Portal:Jamaica

The Jamaican iguana (Cyclura collei), also known commonly as Colley's iguana, is a large species of lizard in the family Iguanidae. The species is endemic to Jamaica. It is critically endangered, even considered extinct between 1948 and 1990. Once found throughout Jamaica and on the offshore islets Great Goat Island and Little Goat Island, it is now confined to the forests of the Hellshire Hills. (Full article...)

• ... that Because They Know Not by Jamaican novelist Alvin Gladstone Bennett describes itself as a "powerful story on the colour problem"?
• ... that Gloria Cameron was the first native Jamaican in the UK to appear on the British television programme This Is Your Life?
• ... that Rita Humphries-Lewin, a former chair of the Jamaica Stock Exchange, entered the industry as a secretary?
• ... that Beverley Manley was a prominent activist for women's rights in Jamaica while her husband was prime minister?
• ... 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 at 107 years old, Stanley Stair of Jamaica was at the time of his death the last surviving Caribbean veteran of World War I?

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...)

---

"Guava Jelly" is a song recorded by the Jamaican group Bob Marley and the Wailers. It was released as a 7" vinyl single through Tuff Gong and Green Door Records. It was issued commercially with B-side track "Redder Then Red", which was misspelled on its initial printing, in 1971. It was written and produced by Marley and features uncredited lyrical contributions from Bunny Livingston. A reggae composition like the majority of Marley's works, "Guava Jelly" contains a rocksteady and island-like production with lyrics loosely based around sexual intercourse. His use of the term "guava jelly" was likely referring to a specific type of sexual lubricant. It was favorably viewed by several reviewers, with many of them finding the composition to be sexual and about love. The group placed "Guava Jelly" on several compilation albums, including Africa Unite: The Singles Collection in 2005, and Owen Gray and Herbie Mann created their own versions in 1974 and 1975, respectively.

American artists Johnny Nash and Barbra Streisand also recorded "Guava Jelly" and released their versions as commercial singles in 1972 and 1974, respectively. Nash's version was featured on his eleventh studio album, I Can See Clearly Now (1972), and was distributed in the 7" format in Jamaica and South Africa as the record's fourth and final single. Rita Marley, Bob's wife, was upset that Nash had recorded it since he might be credited for the single's success and not Marley. Streisand's rendition was included on her sixteenth studio album, ButterFly (1974), and released as the record's lead single on 16 December 1974. It divided music critics in the way that several thought her voice was not suited for reggae music. In 1991 the singer would appear on Larry King Live and admit her disappointment in ButterFly and the songs that appeared on it. (Full article...)

Rice and peas or peas and rice are traditional rice dishes within some Caribbean countries. The 'peas' used in this dish by some countries are traditionally pigeon peas otherwise called 'Gungo peas' in the Caribbean. Either kidney beans (red peas) or pigeon peas are generally used for this dish. Rice and peas recipes throughout the Caribbean vary, with each country having their own way of making it and name of calling it, and are similar only by the two main ingredients which are the legumes (peas/beans) used and rice to form a mixture. The name "rice and peas" originally is used by Jamaicans to identify the dish, while other countries have different names for it.

In 1961, Frederic G. Cassidy made note that the dish had been referred to as Jamaica's coat of arms. (Full article...)

• ... that an aqueduct of over 1 mi (1.6 km) in length was built to supply Trinity plantation in Jamaica with water?