Portal:Jamaica

Mento is a style of Jamaican folk music that predates and has greatly influenced ska and reggae music. It is a fusion of African rhythmic elements and European elements, which reached peak popularity in the 1940s and 1950s. Mento typically features acoustic instruments, such as acoustic guitar, banjo, hand drums, and the rhumba box—a large mbira in the shape of a box that can be sat on while played. The rhumba box carries the bass part of the music.

Mento is often confused with calypso, a musical form from Trinidad and Tobago. Although the two share many similarities, they are separate and distinct musical forms. During the mid-20th century, mento was conflated with calypso, and mento was frequently referred to as calypso, kalypso and mento calypso. Mento singers frequently used calypso songs and techniques. As in calypso, mento uses topical lyrics with a humorous slant, commenting on poverty and other social issues. Sexual innuendo is also common. (Full article...)

• ... that Swedish naval officer Axel Lagerbielke was imprisoned in Lima for over a year, held in Callao and eventually escaped from Panama on an English packet boat to Jamaica?
• ... that Jamaican-Welsh noblewoman Justina Jeffreys was the inspiration for the character of Anthelia in the 1817 novel Melincourt?
• ... that Antoinette Tidjani Alou wrote a work of autofiction that traces the journey of a Jamaican woman who moved to Niger for love?
• ... that Gloria Cameron was the first native Jamaican in the UK to appear on the British television programme This Is Your Life?
• ... that footballer Kameron Simmonds, who plays for Jamaica, only took up the sport after a gymnastics injury?

Percival Noel James Patterson, ON, OCC, KC (born 10 April 1935), popularly known as P.J. Patterson, is a Jamaican former politician who served as the sixth Prime Minister of Jamaica from 1992 to 2006. He served in office for 14 years, making him the longest-serving prime minister in Jamaica's history. He was the leader of the People's National Party from 1992 to 2006.

Patterson served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Westmoreland South Eastern from 1970 to 1980 (when he lost to Euphemia Williams of the Jamaica Labour Party) and again from 1989 to 1993. Following a constituency reorganization, he served as the MP for Westmoreland Eastern from 1993 to 2006. He retired from all of these positions in January 2006. (Full article...)

The Gun Court is the branch of the Jamaican judicial system that tries criminal cases involving firearms. The court was established by Parliament in 1974 to combat rising gun violence, and empowered to try suspects in camera, without a jury. The Supreme Court, Circuit Courts, and Resident Magistrate's Courts function as Gun Courts whenever they hear firearms cases. There is also a Western Regional Gun Court in Montego Bay. Those convicted by the Gun Court are imprisoned in a dedicated prison compound at South Camp in Kingston. Until 1999, the Gun Court sessions were also held in the same facility.

The long sentences of the Gun Court and its restrictions on the rights of the accused have given rise to constitutional challenges, some of which have been appealed to the Privy Council in London. These cases have resulted in some modifications to the court, but have upheld it on the whole. The Gun Court system has also been the target of criticism because of its lengthy delay in hearing cases, and the continuing rise in gun violence since its adoption. (Full article...)

Toto (also referred to as tuoto and toe-toe bulla) is a small coconut cake in Jamaican cuisine served as a snack or dessert. The cake is typically prepared with shredded coconut, brown sugar, flour, baking soda and powder, and coconut milk. It may also be added with some flavorings such as allspice, nutmeg, ginger, and salt.

Toto is a Jamaican delicacy that is served at most family gatherings. (Full article...)

• ... that prior to becoming president of Loyola College in Maryland, Joseph A. Canning spent eight years as a missionary in Jamaica?