My Guyanese Mom Rock Contest Winner – Yvette Irving

Nirmala Narine is a World Traveler, Author, Executive Producer, Television Host, and Founder of Nirmala’s Kitchen, the go-to company for spices, grains, sauces and much more.   She was born in Guyana and at the age of six Nirmala began to cook in a tiny kitchen with no running water or electricity.  It was Nirmala’s grandfather, an Arya Samaj Hindu Pandit, who schooled her in the ancient Indian arts of holistic cooking and Ayurvedic living.  When…

Two female pioneer aviators were recently presented with their own commemorative stamps, which were launched by the Guyana Post Office. Cheryl Moore was the country’s first female military pilot in 1977 and Beverley Drake, the first female commercial pilot in the same year.

Victoria Marianna Gunraj is the owner of  Miami-based Caribbean clothing line and T-shirt Company “DeportedTEES.”  Born in Miami, Florida on December 17th, 1989, Victoria’s parents hail from the villages of Wales and Vreed-en-Hoop in West Demerara, Guyana. A graduate of the University of Florida, this 24- year-old business woman earned a B.S. Degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition.  Victoria’s passion for fashion and design led her to start her own fashion company in 2011…

Congratulations to Guyanese-born Scholar, Kelly Hyles, on her recent graduation from the prestigious High School for Math, Science and Engineering in Queens, New York.  The 18 year old Valedictorian will be attending Harvard University this Fall on a full scholarship,  following her very impressive acceptance to a total of 21 colleges, including all 8 top Ivy Leagues schools in the US.  Back in April, 2016, Kelly was also the recipient of the very first Guyanese Girls Rock Award,…

Joyce Ferdinand-Lalljie  was a child prodigy who began playing one of her mother’s piano pieces when she was three years old. She and her younger sister Mavis both became concert pianists and were known as the two Ferdinand girls. Joyce is accredited as being the first black woman, if not the first woman to play a full piano concerto.  In his article on radio in British Guiana for the 1951 Chronicle Christmas Annual, Albert E…

Linisa George is a creative outburst of energy. Born in Guyana, Linisa migrated with her family to Antigua, the island where she calls home, at the tender age of 4. She wrote in secret from the age of 6; her poems were her escape from a world that she didn’t think she fit into. It wasn’t until 2003 while living in Toronto where she discovered the writings of the amazing Maya Angelou, that she realised…

Guyanese born Catherine Pollard has a new top position at the United Nations.   UN Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Catherine Pollard of Guyana as the next Under-Secretary-General for Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance.  She will succeed Jan Beagle of New Zealand to whom the Secretary-General is deeply grateful for her extraordinary work in management reform in the United Nations system and 40 years of dedicated service to the Organization. Ms. Pollard brings to the position…

For those of us who have emigrated from Guyana, Demerara Gold is a refreshing reminder of the expectation, excitement and anxiety that we experience in our journey to  join our families in America. I recently had the pleasure of sitting in the front row to watch Ingrid Griffith, the star of Demerara Gold, as she seamlessly transformed into a slew of characters and captivated the audience with her raw emotions and hilarious depictions of events from her…

During the colonial period in Guyana, the country’s coastal lands were worked by enslaved Africans and indentured Indians. In Creole Indigeneity, Shona N. Jackson investigates how their descendants, collectively called Creoles, have remade themselves as Guyana’s new natives, displacing indigenous peoples in the Caribbean through an extension of colonial attitudes and policies. Looking particularly at the nation’s politically fraught decades from the 1950s to the present, Jackson explores aboriginal and Creole identities in Guyanese society….

Below, the first female army officers, from left, Brenda Aaron, Clarissa Hukumchand, Hyacinth King and Captain Joan Granger, in their uniforms of green khaki shirts and blouse, green berets, shiny black shoes and shoulder bags at Camp Ayanganna. Reprinted from Guyana Graphic, Tuesday, January 31, 1967 (Winston Oudkerk photo) The four young women are donned military uniforms of green khaki on January 30, 1967 and marched smartly off to begin a course of training as…

In 1958, Martha Ruby Holland (nee Nicholson) founded the first Ruby Holland School of Music  in British Guiana, South America. She was an avid believer in music education and the art.  She believed that everyone possessed creative talent and spent her life providing artistic opportunities for students regardless of their age, social standing or financial means. Martha’s approach to teaching music (the piano) was unique and quite enriching. She offered her students a rich array…

Since 2015, Anaya Lee Willabus has been known for being the youngest author in the USA to publish the first chapter book at eight years old. Today, Anaya is twelve years old and has released her fourth book. The fourth book is part of a series called- ‘Make it Happen’- Anaya Willabus by Lightswitch Learning. The book talks about the many challenges Anaya faced and how she overcame them. Anaya hopes that other children would…

“A queen is wise. She has earned her serenity, not having had it bestowed on her but having passer her tests. She has suffered and grown more beautiful because of it. She has proved she can hold her kingdom together. She has become its vision. She cares deeply about something bigger than herself. She rules with authentic power.” ― Marianne Williamson .

Per Channing and his friends…. “The people in Guyana are half the story, they’re incredible. It’s like something out of a storybook. They can fix a car with a roll of duct tape and kill a charging jaguar with a bow and arrow, and all with a calm smile on their face like they’ve done it a million times before.” An Adventure to Remember: Channing Tatum & Friends Explore Guyana

Enna Morgan (aka: j.a. morgan) is an avid traveller with a passion for art, dance, language, and cultural thought. Beginning at an early age, she has travelled extensively throughout the Caribbean and South America, then later in North America, Europe and Asia. While residing in various countries, she spent many years researching cultural thought and language, concurrent with maintaining her finger on the pulse of dance, design, literature, and photography. Years after migrating to the USA…