​A US-based Trinidadian is disrupting the beverage industry with a universal non-alcoholic mixer influenced by one of his grandfather’s recipes.

Zurena offers a portfolio of simple and versatile Caribbean drink mixes made with lemons, limes, passion fruit, mango, and Caribbean spices. Packaged in a 750ML bottle, the all-natural, sodium-free, gluten-free, and fat-free mixes come in two flavors: Tropical and Ginger, each with 15 grams of sugar per serving.
Founder and owner Nigel Smith describes the product as “magic,” as it can be added to any dark or white spirit, beer, wine, bubbly, club soda, juice, or tea to create high-quality Caribbean cocktails in seconds, without the need for professional mixology skills.
Tasting Panel Magazine gave Zurena 89 points, making it the first non-alcoholic mixer to be graded by the magazine. Zurena is more than just a drink to Smith; it is about “Uplifting Spirits,” a term he has trademarked. As a sponsor at Audi Fields, Smith infuses Caribbean aesthetics into his marketing, with a campaign called Lucky Row, where groups of people are selected and given fedora hats, sunglasses, and mocktails made with Zurena, and encouraged to dance to soca music.
Smith is also honoring the legacy of his grandfather, Carlton Smith, a bartender and mixologist who entrusted secret recipes to his children and grandchildren. Zurena is available in bars and retailers in Washington DC, Maryland, Texas, and Grenada, and Smith is looking to expand to other Caribbean markets. (Source: The Caribbean Camera, March 21, 2023)

Many Trinidadians know the elements of a good river lime with the river, of course, being central to that.
Trinidad and Tobago artist Che Lovelace’s latest exhibition, Che Lovelace: Bathers, takes an expository look at bodies of water and TT people’s interaction with it.
It will run from March 9-April 15 at the Nicola Vassell Gallery, Tenth Avenue, New York. Lovelace’s 14-piece exhibition carries titles such as Worshippers, showing figures dressed in Baptist-like clothing holding hands in a river. Another is called River Scene which shows bodies involved in different activities in the water.
Other pieces are titled after popular activities done by water and/or popular bodies of water such as Beach Dancers, Covigne Pool and Large Broadwalk Bathers. Many of them are done with acrylic and dry pigment.
A bio about Lovelace on the gallery’s website says he is “an unabashed painter of the flora, fauna, figures, landscapes and rituals of the Caribbean.”
“Lovelace likens his material and formal interventions–such as cleaving the canvas into quadrants and dissecting the picture plane into cubist constituents–to exploring Caribbean selfhood as an integration of antecedents and transforming simplicity into wonder.”


A press release about the exhibition said, “Meditating on famed depictions of bathers throughout the art historical canon, Lovelace was particularly fascinated by artists who were lesser known for the subject. One such, Edvard Munch, rendered bathers with energy and vitalism, a philosophy germinated from Aristotelian times that emphasised the vital forces of nature and good health. Framing this immemorial trope in the specificity of his own culture, Lovelace celebrates the bather as an intrinsic figure of the Trinidadian vernacular.”
On his Facebook page Lovelace said, “Very, very excited! My first full-scale New York gallery exhibition opens one week from now on Thursday 9th March at the Nicola Vassell Gallery in Chelsea.
“The exhibition brings together paintings, some of which I’ve been working on for several years, all focused around the body and water.
“Our relationship with water…the sea, rivers etc. here in the Caribbean is a complex one, and I have tried to translate through my own experiences what that relationship feels and looks like.”
The gallery described the exhibition as a “series of paintings chronicling the artist’s exploration of the body in and around water.”
It added, “With an expressionistic hand, Lovelace weaves stories of life, freedom, and post-colonialism in his native Trinidad, into a tapestry of abstracted landscapes, still lifes, and portraits.”
Lovelace began working with Jamaican-born gallerist Nicola Vassell in 2021. Vassell opened the gallery in 2021 but has worked in the art world for about two decades.
In 2021, his work was shown at the Independent Art Fair in New York and there Vassell became aware of his work. Vassell approached him about working together and, from there, the working relationship grew.
“It has grown to this point where we are now doing my first solo exhibition collaborating with the gallery. We did go to Miami Art Basel in December which went quite well and was a success. It was my first time at Art Basel as well. So I also went with her gallery to that art fair.”
Growing up in TT and the Caribbean, water is “ever present,” he said.
There is a whole culture around water and people’s interaction with it, Lovelace said.
Water paints a vivid picture of Lovelace’s own life.
“Over the last few years I have been working in the Chaguaramas area and I see a lot of people who come, specifically, to be close to water. I, myself grew up in Matura and I am also a surfer,” he said.
It was always something he wanted to address and had already done paintings showing people close to water, bathers or someone on a beach.
He thought he could expand on these and turn it into a full-themed set of paintings.
In its bio, the gallery says it “is a contemporary art gallery committed to discourse that widens the lens of the history and future of art. Its focus is on developing an inter-generational, cross-disciplinary program of international artists and thinkers.”
This speaks to and fits well with Lovelace’s view of himself as an artist.
“I am placed within the lens of art that is a little broader than the main centres. I am working in what would have been a traditionally peripheral space, a space in the Caribbean where we are still developing our own infrastructures around art.
“But we do have a lot of artists, a lot of creative people, we make a lot of things and we are a creative people. I see this as an opportunity to join with and collaborate with someone who is working in a centre, like New York, but who understands the value of what is being made and the discussions being had, the energy that is being put out outside of those centres but which contribute, generally, to the movement of where art is going.”
This exhibition is a proud moment for Lovelace and he sees it as a pathway to expanding the reach and practice of local and regional artists and their art. (Source: Newsday, March 8, 2023)

NOW Morning ShowTalented Trinidadian actress, Khadija Glasgow-Speer, continues to make waves internationally, as she concluded 2022 co-starring alongside popular American actor, Morris Chestnut, in veteran director, Malcolm D Lee’s, “The Best Man: Final Chapters.” Find out all about it as Khadija chats with Natasha about her experience.

rinidadian author Anthony Joseph has won the TS Eliot prize for his collection Sonnets for Albert. Joseph won the £25,000 poetry prize for his work which is described as an autobiographical collection that weighs the impact of growing up with a largely absent father.

Born in Trinidad and Tobago, Joseph migrated to the United Kingdom in 1989 at the age of 21.He lived with his grandparents and loved music and poetry from young. 
He told Loop News in an earlier interview that he grew up in an environment that taught him in order to succeed he had to go away. 
In addition to producing five poetry collections, Joseph has authored three novels among them Kitch: A Fictional Biography of a Calypso Icon, which was shortlisted for the Republic of Consciousness prize and the Royal Society of Literature’s Encore award and was longlisted for the 2019 OCM Bocas prize for Caribbean literature.
He is also a musician and had eight critically acclaimed albums to his credit.
Joseph is the second Trinidadian to win the lucrative prize.
In 2020 dub poet Roger Robinson won the prize. He was on the panel of judges which included Chair of judges Jean Sprackland, and  2021 Costa book of the year winner Hannah Lowe.
The judges said each of the shortlisted books “spoke powerfully to us in its own distinctive voice”.
Sprackland said: “From this strong field our choice is Sonnets for Albert, a luminous collection which celebrates humanity in all its contradictions and breathes new life into this enduring form."
This year saw a record 201 submissions.  (Source; The Loop, Jan 18, 2023)

This story is being reposted as author credit was previousy omitted.  

In 1988, Trinidad-born Andrew Madan Ramroop became the first man of colour to own a business in London's prestigious Savile Row.
The achievement came 18 years after he had migrated to England from his home at Maingot Road, Tunapuna, where he was born on November 10th, 1952.
In 1970, Ramroop left Trinidad aboard the luxury liner Northern Star and headed to England with hopes of beginning a career as a tailor's apprentice.
He, however, was turned down for many jobs on Savile Row.
"In those early days, my accent wasn't what it is now and I was applying for jobs to be at the front of the shop to cut and to fit and to meet clients," Ramroop told the BBC.
"People wanted to protect their own businesses and they were being realistic in saying this guy won't suit the front of the shop," he said gratiously.
Ramroop began his London training as a backroom trainee for a Savile Row institution, Huntsman & Son.
In 1974, he found a position as an assistant cutter with Maurice Sedwell—the only shop on Savile Row that would hire a non-white tailor.
Ramroop mastered his craft, and worked his way to the top, becoming managing director of the business in 1982 and then buying the company in 1988.
In the early days, Ramroop was confined to making alterations. The big break came when a client personally asked for him to oversee an entire fitting.
Ramroop's reputation was soon sealed through personal recommendations - and at one point he was dressing half a dozen British cabinet ministers.
Famously, he also designed the cashmere jacket worn by Princess Diana in her infamous 'Panorama' interview on British television.
Over the years, Sedwell sold Ramroop shares in the business, until he had accumulated 45%.
The crunch time came in 1988 when Ramroop wanted to leave to set up his own business.
Sedwell eventually persuaded him to stay and sold him a further 45% in the business.
Eight years after taking over the business, Ramroop expanded the premises from 500 to 3,000 square feet.
Located on London’s Fleet Street, Maurice Sedwell Ltd. grew from a gold medal-winning tailor shop to one of the UK’s best known names in Bespoke Tailoring.
Today, he owns and runs Maurice Sedwell on 19 Savile Row, making bespoke suits for customers around the world.
Ramroop has been featured in a BBC 2 documentary on Black Firsts. He has been named by 'Complex' as one of Britain's Greatest Designers.
Among other accolades, Ramroop was the first tailor to be awarded a professorship at the London College of Fashion for distinction in his field in 2001 and, in 2005, was awarded the Chaconia Medal Gold by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago.
In 2008, the Master Tailor founded the Savile Row Academy (SRA) to train the tailors of tomorrow, and was also handed an OBE honour from Britain's Queen Elizabeth II. (Source: Dominic Kalipersad,  Nov. 6, 2019)

Turn your devices to ITV and tune in to this year’s edition of Voice UK and, at some point, the sound coming from it will be familiar.
It's soca from Rodell “Triniboi Joocie” Sorzano.
The 33-year-old, UK-based Trinidadian is a semifinalist in the 11th season of the long-running show the Voice UK, which began in 2012. He will deliver his semifinal performance on Saturday.
This year’s judges are Will.i.am., Anne Marie, Sir Tom Jones and Olly Murs.
Triniboi Joocie's journey to being the first soca artiste on the show began 12 months ago.
However, he is not the first to perform in such international shows. In 2018, Olatunji Yearwood competed in the UK’s X Factor. Other Trinidadian, non-soca artistes have also competed in these types of shows. Earlier this year, 16-year-old Camryn Champion secured a spot on American Idol.
Triniboi Joocie said, “The competition decided to contact me. The talent scout for the show reached out twice, actually. The first occasion they contacted me, I declined. I said, ‘No. These shows don’t really represent artistes that I regard as artistes. I think it is quite manufactured.’
“Then they contacted me again and assured me that they were interested in me as an artiste and what I bring to their platform. Basically. I guess, they were changing their whole scope on the show and how it is represented.”
There were multiple auditions before he reached the live stage with the blind auditions.
“It was just a very nerve-racking, exciting experience. But I was reassured I could be as true to who I am and they appreciated that.”
He first appeared on episode five, which aired on October 1.
At the audition, he was asked to sing four songs.
“I came in, sang, and they were like, ‘Yes! Yes! Triniboi, we love this.’”
After multiple meetings and more auditions, he progressed to blind auditions. At the October 1 blind audition, he sang his 2020 song Bottle Over Head, which saw British singer/songwriter and judge Anne Marie turning around quickly.
“I was the first act on the second day of auditions. At 6 am in the morning, I gave them authentic soca,” he said.
He then progressed to the callbacks, at which he did a Trinidadian-style version of Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber’s I Don’t Care.
It is important for Triniboi Joocie to be anauthentic soca artiste on this platform because, for him, he feels the soca that has made it to the charts previously has either been diluted or had different elements added to it.
Being on shows like these is also opening people’s minds more to soca and its many possibilities, he said. It was making people more receptive to the indigenous genre being played throughout the year, as opposed to only at Carnival time.

During the callbacks, Triniboi Joocie was sent a song two days in advance and then had to make it his own.
“And I asked them, 'How far can I take the song?' and they said, 'Listen, 'juice' it. Make it Joocie. Give us Triniboi.' And I said, ‘Yuh sure? Because I will take it out of that box and approach it like a Soca Monarch performance, basically.’
“And they said, ‘Yes. Do you.’”
He said that was when he was able to stand out from the other competitors.
He thinks because soca is such a new genre, to some, it might be difficult to describe.
“What Anne-Marie said is, 'Triniboi is fun.' They are associating my performance as fun. It is happy.
"But really I want them to understand there is craft. There are depths to this. There are layers.”
He believes moving to the UK in 1998 allowed him to immerse himself more in TT’s culture because he was away from it. He grew up in Laventille before moving to the UK. He is also a science teacher.
That is why he is a Notting Hill Carnival ambassador. He has been advocating for soca in Europe for over a decade, an earlier press release about his entry to the show said. He was also the UK’s Soca Monarch in 2012 and 2013.
In June, Triniboi Joocie performed the late Lord Kitchener’s Pan in A Minor, backed by a 100-piece pan ensemble, at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebration at Buckingham Palace.
No matter the outcome of Voice UK, Triniboi Joocie intends to give it his best for soca, TT and the region. Using a cake analogy, he said this was simply one of the many "flavours" he was adding to his career, as the bowl was still mixing.
Another press release said his decision to take part in the show was an intentional move to advance his career as well as showcase the culture of TT and the Caribbean.
Triniboi Joocie also thinks once people take the music seriously, it will be recognised.
“Often enough, we are afraid to be as authentic as we should be. To make it palatable, we water it down.”
Afrobeats is now mainstream music because its artistes stuck to the roots of their music and were unified, he said.
He said if soca is constantly changed it would not have an identity or a recognised factor that would make people say, “That is soca.”
He called on soca artistes to be more confident in what they do.
The message that Triniboi Joocie wants the world to take away from his appearing in Voice UK is that soca is not only about fun, it is the song of a people and place that are underrepresented in the mainstream industry, and it, too, needs its day in the sun. 
(Source: Newsday, Oct 21, 2022)

​A FAMOUS but now largely forgotten Trinidadian singer, the late Mona Baptiste, will be remembered on October 22 in Dublin by the Epic Irish Emigration Museum, which records the global impact of Irish emigrants and their beliefs and heritage.
She is also now featured in the museum's exhibition Revolutionary Routes: Ireland and the Black Atlantic.
Saturday's event will consist of a talk by Baptiste's biographers, Bill Hern and David Gleave, who earlier this year published their book What about the Princess? The Life and Times of Mona Baptiste.
Hern was quoted online as saying that a few years ago, one day over coffee, the two men had reckoned that in line with the 70th anniversary of the 1948 arrival of the Empire Windrush, bringing West Indian migrants to the UK, they should explore the lives of some of those original passengers. Why had they gone to Britain and what did they achieve?
"Gradually, though, as we found out more and more about her, we realised there was a whole book to be written about just one passenger. Passenger number seven on the passenger list was Mona Baptiste and her story is a remarkable one. "Mona was a big star for several decades but is now largely, unjustly in our view, forgotten. We hope our book, the first full-length biography, will bring her the recognition she deserves."
Hern said Baptiste was a black woman from humble origins, overlooked by history, a shortcoming he hoped the book would help remedy. A book review on the Amazon website recalled her arrival in the UK."In June 1948 Mona disembarked from the Empire Windrush ship at Tilbury. Like so many of her fellow passengers she had travelled from the Caribbean to England to start a new life, and what a life it turned out to be!"
Within weeks of disembarking she made the first of countless radio appearances and she would go on to feature regularly on the television, produce a string of popular records, and appear in many films as well as stage shows in London, France and Germany."Truly a superstar in her day, Mona deserves to be remembered in the United Kingdom she loved and in the land of her birth, Trinidad.
"A statement from the museum said Baptiste was a legendary Trinidadian-born singing sensation, with a fascinating life story."
Baptiste, whose musical genres were calypso and blues, had a successful international singing career and appeared in several films."Within two weeks of arriving in England she was featured on BBC radio and was soon singing with the bands of Ted Heath and Cab Kaye and as part of the Stephane Grappelli Quintet." Heath later became British prime minister. "
French star Yves Montand invited her to appear in Paris and her fame quickly spread across the continent. Her greatest success would come in Germany in the 1950s and 1960s when she was one of the highest paid entertainers in that country."In London, she met and married Liam Morrison, and in 1972 returned with him to his native Ireland, which she would eventually call home. (Source:  Newsday, Oct 21, 2022)

 Little has been published about U.S. actor and media personality Alfonso Ribeiro’s Trinidad-born American parents - Michael, a correctional officer, and Joy Ribeiro - or his grandparents, including his paternal grandfather Albert Ribeiro who was a calypsonian known as Lord Hummingbird.
Inaccurate information on Wikipedia and elsewhere states that his parents were from the Dominican Republic and his grandfather was calypsonian Roaring Lion.
Ribeiro, however, has sought to correct this in a number of media interviews, confirming that his grandfather was Lord Hummingbird.
In addition, on his Instagram page @therealalfonsoribeiro, Ribiero provided a glimpse of his family. Over the years, he posted separate photos of his father, mother, and grandmother, as well as one with his wife, Angela, at Trinidad Carnival.
Ribeiro is best known for the character Carlton Banks which he played on the hit television show Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and as host of America’s Funniest Home Videos.
He is quoted as saying, “I’ve got great memories of being in Trinidad. As a kid, we went every summer. That was always amazing. I’ve got great memories. I’ve obviously gone back as an adult many times to play Carnival. I even took my then fiancée, now wife, and we played Carnival and Bliss. I’ve absolutely enjoyed all my Trinidad connections, and it has been wonderful.” (Source: Dominic Kalipersad, May 26, 2022)