Category: Features

The Mashramani celebration is just around the corner, and designers are applying their finishing touches to the spectacular costumes, and it is ever more hectic for local designers Carlos ‘Lucky B’ Williams and Olympia Small-Sonaram. And lest we forget, Slingshot would be here, and he has once again turned to the well-known and evergreen designer Bernard Ramsey for his Mash band’s look.  Carlos ‘Lucky B’ Williams The former singer turned fashion designer, Carlos – Lucky B his stage name – has launched several design lines over the years. He has…

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Soca and calypso singer John ‘Slingshot’ Drepaul was born at William Street, Kitty, Georgtown and grew up at No 63 Village, Corentyne. Slingshot lived on his own in a beach house at No. 63 Beach, from age 13, with no assistance from his family. His stepmother, Etwaria Masidas, had put him out of the family home to fend for himself. Rising above such adversity, he was determined to succeed and make something good out of life for himself. “Playing music, being in bands and entertaining were never my life’s ambition.…

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– Guyana Relief Council achieves 17 years of rendering assistance to victims affected by disasters or other unfortunate circumstances. Going on 17 years, the Guyana Relief Council (GRC) has been providing hope for persons throughout Guyana who have been stricken with disaster and other tragic unforeseen circumstances. It was formed on January 17, 1994, and registered under the Friendly Societies Act in Guyana as a charitable, non-profit, non-governmental organization. The GRC has a non-discriminatory policy, and is geared to give assistance, as far as is practicable, to all citizens of…

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– a potent force badminton competition  Badminton is the fastest racket sport known, and is as competitive and as tough as any other sport. Young champions Priyanna and Narayan Ramdhani have seemingly mastered the sport, taking home numerous medals and trophies both nationally and internationally.  Priyanna, eight, and Narayan, 12, were very intrigued by the sport because of their father, Gokarn Ramdhani, who was a national player in the 80s. Now also president of the Guyana Badminton Association and their coach, their dad would take them to practice sessions, and…

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Anna Lee Gonsalves I was born and raised in the Pomeroon, in the county of Essequibo, in Guyana, but I now reside in New York, USA. I work as an administrative assistant at Jos-El Care Nursing Agency, and I’m also a part-time student.  Well, home is where the heart is, and Guyana has always been home for me. I think it’s the people and the distinctive Guyanese culture that truly make Guyana a wonderful destination. I’ve been catching up on our local cuisine, familiar sites, and, of course, our great…

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Guyana Times Sunday Magazine interviewed women about what they want to see being done for women in 2011 Community Youth Facilitator Marissa Lowden “It breaks my heart to know that so many women today are suffering from domestic violence at the hands of their husbands and/or partners.  Domestic violence is a startling but prevalent social problem in Guyana, which is often ignored, crossing racial and socioeconomic lines. Any victim of domestic violence experiences a violation of fundamental individual and collective rights. In 2011, I would like to see the enforcement…

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Spreading holiday cheer despite challenges                                    One band of singers famous for bringing Christmas cheer through their songs is the ever popular Yoruba Singers.  According to a Yoruba biography, the Yoruba Singers band was founded by Patrick Eze Rockcliffe in 1971, out of an African-oriented group called ASCRIA: African Society for Cultural Relations Independent Africa, with folk as its primary music.  “When I was 19, we had a lot of activities in Kitty through the YSM, Young Socialist Movement, and ASCRIA. They had a lot of concerts across the country and…

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By Indrawattie Natram  Essequibo was the first county to celebrate Christmas in Guyana.  If one should delve into the history of Christmas and how the holiday was first observed in Guyana, one would find that according to historians, Christmas was first observed on a regular basis in Guyana when the Dutch immigrants made permanent settlements in various parts of the county of Essequibo. It was noted that the festive season was first celebrated in Essequibo in 1616, then Berbice in 1627, and in 1746 in Demerara.  After the 1796 British…

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