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Portal:Jamaica

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The Jamaica Portal

Jamaica
Location of Jamaica
LocationCaribbean

Jamaica (/əˈmkə/ jə-MAY-kə; Jamaican Patois: Jumieka [dʒʌˈmie̯ka]) is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At 10,990 square kilometres (4,240 sq mi), it is the third largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about 145 km (90 mi) south of Cuba, 191 km (119 mi) west of Hispaniola (the island containing Haiti and the Dominican Republic), and 215 km (134 mi) south-east of the Cayman Islands (a British Overseas Territory).

With 2.8 million people,0 Jamaica is the third most populous Anglophone country in the Americas (after the United States and Canada), and the fourth most populous country in the Caribbean. Kingston is the country's capital and largest city. Most Jamaicans are of Sub-Saharan African ancestry, with significant European, East Asian (primarily Chinese), Indian, Lebanese, and mixed-race minorities. Because of a high rate of emigration for work since the 1960s, there is a large Jamaican diaspora, particularly in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The country has a global influence that belies its small size; it was the birthplace of the Rastafari religion, reggae music (and such associated genres as dub, ska and dancehall), and it is internationally prominent in sports, including cricket, sprinting, and athletics. Jamaica has sometimes been considered the world's least populous cultural superpower. (Full article...)

A ganja farm in Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica
Cannabis in Jamaica is illegal, but possession of small amounts was reduced to a petty offence in 2015. Cannabis is locally known as ganja, and internationally cannabis consumption plays a prominent role in the nation's public image, being tied to cultural touchstones such as Rastafari and reggae music. Ganja tourists have been welcomed in the 21st century. (Full article...)
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Yellowman performing in 2007

Winston Foster OD, (1956 or 15 January 1959) better known by the stage name Yellowman and also known as King Yellowman, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay. He first became popular in Jamaica in the 1980s, rising to prominence with a series of singles that established his reputation.

Yellowman is considered to be one of the genre's pioneers and has been credited with "almost single-handedly [creating] the coarse, crude and fearlessly direct sound of today's dancehall." Spearheading the first generation of dancehall deejays, he brought the genre to an international audience. (Full article...)

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This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.

Lenford "Steve" Harvey was a Jamaican activist who campaigned for the rights of those living with HIV/AIDS in Jamaican society. In November 2005, he was abducted from his home and murdered in a robbery that some commentators believed was also a homophobic hate crime. Harvey, an openly gay man, had worked for Jamaica AIDS Support for Life (JASL), since 1997 becoming the group's coordinator for Kingston. In this position, he focused on distributing information and services surrounding HIV/AIDS to the most marginalised sectors of Jamaican society, among them prisoners, sex workers, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. In 2005, he was selected as Jamaica's project coordinator for the Latin America and Caribbean Council of AIDS Service Organizations. Harvey was praised for his work. According to Peter Tatchell of the British LGBT rights organisation OutRage!, "It is thanks to the efforts of Steve and his colleagues that many Jamaican men and women - both gay and straight - have not contracted HIV. They have helped save hundreds of lives."

In November 2005, three men carrying guns broke into Harvey's home, removing any valuables they could find. They asked him if he was gay, and when he refused to respond to them, they kidnapped him, later shooting him dead and dumping the body elsewhere. The police subsequently arrested four individuals and charged them with murder in the furtherance of a robbery. The accused remained in police custody for almost ten years before the case came to court. At that point, the police dropped their murder charges against two of the accused. The other two, Dwayne Owen and Andre West, went on trial and were found unanimously guilty of murder by a jury. Although prosecutors had requested capital punishment in the case, the judge instead sentenced them to life in prison with a minimum of thirty years before becoming eligible for parole. They remain in prison, as of 2022. (Full article...)

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Buju Banton performing at New York's Apollo theater during the 26th International Reggae & World Music Awards
Buju Banton performing at New York's Apollo theater during the 26th International Reggae & World Music Awards
Credit: Gregg
Buju Banton performing at New York's Apollo Theater during the 26th International Reggae & World Music Awards, 2007

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Mannish water is a goat soup in Caribbean cuisine. It is believed to be an aphrodisiac and is made from various goat parts.

The soup has been sold packaged since 2006 when it competed for Best New Food Idea in a competition covered by The Jamaica Observer. The Spicy Hill Farms company is behind the product, an offering of "Jamaica's favourite party soup". The meal has been part of Maroon celebrations for over 300 years. The pieces of goat are seasoned with local herbs and spices, and cooked along with vegetables and 'food' - yam, potato, bananas and dumplings." Feedback indicated it was going to be as popular as Tastee patties. The Observer reported that mannish water is still popular at 'dead yard' functions, large stage shows and parties (to make sure one can drive home after a few drinks). The food company's factory is in the hills bordering Manchester and Trelawny parishes. (Full article...)

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