Two Belgian 'reggae tourists' - David Janssen and his wife, Cindy Reliszko - have taken a shine to Jamaica, Jamaicans and its pulsating reggae music.
Both concede that their fascination borders on obsession, but with February being Reggae Month, the couple are shaking their heads in disappointment and disbelief. From their vantage point, Jamaicans are not rocking appreciatively enough to the beat made famous by their compatriots.
With Cindy nodding emphatically, David sounded a single note of discord - there was too little harmony resonating from Reggae Month in a country that has made the genre famous. David flatly described as "fragmented," information available out of Jamaica on Reggae Month.
"If you look at Reggae Month, which started on February 1, a week later, the calendar of events shows functions that have already taken place. It doesn't say how or where I could get to events or at what time," he said.
Priding themselves as accomplished "reggae tourists", they lamented that Jamaica is not exploiting the beloved genre as they ought.
Fell in love with Jamaica
David and Cindy fell in love with Jamaica and its famed music brand six years ago on their first trip to the country. They promptly discovered that it was more than the sea, sun and sand that was promoted in tourism guides. Every year since that first visit, they have stayed in Jamaica for a month.
These days, David and Cindy are quick to sound a note of caution that Jamaica is squandering a glorious opportunity to showcase the reggae genre as an authentic tourism attraction.
"Jamaica should differentiate itself from other destinations that also have sun and beach, and they should do this with Brand Jamaica," asserted David. "I think it could be an integral part of Brand Jamaica, as people across the world are looking at reggae music."
David is particularly worried that, at this stage, Government and private promoters are not doing enough to ensure that reggae is properly fed to reggae lovers across the globe, who would do anything to attend Jamaica's showpiece events.
Marketing efforts
David suggested that information could be marketed through the European reggae scene in France, Italy, Belgium and Holland. "Much more people would come, as well as promoters of reggae parties and stage shows. When reggae artistes visit Europe, they interface with a network of eager promoters there," asserted David. "So reggae is really getting big. Protoje and Chronixx were in Europe last year, and them mash it up," he said.
"There is much more than resort tourism, and only a few people are doing it now. They should be catered to, especially now, with information being available on a website so the people can plan their holidays and go to parties," argued David.
Exploring Jamaica
On this trip, David and Cindy have continued their exploration of Jamaica. "This time, we started out in MoBay and then went to Ochi, because we went to Rebel Salute and Ninja Man's birthday bash. We took the Knutsford (bus) to Negril and did some beach there and saw Yellowman and Admiral Tibet on show," David said.
The couple also went to the popular Chug It beach party in Portmore, St Catherine. They attended Sizzla's show at the Triple Century Sports Bar, Emancipation Park, for the first Reggae Wednesday's show last week, as well as Weddy Weddy at Stone Love's headquarters.
"I have been in love with Jamaica since I first set foot on the island," Cindy chimed in. "Because of that, we never travelled anywhere else."
Cindy said her first experience on Jamaican soil came six years ago, when she came for her brother's wedding. He married a Jamaican woman.
"We are real reggae lovers, and we have a sound system back home on which we listen to reggae music," added David. "And that's what makes me so passionate about reggae. Out here, the people are so warm and the food is so good."
Promoting artiste
The couple comes from Bel-gium's second largest city, Antwerp. There, David said "we promote artistes and do shows. We get dub plates, as I have a little studio in my own house that allows artistes to pass through."
They are not just dancing to the beat of reggae music - they have learnt to cook up a storm, Jamaican style, as well. David uses jerked chicken, as well as cow cod soup and manish water to flavour parties he promotes in Belgium.
"The first thing we did was to find the recipe for the jerk, because we made the sauce from scratch. We talked to a lot of people and we read some books and we came up with a pretty good recipe with about 20 ingredients in it," he disclosed.
Food experiments
"We had the jerk seasoning, and we started to experiment. Of course, we did not have the drums, but we found something with a lid on it that is good for jerking. We started experimenting, and people loved it, and we started catering for parties and people's homes," David said.
Given their experiences, David is suggesting that tourists should not be insulated from Jamaicans with the fear of crime. "Anything can happen anywhere. So we must be allowed to come to Kingston and the countryside, where the real people live," David said.
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