Rolling Stone Showcases Jamaica’s 50th Anniversary Party

Words by Erin MacLeod, Photos by Martei Korley, via Rolling Stone—

There had been some worries about whether or not there had been enough organization. There were some arguments about the supposed “official song”. There were some who were sure that there would be piles of problems. But then it happened. From Emancipation Day on August 1, through to the big moment–Jamaica’s 50th birthday on Monday, August 6, the nation was a 24-hour party. A pretty well-organized one at that. There were performances and play readings, expos and conversations. And then Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce won the women’s 100m and Usain Bolt and Yohan Black took gold and silver in the men’s. All together a pretty amazing and exciting week for the 3 million strong island nation and the over 3 million Jamaicans in foreign. Topping it all off was the annual “Grand Gala”–this one was to be the best so far.

LargeUp’s Jesse Serwer and Martei Korley were there, taking in the action and providing a special report of the whole event for Rolling Stone. Check out their handiwork over at Rolling Stone. They’ll have some more reporting and photos up soon, so stay tuned.