Cindy On Trial - Marley Relationship Goes Public

Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer

Cindy Breakspeare said she knew the King of Reggae, the man who would later become the father of her love child, because they would say hello to each other in passing.

"Yes I knew him, but to be a devotee of the music, part of an elite group of spiritual rebels was one thing. But to be intimate, involved personally with this man, be the woman who would stand by his side and reflect all that he was about was entirely something else."

Breakspeare wasn't a Rastafarian, didn't fit the bill, and wasn't sure she wanted to be one.

"Once again was that word religion, full of rules and regulations -just what I wanted to be free of," Breakspeare told the gathering who sat transfixed by her revelations at the Undercroft of the University of the West Indies, Mona, last Thursday during the Annual Bob Marley Lecture.

In her mind, it was uptown meets downtown. "How on earth was that going to work," she questioned.

However, that questioned was answered by the charming Bob Marley, who made her feel special with small gifts like a freshly picked mango and an invitation to walk in the cool night air. This became the norm, she reminisced.

"And I could not deny that we were fiercely attracted to each other. Fascinated and separated simultaneously by our differences, so we began to build a bridge. The same bridge that has brought me here today. Bob was strong, fit and virile. Tough as nails and boyishly charming, all at the same time."

She describes him as a man's man who wore denim and khaki, frequently used chew sticks to clean his teeth and smelled of phetamine soap, superconfident and more driven than any human being she had ever met.

INTIMIDATING FELLOW

 "He was not only attractive, but intimidating for a young girl like me. I knew instinctively if I were to enter into this relationship with him, it would change the trajectory of my life forever."

Cindy and Bob would stroll out to the fence at the front of the yard and stand there talking for hours about life, Rasta, consciousness and whether or not one knew what one's purpose on earth was.

"It was unsettling for sure, the company of this man, who was different from anyone I had been involved with thus far."

She said he was so serious about his own purpose in life that she didn't know "how and where [she] could possibly fit in".

During their tentative dance around each other, Marley went off on tour for 10 to 12 weeks.

Allan 'Skill' Cole and the gang continued to visit her from time to time at the nightclub in Northside Plaza where she worked, to check if she was behaving herself and to bring greetings from her suitor.

"Greetings to let me know that he was always thinking of me while away and would return soon - a return filled with expectation and anticipation. Finally, he was back, I knew the day was imminent. I heard the VW bus come through the gate and I just knew he was in it. His footsteps up the stairs to my front door confirmed this not long after. He was back. The waiting was over. There were no more questions which seemed to matter. It was what it was, and it would become what it would become."

Another piece of the bridge fell into place.

"Naturally, I had continued to pursue my own career goals and that pursuit led me to a job at Spartan Health Club as an instructress in June of 1976. She took to the job like a duck to water. To be totally immersed in physical culture was a wonderful way to spend every day, which fit in perfectly with her now-vegetarian lifestyle, as a result of Marley's influence.

Her involvement at Spartan and the encouragement of Mickie Haughton-James led her to compete in the Miss Jamaica Body Beautiful. The prize for winning that was to compete in the Miss Universe Bikini in London.

"Again, I won, and I remember being in New York with Bob at the Essex House where he often stayed waiting for the call from Jamaica to say whether or not I had been accepted to compete in the Miss World, also held in London."

The phone rang and the answer was yes, she had to compete in the ultimate beauty pageant, Miss World 1976 in London.

"The Miss World competition for me was an opportunity more than anything else. With no family backative and no university education, I made a conscious effort to exploit my God-given talent."

It turned out to be the best job she ever had.

"I told them to work me as hard as possible. I would go anywhere in the world they wanted to have me, and, consequently, had an amazing year getting to know the world as an unofficial ambassador for Jamaica."

Unparalleled & unforgettable

Being Jamaican was the thing she was most proud of when it came to facing the microphones. That exotic blend of cultures, colours and ethnic backgrounds, a melting pot that was truly diverse, was now sprinkled with a heavy dose of Rastafari, she said.

The night she won stands out in my memory as an overwhelming moment, unparalleled and unforgettable.

"Until this day, watching the videos of it, still fills my eyes with tears and floods my heart with emotion."

Wherever she went, Jamaica was the subject and, of course, Marley.

"The tabloids went crazy," she quipped, adding that her chaperone, Nancy Burke, was convinced she would be terminated for the scandalous press her relationship with Marley was receiving.

The age-old adage proved to be true - The only bad publicity is no publicity.

The Jamaican community, including those of the Rastafari faith, she said, supported her wholeheartedly through the length and breadth of the United Kingdom.

A few days after winning, her exploration of London took her down to Porto Bello Road, where in search of a restroom, she made her way into a Jamaican restaurant called Back-a-Yard.

"As I pushed the door dressed in full regalia, having just come from a personal appearance, the two Jamaican women who were tidying the place looked up in total disbelief, elbowing each other. 'See her yah, see her yah,' they whispered loud enough for me to hear. Says me now brightly. 'Wah a gwaan in yah, me ears a ring unno een yah a chat me'. 'Yes,' one of them stated unapologetically, we want to know why when you have so much black girls in Jamaica, Bob would a tek up with you?'."

"Well see it yah now, a say to miself, baptism of fire. I took a deep breath, swallowed my spit and prayed for courage. Within five minutes, I kid you not, every Jamaican in a five-mile radius was in that restaurant to witness the impromptu trial of the newly crowned Miss World."

Source: jamaica-gleaner

“As Jamaican as Ackee and Saltfish”: Soul Rebel Cindy Breakspeare Part 1

Cindy Breakspeare and Bob Marley

Ever since Cindy Breakspeare gave the annual Bob Marley lecture last week interest in her story has heightened. I had interviewed her in 2007 for Riddim magazine. The article appeared in German in Riddim and it just occurred to me that I could publish segments of the English original here on Active Voice. Enjoy!

When asked in a radio interview about her origins Cindy Breakspeare once said “I’m as Jamaican as ackee and saltfish”. The comparison to the national dish was particularly apt as the codfish used in it is often imported from Newfoundland, Canada. Ackee of course is a strange fruit considered inedible in many places because of the potent alkaloid toxins it contains. Jamaicans however eat it with gusto. Apt too because Cindy is the product of a Canadian mother and a Jamaican father; coupled with her white skin her bi-cultural heritage is what often subjects her to questions about her eligibility to be considered Jamaican.

I started thinking about this article after listening to numerous radio interviews with Cindy Breakspeare over the last five or six years. Who was this extraordinary woman? I was struck by her voice and the down-to-earth sincerity it radiated, her healthy sense of humour, her refusal at a certain level to wield the celebrity that is her entitlement or even to take it too seriously. This was in stark contrast to the social columns of Jamaica’s newspapers–filled with the affected poses of individuals whose lives are completely banal and vapid, their only claim to fame being their  disproportionate control of the resources of this small postcolonial nation.

Cindy on the other hand had not only been the favoured consort of the first (and to date the only) global musical superstar from the third world—Bob Marley—shortly after meeting him  she had become a celebrity in her own right by winning the Miss World competition in 1976. In those days this was an even rarer achievement for an unknown from a small developing country than it is today. As for Cindy’s Marley connection, many of us would have given our eyeteeth just to have heard Bob Marley in concert live, let alone to have enjoyed an intimate relationship with this extraordinary musician whose fame and influence have grown exponentially since his untimely death almost thirty years ago.

Cindy actually bore Marley a son, Damian, or Junior Gong as his father called him, who has turned out to be an outstanding singer and songwriter in his own right. Damian, more than any of his half brothers and sisters, has seemed the reincarnation of his father–the champion of poor people’s rights, the shamanic performer chanting down Babylon. Some Jamaicans, however, criticize Damian Marley as an example of an “uptown browning,” suggesting that he lacks street cred, something essential to good Reggae.

The success of Damian’s 2005 hit ‘Welcome to Jamrock’ silenced most critics. In any case this sort of criticism rarely originated in the streets where people appreciated the younger Marley shining a spotlight on their plight. The question is where did he get this social conscience from? From where did he get his unflinching penchant for reality and plain speaking?

Without a doubt this was partly a legacy of his legendary father who had died when Damian was only 2 years old. But having the same legendary father had not led the other Marley siblings to produce music of this caliber. What if some of Damian Marley’s outspoken lyricism actually came from his famous mother, the beautiful Cindy Breakspeare?

Judging by the interviews I had heard with Cindy I began to suspect that far from being a pampered member of any VIP club the young Marley had actually benefited from a double dose of radicalism: Not only was he his father’s son he also had a mother who had flouted the values of Jamaican society, turning her back on the wealth and privilege that could have been hers and embracing a counter cultural lifestyle that was far from glamorous then no matter its currency today.

Who was Cindy Breakspeare exactly? Born in the fifties to a Canadian mother and Jamaican father Cindy was brought up in Jamaica and went to school at Immaculate Conception, a local convent school, as a boarder. Having to be a boarder at such an early age while difficult and challenging taught Cindy independence and self-sufficiency.

I went to Immaculate at the age of 7. I think when you’re separated from your family at that age you have to make a lot of decisions for yourself at a very early age–so you learn to trust your instincts, your own instincts, at a very early age; you develop your own value system, your own sense of what’s right and wrong for you. You tend to move away from being a sheep and doing what everyone else wants because you don’t have that safe cocoon; you have to follow your own feelings a lot more. Yes, this feels right for me and no that doesn’t and yes I like this and no, I don’t like that and maybe because there is no family constantly directing and supervising and saying no, you can’t do this and no you can’t do that you just tend to wend your own path and after a while you just kinda don’t know any other way to be–you just dance to the beat of your own drum.

While going to a convent school gave her the foundation of a good middle class upbringing her own family life was fractured and unstable so that when she finished school she was on her own, fending for herself and looking for any opportunity that might come her way. At 19 Cindy had been out of school for a while and done many different jobs. There was no money for further studies; her parents were separated, her father now in Canada and she had to get out there and hustle for a living. “I worked at a furniture store for a while, I worked at a jewelry store, I ran a nightclub, I worked at the front desk of what was then the Sheraton, now the Hilton, so I did many different things and eventually found myself at this restaurant …Café D’Attic.”

Café d’Attic was Jamaica’s first health food restaurant specializing in “fruit platters and salad plates and very healthy sandwiches…It was very health-oriented and attracted those who were looking for something other than your greasy spoon, your fast food”. It was during this period that Cindy met Bob whose own preoccupation with healthy food and ital living brought him to the restaurant. This was also what brought Mickey Haughton-James, the owner of a fitness club called Spartan there, a momentous connection that ultimately led to Cindy becoming Miss World in 1976.  “So Mickey came and began talking to me about leaving there and coming to be involved in Spartan. He had not opened it yet but he was looking for someone he felt embodied health and beauty. “I was looking for opportunity, always, always looking for opportunity. Whatever looked like the next good step to take, take, let’s roll with it. So I went to Spartan.”

Source: Active Voice 

DIGICEL UNVEILS NEW MARKETING CAMPAIGN FOR REGGAE SUMFEST

Digicel, official telecommunications sponsor of the greatest reggae show on earth, has unveiled 'Inspired by Legends: the Music Lives On' as its marketing campaign for Reggae Sumfest 2011.

This year marks the 11th consecutive staging that the company has partnered with Reggae Sumfest - which is itself celebrating its 19th staging. As the anticipation heightens, Digicel has promised to deliver "legendary experiences and amazing offers" to its over two million customers and Sumfest patrons.

Grounded in the evolution of the Jamaican music from roots, rock, reggae and now dancehall, the campaign will the see the integral marriage of one of the world's greatest music legends - Bob Marley - with two of Jamaica's foremost entertainers - I-Octane and Tifa. The merger will bring a 'legendary' synergy between the past and the future - which defines the progression and celebration of Jamaica's rich musical legacy.

vibrant history

"The vibrant history of Reggae Sumfest lies in the fact that it has become an important staple in the Jamaican entertainment diet and it attracts thousands of patrons to our island to experience the stellar performances that the festival is famous for. Digicel is excited about our 11th year of partnership with what is truly the greatest reggae show on earth. This is a testament to Digicel's commitment to supporting our culture and the development of our nation's talent," commented senior sponsorships manager at Digicel, Shelly-Ann Curran.

Though mum about its overall activation for Reggae Sumfest - the company has promised that the Bigger, Better Network will deliver amazing value to customers and patrons on its social media networks. Said Curran, "We have over 315,000 fans on Facebook and over 12,000 followers on Twitter, and our fans will have several opportunities to win chances to partake in legendary experiences, with Digicel at Reggae Sumfest 2011."

Reggae Sumfest 2011 will take place from July 17 through 23 in Catherine Hall, Montego Bay, and the organisers have already confirmed some of the most talented local and international artistes to be on its line-up.

Among the acts confirmed for this year's Reggae Sumfest are Nikki Minaj, Beres Hammond, Half Pint, Beenie Man, I-Octane, Assassin, Konshens, Tanya Stephens and Tifa.

BOB MARLEY'S LIFE IS REVISITED FOR THE THIRD TIME

Fans of Bob Marley have something to look forward on the 30th Anniversary of the musician's death: a documentary by "Last King of Scotland" director Kevin Macdonald.

Audiences are familiar with MacDonald's fictional works, the upcoming adventure "The Eagle" and "State of Play," for example but the director actually got his feet wet making documentaries. In 1999 he won an Oscar for "One Day In September," a documentary about the Israeli hostage crisis at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.

"What made Bob tick is probably unanswerable but viewers will certainly feel that they know him a little better after seeing our documentary. I am grateful to the Marley family for entrusting me with their heritage," Macdonald said in a statement.

The film will be produced by Tuff Gong Pictures / Shangri-La Entertainment and will have a wide theatrical release in 2011 to mark the thirtieth anniversary of Marley's death. Previous directors who were attached to the project included Martin Scorcese and Jonathan Demme.

Filming will take place in Ghana, Japan and the UK, in addition to Jamaica and the States.