amjamin

The brick-wall edifice still reverberates with the click of the hooves of the carriage drawn by horses, aristocracy in all their Sunday best, alighting and walking up the doorsteps. Life, etched in history, that travelled along the street of Cathedral Church of St Jago de la Vega, in its casual pace in the 18th Century has fast forwarded to cars zipping by on an overdrive, but it stands still, frozen in time. From the Spanish to the British, the cathedral stands testimony to almost two centuries of colonial rule in Jamaica. Interestingly, the building is also a confluence of their respective styles. “The structure (of the cathedral) is two buildings joined together at the point of the transepts and the chancel,” explained Bill Poinsett, chair, heritage committee, Cathedral Church of St Jago de la Vega. Like the chapters of history, it was built and razed and rebuilt - tracing its genesis to about 1525 on the site of the Spanish Chapel of the Red Cross. “Built in 1714,...

Tashanya Traile - self taught artist “Art found me, it was in me and all I had to do was to let it flow,” said Tashanya Traile, a young, self-taught artist. Traile says she is an artist inspired by personal experiences and struggles. “I love to transfer these experiences to canvas,” declared the 27-year-old, who chose to hang up her crisp business attire and embrace art and its myriad of shades. Traile was living in New Jersey, and one day the world of possibilities opened in front of her when when she walked into Michaels (an art supply store). The transformation had seeded, she said, as Traile was as delighted as a kid in a candy store. “There was so much in the store. I was so excited!” Artist Undressed - Traile embraces art in its many hues But this journey began not on a colourful path, but was mired in shades of grey, with detractions, naysayers and dissuasion. Her decision to tread a path of self expression was met with more resistance than encouragement; gloom...