SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic:  Newly crowned Miss  Universe Amelia Vega of the Dominican Republic was the toast of her Caribbean nation on Wednesday, with President Hipolito Mejia leading the cheers for the 18-year-old beauty.

Vega, a 6-foot high school student and daughter of a former Miss Dominican Republic, won the pageant on Tuesday in Panama City. “I followed all of this incredible event, which is a great plus for the Dominican Republic,” Mejia told reporters on Wednesday. “She’s beautiful and intelligent and a national pride,” Mejia said, adding that Vega, the first Miss Universe from the Dominican Republic, would probably boost tourism, a critical industry in the country of 8 million people. Vega beat out 70 other women for the title. As soon as her name was announced, people in Santo Domingo began to party on the streets, driving around and waving national flags and posters of their pageant queen.

For some, the win was viewed as a consolation for a country that was hit last month by a banking scandal that saw the collapse of a leading private bank with losses estimated at more than $2 billion. “Amelia’s win is a balm for all the sorrows our country has been going through,” said Teresa Medrano, manager of the Miss Dominican Republic contest. Miss Universe, jointly owned by property tycoon Donald Trump and NBC Television and launched by a swimsuit company 52 years ago, draws a global television audience estimated by organisers at 600 million people in 176 countries.

Vega, 6’1” is the niece of famed merengue singer Juan Luis Guerra. She said she too hopes to be a singer. In an entry statement to the organising committee, she said that “music is a direct way to communicate with all the people without any race or ideological differences.”

The first runner up was Miss Venezuela, the Cinderella of the contest: 22-year-old Mariangel Ruiz almost couldn’t come to the competition because of financial problems in her home country.  A donor finally turned up to meet the costs of her trip. Second-runner up was South Africa’s Cindy Nell, 21, a tourism promoter. Miss Serbia and Montenegro, Sanja Papic, was third runner up and Miss Japan, Miyako Miyzaki, was fourth. “I am excited and anxious. I have been preparing for this for ten  months,” Vega said before the contest. Kai Davis of Antigua and Barbuda was named Miss Congeniality. Miss Puerto Rico, Carla Tricoli, was named Miss Photogenic. The event gave Panama a few minutes of prime time to promote itself as a new tourist destination after decades of living under the shadow of the US military, which left the country and handed over the canal on December 31, 1999.

We’ve seen Women Police on horseback at almost every Independence Parade since 1985.  Smiling in their saddles, these women do everything on horseback that the men do, from parades to crowd controls to escorting Heads of State and even directing traffic.

Today, there are more women in the unit since their first introduction to the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service Mounted Branch back in 1985. Their most senior ranking female is Eulyn Douglas-Meyers, a Sergeant who is currently on pre-retirement leave. In her spare time she helps to manage a shop that caters for full figured women. A single mother of two grown sons (“and happily divorced,” she quips), she is active in the community and does a lot of charity work; she even sings in the police choir. She cuts a somewhat imposing figure, but that is only because of the job. Being one of the first three women to enter the Mounted Branch meant that she and her comrades had to be tough.

“Back then I was real small too,” she said with a smile. “WP’s Cox, Prince and myself were the first three women assigned to the unit back in the early 80’s. Now I had joined the force since 1974 and was considered an all-rounder, as I was able to fit into any department. I was even a drummer in the police band too. But I had always heard that it was difficult for women to get into the Mounted Branch, but it was something that I wanted to try. So we three applied through our Superintendent and as a back up, we sent applications down to the Mounted Branch Headquarters… that is how much we wanted to do this.” Successful in their quest, the women joined the ranks, but soon realised that there was a lot more to the job. For starters, they didn’t have any accommodations; no barrack rooms, female toilets or bathrooms. But they coped. “We would change our clothes in the pharmacy and bathe in the Mounted Aides bathroom,” she admitted. “The men accepted us from the very beginning. There was no infighting or any feelings that we were ‘taking over their territory’, so to speak. They might have tried to make a little date with you (laughs), but that was all. But to do something like this you have to have a strong mind and pray a lot. We met the challenge and trained twice as hard, just to prove that we were capable and to show everyone how much we wanted this.”

Training lasted for six to nine months, where they learned how to water their horses, groom them, clean their stalls, feed them, and clean their ‘saddlery’ which was the horse’s kit. They also had to understand the animals’ temperaments, as there would be times when persons could be assigned to another horse and as such needed to call upon every bit of skill they possessed to manage it. There were drills and routines to be memorised, besides learning how to command your horse to trot, side step, canter or just stand still. “I can still remember the first time we women went on parade,” Douglas-Meyers said wistfully. “It was 1985 and Bailey (he since left the service as a Superintendent) decided to have two females as  outriders, which were Cox and myself.  If you heard the shouts from that crowd at that parade. I mean, they forgot about the men in the ranks, everybody was looking at us. It was amazing, truly amazing. The only thing was that the horses were unaccustomed to the shouts and it took some extra efforts from us to calm them down. This is why I always tell people that women glamourised the unit somewhat, because the public was not used to seeing women riding horses. Even today you look at a parade… once women are there, the reaction is the same. They look at us, they want to see what we doing, how we doing it, what move is that, how she guiding the horse… (cheekily) is we do that!”

According to Douglas-Meyers, horses and their riders are always in training, simply because they have had to adapt to new things constantly. In preparation for Carnival,“scare training” is  used to prepare the horse for crowds. Recruits dress up in old mas costumes, the Police Band plays loud music and the effect is like a mini Carnival, but it’s all for the benefit of the horses and their riders. “You see, it’s easier to control a crowd using the horses,” she explained. “Nobody wants to get a hoof on their foot. These animals weigh tons, I tell you! So you can imagine the force necessary to guide such a heavy animal, especially in the right direction. We use our arms, tightening the reins to guide the horse’s head, our hips and buttocks to steer them… imagine if you get a stubborn horse? Pressure! I was even thrown off a horse once, in Federation Park. It was raining and a car skidded and bounced my horse while Constable Joseph and I were on patrol. I went into the air and ended up back in the saddle, but the horse bolted and I fell hard. Former MP Jensen Fox was there and I remember him coming to my aid… if you saw the size of my head where I hit it… then it was straight to the hospital. “Plus nobody has any idea of the pain your own body goes through riding all day. Once we had to escort Dr Linda Baboolal for the opening of Parliament. First we walked from the HQ on Long Circular Road to the President’s House, then we had to trot from there to the Red House. When a horse trots, your body is bouncing up and down in the saddle with each step, so your poor buttocks is in pain and your knees are in pain going around the Savannah. But looking at us, you will never think so, because there is always a smile on our faces.”

Cox and Prince did not stay long in the unit, which left Douglas-Meyers alone in the ranks for a couple of years until the next official women’s intake. Soon after that, the Mounted Branch was opened to civilians to come learn to ride and was known as the ‘Friends of the Mounted Branch’, numbering over 20 persons. Ascending up the ranks to her present post as Sergeant, she rode actively up to the 90’s and is now on pre-retirement leave. She has never regretted her decision to join the mounted branch and will encourage any woman to do so. “I have not seen any woman in the Mounted Branch attain my rank as yet, but I would like to see them advance,” Douglas-Meyers admitted. My dream is to someday see a woman Police Commissioner; for that to happen though, they will have to close ranks. But I have no regrets over my time in the Mounted Branch. I gave them 20 years of service there and had 30 good years overall in the Police Service, doing courses as they came up, giving to the unit in many ways and being active in the community. All in all, policing is a great calling. Despite it being a male oriented service, that is what made it more challenging for me, to prove that I belonged.”

MEET Arlette Roxburgh-Scapino, a former resident of Diego Martin who now sings the United States national anthem for the New Jersey Nets (basketball) and the New Jersey Devils (hockey).

Yes, that’s true. The management of these teams have gone for a Trinidadian girl to sing the US anthem prior to all their games. Arlette also whips the crowd into a frenzy during matches. Arlette, 31, was born to teachers Phyl and Irma Roxburgh, now retired. She attended Mucurapo Girls RC School, St James, before moving on to St Joseph’s Convent, Port-of-Spain, where she became Head Girl. She left Trinidad in 1992 for the US which has now become her permanent home. She graduated from the Long Island University in 1996 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry, and one week later, she was married to Italian Lou Scapino in a civil wedding ceremony. However, seven years later — September 20 this year — the couple will have a big wedding ceremony at St Peter’s Basilica. Arlette is hoping to meet Pope John Paul II there. Back in the US, Arlette has been with the New Jersey Devils for the past five seasons.  Dressed in the official colours of the team, Arlette is no Jason Kidd. Her manicured hands are not made for slam dunks and layups, and there is no way she could sprint down the basketball court in her red, high-heeled boots.

But this Staten Island-based entertainer has something that gets the Continental Arena crowd cheering. As the official anthem singer for the NBA team, Arlette interacts with the audience during the pre-game show and sings the national anthem at almost every home game. Half an hour before a recent playoff game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Arlette had a teenage girl singing Gloria Gaynor’s “I will survive” and grown men waving their arms to the rhythm. She also sang “God Bless the USA” with Sgt Shannon Dyer, stationed at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn. After the spirited performance, the pair did an encore during the time-out session. Arlette has been described as “the glue that holds the team together”. She sang at 30 of the 41 Nets home games and the team won 24. Arlette, who also sings the anthem before New Jersey Devils hockey games, admits that she was not much of a sports fan before being hired by the teams. Now, in her fifth season with the Devils, she has become a die-hard hockey fan. As a second-year singer with the Nets, she says she is starting to warm up to basketball. But Arlette got her early training in Trinidad. She sang in a church choir and talent shows as a child. As a young adult, she was recruited to sing backup for one of the island’s most popular singers, but she made education her priority. She then attended Long Island University. While there, Arlette sang with a wedding band. After graduation, she began seriously pursuing her musical career. With her husband Lou Scapino being manager, producer and accompanist, Arlette performs twice a week at Baldoria restaurant in upscale Manhattan. For these gigs, they are known as Luigi and Arlette. They also released two albums — America, Stronger than Ever and We are on Fire, dedicated to the Devils.

The album America, Stronger than Ever was produced following the events of September 11, 2001. One of the songs on the album is entitled “My America – One September Morning.” Arlette’s mother Irma recalled the events of September 11. “I remember ringing Arlette and telling her that America was burning down. Arlette was asleep at the time, and did not know that there was this terrorist attack on America. “It is in light of this that Arlette decided to write this album. She wrote all the songs, but dedicated one particular song to America.” At the game, Arlette and her husband communicate through wireless headsets. Scapino produces a full-blown band sound from his key boards, perched in one corner of the arena. When Arlette is not performing, she joins him there to watch the game. Arlette chooses her pre-game songs based on her mood and the audience’s. But she usually goes with something upbeat, because when it comes to getting pumped up for the game, Arlette likes to lead by example. “You have to be psyched up yourself,” she added. “Get a good beat out there, or something that speaks to you like the patriotic song. I never get tired of singing or feel like ‘oh boy, here we go, singing the anthem again,” she added.

June/July is the busiest period of the year for Dexter Meloney, or ‘Chalice’ as he’s known to his customers. He is a businessman in the line of garment construction.

There’s a slim chance of getting an office suit or any other outfit done in this the season of graduation balls and weddings at “Chalice Exclusive.” Or maybe, he can squeeze you in! With inch tape around his neck, scissors in hand, Chalice was cutting away at graduation material the colour of lilac as I walked into his shop at 21 Frederick Street, Port-of-Spain (opposite Colsort Mall). Bundled to his left were yards of uncut fabric awaiting transformation. Hung on the walls were shirts and office suits, some on display, others for sale. It was his preparatory ritual before he disappeared behind the curtains that separated the front desk/drawing board from the room where his heavy duty machines are kept — where he figuratively turns “mole hills into mountains.” “I need an assistant,” Chalice said. “Taking all these (telephone) calls and having to work at the same time is too much.” He recently opened another branch at 21 Delhi St,  St James.

Chalice had just “put out” a wedding. He outfitted seven grooms men in double-breasted shawl collar jackets, with a cream satin finish. “Now I’m working on a wedding for seven boys, four men and three other guys — 14 in all,” he said. He pulled out the paper pattern which his client brought in — a turtle neck shirt with single-breasted tuxedo. The groom wanted what is professionally called a “shad belly” jacket. Chalice calls it a morning gown three-piece suit. Business was good. “This work is a very hard work, you deal with your nerves a lot. The only tonic I take is to kill stress.” He wasn’t talking about the tonic obtained at pharmacies. “With martial arts knowledge and bible doctrines I learn to adapt to everything that comes.” In a trade that is seemingly flourishing, tailors are slowly dying out. Chalice, however, is trying to keep afloat. He listed some reasons why his job remains a struggle: “One, people doh like to pay for tailor-made clothes. Two, society doh respect craftsmen. Three, we doh have a governmental system that putting things in place and sticking to it, for example like advertising craftsmen on an international level, calling them together for them to produce their product and judge them. Men have talent but doh have the marketing skills. Four, men leave out their work to look for a lil end to survive… Is a poor man trade but I trying to turn it into a rich man trade.”

His next words were eyebrow-raising: “Money is not really the issue. Love and respect is the key to my whole mission.” Sewing was a revered profession in his family. His grandmother, a Grenadian immigrant who lived for 102 years, was a seamstress. His mother followed in similar vein. “I learned through faith. I believe I was born with the genes.” When he was a boy, he remembered keeping his mother’s company as she sewed. “I used to watch what she was doing,” said the St James resident. He lost his mother, Lilla Rita Morris, at the age of 12. Though the training didn’t seem applicable when he left school, he was roused to action after passing by K Bruce’s (neighbourhood tailor) shop one day. “Ah heard this machine, ah hearing the peddle and ah say dat is Ma Lilla machine. Ah never get frighten so yet. So ah peep and he (K Bruce) see meh and ah pull back. Then he call meh. He ask meh if I like sewing. Ah say yes. He say how come. Ah say meh mother used to sew.” “He bring a piece of leather. But ah never sew real thing yet. Meh mother used to make meh practise forward and backstitch on ‘Gazette’ paper. So I start to peddle back and forward with two feet because I used to see my mother doing that and the thread start to knot,” Chalice said. In short time he was gaining compliments. “He (K Bruce) said I had the knowledge of workmanship. He said when ah start getting so good he had to hide some of the things he was doing… But it was in me already. I was just looking on and learning fast.” Of Ma Lilla’s eight children, five girls and three boys, Chalice is the only tailor. “My sisters say this is a mad man work, dealing with customers and all that.”

Chalice was also taught by his uncle, Neville Morris, who specialised in suiting. By this time Chalice had developed a profound interest in the trade. Masonry and carpentry were less satisfying. He furthered his knowledge in garment construction (pattern and construction, style and design, textile and labelling) at John Donaldson Technical Institute. Soon he was making track-suits for himself, vests and even “strong man jockey shorts.” “I’ve put those things on hold, though,” he informed. Lingerie, latin dance wear, you name it he makes it — “just come with your idea a pattern, anything,” he said. He constructed the introductory wear for contestants of last year’s Miss Elegance Pageant. He also outfitted latin dancers Sharon George and partner and Charlene Quamina-Joseph/Latin Connec-tion for various competitions. He’s even outfitted 33 students at his daughter’s primary school for their sports day. “She likes to talk and she told her teacher that her daddy could sew,” he laughed. Despite the wealth of knowledge he’s acquired over the past 17 years, from K Bruce’s first lesson in sewing until now, Chalice said that he’s reached a point “where I still want to learn.” He also wants to pass on his knowledge. To the youth he said: “There are two blessings, unseen and physical.” He believes that. His desire is to create a “hard core” clothing line. His dream is to shake the hand of American clothing line franchise holder Russell Simmons/Phat Farm. Chalice said: “I admire what he’s doing in the line of garments.”

After twenty-eight years of dedicated service to the United Nations (UN), it was time to treat himself and “start a new life”. It’s exactly a year since Hans Geiser left office and he’s doing just that.

In a previous interview with Newsday, the former United Nations Development Programme Resident Representative for TT promised to take his family to the FIFA World Cup 2002 in Korea/Japan. He made good on his promise. What was mind-blowing for him and a cause of envy for many Brazilian fans was his privilege of sitting next to football icon Pele in the VIP section, for the final between Germany and Brazil. He wanted very much to wear his Brazilian T-shirt in support of the Samba boys, but as a delegate of FIFA “you had to show your neutrality”, Hans said. He got his chance to don the shirt after the match. He fulfilled yet another goal — to tour north-eastern Brazil. Why Brazil? “It’s intuition, I guess, that makes you want to return to a country,” he said. He had been to Brazil many times before, and confided that he’s yet to return again. “It’s a country where you feel at home, and the people are extremely pleasant.”

He couldn’t leave off his first love. He began his career as a young International Relations lecturer at a university in Geneva, Switzerland, after attaining a first degree in law and a PhD in his chosen profession. In 1971, Hans seized the opportunity to come to Trinidad to set up an Institute of International Relations at the University of the West Indies. Recently, he visited Suriname for the purpose of initiating an International Relations programme there. (As UNDP Resident Rep, Suriname fell under his portfolio.) But, for all his plans to come to fruition, his base had to be one where he felt truly “at home”. He had traveled all over the world but had chosen to live in Trinidad. Of course, he would make frequent trips to his native-land, Switzerland for business purposes, to visit his siblings and satisfy his craving for the popular Swiss cheese dish “fondue”. “I brought back some of the cheese with me to make it here,” he said. He returned from Switzerland two weeks ago. He resides in Cascade with his wife Susan, a Trinidadian whom he met in the US, and teenage daughter Arianne. Susan, a tourism and hospitality professional, is also a model and actress.

Telling of his affinity for Trinidadian women, he said: “I admire Trini women for their strong personality. I admire a woman with varying qualities, who is warm, loving, compassionate, has humor, (is) down to earth, a mother — the whole package and I have found that here.” His former wife was also Trinidadian. Commenting on his choice of two different “worlds”, he said Switzerland is a beautiful, disciplined but “regimented” country. However, “when I came to Trinidad I felt relieved. I learned more than I was able to teach.” If the truth be told, Hans said that his first encounter with the English language came when he accepted the job to teach at UWI. He said: “I couldn’t speak English. I was sweating the first day in class…but I had good tutoring with friends and ‘girlfriends’ and Trinidad is where I learned my English.” The native language of Switzerland is German. French, Italian and Romanch are also spoken. “There is something special about Trinidad. No other country was able to make me feel at home. I learned to appreciate the sense of humor, you can laugh about yourself — joke, sometimes too much,” he added.

Hans, 62, was brought up in a religious household. His father was a medical doctor and his mother, a lawyer. “The last of seven children, I was supposed to be the holiest of them, a monk… High school for me was in boarding school with the Benedictines, a strict school,” he told People. He was born in Luzerne, a mountainous region in the centre of the country, known for two specific cheese dishes, “raclette” and “fondue” —  poor-people food, he called them. The latter is made with a special cheese melted in a pot and eaten with Swiss bread. The bread is put on a stick and dipped in the cheese, “if the bread falls in the pot you have to give a bottle of wine or kiss the girls”, he laughed. He loves chocolate, a popular Swiss export, “but I can’t eat it. I am sweetness enough. Natural sweetness,” he joked. His mother, he said, was the first woman of that district (Luzerne) to become a doctor of law. She wanted Hans to follow in her footsteps.

He deviated a little, but is currently working with a group of lawyers under the International Labour Organisation (ILO) “helping to develop training manuals in promoting economical, social and cultural rights… It’s part of my commitment to promote international and regional co-operation.” He stands as an “observer” as far as UN relations are concerned and “I analyse what’s going on at present and (what occurred) in the recent past.” He shared his view on the issue, war with Iraq: “While the UN has been getting a rough deal surrounding what has happened with Iraq, I don’t think the UN has been damaged critically. They, Britain and the US, haven’t paid the necessary respect to the UN, but in its promotion of social and economical development the UN continues to be a valuable instrument.” He continued: “The US gave the reason for invading Iraq as searching for weapons of mass destruction. Then they argued the need for regime change. This is not the first time they intervened with force. They did it in the 1950s and all these interventions were not legitimate from the standpoint of International Law… But the UN remains and is there to stay; some of its laws and norms have been violated but it doesn’t mean it’s fatally damaged.”

On a local scale, while in office Hans was able to “put on the agenda and mobilise the community on HIV/AIDS as well as support the government in the challenge of poverty reduction and education. In the area of environment protection we brought expertise and resources.” More on his current projects, Hans has initiated the visit of a Swiss delegation of professionals and businessmen set for October in an attempt to foster business and cultural relations between Switzerland and Trinidad. The first group was taken to Suriname last November. “I’m also planning to take Trinidad Carnival — a group of masqueraders and a brass band, to Zurich and Geneva. Zurich’s Carnival is a Latin Carnival and it’s all about promoting Trinidad and Tobago, its music and culture in Switzerland.” He’s anxious to see the end result of his projects. Work aside, he enjoys “supporting” his wife in gardening. They both love plants. He also likes walking his der hovawart (authentic german breed) dogs, Cooch and Nelly. “Every day I do my exercising in the pool; once in a while a good fete, listen to music, Caribbean music and we do quite a bit of traveling.” His next trip to a country of interest, he revealed, just may be China.

Her restless nature propelled her mother to enroll her in swimming classes. She took to the water literally “like a fish.” She was then at the tender age of three. Now 12 and in secondary school, Janine Kimberley Thornhill is a star Trinidad and Tobago swimmer.

Kimberley recently made her second appearance at the CARIFTA Swimming Championships in Jamaica in April 2003. There, her outstanding performance rewarded her with two gold medals in the 50 and 100-metre freestyle events. The rigid schedule of training six days per week, sometimes commuting from her home in San Fernando to Port-of-Spain to start at 5 am, has not affected this shy young lady. With a sweet smile, she shrugs and says, “Well, Daddy takes me to town for training from 5 to 7 am, then takes me back home to get dressed for school, then drops me to school at Holy Faith Convent in Couva.” Her involvement in competitive swimming began at age eight, when at an Invitational meet of the Amateur Swimming Association of Trinidad and Tobago (ASATT), she won three bronze medals and two fourth places. Kimberley went on to represent Trinidad and Tobago at the 2000 and 2001 Goodwill Swimming Championships in Suriname and Trinidad respectively. At the latter, she won four gold medals, one silver and one bronze medal and was named the most outstanding swimmer in her age group girls 9-10. In this event too, she broke the 50 metres backstroke record.

Kimberley looks forward to competitions because it motivates her to input her best while training. At her first CARIFTA Swim Meet in Barbados in 2002, she won gold in her pet event — the 50 metres freestyle, then went on to the Caribbean Islands Swimming Championships (CISC) where she again placed first in the 50 metres freestyle and second in the 100 metres. In this same year, this energetic young lady represented Trinidad and Tobago at the Caribbean Island Swimming Championships 2002 in Curacao where she once more won gold and silver in the 50 m and 100 m freestyle respectively. Winding her fingers through her braids and constantly smiling, Kimberley explains, “my school work is not really affected because most of these swim meets are held at times like Easter vacation or towards the end of the school term, so if I do miss some school, it is not a lot. Now that I am in high school, I still have enough time after training on evenings to do my home work and go to sleep in time to get a good night’s rest. Sometimes I feel sad that when everyone else is sleeping, I have to wake up at 4 o’clock and get prepared to go for training at 5 am, but I like to swim so it is not a problem and in any case I sleep in the car for the half-hour ride from home to school.”

Recently, at our National Short Course Age Group Championships 2003, she once again excelled in her age group category, winning eight gold meals and one bronze medal. Selected to go to the Central American Swimming Championship in Mexico from June 28 to July 6, 2003 Kimberley is now under very intense and vigorous training. However, she bemoans the lack of facilities for the many swimmers like herself who love the sport and competitions. “This is why I have to go all the way up to town because the competition is in a 50-metre pool. Trinidad and Tobago only has one, which is the Marlin’s pool in Westmoorings. I wish the Sports Ministry would look into this and give swimmers a better chance to practise, especially when we have to prepare for international competitions.”

This young lady has undoubtedly set high goals for herself. Ingrained in her is the discipline of training for long hard hours. “I would like to go to the World games, I would like to go to the Olympics and have a gold medal in the freestyle and backstroke since those are my best areas and… I just want to do my best,” she smiles. Kimberley’s father too voices his concerns, “We need more 50-metre pools in Trinidad and Tobago, that’s why we cannot hold any competitions here. There is only one 50 m pool in Trinidad, which is a problem, more so because of its location. The swimming association has always been lobbying for this. It is especially difficult for South children having to go to Port-of-Spain for everyday training. When your children are competitive swimmers, parents practically live by a pool.” Her eight-year-old sister is rapidly following Kimberley’s footsteps; she now swims competitively in the girls 8-9 category. A young lady with definite futuristic plans, 12-year-old Kimberley answers my question spontaneously, “I want to be a lawyer. I like to hear Mummy on the phone with her clients, so I want to be an attorney-at-law just like her.

He creates the most intricate musical instruments and jewelry from bamboo, dry stalks and tree trunks. Deep in concentration his magical fingers shape each instrument to create the powerful African rhythms that can be heard a mile away. Jah Jah Oga Onilu, 48, of Maloney, is one of the most interesting characters one can encounter. Dressed in traditional African garb of bright yellow and green, he is now a popular figure in the Prime Minister’s Best Village Trophy competition. He is very noticeable with his long hair which he has not cut for more than 25 years. His deep-set eyes and humble mannerisms are evident that Onilu has been working for the love of the art.

In 1993 he made the journey to North Korea to enter a bamboo art competition and took four gold medals for the Best Musical Instrument. “I am sure the people of Korea have been inspired by my instruments, to create their own,” he said. Looking at the skillfully crafted instruments, one can see that this artist has spent a life time in the designing and creating them. With forty years experience he now owns and manages the very successful, Jewel of Nature shop at Caura Royal Road, El Dorado. Together with his sons, Ba Ba Ayunda Onilu, 22, and Madupe Folasade Onilu, 17, they have built an establishment that attracts scores of people who are in search of African rhythms. Onilu told People that as a child growing up in Laventille, he listened to sounds coming from the woods. “Nature is so absolutely beautiful. It provides so much peace that the soul yearns for and I think I am lucky to find myself in the heart of nature,” he said. It was this peaceful setting that inspired him to create the various instruments.

In the early days Onilu would spend a lot of time in the bush singing and tapping on two pieces of bamboo stalks. He then decided to clean and polish the bamboo and took them home to entertain his brothers and sisters. “It was then that I knew I had a gift from God to create these instruments. I soon had to make a dozen of these decorated bamboo stalks for my friends,” he said. He noted that the bamboo must be cut during the dark-moon and put to dry. They are then cleaned and washed before the various holes and beads are placed within the folds to give different sounds. Apart from creating instruments, Onilu developed the art of singing the African words that would accompany the beat and the various sounds. Today he proudly displays his brand new CD entitled Doption Beat. He has found a market for the instruments — the Talking Drums, Bamboolins, Banjo Bass, Rain Makers, Soca Shakers, ICBA Drums, Steel Drums, Shac Shac, Doption Drums, Telle Drums, Foo Foo Trumpets and Thumb Pianos. He has now established a school at his factory in Caura, where he teaches youths how to create the musical instruments and the jewelry. He has been taking large orders from people throughout the country.