Farsighted Fly Girl

I love mocko jumbies. I think one of the reasons that I love them so much is that they always represent a party of some kind. In Caribbean culture, these masked, colorfully-costumed stilt walkers typically appear at carnival celebrations or other festivities. You'll find them on most English-speaking islands, where these figures can be traced back to traditional West African rituals where they represented spiritual seers and protectors of the village. I bought the fanciful mocko jumbie sketch above from artist Judith King in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. It enlivens my hallway with its playful spirit. In May, the U.S. Virgin Islands unveiled their new logo and I thought it was particularly fitting that the symbol is a mocko jumbie. On St. Croix, St. Thomas and St.John, mocko jumbies pop up everywhere,from neighborhood jump ups to beauty pageants. Below, a crew of mocko jumbies get ready to parade in St. John. Watching mocko jumbies dance and clown is an entertaining experience be...

All of my favorite places host some kind of arts and cultural scene. If there's no art, museums or music, I'm not going. One of the reasons why I love St.Croix is because of the vibrant art work that fills most spaces in Christiansted and Fredericksted. Colorful landscapes, smiling children and kinetic carnival scenes jump out of St. Croix artwork, the best of which can be found in Christiansted art galleries. One of my favorites is Twin City Coffee House and Gallery, which showcases a host of St. Croix artwork every month. Cozy and blazing with color, from the tapestries on the tables to the woven pillowcases on the couch, the bi-level gallery is run by local artist Diane Butler and Theresa Calpano. "African Dance," a striking portrait of a kneeling naked woman with a scarf on her head and a background of dancers by Kendi Peguero captured my attention as soon as I walked in. I didn't walk out until I bought two hand-painted ceramic tiles that portray St. Croix s...

When I mention that I love Twin City, I'm not talking about Minneapolis and St.Paul although I'm sure they're lovely in their own way . Twin City is the nickname for the U.S. Virgin Islands' St.Croix and it's one of my favorite Caribbean islands. It's called Twin City because of it's two major towns, Christiansted and Frederiksted. Brimming with quaint, jewel-colored houses and fragrant bougainvillea, ixora and hibiscus everywhere you turn, St. Croix is packed with charm and culture. The capitol of Christiansted sits serenely on a waterfront square surrounded by butter-colored, neo-classic buildings dating from the 1700s. The city also boasts rows of art galleries, which I'll explore in my next post. What I love about St.Croix is that it offers the beauty and lush environment that you'd expect from an island but it also supplies lots of culture and history. Cruzans are a laid-back, brainy bunch and there's nothing better than hanging out in a ...