in the main body of Chambers 21st Century Dictionary (1999 edition)

HOW many words of four letters or more can you make from the letters shown here? in making a word, each letter may be used once only. Each must contain the centre letter and there must be at least one nine-letter word. no plurals.

Verb forms ending in s permitted’.

TODAY’S TARGET Good 10; very good 15; excellent 19 (or more). Solution tomorrow

Yesterday’s call 0907 181 2585 Sudoku forAnswer today’s target solution *Calls cost 80p per minute plus your telephone company’s network access charge.

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The Tribune | Weekend |07

Friday, May 14, 2021

entertainment

Cindy the Creative deals with ‘ghetto’ nature of motherhood in new comedy show

COMEDIENNE Cindy Mullings is back with a new comedy special on YouTube.

By ALESHA CADET | Tribune Features Writer | acadet@tribunemedia.net

W

ell-known Bahamian comedienne Frecinda “Cindy” Mullings is back with a new comedy special called “Motherhood is Ghetto”.

Frecinda, who under brand “Cindy the Creative” has created the popular characters of Bad’Ann Boujee the TV anchorwoman, Dr Deluu and Keithra Clarke, said she sees this show as her comeback after her pregnancy hiatus.

“The show is a storytelling (session) of sorts, depicting in my own words my personal experience of pregnancy and birth,” she told Tribune Weekend.

As to the show’s title, she explained: “Motherhood is ghetto because nothing really prepares you for it, no matter how much you try to educate yourself in advance. You are constantly being thrown curveballs and you’re always in fight or flight mode. I had my son in March and used my entire experience while pregnant as my initial idea. I wanted to go back to doing what I loved. So, I created this special just in time for Mother’s Day to reacquaint myself

with my fanbase. I also created a mini-series called “#MomWoes” leading up to the comedy show’s event.”

Cindy started her career in comedy in 2017, creating funny videos with her phone to post online. She has produced close to a hundred of these videos, in addition to three seasons of her “Cindy Central Comedy Show” series.

For her, it’s all about creating comedy that the average Bahamian can relate to.

“I’ve co-written and produced season none of the ‘Percy the Pot Cake’ kids television show. I have

worked and produced multiple short films written by Stephen A Hanna.

I have also created content for the Bahamian animated series ‘Nassau Rock’. (Last year) it was easy to create because everything around us is a spark for inspiration, and I like to write what I know. During the lockdowns, I created a mini-series called ‘How Cardo?’ with one of my characters, Keithra Clarke, being fed up with her boyfriend and his disinterest in finding employment.

The mini-series is available on my Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube accounts,” she said.

Despite being so experienced in this genre and constantly working, Cindy admitted that creating her new “Motherhood is Ghetto” show was a little bit daunting.

This was the first time she had to write and produce new material while also being a mother to a newborn. However, she said she managed to write, produce and edit it all with a bouncing baby attached to her hip.

“I’m hoping to get as much positive feedback as possible. I want the fans to enjoy it and have a good laugh or two at my expense, especially all the moms,” she said.

The comedy special can be viewed on Cindy’s YouTube channel, “Cindy the Creative”. While it is free of charge to view, fans can o donate via https://ko-fi.com/cindythecreative.

Cindy said she is looking forward to releasing more comedy specials this year to make up for the timeout during her pregnancy. She said it’s still a mystery to her how it’s all going to come together, but she assures her fans they won’t be disappointed.

10 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 14, 2021

books

Shanty town girl turned author seeks to uplift others

By ALESHA CADET Tribune Features Writer acadet@tribunemedia.net

F

rom a shanty town girl to a beauty queen and now author, Nyshia Tilus’ journey to becoming “uncaged”, as she calls it, didn’t happen overnight.

In her new book, the Abaco native shares her personal journey of selfdiscovery and love in an effort to help others find their path in life.

“Uncaged: Release Your Inner Queen” is part one in a three-part series of books which seek to give

readers the keys to breaking free and “uncaging” themselves.

“I’ve competed in about six pageants, and I share my personal experiences to help others. In this day and age, it is easy to look at social media and start comparing yourself. It’s easy to feel inadequate, but the life of the uncaged and confident is one that requires you to make a conscious decision to remain in the space of self-love and light,” she said.

Nyshia is a 28-year-old Abaconian who grew up in the shanty town known as The Mudd. She moved to Nassau in 2013 to pursue a degree in psychology at the then College of the

AUTHOR, Nyshia Tilus Bahamas where she was given the opportunity to represent the institution at the Miss World Bahamas pageant in 2017. “(It was) a life-changing experience that sparked a personal movement of being uncaged and living an uncaged life. I then wanted to share my uncaging with the world in a special way, and that is how the book and becoming an author came about,” she said.

Like many women and girls out there, Nyisha had her fair share of trials and tribulations, however, the most challenging one was the battle within.

In the book, Nyisha writes about both her triumphs and her failure, in hopes of equipping her female readers in particular with the necessary tools to navigate life and break free from the cages they’ve developed over the years.

“I know that we are given mountains in this life to show others that they can be moved. This book is my way of showing women and girls that the mountain of low self-esteem and not being confident can be moved,” she said.

The title of the book, she explained, stems from her experience in a pageant.

“I was told that there is dignity in defeat, and I immediately started to unpack what was said to me and questioned whether I was defeated.

The notion of being free came to mind and breaking out of the cage you can sometimes be placed in

by others, and just like that I had a name for my book. It is my first book, and I still can’t believe it honestly. I’m already on the next part, but the thought of this seemed impossible for a girl like me from a shanty town. I’m still processing it all,” she Nyisha.

She may have just released her book, but she already has one big, notable fan.

Molina Jeune-Pierre, Mrs Haiti International 2020 and founder of the Glowing with Purpose, organisation had this to say: “Nyisha took me down memory lane and shared her mind and heart during difficult years in her life. As I read, I noticed not only the series of events, but the underlying evidence of her growth, from a broken young girl to a brave young woman. Her honesty and transparency were so refreshing, it reassured me that where you come from may not be the best, but it can be the catalyst that propels you into a beautiful, unexplored future. I am excited for the world to read her story and see themselves and all of the possibilities of being uncaged.”

Nyisha hopes to be the role model she wishes she had when she was a little girl.

“There is a specific message in this book, and it’s that we have the power to walk into the confidence and life that was always met for us. I call it walking into your fullness. I think this book is 1,000 percent is realistic.

That’s why it was important for me to really be honest in this book about what I struggled with - some pretty embarrassing stuff that you’d never expect a beauty queen to experience. But I think I share it and I’m real about my truth, because that’s how I’m able to actively be uncaged.

It’s no longer holding me back from stepping into my fullness,” said Nyisha.

She is looking forward to hosting both a virtual and an intimate event for the book launch. Readers are encouraged to follow Nyisha @IAmNyishaTilus on Instagram, orvisit her website, www.nyishatilus.com.

The book is available on Amazon, from her website, and will be in local stores, including the Chapter One Bookstore and Café Channing Noelle, by the end of May. After launching her book, Nyisha will be preparing to compete internationally.

In August, she will be representing the Bahamas in Poland at the 12th Miss Supranational Pageant.

The Tribune | Weekend | 11

Friday, May 14, 2021

books

Author works through grief over stolen pets in new book

By JEFFARAH GIBSON | Tribune Features Writer | jgibson@tribunemedia.net

J

ANET HUTCEHSON is a dog lover. So, when her beloved four-legged friends – Thor, a “royal Bahamian potcake”, and Shadow, a Labrador mix – were stolen from her yard by some unknown culprits, she was devastated.

The grief she felt, said the retired educator, is incomprehensible to those who do not have pets.

Janet and her family mourned the disappearance of her dogs and searched for them for weeks. Luckily, her story, and that of Thor and Shadow, had a happy end.

How she went about her search that ultimately led to the heartwarming reunion with her stolen pups, and how she dealt with her feelings of grief, Janet shares in her new book, “If Only Dogs Could Talk”.

Other themes covered in the book also include prayer and the strength to never give up. It is interactive book and features word searches, colouring segments, a survey and a space to reflect.

Janet said she was inspired to write the book because she wanted to tell the story of how her dogs’ disappearance affected her.

“The dogs disappeared in November 2018. Early in the morning around 1am, I heard the dogs barking with a frenzy and went to the door to find out why. I saw two dark-skinned males in front of my gate agitating them. I then shouted at them to leave the dogs alone and they appeared to have done so.

However, around 7.30am when my daughter went outside to feed them, they were not in the yard,” she said.

Thor and Shadow were missing for almost three months and were not returned to Janet’s family until midFebruary 2019.

Janet and her family used all the resources available to find the lost dogs.

“I used social and print media, as well as the announcements on television and put up flyers at several veterinarian offices, and drove around several neighbourhoods listening for their barks,” she said.

RETIRED educator and author Janet Hutcheson

THOR and Shadow grace the cover of Janet Hutcheson’s book “I kept believing and praying that they would come home, and they did. Hope and prayer are powerful weapons for any situation. Sometimes we do not get the results we desire, but never give up hoping that the situation will change.”

And while the dogs’ return was a triumphant one for the family, it took Janet several months to work through the grief their disappearance occasioned. And she wasn’t the only one who needed time to come to grips with what had happened.

“The dogs were still traumatised and were still agitated and growling at anyone should came near. They were unsettled and kept following me if I was outside, or they would sit very close to me on the porch. For a time, I brought them inside and it seemed to calm them down,” she said.

Sadly, Shadow passed away not long after he was returned to the family, on April 14, 2020.

“It’s been a year and we miss him very much. In February 2021, we got a new puppy named Lovey. She’s a handful, but she in some way fills the void left by Shadow’s passing,” said Janet.

“I hope that people will be reminded that animals have feelings and that we should treat them better than we do and train our children to do the same. (The book) is also an encouragement for when we face life’s challenges to trust in God if we don’t get the answers we desire.”

“If Only Dogs Could Talk” is available for purchase at the Logos Bookstore in the Harbour Bay Shopping Plaza and at Bahamas Art & Handicraft on East Shirley Street.

12 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 14, 2021

literary lives - Leontyne Price

A barrier-breaking prima donna Part II Sir Christopher Ondaatje continues to write about the extraordinary rise to fame of the first African American to become a leading performer at the Metropolitan Opera.

“We performers are monsters. We are a totally different, far-out race of people. I totally and completely admit, with no qualms at all, my egomania, my selfishness, coupled with a really magnificent voice.”

- Leontyne Price Finally, Rudolf Bing hired Leontyne Price and Franco Corelli to make their joint debut at the Metropolitan Opera on January 27, 1961, in Il Trovatore. The performance ended with an ovation that lasted forty-two minutes.

“Price’s voice is warm and luscious, and has enough volume to fill the house ... She even took the trills as written, and nothing in the part as Verdi wrote it gave her the least bit of trouble ... No soprano makes a career of acting. Voice is what counts, and voice is what Mrs Price has.”

- Harold C Schonberg New York Times Leontyne Price had reached an eminence that no other African American had reached in opera.

She was the first prima donna and the first to open a Met season.

Rudolf Bing in 1961 announced that the Metropolitan Opera would no longer perform to segregated houses. But this created problems for the Met when they toured the segregated Deep South. Price, being the huge star that she had become, would have to be included in the tour.

She gave her first performance by an African American with the company in the south singing Fanciulla in Dallas. Two years later she sang Donna Anna in Atlanta. Neither performance triggered any incident.

Price now demanded and received top fees at the Met. By 1964, she was paid $2,750 a performance – the same as Joan Sutherland, Maria Callas, and Renata Tebaldi. Only Brigit Nilsson received more at $3,000 a performance, because of her ability to sing both Italian and Wagnerian roles.

Von Karaĵan too fulfilled his ambition and conducted Price in Il Trovatore in Salzburg, and Tosca and Donna Anna in Vienna. She was also the soprano soloist in Karaĵan’s performances of the Verdi Requiem.

Price added seven roles to her Met opera repertoire between 1964 and 1969: Elvira in Verdi’s Ernani, Pamina in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte, Tatyana in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Amelia in Un ballo in Maschera, Cleopatra in Barber’s Antony and Cleopatra, and Leonora in La forza del destino.

“Once you get on stage, everything is right. I feel the most beautiful, complete, fulfilled. I think that’s why in the case of noncompromising career women, parts of our personal lives don’t work out.

One person can’t give you the feeling that thousands of people give you.”

- Leontyne Price Despite the fame and popularity of Leontyne Price at the Met, troubles started brewing in September 1966. The American composer Samuel Barber had created a new opera Antony and Cleopatra for the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Centre. Samuel Barber had written the role especially for Price, visiting her home with the new score. In reviews of the premiere she was praised – but the opera was panned by most of the critics who found Franco Zeffirelli’s production confusing, disorganised and suffocatingly elaborate. Zeffirelli ignored Barber’s intimate score for Price with ridiculously giant scenery, supernumeraries, as well as two on-stage eleven-year camels.

It was confusing and it struggled under Bing’s scheduling of three productions in the first week.

It was too much for everyone including the technical crews, and especially Price. Her performance was highly praised but she never really forgave Bing and the Met for the way she was treated. She began to appear with the Met less frequently.

Frustrated with the number of new productions at the Met, and also with her role as the token of racial progress in the country, Price cut back her operatic performances and spent more time on recitals and concerts. They were highly successful and for the next two decades her programmes of arias with orchestral support were much in demand. She was a mainstay in all the major American cities and universities. She knew that she had to keep her presence at the Met and the San Francisco Opera and returned there for short runs of three to five performances. They were less demanding and sometimes a year or more apart: Giorgetta in Puccini’s Il tabarro; Puccini’s Manon

PRICE, in her debut Met role as Leonora in Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” in 1961. (Louis Mélançon, Metropolitan Opera Archives) Lescaut; and Ariadne in Richard Strauss; Ariadne auf Naxos. She returned to the Met in 1973 to sing Madama Butterfly, and in 1976 she performed Aida directed by John Dexter. The next year von Karaĵan directed her in a performance of Brahms Requiem, with the Berlin Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall.

“I am here and you will know that I am the best and will hear me. The colour of my skin or the kink of my hair or the spread of my mouth has nothing to do with what you are listening to.”

- Leontyne Price She travelled less to Europe. She sang Aida in Hamburg in the early 1970s and returned to Covent Garden to sing Trovatore and Aida.

However, she sang mostly in recitals in Hamburg, Vienna, Paris, and the Salzburg Festival where she was especially popular appearing six times between 1975 and 1984.

In the US, she had become an iconic figure, singing on important national occasions. She sang at the funeral of President Lyndon Johnson in 1973. At the invitation of President Carter, she gave a nationally televised recital from the East Room of the White House in 1978; and when Pope John Paul II visited the White House the following year. She also sang for Presidents Ronald Reagan, George W Bush and Bill Clinton.

Price made nostalgic returns to Vienna and Salzburg in the late 1970s – again under the direction of von Karaĵan. In the fall of 1981, she replaced an ailing Margaret Price in Aida – a role she had not sung since 1976. Luciano Pavarotti sang opposite her as Radames – his first assumption of the role.

In 1982, in what Price believed to be her final performance at the Met, Price returned to sing Leonora in Il Trovatore, but the Met persuaded her to return for several Forzas in 1984, and a series of Aidas in 1984 – 1985.

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Friday, May 14, 2021

Price avoided using the term “African American”. She simply called herself an American.

“If you are going to think black, think positive about it. Don’t think down on it, or think it is something in your way. And this way, when you really do want to stretch out, and express how beautiful black is, everybody will hear you.”

- Leontyne Price On September 30, 2001, when she was seventyfour years old, Price was asked to come out of retirement to sing a memorial concert at Carnegie Hall for the victims of the September 11 attacks.

She sang her favourite spiritual, “This Little Light of Mine”, followed by an unaccompanied “God Bless America”, ending with a bright, easy B-flat below high C. In 2017, at the age of ninety, she appeared in Susan Froemke’s The Opera House – a documentary about the 1966 opening of the new Metropolitan Opera House in Lincoln Centre.

LEONTYNE Price sang her last recital in 1997

Leontyne Price celebrated her94th birthday on February 10, 2021. In The Grand Tradition, a 1974 history of operatic recording, the British critic J B Steane wrote, “One might conclude from recordings that Price is the best interpreter of Verdi of the century.” In his 1983 autobiography, Placido Domingo writes, “The power and sensuousness of Leontyne Price’s voice were phenomenal – the most beautiful Verdi soprano I have ever heard.”

The sopranos Renée Fleming, Kiri Te Kanawa, Jessye Norman, Leona Mitchell, Barbara Bonney, and Sondra Radvanovsky; and the mezzo-sopranos Janet Baker and Denyce Graves also spoke of Price as an inspiration.

Jazz musicians, too, idolised her.

LEONTYNE Price with famed tenor Luciano Pavarotti She sang her farewell Aida on January 3, 1985, and the performance ended with twenty-five minutes of applause, and the singer’s photograph on the front page of the New York Times. The Times music critic Donal Henahan wrote the following day: “The fifty-seven-year-old soprano took an act or two to warm to her work, but what she delivered in the Nile Scene turned out to be well worth the wait.”

In twenty-one seasons with the Metropolitan Opera, Leontyne Price sang 201 performances, in sixteen roles, both in the house and on tour.

After her final farewell performance at the Met, Price continued to appear in concerts and recitals in the United States for the next twelve years.

Her longtime accompanist David Garvey usually arranged the programmes combining Handel arias, Lieder by Schumann and Leo Marx, perhaps two operatic arias or French melodies, and sometimes American art songs. She liked to end her recitals with “This Little Light of Mine” which she said was her mother’s favourite spiritual.

As Price grew older her voice became darker and heavier, but her upper register held up amazingly well and she still exhibited an infectious delight in singing. On November 19, 1997, she sang her last recital at the University of North Carolina – without announcing it. She gave master classes at Juilliard and, prompted by RCA Victor in 1997, wrote a children’s book version of Aida, which became the hit Broadway musical by Elton John and Tim Rice in 2000.

“Man, I love her as an artist. I love the way she sings ‘Tosca’. I wore out her recording of that, wore out two sets. Now, I might not do ‘Tosca’, but I loved the way Leontyne Price did it. I used to wonder how she would have sounded if she had sung jazz. She should be an inspiration for every musician, black or white. I know she is to me.”

- Miles Davis Miles: The Autobiography Perhaps the famed jazz trumpeter should have the last word on this extraordinary woman.

• Sir Christopher Ondaatje is the author of The Last Colonial. He acknowledges that he has quoted liberally from Wikipedia; My First FortyYears (1983) by Placido Domingo; Miles: The Autobiography (1990) by Miles Davis; My Music and My Life (1991) by William Warfield; and The Grand Tradition: Seventy Years of Singing on Record (1993) by J B Steane.

14 | The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 14, 2021

history

SIGRIST House was built in 1937 by the architects Schoepell and Voivesky, an American and English design team. The interiors were largely furnished by the notable British firm of Mallett Antiques on New Bond Street, London. The gardens at Sigrist House were considered among the finest in the West Indies.

The glories of Prospect Ridge

I

enjoyed Tanya Smith-Cartwright’s column in The Tribune of May 3. It brought back fond memories of the ‘Official Houses’, as they were known in the 1940s.

These houses were not owned by the Bahamas government, they belonged to some branch of the British government, to house the most senior colonial officers – such as the Colonial Secretary, the Chief Justice, the Attorney General and the Receiver General. I can’t remember how many houses there were, but I spent a lot of days in them and remember their being to the east of Prospect Road.

My father was the (first) Crown Lands Officer, answering to the Governor, through the Col Sec, and whenever an occupant moved on to another posting, his house was cleaned, thoroughly, by the Crown Lands Office. What this meant is that a task force of maids and handymen, under my mother’s the watchful eye, spent several days cleaning and repairing. There was no Frank Hanna’s Cleaning Company in those days.

When school was out, I was allowed to “help” and my best friend, John Knowles (who became the Founding Principal of COB), accompanied me. We worked harder

than everyone else. We explored each and every nook and cranny but were encouraged to go out and play (i.e. get out of the way), so we escaped to the Bahamas Country Club’s golf course, to return with pockets filled with golf balls.

With Independence, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas government inherited the Official Houses, which must have been redecorated for their new inhabitants, and I found a hand-made mahogany table in a used furniture store. It seemed much smaller than how I remembered the tables in the dining room, but I bought it anyway and had it refinished, but my luck held out and I realised that the bright yellow table, loaded with potted plants in someone’s garden, was the missing centre portion of my precious table.

To the west on Prospect Road were several mansions belonging to the rich and famous, but I never entered them until the original owners were no longer there. I thought they were the most splendid homes on this island, but I have not been near them since the start of the Baha Mar resort, so I was disappointed to read how much the neighbourhood had changed.

The one I admired most was Sigrist House, once the home of the Sigrist family. Frederick Charles Sigrist was

PAUL C ARANHA

FORGOTTEN FACTS an Englishman who built aeroplanes.

He had minimal formal schooling but was an excellent mechanic. He worked for the English aviation pioneer Sir Thomas Sopwith, whose Sopwith Camel killed Manfred von Richthofen, the German World War I fighter pilot better known as the “Red Baron”.

When I taught flying, I often flew over and around Sigrist House, admiring its beauty and serenity, which is captured in the accompanying photograph.

In World War II, Freddie Sigrist produced the Hawker Hurricane,

designed by Sidney Camm. This aircraft shot down 656 enemy aircraft in the Battle of Britain, outpacing the 529 downed by the legendary Spitfire, the iconic aircraft of the Battle of Britain and the symbol of British defiance. The Hurricane went on to become the hero of the defence of Malta (1941-1942) and I always felt privileged to sit with Wing Cdr Laddie Lucas, CBE, DSO & Bar, DFC, a hero of Malta, and compare flying experiences.

Born in 1884, Frederick Charles Sigrist, MBE, FRAeS, died, in Nassau, on December 10, 1956.

His daughter, Fredericka Ann “Bobo” Sigrist was a well-known jetsetter. At 17 she eloped with her first husband, Gregg Juarez, but the marriage didn’t last long.

At 22, she married Irish movie producer Kevin McClory, whodirected and produced several James Bond films, including Thunderball and Never Say Never Again.

Her third marriage was to Prince Azamat Guirey (a title of the Crimean Khanate), and maintained a home in Lyford Cay. Princess Guirey died at home on February 20, 2017.

• For questions and comments, send an e-mail to islandairman@ gmail.com

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Friday, May 14, 2021

animals

As you sit and wait to see the vet...

By KIM ARANHA Animal Matters Your dear old friend is besides you. You know he is not feeling well.

He is elderly and you fear the worst.

He has been through so many near misses, he has slapped death in the face and bravely poked his tongue out at it, but now he is tired.

Old age has made him lose some of that familiar fight, that almost infectious spunk that gave him the internal strength to throw off the health problems eating at him.

His sweet graying face is peaceful and graceful as he sleeps quietly next to you.

You cannot help but wonder if he knows how sick he may be. Does he have the slightest notion of cancer and what it is capable of doing to any living being? No, I think not. He sleeps on - comfortable in dreams of sitting on the grass in the garden watching the world go by.

The essential thing is that he does not suffer - pain meds, a soft bed, gentle strokes and the knowledge that his people are always just there where he wants them, even if he ignores them, he knows you are there right beside him, all help him through it. Thirsty? Here is some water. Hungry? Here is your favourite food. Pain? Let me give you a painkiller.

His needs become central to the very existence of the humans in the house.

We celebrate the smallest of achievements: “He barked this morning”, “He lifted his head and watched a bird fly by”, and “He climbed up on the sofa today.”

Actions that a few weeks ago were taken totally for granted suddenly become beacons of light in a rather dismal landscape of worry and concern.

The absolute miracle with dogs is that they do not worry about themselves; they let us do it for them.

A dog spends an enormous amount of time sleeping and then another chunk just being comfortable on a bed or somewhere else just thinking and watching. Sometimes we wonder if our dog is sleeping just

CHIEF relaxes in the garden too much, but nature knows best. If they are sleepy, just let them sleep.

When a dog ages they sleep more, and become more demanding, It is difficult to turn away from their needs when they have been with you for years.

As he sighs contentedly beside me, I see his grey muzzle twitching as it used to on the boat when we went to the Berry Islands for the weekend.

Oh, he was a terror then, chasing any and everybody away who came up to the house; a magnificent golden potcake in his prime. But somehow this gentler version of the same dog

evokes more tenderness and love than before, perhaps because he is more vulnerable?

My reverie is interrupted by the receptionist telling me it is our turn.

We carry him in because the floor is slippery and makes getting up more difficult. X-rays are needed, we carry him to the X-ray room. I walk beside him and tell him over and over that “Mummy loves you”.

I stand outside, fighting back tears for what feels like an eternity. “Kim, come on in and take a look,” the vet says. My heart sinks. Is this the moment I have been dreading? I can

pet of the week

He’d also like to remind all you pet owners out there to please spay and neuter your animals! The BHS, as a no-kill shelter, has many available for adoption and won’t turn anyone away, but spaying and neutering will help reduce the numbers needing homes.

To find out more about Jackson and the other pups, please call 323-5138 for more information.

Jackson’s sure to give you a snuggle.

Smart pups

By THE BAHAMAS HUMANE SOCIETY At a mere five weeks old, Jackson’s a bit young to be ready for adoption from, but he’s here as a ‘spokepup’ for all the other puppies available for adoption, and there are many!

Most of the pups are potcakes or potcake mixes, which makes them loyal and smart and eager to learn.

Jackson would like to remind you that all BHS pups are spayed and neutered before adoption, and that this, along with first vaccines, is included in the reasonable adoption fee.

barely swallow. And then I see and am told the X-rays are clear. No, the cancer has not come back again.

We have yet again dodged a bullet.

My beautiful old gentleman lies of the X-ray table, his big tail wagging and thumping the table because I am back in the room. I stroke his face and remind him that I am right here.

His shoulder needs to be bandaged; he has hit it and is in considerable pain. Once bandaged, a regime of medications to make him comfortable at home and promises of a special dinner (Oh boy, does this boy love his food)will do the trick.

We get him in the car and he looks out the window peacefully. Once upon a time he would bark at every person he saw, or bicycle, but now this senior citizen has mellowed.

My anxiety has gone for the time being, we have dodged another bullet. He is my fragile friend, every day is a gift, every wag is a proof that he is still enjoying his existence with us. He has fought off two aggressive cancers in the past two years.

We get home; he is greeted by the rest of the pack and then takes himself out to the garden to sit on the grass and sniff the gentle breeze.

He can learn a lot from the different scents the wind carries.

My boy is content to watch the world go by and sniff the air for yet another day whilst I prepare a special dinner for him.

PHOTO/Linda Gill-Aranha

• Tomorrow’s the last day to turn in your pennies to the BHS! If you have any lurking about your house, please consider bringing them in.

This has been an excellent fundraiser for the BHS and we thank all those who have brought us their pennies.

16| The Tribune | Weekend

Friday, May 14, 2021

gardening

Go bananas!

T

he banana (Musa spp) has quite the history, for which there is not enough space here to detail, but it is quite fascinating if you choose to read up further on it.

It is said that 99 percent of the global banana supply comes from one strain of banana, the ubiquitous Cavendish type. Named after a British nobleman who cultivated the bananas in a greenhouse in his home country, these types of bananas are found in just about every market the world over.

There’s a problem though: the Cavendish banana is at great risk of extinction. Fusarium fungus evolves just live every other living thing since the dawn of time. The Fusarium fungus evolved into a race referred to as “Tropical Race 4” (TR 1-3 were known to science prior to the evolution of TR4), and low and behold, it turns out that the TR4 fungus is entirely lethal to the Cavendish banana, with no exceptions. It is not controllable, there are no treatments available, and it has decimated industries from Australia to Asia to South America. Once TR4 is present in the soils, no banana of the Cavendish strain can grow there again.

Prior to the Cavendish type being the most prevalent banana on the market, the Gros Michel dominated the market. Creamier, sweeter and easier to transport than the Cavendish types, the Gros Michel fell victim to the Fusarium strain TR1. Bye-bye to that one as a viable commercial crop. Fungus is very spread very easily across borders and over continents. This made the Gros Michel less feasible as a commercial crop due to the dangers of infected soils.

This little bit of background has caused me to seek out alternate strains of banana. We are not yet affected (to my knowledge) by the Fusarium TR4 here, and our government has in place import restrictions to help us avoid importing the Fusarium TR4 unwittingly. This is one example as to why the smuggling of plants and fruits is dangerous; one infected plant that is smuggled in has the potential to destroy every single banana plant in the entire country. You read that right.

Every single plant, in the entire country is at risk if one infected plant is imported. There are good reasons for import restrictions, and I know many people flout those restrictions, and I can only hope that those same people don’t unwittingly bring in a

banana plant that is infected with Fusarium TR4.

Look at what happened to the citrus industry. It is in a shambles and all but non-existent any longer due to disease, namely citrus canker, that which was most likely imported by someone smuggling one plant. I know some of y’all think you’re smart or slick when you smuggle a few off-invoice plants in (citrus…. still?!). If only these folks could be more conscious of the knock-on effects that one infected plant can cause on a nation’s food supply.

Onto brighter days. Who doesn’t love eating a sweet, creamy, delicious banana? I’m not talking about store-bought, travelled a thousand miles, banana. I’m talking about homegrown deliciousness. I source bananas grown only from tissue culture, certified disease-free, and grown in a sterile, isolated greenhouse setting.

There are a few of interest that will be available eventually, a few of note are the Grand Nain, better known as the Chiquita banana. It is the exact same as that bland Chiquita branded banana in the store, but grow some at home and you’ll find out for yourself what they’re meant to taste like. The Dwarf Cavendish is a heavy fruiting, small growing variety that grows a thick, short trunk that resists wind damage. Musa “Truly Tiny” is the smallest edible fruit producing banana in the world. Even the youngest in the family could pick their own with this one.

Musa “Lacatan” is recent in my collection.

It is native to the Philippines and is reportedly preferred there over the Cavendish types, and

in some circles is claimed to be the finest tasting banana in the world. All of these except the “Lacatan” are Cavendish types.

Please discourage the smuggling of plants, especially citrus and banana, but also orchids, bromeliads, and everything else along with it. The desire to have a plant and the will to smuggle it in has far wider reaching repercussions than one’s own backyard.

Bananas can be grown in containers (dwarf varieties in particular) and even grown indoors.

They love water and will always perform better when given ample moisture as compared to dryer soils. The shorter growing varieties are more wind resistant, and all will taste better than any banana purchased in a grocery store. That is a guarantee. So, grow on, and try some different types of bananas, you may very likely be pleasantly surprised. As always, I wish you happy gardening!

Oh yeah, and don’t smuggle plants.

NOTE: An interesting and comprehensive journalistic article on bananas can be found here: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/ cavendish-banana-extinction-gene-editing • Adam Boorman is the nursery manager at the Fox Hill Nursery. You can contact him with any questions you may have, or topics you would like to see discussed, at gardening242@gmail.com.