Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

Breaking Borders, one gang neighbourhood at a time By Stephen Weir. 97 year-old Salena has had no formal medical training. For the past 70-years she has been the go-to woman when a street gangbanger has been shot. She lives in the Egipto neighbourhood - one of four street gang communities inside Bogota's cultural epicentre of La Candelaria. When someone gets shot in Egipto and refuses to get medical help outside of the hood, Salena steps in. " I cut them open with whatever is at hand " she told me through a translator. " I dig out the bullet and put them back together. I made a cream that keeps infection out of the wound for a week!" These days Salena doesn't haven't to work her magic. The gangstas of Egipto have laid down their weapons, stopped mugging tourists and shooting up the other gangs. Now they are allowing small tour groups in to see their vibrant secret community, meet the locals and learn about their plans for the future.

For one night only it was all about Soca, Mas costumes and Carnival F U N  By Stephen Weir  All photographs by Anthony Berot Sunlime mesmerized almost 500 fans of Carnival on Friday night in North Toronto.   It was almost a full house for the annual Sunlime Mas Band Costume launch. Using the theme of Mesmerize, over 70 male and female models took to the stage of Eglinton East’s   Latvian Cultural Centre with one mission in mind – Hypnotize the willing audience into joining the Mas Band!   Using colourful, bare-as-you dare costumes and contemporary dance moves, the 10 sections were successful in capturing the attention of the crowd.   Most of the costumes were sexy, no matter your size, while some, including a Rasta costume for men, was downright fun! “While most other bands lost masqueraders last year we continued to add for the third year in a row,” explained band spokesman Niles Koski. “We're expecting to continue to grow with more sections and more masquer

Ian Williams Up For Big Book Prize By Stephen Weir Trinidadian born Ian Williams is considered to be one of the country’s top poets.   However, he is in the news these days for Reproduction, his first novel.   The 38-year old’s book tells the story of three generations of a Caribbean Canadian family living Toronto. Reproduction is one of five novels that have made the $60,000 First Novel Award.   Given out annually by Amazon Canada and The Walrus Magazine, the prize honours the achievements of Canadian authors and their debut novels. Williams left T&T in 1988 and moved to Brampton with his older brother and parents.   He turned out to be a brilliant student earning his doctorate in English from the University of Toronto at just 25 years of age. He is currently an assistant professor of poetry in the Creative Writing program at the University of British Columbia.  His first book, You Know Who You Are, was a finalist for the ReLit Poetry Prize.   His poetry c

Machel Montano on stage at last year's Atlantic Carnival Costume Launch The Atlantic Will Make A Big Wave When It Comes Ashore at the Toronto Harbour on May 25th By Stephen Weir Atlantic Carnival, one of the newest mas bands taking part in the annual Toronto Caribbean Carnival Parade, isn’t going to be competing in this year’s massive August 3rd event.   That doesn’t mean you won’t see them out on the road, or hosting their signature gigantic mas costume launch – they have been granted special non-competing status in the 2019 carnival despite being banned from the parade! The Caribbean Camera has learned that the Festival Management Committee – the owners of the Toronto Caribbean Carnival – has just changed the structure of the parade itself.   They have decided to allow a number of Mas Bands to sell costumes to revellers and go down the road with the other competing bands while avoiding the judging process.   The bands are also exempted from taking part in the King

THE BIGGEST SO FAR THIS COSTUME LAUNCH SEASON SALDENAH CARNIVAL   IS ALL HEART AND SOCA! By Stephen Weir The Saldenah family pulled it off.  There was too much at stake. Louis Saldenah was able to get a record number of people – 2,800 people into the Scarborough Cinnamon Banquet Hall,  He had 120 fancy dressed models on and off  the stage before the bar closed at 2 am and didn’t have a heart attack getting the job done! Saldenah Carnival, the largest and most winning Canadian band in the annual Toronto Caribbean Carnival Grand Parade is taking it all to heart in 2019.   Note that their theme is the Heart Beat: the Thrill of Life. And to keep the whole thing beating a record 17 sections were needed to show all the costumes they will have on the road this year. “ We expect to be making 6,000 costumes this season,” said  Hayden Harbin. “ There will be five trucks on the road with special guest stars on the floats (Caribbean Camera hears that Trinidadian singer Nadia Batson