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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,...

On an October afternoon, as the sun played hide and seek among the clouds, the shadows of the Georgian façades stretched and contracted like a time lapse video - the Spanish Town Square sat enclosed in a time warp as the world whizzed past. Home to Jamaica's finest historical buildings, the brick-and-mortar structures stand testimony to an opulent, sophisticated era that was a turning point in history. The King's House in the People's Museum of Craft and Technology holds a treasure chest of artefacts. "The exhibit celebrates the great creativity, industry and self-reliance of the newly freed Jamaicans," said Johnathan Greenland, director of the National Museum Jamaica. The items showcasing the people's transition from slavery and struggling to building a life of self-reliance and freedom while paving the path for future generations. The exhibits in the museum assume as much historical and archival value as the building in which they are hous...

Published: Monday | May 4, 2009 Jerome Fleming with his seven-month-old daughter, Tianna, at the Mothers of Incarcerated Sons centre. - Photo by Amitabh Sharma Pauline Donald's conviction that she can make a difference has sparked a fiery resolve to empower Jamaican youths to abandon crime and learn viable job skills. "We are fighting a spiritual war for the betterment of the young generation," declared Donald, as she glanced at the sparse surroundings of the resource centre that she has set up at Jones Avenue, Spanish Town. Donald's eyes narrate a story of hope and perseverance to give a meaningful life to youths. That cause inspired her to set up Mothers of Incarcerated Sons, a support group for mothers in her community. Donald, a 55-year-old mother of five, recalled that there were a string of unfortunate circumstances in her community that jolted her. "One of my cousins was shot and killed right in front of my house," she ...