Salute to trailblazing Reggae Sunsplash
Andrea Davis with England’s Mixmaster J.
Photo by Vinette K. Pryce
RESPECTFUL CARE at BIRTH
To experience the highest
quality health care.
DIGNITY AND
NONDISCRIMINATION
Caribbean Life, J BQ une 28–July 4, 2019 11
NEW YORK CITY STANDARDS FOR
You Deserve:
EDUCATION
DECISION-MAKING
SUPPORT
INFORMED CONSENT
For more information about the NYC Standards for Respectful
Care at Birth, search SRJ at nyc.gov/health or call 311.
QUALITY
OF CARE
To ask and receive information
about your health care, health care
provider and birthing options.
To decide what happens with your
body and your baby.
To be treated with dignity and respect
during pregnancy, labor and childbirth
and after childbirth.
To receive support during pregnancy,
labor and childbirth and after childbirth.
To make your own decisions about all
of your medical procedures.
It has been 26 years since
Andrea Davis launched a July
1 celebration she declared
International Reggae Day.
From Kingston, Jamaica she
helmed Jamaica Arts Holding
(JAH) a company totally
devoted to the preservation of
reggae music.
This anniversary she is
collaborating with the British
Black Music Congress to
establish a prominent July One
red, gold and green presence in
Europe.
Together with organizers
across the pond, they will regale
the genre birthe from the tiny
Caribbean island and since its
arrival has exported the beat
to a global reach encompassing
every continent.
Throughout the years, IRD
has been marked by concerts,
symposia, tree plantings,
photo exhibitions, fashion
shows, yoga demonstrations,
poster competitions,
award ceremonies, digital
connections and a plethora
of distinguishing efforts that
merit acknowledgement of
contributors.
This year Reggae Sunsplash,
a marathon concert series
festival will be lauded for
its trailblazing showcase
of Jamaica’s most talented
performers.
It is the 40th anniversary
year since Robert Nesta “Bob”
Marley performed on a stage
with Peter Tosh, Burning
Spear, Third World and some
of the now legendary names to
promote the music revered by
his Rastafarian colleagues.
Also known as “the
king’s music” it captivated
international audiences who
traveled each summer to the
island to revel to the harddriving
beat. From Marley’s
pioneering appearance which
spawned “Reggae by Bus”
the alleged first concert
documentary to capture what
became a movement.
Davis and her associates have
not forgotten the enterprising
spirit that propelled the annual
and will fully acknowledge the
role Synergy organizers played
in mounting the premier
summer music festival to
spotlight the nation’s homegrown
music.
She credits Reggae Sunsplash
for being the pioneering music
festival that developed the
music of Jamaica.
“It was a trailblazing
initiative to showcase reggae
music to the world,” she said.
“It created a template for reggae
festivals that has been used to
great success worldwide and
we cannot downplay its role in
taking the music international
and raising the bar for the
careers of countless artists.”
“When it began in 1978 it is
key to note that it also helped
to revive tourism in Montego
Bay because at the time all
the hotels would close for the
summer and it was Sunsplash
that revived the summer
season for the tourism industry
in Jamaica.”
Davis told the Jamaica
Observer that “it created
that festival experience that
sought to showcase the best of
Jamaican music and culture…
that mix of sounds comprising
live and recorded music -- the
whole flavor of vendors and
that reggae experience that
we have come to know and
love and can be attributed to
Sunsplash.”
Of the union of Jamaicans
who mobilized as Synergy
Productions she added that
they were able to create “a vibe
that makes a reggae festival
Inside Life
By Vinette K. Pryce
Continued on Page 14
/health