|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
Live Radio Broadcast to Stations
in the Caribbean, Europe and Canada
Informing Caribbean Nationals on News and Information |
|
|
Caribbean Television
programming
Dissemination news and entertainment in the Caribbean
and North America |
|
|
Internet Webcasting
Puts you in touch with millions of people worldwide
using the internet |
|
|
|
|
|
Jamaican
Hall Of Fame: Rex Nettleford
Born on February 3, 1933 in Falmouth, Jamaica, Rex
Nettleford was a leading Caribbean intellectual and
visionary. He was often referred to as a "Third World
Scholar". During his life, Nettleford nurtured his
sensibilities into being more creative. His vivid
imagination urged him to become more interested in the
daily workings of the Caribbean country lifestyle. He
observed their religious practices, music patterns and
dialects. Due to his scrutinization of the country life
and their cultural persistence, he was able to create
his own ideas to convey the Caribbean Identity.
Rex Nettleford attended Cornwall College in Montego Bay,
and earned a degree in History at the prestigious
University Of The West Indies in London. He later became
a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University. Although,
Nettleford was very educated he remained loyal to
promoting Jamaican culture and social mores. He
continued his committment by working closely with
Caribbeans to explore the realities of their cultural
development in daily living. His art, such as writings
and choreograpies, unleashed his creative power by
expressing the struggles of people in the Caribbean
regions.
In his works, Rex Nettleford describes how the quest for
identity can form a crux where citizens have to come to
terms with their heritage and the discomfort it
sometimes creates. While exploring the Caribbean self
image, he formulated his own ideas regarding the
hybridization and creolisation of the Caribbean people.
He discovered their willingness to "buy" into the
mixture of races and half-identification; therefore
creating a fragmented view of their own identities. His
first publication, "Mirror, Mirror, Race, Identity and
Protest in Jamaica (1970), explains Jamaican Society and
the apprehensions they have towards their identities.
Nettleford became an advocate of Higher Education which
prompted him to become Founder of The Trade Union
Education Institute. An organization which allowed
factory and farm workers to unite with scholars to help
bridge the education gap between the classes. In 1963,
he became the Co- Founder, Artistic Director,
Choreographer and Lead Dancer, for the National Dance
Theatre Company of Jamaica. He used this forum to
introduce several religions to Jamaica, such as, Kumina
and Pocomania. The stage became the arena where he
debuted these movements and practices. Nettleford
believed that the Arts fostered cultural survival,
awareness of self and social change.
Mr. Nettleford received several awards during the course
of his career. In 1975, he received The National Honor
of Order of Merit (O.M.), The Gold Musgrave Medal from
The Institute of Jamaica and The Living Legend Award
from The Black Arts Festival in Atlanta, USA. In 1994,
he received the Zora Neale Hurston-Paul Robeson Award
for Outstanding Scholarly Achievment from The National
Council for Black Studies, USA.
Rex Nettleford's career can be summed up by saying that
he was a pioneer who sought Cultural Definition and
Artistic Discoveries.
|
|
|
| |
| Home |
Services | Customer
Care | FAQs | Privacy |
|
|
|
©2003
Caribbean Media Services, LLC. All rights reserved
|
| |
|