Lennie Little-White | Windrush in some Jamaican hotels

“Who di cap fit, let dem wear it.”

 

My last column, which drew attention to the plight of Jamaican entertainers in our tourism industry, has opened up “a can of worms” and deserves national attention.

“Mi throw mi corn, mi no call no fowl.”

The fowls started calling me and none bigger than the Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett. In his usual affable style, our breakfast meeting unearthed a few truths, which are very pertinent in the present kass-kass. The minister was quick to point out that his ministry does not issue work permits. The Ministry of Labour is the gatekeeper that evaluates each request for a work permit.

Here is the big loophole.

Foreign entertainers are given licence to settle in Jamaica because they are categorised as ‘entertainment coordinators’ – a classy executive nomenclature for nightclub dancers, singers, and water ballet acrobats.

Having got their ‘green card’ to work in Jamaica, the next stop is at the office of the Passport Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA), an arm of the Ministry of National Security. It is here that the ‘Entertainment Windrush’ is legitimatised as PICA gives them the ultimate licence to live and work in Jamaica for extended periods of time – which can be renewed ad nauseum.

Neither spokespersons at the Ministry of Labour nor PICA could give me any assurance that these ‘imports’ have understudies who would eventually fill the gap.

One civil servant, with tongue in cheek, told me that the “Cuban girls are all brownings with nicer skin tone and more beautiful than the average Jamaican”, so they are supposedly preferred by our international guests.

So dem say.

So who are the ‘Backra Massas’ now in control of the entertainment plantation?

ENTREPRENEURIAL OPPORTUNITY

As a trained journalist, I donned my Hawaiian shirt, Bermuda shorts, and the obligatory dark glasses and straw hat to visit the largest ‘entertainment plantation owner’. Over cups of coffee, I had a most pleasant discussion with one of the key ‘Backra Massas’ while lounging in the marble-walled lobby of one Spanish hotel.

His entertainment troupe has been operating for over 12 years, providing an all-inclusive entertainment package to nearly all the major chains on the north coast. Business has been so good that this registered Jamaican company has bought its own hotel to house entertainers and operates with its own fleet of tour buses to transport its crew to nightly gigs stretching from Negril to Ocho Rios.

This all started when one Spanish hotel chain brought in one person from The Dominican Republic to create world-class shows for what was the birth of their current chain. This expatriate recognised an entrepreneurial opportunity, so he joined forces with an astute Jamaican attorney, and they have been working in ‘harmony’ ever since.

Their current stock of dancers-cum-entertainers numbers approximately 160 – evenly divided between Jamaicans and Cubans. This harmonious group satisfies the need of most major north coast hotels, including the biggest chain owned by a Jamaican. It is interesting to note that one significant Jamaican hotel group, which has more than a ‘couple’ of hotels, does not use foreigners for its nightly fare – and its guests are not complaining about the quality of its shows.

So, why are Jamaicans standing at the back of the line while the ‘Windrush imports’ get pride of place in some of our hotels?

I was told that Jamaicans are their own worst enemies. They turn up late, they sneak boyfriends and girlfriends into the hotels, make repeated visits to the buffet line, some become boisterous and a few seek sexual favours or even visas/green cards from unsuspecting visitors.

By contrast, the harmonious troupe is always on time, observes the rules of the hotels, and has a much wider repertoire, which Jamaicans cannot match. This includes Flamenco dances, water ballet, acrobatics, even a Michael Jackson routine (Las Vegas-style), plus a little dancehall thrown in now and then.

MANY STILL ‘EATING A FOOD’

Minister Bartlett reminded me that despite the foreign Windrush, many Jamaicans are still “eating a food” in the entertainment circuit. We now have ‘Children of the Drum’, with their Afro-centric repertoire; and the ‘Jam-Dynamites’, led by Jenny Jenny of radio and television fame – all fighting for a diminishing piece of the pie.

The minister advised that instead of just complaining, the Jamaican entertainers should form themselves into all-inclusive troupes like those who have come in the Windrush and the “cream will rise to the top”.

I reminded the minister that some entertainment managers said that the ‘Windrush entertainers’ cost much less than the Jamaicans. The minister said that this is a consequence of an open and free-market economy where competition determines cost.

In the same way, Government understands why we must import rib-eye steak, lobster, salmon, and even potatoes for fries because we are not producing enough for the hospitality industry.

So how do we fill the entertainment gap?

Minister Bartlett was proud to tell me that he has already launched a DJ Academy, led by Delano of Renaissance fame. Will this training be widened to other categories anytime soon?

Minister Bartlett insists that his primary concern is that all Jamaicans enjoy “access and equity” in the hospitality industry.

This is good news despite the fact that one of the newest foreign hotel investors no longer allows Jamaican performers to use the front of the hotel. Rather, they must use the back entrance – reminiscent of the deep South of the United States at the height of racism. At this newly majority-owned foreign chain, Jamaicans still have access, yes – as long as it’s through the back door.

One Ocho Rios hotel is over the moon, having just brought in 10 Cuban dancers to perform exclusively at its property. This is after it terminated its entertainment contract following much “disharmony” with the Windrush group. This same hotel also imports foreigners to give body massages on their property.

Where is the “equity and access” for Jamaicans?

It will be a pity if more Jamaican entertainers get displaced by Spanish-speaking pretty ‘brownings’ from our friendly northern neighbour.

Will this Windrush ever end?

- Lennie Little-White, CD, MA, is a Jamaican film-maker and writer. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and lennielittle.white@gmail.com.