King Short Shirt Archives - Antigua and Barbuda

No long talking, let get’s straight to The Point! What is The Point? Where is The Point?

In keeping with the implementation of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage Project, we are conducting a series of in-depth interviews, showcasing important elements of our cultural heritage.

Last time around, Dr. Reginald Murphy gave us a brilliant breakdown of the nation’s first-ever cultural heritage (protection) law. Today, we take a journey into The Point community through the eyes of Director of the National Archives, and a proud Point Man, Mr. Gavin Emmanuel. In this interview, Mr. Emmanuel, born in 1977, shares with us traditions, iconic figures and institutions, places of memory, and memories of being raised in and by The Point.

Be sure to listen out for mention of:

legends of The Point in calypso, business, and sports
The King of The Point
Brownie’s Bakery
Westham Football Club’s origins
coal pots vs/and stoves
charcoal sellers
fast food back then
Rat Island adventures
boyhood days—experiences and ingenuity
community Spirit—back when a community DID raise a child
men who were nurturers
nicknames all around—“Wizard”, “Tiger, “Lion”…
Booby Alley, the heart of The Point.

Interviewee: Mr. Gavin Emmanuel, Director of the National Archives of Antigua and Barbuda. Also, a staunch “Point Man”.
Interviewer: Dr. Hazra C. Medica. Cultural Advisor, Ministry of Sports, Culture, and the Creative Industries.
Videographer: Mr. Jeremiah Joseph. Data Entry Clerk at the National Archives of Antigua and Barbuda.
Location: The National Archives of Antigua and Barbuda, Victoria Park, Factory Road, St. John’s, Antigua

On November 1^st, 1981, Antigua and Barbuda became a fully independent sovereign state. We celebrate the nation’s 42^nd Anniversary of Independence with a glimpse through the “family album” of text, images, and videos; snapshots of our journey to Independence in the decades leading up to 1981 (and beyond).

Tell us, what images, videos, and memories would make your Independence “family album”?

The 1900s to the present: The journey to the Antigua Recreation Grounds.

The 1940s to present: The journey to the V.C. Bird International Airport.

©Photos courtesy VCBIA/ Antigua and Barbuda Airport Authority

The 1950s:

Antigua and Barbuda’s historic place in the development of the Caribbean’s steelpan/band tradition.

Released in 1955, three sixteen-person steel bands—Big Shell, Brute Force and Hell’s Gate—come together to provide a sampling of lively music from Antigua. ↩︎
For this Cook recording, the Brute Force Steel Band of Antigua performs mambos, rumbas, sambas, calypsos and meringues plus a march and a bolero. (Released 1955.) ↩︎
In the streets of Antigua shortly following WWII, The Brute Force Steel Band began as one of the ensembles that would pioneer Caribbean steel pan music. These calypsos, meringues, sambas, tangos and pops were a staple of the annual Carnival, which feature vocals by Calypsonian Herbert Howard and Lord Lally of Antigua (Released 1957.) ↩︎
Trinidadian vocalist Dot Evans joined the Antiguan Brute Force Steel Band for this collaborative project that displays the luxurious melodies and rhythmic rigors of steel pan music and the Caribbean calypso. (Released 1957.) ↩︎

The 1960s:

The Royals visit Antigua (St. John’s, the Holberton Hospital, and Nelson’s Dockyard featured).

The 1970s:

When an Antiguan king almost took a Trinidadian throne.

The 1980s: Hip! Hip! Hooray! An Independent Antigua and Barbuda:

The Termination of Association Order, and admission to membership in the United Nations.

Talking THE POINT

Cheers to 1981!

The Antigua and Barbuda Cultural Information System

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