Interested in Trinidad and Tobago? You can now find details on trade and investment, an events calendar, loads of immigration information and much more on a new web site from its New York consulate.
And this is just a sample of what’s coming from the twin-island nation in the not-so-distant future.
“In concert with government’s ambition to transform Trinidad and Tobago into a developed country by the year 2020, expansion of the information technology capabilities and infrastructure of the consulate is developing rapidly,” said New York Consul General Harold Robertson in an online letter welcoming visitors to the new site.
“The launch of this Web site is testimony to the consulate’s continuing effort at outreach to our nationals and indeed, the wider community,” Robertson wrote.
The site, www.ttcgnewyork.com, also offers information on passports, links to government ministries and the official T&T government, as well as the opportunity to get on the consulate’s mailing list.
‘Beyond’ beauty queen’s life
Former Miss World Jennifer Hosten-Sarsfield of Guyana will be in town this week to promote her new book, “Beyond Miss World.”
The book tells of her upbringing in Grenada and her achievements, which took her far beyond her homeland. After winning Miss World in 1970, Hosten was appointed Guyana’s ambassador to Canada and later worked for CARICOM in Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The book can be purchased online at www.beyondmissworld.com.
For information on the book, call Herman Hall of Everybody’s magazine at 718-941-1879, send e-mail to everybodys@msn.com or call the Grenada Consulate at 212-599-0301.
In tune with Garifuna culture
Cumbancha World music label ended 2008 in style - toasting such successful releases as The Garifuna Women’s Project’s “Umalali” CD and preparing for similar achievements in the new year.
“Umalali,” which means voice in the Garifuna language, is the product of musician and producer Ivan Duran‘s decade-long project to collect and record songs about everyday life in the unique Garifuna culture. Song topics range from the trauma of childbirth and the death of a son to the personal and collective impact of hurricanes on the community. Today, there are sizable Garifuna settlements in Belize, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua. The Garifuna are the descendents of African slaves, Carib and Arawak Indians.
“With women, music is more part of their daily lives,” said Duran, whose successful mission captured never-recorded songs of Garifuna women. “They are the bearers of most of the traditions; they are the ones who teach the Garifuna language to the children while the men are either out to sea all day on their fishing boats or working abroad to earn money to send home to the family,” said Duran, who is also the founder of Belize-based label Stonetree Records.
For information on The Garifuna Women’s Project’s “Umalali” CD, visit www.cumbancha.com, and visit Stonetree Records at www.stonetreerecords.com for more Garifuna music.
Stepping back to New York
Choreographer Ronald Jones and his Evidence Dance Company return to New York next week for performances at the Joyce Theater in Manhattan.
The engagement, which runs from Tuesday through next Sunday, features two different programs using Brown’s trademark meld of ballet, African movements, modern and contemporary dance.
The first program includes the works “Incidents” and “Grace” from the company’s repertoire and the New York premiere of “Two-Year-Old Gentlemen.”
The other program features “Ebony Magazine: To a Village,” the celebrated “Walking Out the Dark,” and a 1995 dance called “Exotica.”
Tickets start at $19 and there will be a family matinee on February 14 at 2 p.m. where up to four children (ages 6 to 14 accompanied by an adult) will be admitted for just $10 each.
The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue (at 19th Street). For tickets, call Joyce Charge at 212-242-0800, visit the Joyce Box office, or purchase them online at www.joyce.org.
This column is reprinted from the January 11 Sunday editions of The New York Daily News. If you have items suitable for this column please e-mail them to jmccallister@nydailynews.com.
