Jamaica

The Darnell family was transformed when Ken married Raquel! This beautiful Jamaican has added more love, laughter, hugs, and happiness to our family than I would ever have imagined! We have learned some new traditions (yes, jerk chicken is an essential part of Christmas dinner) and we have heard many Jamaican folk songs (they come in useful during our Encore games). We have been to a dozen or so Jamaican restaurants in Southern California trying to find the perfect one. Natraliart Jamaican Grocery & Restaurant, Little Kingston Jamaican Restaurant, and Janga by Derrick's Jamaican Cuisine are all good, and Island Breeze Jamaican Cuisine in Colton is not only good, but close! Raquel will be the first person to tell you that you won’t find all the right ingredients here, but if you want to give Jamaican cooking a try, here are some Jamaican recipes including some vegetarian options:

https://insanelygoodrecipes.com/jamaican-recipes/

If you don’t have a Jamaican sister-in-law, you can still travel to Jamaica while staying at home through many online options! I rewatched Cool Runnings this week. It’s on DisneyPlus, there are options for buying it online, and your library will likely have the DVD. It is such a great movie even if the story of the Jamaican bobsled team didn’t happen exactly like the movie portrayed it. Thirty years later, members of the original team were interviewed for the 2018 Winter Olympics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgulzUHbZik

I also listened to the How Jamaica Conquered the World podcast this week. I appreciated the Colin Powell interview, and I learned a little about the music of the Jamaican diaspora. I also enjoyed listening to the music itself:

· Mento is a form of Jamaican music which predates ska and reggae and was popular in the 1940s and 50s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiHUdvlE9pc

· Ska was dominant in the 1960s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntD0Uti9Q0o

· Reggae developed out of both mento and ska and has been well known ever since: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipTT1IgnNTE

· There are reggae festivals around the world. Coming up in August in California, there are reggae festivals in Los Angeles, Truckee, Shasta, Placerville, and San Diego. The one that appeals to me the most is the Roots & Yam Jerk Fest in Los Angeles. If you are ready to get out and hear some reggae music and want more details, check out https://www.reggaeville.com/dates/festivals/.

Two of the three Jamaican movies I watched online are about reggae and the other one is about sports.

· The Harder They Come (1972) on Kanopy stars a young Jimmy Cliff as an aspiring reggae singer.

· Many of Jamaica’s leading reggae musicians acted in Rockers (1978): https://tubitv.com/movies/526476/rockers

· Watch for the cameo by Usain Bolt in Sprinter (2018), both on Amazon Prime and here: https://tubitv.com/movies/600670/sprinter

· More movies featuring Jamaica are listed here: https://theculturetrip.com/caribbean/jamaica/articles/10-films-to-make-you-fall-in-love-with-jamaica/

Raquel gave me The Story of the Jamaican People by Philip M. Sherlock and Hazel Bennett for Christmas. It reveals a long, proud tradition of Jamaicans, including the first inhabitants, the Taino; the African-Jamaicans whose struggle against slavery was sustained by their memories of Africa; and the other ethnic groups, East Indians, Chinese, Lebanese, Syrians, and Jews who contributed to the culture of Jamaica as it is today. I found more on Marcus Garvey (https://tubitv.com/movies/573698/marcus-garvey-a-giant-of-black-politics) and Bob Marley (Who Shot the Sheriff on Netflix and a concert from 1979: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJuX4LmmVwo) to supplement my knowledge of these internationally known Jamaicans.

I enjoyed reading an article on “Italy Meets Jamaica” about the origins of Jamaican foods https://www.wordswithoutborders.org/dispatches/article/italy-meets-jamaicablending-culinary-traditions-jacqueline-greaves-monda and “The City and the Writer” about the literary heritage of Kingston https://www.wordswithoutborders.org/dispatches/article/the-city-and-the-writer-in-kingston-jamaica-with-kwame-dawes

Jamaica ranks #3 in the “world’s coolest nationalities” (https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/coolest-nationalities/index.html) and Nick Davis in Culture Smart! Jamaica (available on Hoopla and at my local library) says, “Jamaicans have a fire that has been hard to douse. It was burning when their forefathers arrived on slave ships, barely alive after the middle passage, and it was there when they fought the British to a standstill in the Maroon Wars. In the English-speaking Caribbean they have a reputation for being brash, but the Jamaicans have a warmth that is unmatched. They are unafraid to talk to strangers, they'll laugh at nearly anything, they'll discuss and debate with passion, and they'll let you know it straight. Despite real economic and social problems, this beautiful and invigorating country regularly ranks among the top five happiest nations in the world in the annual Happy Planet Index.” I find this true of the one Jamaican I know and hope to meet more Jamaicans in the future!

If you want to experience Jamaica in person, check the Jamaica Tourist Board’s “Best of Jamaica” https://www.visitjamaica.com/feel-the-vibe/best-of-jamaica/ and/or The Crazy Tourist for all the great places to visit: https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-best-things-jamaica/. When it is safe to travel again, your local travel advisor can give great advice and support for a wonderful trip. Shout out to my favorite travel advisor, Kaitlin Darnell at Laura's Travel in Redlands. May the travel industry survive and thrive. May we all survive, thrive, recognize our mutual humanity, learn to deal with our conflicts, and allow peace and health to flourish in the Jamaica and throughout the world.

Photo Credit: https://www.beaches.com/blog/things-to-do-in-negril-jamaica/