May 22, 2007
A Caribbean Soul: Greater Antilles (Cuba)
CUBA
“Havana daydreamin’, oh he’s just dreamin’ his life away…”
You can dream of Havana, but unless you fit into some very specific categories, you can’t go there. Restrictions on U.S. citizens’ travel to Cuba, even via a third country such as Mexico or Jamaica, are serious, and enforcement recently has increased. Go without a U.S. government-issued visa and face civil penalties and criminal prosecution. It used to be possible, but with passports now required for travel to the Caribbean and Mexico, your U.S. passport would get an extra entry stamp upon your return from Cuba en route back to the U.S. Two entry points in one trip? You’d have some ‘splainin’ to do.
It is possible, but extremely difficult, to get a license to travel to Cuba, or to travel under the auspices of a licensed group, such as an educational, religious or charitable organization. But as licenses for these organizations expire, many are not being renewed, so it’s harder to join a group and even harder to go solo.
For specifics, check with the U.S. State Department. To get a license, you go through the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Cuba has definitely inspired Jimmy over the years. He’s been there, and even performed “Havana Daydreamin’” at the Bodega del Medio in downtown Havana, with CIA, KGB and Cuban secret police in the audience.
“Cuban Crime of Passion” (on the album “A White Sport Coat & A Pink Crustacean”) tells the story of one Billy Voltaire, “a piano player up from Miami way,” who ended up in Havana. He fell in love with a dancer named Meritta, “half woman, half child, she drove him half wild.”
’Til one night he did find her in the arms of Shrimper Dan
So he pulled a knife, took poor Danny’s life
And then he turned his own cold hand.
And it’s just a Cuban crime of passion
Messy and old fashioned.
Yes, this is the same Billy who taught Slade Patterson to play piano in the “I Wish Lunch Could Last Forever” short story (from the book “Tales from Margaritaville”).
Jimmy’s love of Caribbean history is woven together with a very personal family tale in the lyrics to “False Echoes” (on the album “Banana Wind”), which takes place in 1921, back before Castro and travel restrictions.
The skies over Cuba turned pink with the light
And the waterfront ritual began to ignite.
All the ships in the harbor were warmed by the sun,
Twenty-fifth of November, 1921.
On the old Chicamauga the signal jacks flew
And the message they spelled out caused a great ballyhoo.
Every ship in Havana then hoisted away.
All the pennants were flyin' on my dad's first birthday.
As it often does with Jimmy, the song comes back to family. His songs can reveal pieces of his past, capture recent moments with great immediacy and pay tribute to those family members who touch him the most.
The bottom line: traveling is fun, but going home to those you love is the most fun of all.
Posted at 11:11 AM | Comments (0)
May 21, 2007
A Caribbean Soul: Greater Antilles (Jamaica)
JAMAICA
Head for Kingston, mon. Jamaica has the third-largest English-speaking population in the Americas, after the U.S. and Canada. And of course you can’t beat the music. But take Air Jamaica, or make sure your plane is well-marked. Otherwise, you just might find yourself mistaken for a drug runner. It happened to Jimmy.
In 1996 Jimmy was flying to Jamaica in his Grumman HU-16 Albatross “Hemisphere Dancer.” The plane was shot at by Jamaican police, who suspected it was smuggling drugs. No one was hurt, although the plane suffered a few bullet holes. You can see for yourself: the plane is now on view at his Margaritaville restaurant in Orlando.
Based on these lyrics from “Jamaica Mistaica” (on the album “Banana Wind”), all is now forgiven:
Come back, come back, back to Jamaica.
Don’t chu know we made a big mistaica.
We’d be so sad if you told us goodbye,
And we promise not to shoot you out of the sky
In “Woman Goin’ Crazy on Caroline Street” (on the album “Havana Daydreamin’”) Jimmy sings about someone he saw in Key West, “Stoppin’ every man that she does meet.” He imagines that:
Her lover left her stranded in Jamaica
And just right now she can't recall his name.
You can’t talk about Jamaica without mentioning reggae. Jimmy’s “life is a mixture of reggaes and tangos” in “Lone Palm” (on the album “Fruitcakes”). On the “Take the Weather with You” album, he sings about “Reggabilly Hill”. And on the title “Fruitcakes” track, he sings:
So I’ll put on my Bob Marley tape
And practice what I preach.
Get Ja lost in the reggae mon
As I walk along the beach.
Twelve years later, Jimmy is still carrying reggae with him except now he sings that “I got Bob Marley on my ringtone”. (In “Everybody’s on the Phone” on the “Take the Weather with You” album)
Jamaica is all about music. And beaches. And lilting accents...
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A Caribbean Soul: Greater Antilles (Haiti)
HAITI
A former French colony, Haiti became the world’s first independent black republic in 1804. Unfortunately, Haiti suffers from political unrest and is one of the poorest countries in the world. Aggressive deforestation has led to soil erosion and exacerbated flooding problems. Still, despite the problems the Haitian people have had to endure, in the liner notes to “African Friend” in the boxed set “Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads” Jimmy says, “they are the warmest and friendliest people I have come across in my travels.”
The music of Haiti also bears mention. The best-known Haitian artist is Wyclef Jean; others include T-Vice and Carimi. Styles include kompa, rasin and kadans. Haitians have also imported zouk from the Lesser Antilles and merengue from the neighboring Dominican Republic. If you travel to Haiti, expect to dance!
Speaking of music, Jimmy sings of Haiti in two of his songs.
On a timeless beach in Hispaniola
A young girl sips a diet cola
She’s worlds apart, worlds apart.
The spirit of the black king still
Reverberates through Haitian hills.
He rules the sea and all the fish
What if he had a TV dish?
(From “That’s What Living Is to Me” on the album “Hot Water”)
And “African Friend” (originally on the album “Son of a Son of a Sailor”) was written after a wild night in a Port-au-Prince casino. Jimmy has said he felt like he was in a Humphrey Bogart movie there.
Disembarking at Duvalier Airport,
Seeking transportation to town.
As the purple ink dried on his passport
He could still feel the eyes look around.
“Monsieur, ou est le casino?”,
He spoke to the cabbie and smiled.
The driver replied “Vieux ou noveaux?”
As he motioned the dark man inside.
Business in Aruba concluded
He now had a little money to spend.
That's how I came to meet my African friend.
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Posted at 08:31 PM | Comments (0)
A Caribbean Soul: Greater Antilles (Puerto Rico)
Ah, the Caribbean. So many mysteries. Like which syllable gets the accent, the RIB or the BE? And which islands have the gentlest breezes? The bluest waters? The friendliest natives? Should I cruise via Royal Caribbean or take more of a DIY approach?
Jimmy knows. He became fascinated by the history of the Caribbean while a history major at the University of Southern Mississippi. He’s traveled the Caribbean for years, by boat and seaplane. The various islands are the subjects of numerous songs, and receive tangential mention on even more. To sum it up, In “Migration” (on the album "A1A") he claims, “Got a Caribbean soul I can barely control.” So what’s his take on it all? And what’s in it for you?
The Caribbean, also known as the West Indies, is primarily divided into the Greater Antilles (Puerto Rico, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Cuba) and the Lesser Antilles to the south. Let's take a closer look at the Greater Antilles from East to West.
PUERTO RICO
She was down In Puerto Rico
Doing a scientist.
True, he was no geek though
She was taken with his kiss.
(From “Desdemona's Building A Rocket Ship”, on the album “Banana Wind”)
Yes, Puerto Rico has plenty of action. This U.S. Commonwealth (no passport needed; U.S. dollars are the local currency) consists of a main island and various smaller islands.
On the main island, San Juan is the largest city. The most picturesque neighborhood, Old San Juan, has cobblestone streets and buildings daing back 100 years or more. Once a walled city, Old San Juan retains much of the original massive walls as well as two forts from the 16th and 17th centuries.
For something a little less urban, head out of town to the El Yunque National Rain Forest, with its miles of hiking trails, or Río Camuy Cave Park, 268 acres of subterranean caverns carved out more than a million years ago.
Puerto Rico’s outlying islands are Vieques and Culebra to the east and Mona and Monito to the west. All are diving destinations. In fact, according to Scuba Diving Magazine, Puerto Rico is one of the best-kept secrets in diving. Mona and Monito Islands are known as the Galapagos of the Caribbean and are home to endangered marine turtles, sea birds and occasional migratory marine mammals. Vieques, with its bioluminescent waters, is great for night swims. And Culebra is a capital of eco-tourism, with its National Wildlife Refuge and Canal de Luis Peña Nature Reserve. That island’s Flamenco Beach is one of the top beaches in the world.
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