On December 3rd, Venezuela will hold a referendum to decide whether to formally claim Essequibo, a region long disputed with Guyana, as a Venezuelan state. Should they decide to move forward with the claim, Guyana would lose over 70% of its territory, much of which has been the source of the nation’s newfound wealth.
Hello and Happy 2023!
I can’t believe how much happened in 2022. We came out of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mia Mottley secured a second 5-year term as Prime Minister of Barbados, Russia started a war with Ukraine, and Herschel Walker lost the Georgia election - but so did Stacey Abrams. You know, yin… yan. The same was true for DysChick. Despite personal tragedies, I was able to be outside like garb – nope. I refuse to make that a phrase.
So what’s my plan for 2023? Rest.
If you’ve been following DysChick, you know that I have a fear of flying; however, I have a greater fear of missing out on an epic event. Tipsy in Miami announced that it would feature the King of Soca and the King of Afrobeats and the FOMO was just too real.
Machel Montano has been making the rounds this year promoting his brand, encouraging nations to “Save the Soil,” and making sure that you know he is still the King of Soca after 40 years in the business. Burna Boy is the most popular Afrobeats artiste right now with his hit single “Last Last” reaching over 6 million streams on Spotify.
With these two heavyweights on the bill, you know DysChick had to fly to fete! Yet despite having the top artistes, the event was not E-P-I-C.
So let's recap America’s first six months of 2022:
Over 250 mass shootings including the Buffalo massacre, the elementary school shooting in Texas, a gunman opening fire on a crowded NYC subway, and the attack on a church in California
The number of deaths from COVID-19 surpassed 1 million
Eric Adams becomes Mayor of New York City (smh)
Are we great yet? No? Okay, how about this, we just decided to revoke a woman’s right to chose when and if she wants to become a mother.
We released our second episode of Season 6 of the Rant and Rave podcast. In this episode we talk about Machel Montano and Indian super yogi Sadhguru’s campaign to “Save the Soil.” The campaign has already resulted in six Caribbean nations (Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, Guyana, and Barbados) signing the Memorandum of Understanding and pledging to adopt long-term policy to safeguard soil and promote ecologically-friendly initiatives. We RANT about what this means for Caribbean tourism, the economy, and what we can do to reverse the climate crisis. But who is Sadhguru?
Carnival Mania at the Barclays Center
Just one week after hosting the MTV Video Music Awards, the Barclays Center welcomed Grenada's Tallpree, St. Vincent's Skinny Fabulous, Barbados' Edwin Yearwood and Alison Hinds, and of course, Trinidad and Tobago's soca power couple Bunji Garlin and Fay-Ann Lyons! For the first time ever on this site, DyChick not only got to enjoy the stage show but I had an opportunity to talk to the artists behind the scenes!
The last time I attempted to experience the Carnival, Hurricane Irene blew through the east coast and forced me to return to New York prior to the parade. I took that as a sign. Two years later, I made a second attempt. Luckily, the air was cool and sunny skies blanketed the massive festival that began at 5am with j’ouvert and ended some twelve hours later. Fine. I am converted. Boston Carnival, ah comin’ again!
Toronto Caribbean Carnival
Every August Toronto comes alive with the sights and sounds of Carnival. This year was no different. From the moment I landed at the Billy Bishop Airport downtown, I could hear steelpan playing in the distance. This was what I had been waiting for. I paid the entrance fee ready to get up close and personal with the masqueraders. Unfortunately, the entrance fee got me as far as the 8-foot-high fence. Although I enjoyed my visit, I have to admit that it did not compare to the carnival experience I had last year.
Memorial Day Weekend
I suppose the Brooklyn Carnival gods heard my cry last year about there being so few parties that I ended up barely feting that summer. This year, the summer party season kicked off with many fetes and events. While many Americans celebrated Memorial Weekend with parades and barbecues, I spent the weekend jumping up in clubs and fetes.
If Memorial weekend was any indication of what is to come this summer in New York, DysChick will be fetin' after fetin' all the way to Labor Day. Leh we go!
Got PCD at Latin Quarters
A quiet Palm Sunday evening in Manhattan was interrupted by an epic soca event starring the Viking and the Viqueen, Bunji Garlin and Fay-Ann Lyons. The posh Latin Quarters on 47th Street and Lexington Avenue in Manhattan is not known for hosting powder-flinging soca fetes, but with the city's West Indian community suffering from PCD (Post Carnival Depression), that's what they got.
A DRAMATIC CARNIVAL SEASON
The music of Carnival is usually the basis for the drama that accompanies Trinidad and Tobago Carnival. However, this year, the drama is happening behind the music. With Machel Montano being found guilty of various assault charges right before the season began and soca power couple Bunji Garlin and Fay-Ann Lyons choosing to bow out of the Soca Monarch competition, the battle is not just on the stage.
2012 YEAR IN REVIEW
2012 has been one for the books. I can’t believe all of the fetes, parties, and carnivals I was able to attend this year. Of course, not every event was a success. I want to share my most memorable fete moments of 2012.
MIAMI CARNIVAL 2012
When thousands of West Indians descend on Miami, what do you expect to happen? You should expect fetes, parties, and half-naked flag-bearing people all up and down South Beach. Well, that is exactly what took place this past weekend. The good thing was that the locals were expecting it this time. It seemed that there was more awareness about the Carnival this year than any other year I’ve gone. It was great that the airport staff, the hotels, and the cab drivers knew that Columbus Day weekend was Miami Carnival weekend.
