Mexican Memoirs: Carib journalists missing in Mexico

Elton Tucker, Associate Editor - Sports

GUADALAJARA, Mexico:

Hola amigos, buenos dias.

One of the more disappointing aspects of this year's XVI Pan American Games, at least for me, has been the complete absence of other journalists from the English-speaking Caribbean.

Reporters and photographers from Cuba, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico are here in droves, but I have not seen anyone, for example, from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago and Dominica this year.

Four years ago, in Rio de Janeiro, over a dozen journalists from those islands were present and we had a lot of fun together at the hotel, press centre and at the various press venues. In fact, that's where I met the current West Indies cricket team communications officer, Barbadian Philip Spooner, who was then working for a newspaper in his home country. The versatile Antiguan journalist, Colin James, a reporter I have known for more than 20 years, was also there.

I spent much of my first week here moving between the two working areas at the Main Press Centre, the small one where I am based and a much larger area, just to see if any of my Caribbean friends were around, but was disappointed on each occasion. With so much Spanish around, I wanted to at least break the monotony sometimes.

New star discovered

As part of my routine here I have been listening to MTV's morning 'Wake up videos'. I am not really an MTV fan, it's just that it's one of only three channels on my TV here with English and also a way of passing time. However, I am a music fan and I have 'discovered' a new dance music star, Romanian-born Inna.

I say 'discovered' because I am sure the real party fans in Jamaica would have known about her long before me. I must admit, however, that I was seeing and hearing her for the first time earlier this week. As the name of her first album suggests, she is really Hot in some parts of Mexico, especially among the teenagers. Local music fans who have not heard of her before should get a listen to Club Rocker, Amazing, Sun Is Up, Dèjá Vu and, of course, Hot.

Meanwhile, as a Caribbean man, I will also keep saying 'Cheers' and lift my glass to Barbadian rocker Rihanna.

Hasta mañana.