Caribbean Vybez Newsletter
Volume
3
Contents:
1) Greeting
from the Board
Hey CSA fam! Welcome
to Volume III of the 2006-2007 edition of Caribbean Vybez! I hope
you enjoyed
the events and activities that CSA held last
semester! The executive board would like to thank you for your participation
in our educational and fun programs. From our AIDS
charity dinner to our lively weekly general body meetings, we definitely
felt that
Fall 2006 was a success! This spring, our goal is to better serve
our members and provide more activities to promote that “family”
feel that we pride ourselves with. If there are any programs that
you would like to see, please feel free to let anyone on the exec
board know your wishes. And as you know, our biggest event-Carifest-is
right around the corner! We’re glad to see that so many new members
are very active in Carifest committee and general body meetings.
Have a wonderful semester, and thank you for being a part of the
Caribbean Student Association!
2) AIDS
Fundraising Dinner
By Genevieve Rene
On November 30, 2006, UMD CSA, UMD
Live Now Campaign, and UMBC CSA hosted an AIDS benefit dinner.
This was the first AIDS benefit dinner for all the groups involved.
The dinner was in honor of National
AIDS Week, which is recognized during the first week of
December. The groups collaborated in hosting a dinner
that
would
raise
money
to help a child living with AIDS in the Caribbean. The child that
was sponsored was Junior Louis (pictured below), a 6 year-old boy
who lives in Haiti. His mother cannot afford doctor visits or medication.
We were able to raise about $270.00.
The dinner was both entertaining and
informative. The entertainment included dancing, singing, and
poetry. There was an African dancer who creatively incorporated
spoken word into her performance that addresses how AIDS was destroying
families. She interacted very well with the crowd and taught a
few guests some moves.
Devin Johnson (DJ) sang a couple songs
for the ladies, and Giancarlo Simpson recited two of his own
poems,
which he too dedicated to the ladies. A representative from
the Minority
AIDS Council spoke on the devastation of the disease in both Africa
and the Caribbean, which has the second highest infection rates
in the world.
The food donations were made by various
Caribbean restaurants in the metropolitan area. Chez Yon-Yon provided
Haitian cuisine, while Caribbean
Delight
and the Jerk Pit provided Jamaican dishes.
UMBC and the Live Now Campaign also brought food donations from other
restaurants.
The dinner demonstrated the significance
of charity. We would like thank everyone who attended for their
support. CSA is proud to have had the opportunity to give
Junior
a
ray of hope in life.
3) Caribbean
Expo 2006
The 4th
Annual Caribbean Expo officially closed out the Fall 2006 semester
on November 30th. Caribbean
Expo is an event that provides a showcase for different islands
through oral presentations, decorative poster boards, dance, food and
skits. The purpose of the event is to celebrate
the diverse cultures in the Caribbean. The
presentations were critiqued by secret guest judges to determine
which country had the best presentation.
The four countries
that participated in the competition were Haiti, Jamaica,
Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago. This year Jamaica
lost their crown as reigning champions to Trinidad & Tobago.
Seniors N’kola Morris and Natalie Mebane were determined to earn
bragging rights for their beloved twin-island
nation. Guyana
also had a great display and skit that helped them earn second
place. Jamaica's hard efforts earned them third place. Unfortunately,
Haiti was not able to place, despite having a beautiful presentation
that included team members wearing traditional
Haitian dress.
Caribbean Expo
was a great way to end the fall semester.
Students from several
other campus organizations came out to enjoy the festivities
and sample
the different
dishes that had been prepared. Hopefully next year more
islands will represent and increase the competition.
5) Bob
Marley Week
Bob Marley is one of the most widely
known performers of reggae music outside of Jamaica. Every
year, people all over the world celebrate his life, music, and
legacy
during the week of his birthday. This year's Bob
Marley Week was held during February 4th – 10th, which
coincided with CSAs Caribbean week.
Robert Nesta Marley
was born in the small village of Nine Miles in Saint Ann Parish,
Jamaica on February 6th, 1945. His father was a white
Jamaican marine officer and
plantation overseer (Norval Sinclair Marley) and his mother was a
black Jamaican (Cedella Booker). He and
his mother moved to Trenchtown, a slum in Kingston after the death
of his father. While there, he earned the nickname “Tuff Gong” for
his physical strength, which he needed considering his small stature.
In 1963, Bob Marley, Bunny Livingston,
Peter McIntosh, Junior Braithwaite, Beverley Kelso,
and Cherry Smith
formed a ska/rocksteady group named “The Teenagers”. The
name changed a few times until finally resting on “The Wailers”.
In 1966, Marley married Rita Anderson. Soon after, Marley became
a member
of the Rastafari
movement. Over the next couple of years, the original Wailers broke
up, but Marley continued performing under the name “Bob Marley & the
Wailers”, which included his wife, who provided
vocals as one of three back-up singers known as the I Threes.
In July 1977, Marley was found to
have a malignant melanoma in a football wound on his right big
toe. Marley refused amputation, citing
worries that the operation would affect his dancing, as well as the
Rastafari belief that the body must be "whole". Despite
his diagnosis, Bob continued to perform around the world.
In 1978, Marley performed at one of
many political concerts in Jamaica, the One Love Peace Concert,
in an effort to calm warring parties. Near the end of the performance,
by Marley's request, Prime Minister Michael Manley and
his political rival, Edward Seaga, joined each other on stage and
shook hands.
The cancer spread to Marley's
brain, lungs, liver, and stomach. After playing two shows at Madison
Square
Garden as part of his fall
1980 Uprising Tour, he collapsed while jogging in NYC's Central Park.
The remainder of the tour was subsequently cancelled. On his way
back to Jamaica, Marley fell ill and landed in Miami for immediate
treatment. He died at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Miami on the
morning of May 11th, 1981 at the age of 36.
Bob Marley's
music has continuously grown in popularity in the years
since his death, and his legacy is carried on by his 13 sons and
daughters. He was awarded
the Jamaican Order of Merit a month before his death.
6) Recipe
Corner: Jamaican Easter Bun
INGREDIENTS :
3 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs beaten
1 tablespoon browning
1/2 pint milk
2 tablespoon melted margarine
raisins and mixed peel (amount based on your taste)
1 tablespoon mixed spice
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon nutmeg
METHOD:
Measure all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
Pour into bun shaped baking pans and bake at a moderate 350°F
until done well. Glaze with sugar and water or pancake syrup and
serve.
7) Announcements
CSAs
biggest event of the year is right around the corner.... If you
are interested in
participating in Carifest 2007, whether it be behind the scenes
or on stage, come out to our Carifest Committee Meetings each Friday
at
4:30pm in the Student Involvement Suite in the Stamp. Carifest will be
held on April 21st...so mark your calendars.
This year's theme is "Jewels
of the Sea: A Treasure Trove of Traditions".
See you there!
The CSA Newsletter is published
at the beginning of each month. Each issue recaps and discusses the
events, activities, and general operations of the Caribbean Student
Association.
|
