About the archive


The Caribbean Beat archive

Caribbean Beat was launched in January 1992 as the inflight magazine of BWIA (British West Indian Airways), the Trinidad & Tobago-based airline founded in November 1940. The magazine partnered with BWIA for 15 years and 82 issues, publishing quarterly until August 1995, and then publishing bi-monthly from September 1995.

On 31 December 2006, BWIA was wound up and replaced by Caribbean Airlines. Caribbean Beat continued as the inflight magazine with the new airline. On 27 May 2011, Caribbean Airlines acquired a majority stake in Air Jamaica, making it the national airline both of Trinidad & Tobago and of Jamaica. The Air Jamaica brand was phased out in 2015. Caribbean Beat is the inflight magazine of Caribbean Airlines’ full network, and continues to publish every two months as before.

What you’ll find online

A wealth of Caribbean people & history

We get requests all the time from people looking for archive material from Caribbean Beat, which sometimes is the only trusted source for a range of West Indian and Caribbean subjects and material — personalities, culture, music, sports, history, business, arts, and more. We recognise how important these archives are, particularly as Caribbean pioneers and personalities pass on, often before their life and work has been properly documented.

The digitisation process

We’ve been painstakingly digitising and uploading back issues over several years — scanning photos, transcribing or scanning text, proofing, treating photos, laying out, and finally bringing it all online. As far as possible, we reproduce articles and issues as they originally appeared, not altering or updating them in any way.

Where we’ve reached

Most issues from issue #60 (March/April 2003) through the present are online in full, with small gaps in older issues. Most issues from #1 (March 1992) through #40 (1997) are also online, and we are making progress on issues between #41 and #60.

Reporting errors

Given the pitfalls of the digitisation process, errors are sometimes introduced. If you come across anything like that, please contact us so we can correct and address it.

Ordering a back issue

If you require material from a back issue urgently and it is not online or in its complete form, you can order a copy online. Please make sure to indicate which issue you would like in your order.

Wanderer back issues

In late 2020, the magazine launched an immersive digital brand extension called Wanderer, powered by Caribbean Beat. You can check our back issues here.

 

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  • Martiniquan filmmaker Euzhan Palcy, twenty-five years after she appeared on the cover of the first Caribbean Beat. Photo ©Yannick Coupannec/Leemage
  • A young fancy sailor at rest during Carnival in Port of Spain, Trinidad. Photo by Abigail Hadeed
  • Jamaican reggae artist Chronnix. Photo by Nickii Kane
  • Two classics of Old Havana: a vintage car  parked beside a baroque colonial-era building. Photo by Delpixart/iStock.com
  • Bequia‘s colourful coconut boats. Mauritius Images GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo
  • Trinidadian jazz musician and composer Etienne Charles. Photo by Maria Nunes
  • Tobago-born musical legend Calypso Rose. Richard Holder, courtesy Stonetree Records/Maturity
  • The greatest Caribbean athlete of all time? Jamaican Usain Bolt is definitely a contender, as he defends his Olympic titles at the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro. Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images
  • For wildlife watchers in Guyana, a glimpse of an elusive jaguar is a majestic prize. Photo by Pete Oxford
  • Bunji Garlin, Trinidadian soca superstar. Photo by Jonathan Mannion Photography
  • At Guyana’s Kaieteur Falls the Potaro River plunges 741 feet into a sandstone gorge. Photo © Pete Oxford / DanitaDelimont.com
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  • The view from a beach near Soufrière includes Petit Piton, one of the twin volcanic peaks that are icons of St Lucia. Photo Danielle Devaux
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  • Issue 124
  • Up-and-coming Grenadian track star and potential Olympic medallist, Kirani James. Photo Getty Images/Michael Steele
  • Courtesy Heather Headley
  • Photo portrait by Marlon James, background by Markus Gann/Shutterstock, digital imaging by MEP
  • Marlon Rouse

 

 

Funding provided by the 11th EDF Regional Private Sector Development Programme Direct Support Grants Programme.
The views expressed on this website are those of the the authors and do not reflect those of the Direct Support Grants Programme.

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