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FOUNDERS :Dexter Tittil and Chris Jennings

Editor In Chief & Creative Director :Chris Jennings

Publisher & Managing Director :Dexter Tittil

Art Director & Layout Creator :Lisan Sootim

Contributors :

WritersShalana Modest aka Toffy Girl

Afiya BishopMahalia Joseph

LouOrielle Jeffery

Brenda Rivelle ToussaintCarolina QueroChris Jennings

Photographers :Chris Jennings

Assistants :Vanessa JoaquinAnella Phillip

Special thanks to everyone who makes each issuespecial - the designers, store owners, artist, models,make up artist, hair stylist, event producers, drivers,caterers and last but not least FWTT ( fashion weekof Trinidad and Tobago) for allowing us to be therethis year to get so many great photographs and de-signer biographies first hand to feature in the maga-zine. To all of you, thank you.

M A G A Z I N E

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Letters to Lou

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el pecos

The Hardest Words fora Guy to Say Are.....

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C O N T E N T S

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ear God,I messed up, yup! I really messed up. I made amess of things and I am fighting to stay afloat inthis ocean we call life. Some days I feel like I amdrowning and other days I feel like I am on theshore. Most days I am fine but when I stop to thinkabout what was and how life is now I can’t help butbreak down. I know there is no future in the past soI have no reason to live in it but I can’t help buthurt. I am scared, and I been hurts so many timesbefore that my judgement is cloudy and I feel asthough I have lost all faith, it feels like hurt is all Iknow.

Not faith in you, that is secure, that I have. Its faithin love and faith in being happy that is gone. I be-

lieve that you would drag us through hell just tobring us to heaven, but I think I left my heart in hell,because now when it would seem I should be inheaven I am to numb to enjoy it. I feel like a shellmy exterior is the same but I am not the same, myjoy is gone.

I used to have an appetite for life, I took thingshead on and now I feel like I have no soul. Thereis no drive, no spark. I come from a place of hurtand God knows how hard I have cried, but it isover now so why can’t I just be happy? I want tolet go but something is holding on and I am beingprevented from this freedom I long to have and Ijust can’t be free. Set me free oh Lord, hear mycry and set me free. Let me be at peace so I canonce more enjoy the little things.

D

Life is a beach& I am just playing in the sand.

I want to walk with courage; I want to trust. God did notgive me a spirit of fear but of power, love and a soundmind. I rebuke you depression, I rebuke you oppressionand I rebuke you anxiety, you are not welcomed hereanymore, I do not want you or need you in my life so freeme. I am healed and my heart is mine, you no longercontrol it. There is power in your words if you want heal-ing demand it, you what freedom, then emancipate your-self. You would be amazed what a little self-confidencecan do for oneself.Hurt is inevitable, but misery is optional…if you wantsomething you have to believe in it, if you believe that itis your time to have it you need to trust in it. “Faith is walk-ing face-first and full-speed into the dark. If we truly knewall the answers in advance as to the meaning of life andthe nature of God and the destiny of our souls, our beliefwould not be a leap of faith and it would not be a coura-geous act of humanity; it would just be... a prudent insur-ance policy.” Guess life is a beach and I am just playingin the sand.

Amen………..

Set me freeoh Lord,

hear my cry &set me free. Letme be at peaceso I can oncemore enjoy thelittle things.

I am a 22 year old Model, born and raised in Sangre Grande ,Trinidad and Tobago. I always had the dream and passion of be-coming a model and I have decided to follow that dream about18 months ago. After completing school and a contractedjob , I have tried modelling in Trinidad earlier this year forT&T fashion week and was rejected and told that I am to" SKINNY " as they said ( smile ) , but that did not breakme or was going to stop me from wanting to pursue mymodelling career . I made it my mission to prove themwrong and decided to travel to New York.

When I started Modelling I knew that there were goingto be a great deal of challenges that I were going tohave to overcome .I have been very fortunate at thispoint to accomplish what I have at the very beginning ofmy modelling career. I worked with a great deal of Pho-tographers and Stylist in NY and very thankful. I am stillvery nervous and anxious at the same time about a lotof things and that is what makes this experience muchexciting.

As we all know Modelling in New York is extremelydifficult and needs a huge amount of knowledge,hard work and determination because of the stan-dard and the amount of models all over the worldtravelling here to follow their Dreams.

I was told by a few agencies that I am too short,I need a stronger walk, etc ... , but I was still De-termined . I went to a fashion show for NewYork fashion week 2010, which I was a part ofand I meet a manager/world writer by thename of Richard Willis Jr. from LosAngelesand he was drawn to my look and told methat I can be very successful as a com-mercial, print , editorial and high fashionand that my Size ( Skinny ) is perfect forthat type of modelling . That basically re-assure me that all my hard work startedto pay off and never stop going after

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something that you believe you want in life. Since that I have worked with some of the industry’s bestphotographers and my passion for modelling is on the start of a great beginning and I am sure that I willmake myself, my family and my country very proud.

I have other interest that I will love also love tobranch off into after my modelling career build, cause I know that modelling is a short termcareer, those interest are Acting, Fashionstyling, Pubic Relation and start a Non-profitCharity for children with a learning disabilityand Cancer in my home neighbourhood ofSangre Grande .

I love my Country and will never trade it forany other and I hope that there standards onModelling changes and that they are not nar-row minded on the models that have the HulkImage and 'yes I will be back to cast for T&Tfashion week 2011'.

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Avelle is an entertainment managementcompany borne out of the love of the in-dustry. Both partners Avalon Gomezand Laurel Hunt have a combined ex-perience of 10 years in the production,management and promotion of bothsmall and major events. They've bothworked on numerous events and com-mittees eg. Sandbox Entertainment,Centaur Promotions, Chemistry Crew &Godai Entertainment Lounge to name afew.

Our aim is to efficiently represent ourclients. We assess your needs and theniche market that best fits the serviceprovided. We however are not limited to

any one particular clientele as we represent a graphic artist, dance group and 2 DeeJays.

Artiste Management/RepresentationStage/Event ManagementBooking Agents for DJs, Dancers, artistes etc.

At present we represent, Shavurn "Syd" Dyette(graphics), BA alliance dance group, Poi-son Sounds and are booking agents for Immortal Vybez Sound

Our next step in the evolution of Avelle is the establishment of a BrandAmbassador Team.This will be a select group of persons trained to represent different products and manu-facturers.

We can be contacted for consultations and bookings at any of the following mediums:Avalon - 3435482 BB pin 2276907CLaurel - 4837777 BB pin 20EA9F33Or email at avellemgmt@gmail.com

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Ser vices offered

Tick, Tuck, the clockhappily flickers itsechoes of the hands,blowing dust moleculesover the overbearingchapter of orders of ap-proximation.

For every answer, an-swered wrong, createdtingles of anger through-out their minds. All suf-fered migrainesespecially the olive-skinned Hispanic, candyapple red head Sun-shine. Ghetto was hergold name plated ear-rings; to her cleavage fit-ted mini tee and herbootylicious apple bot-tom jeans.

She was mostly notedfor her baby pink coatedlips that caught all pae-dophile’s attention. Sheknew she had all thesunshine for a man, butnot for herself.

Her name was ironic toher life as the sun shin-ing set into the dusk ofthe graves. The soundtrack of her life was an un-heard classic. She was only 16 and carried a Pan-dora’s box weighed with burdens.

The hero of her life was joyfully struck by Cau-casian fiendish glees onAlmerino Avenue, causingher to carry her papi's vendetta and commitment -thou shalt not be friend of 'blanco' man.

The only transport that was able to drop her toclass her on time was her pimp, Paquito. He washer ATM and green machine distributor, and shehustled his green little soldiers to their customers orelse her madre and little sister would have to hus-tle to pay the dilapidated rent's payments.

The day finally came when the violent rainswould overcast Sunshine causing the possibility of7

death's butterflies to kiss her maternal instinctsaway to rest.

As she entered her 1 story flat humble abode,her little sister had fallen asleep near her madre'scold oxygen tank as her mother lay gracefully yetmotionless on their peach, Mongolian patternedflowered sofa. She rubbed her madre's head andcalled to her.

As she felt a lack of pulse, her heart began tobeat at a nascar racing car rate, she dropped herGucci purse, and screamed in tears, screaming'Jesus', shaking up her madre's second handwheel chair , resting her head near her mother'sbosom.

Her little sister, so innocently sleeping as a lamb,was unable to be awoken by the disadvantage thatwould reverse their soundtrack.

Sunshine slept near the wheelchair in denial ofher mother's death, carried her younger sister andher items to spend the day, until she was able tofigure out a plan. When she headed to school, sheimmediately headed to the bathroom regardless ofher orders of approximation examination.

She curled on the floor of a bathroom cubicle,and recited Psalm 23 in Spanish, as she began tolick the bathroom floor. The insanity could not havebeen without hold no more. A violent sphere offiendish madness suffocated her brain and blewher sanity into a different dimension.

Her sister now visits her sister in a classroomdesigned space, with a pencil and calculus text-book adjacent her bedside floor. She hugs her sis-ter, every visit, however hugging in a straightjacket, was sometimes uncomfortable for a 7 yearold.

When her classmates were informed, a still,emotional message sent unusual shivers donetheir spines with unpleasurable Goosebumps. Iprayed Jehovah see as the progression of chap-ters of our calculus syllabus, the chapters of thesorrowful occurrences our fallen classmates havebeen engulfed by.

Billy, her best friend, now moans by the door,quietly playing a solitary game of tic tac toe on herskin with a razor. A black energy infested our sci-ence of humanity in our class, and I caressed myrosary as the shivers continued....

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“...a still,emotionalmessage

sent unusualshivers donetheir spines

withunpleasurable-Goosebumps.”

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"Trust" the action that can either make a relationshipstronger or break it down to shreds. How many of usgo through life wishing that we can trust that certainsomeone? How many of us DO trust but are secretlybeing lied and opposed to? Then there's the otherhalf, the fact that trust doesn't exist in their relation-ship but find it fit to live in denial, pretending every-thing is all "Honky Dory" when its more "World War".For this simple banter of rhetoric questions I shouldprobably state that a relationship does not neces-sarily mean boyfriend and girlfriend or husband andwife partnerships. It can also be a family relationship,a friendship or even a business relationship. All ofwhich, lack of trust can cause to crumble like theBerlin Wall, either gradually or instantaneously.

If life is made up of relationships and trust is the gluethat holds those relationships together, I guess it'ssafe to say "trust is the glue of life". During thecourse of life, don't we always desire assurance,peace of mind and crystal clear certainty towardsday to day interactions? With lack of trust these de-sires are solely out of reach and can hinder futurerelationships because of developing trust issues.One must be fond of people and trust them and betrusted if one is not to make a mess of life. If you can-not trust your partner, then your partner has no re-spect for you, themselves or the relationship. But

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take note this only applies if your partner gives youa reason not to trust them. Please don't go creat-ing reasons for you not to trust your partner be-cause that my friend is another topic. Provokedparanoia is not the answer. It is important to havea trustworthy relationship because living in disloy-alty, denial, jealousy and cheating is not the slight-est bit healthy for you nor the relationship. If aperson is not to be trusted the how on earth canyou work with or love them? A relationship is like ahouse, there is no use for it if the foundation is un-stable...obviously; lies and uncertainty allows it tobe destined for failure twice as much as a normalrelationship. To say the least, one will not believethe complications harbouring trust issues can haveonly not on life but present and future kinships aswell. Trust issues caneven cause anxiety andeven bad cases of de-pression and that myfriend "aint no joke yo..."

Trust is a vital ingredientin any recipe for a goodrelationship. It might besometimes a huge riskand in most instances amajor plus. Although it

may take years to generate itself, the rewards ofliving a trustworthy, loyal and stress free relation-ship are always fruitful. One must always look forthings to build or rebuild trust in a relationship orkinship, not look for things deliberately break itdown. Always remember trust is a must if you wantto fulfil trustworthy relationships in certainty.

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“R-E-S-P-E-C-T find out what it means tome”, The infamous line fromAretha Franklin. Re-spect what is it? What does it mean to us? Whatdoes it mean in our personal life, in our relation-ships?

How many of us have ever felt disrespected by ourpartners? I’m sure everyone has at one time or an-other. Have u ever felt that you deserved more re-spect from your significant other. If you ever felt thisway, you are not alone. There are countlesswomen and men, through every walk of life whohave felt or is still feeling that their partner does notrespect them as an individual. When a strangerdisrespects us we get upset, ready to attack, throwcrude remarks at them, tell them off, and tell themexactly what’s on your mind. Have you ever con-sidered that this is how your partner feels towardsyou when you disrespect them? Maybe we dothings subconsciously and do not realize the neg-ative effect it has on them, or on the other hand wejust do it because well we really don’t care whogets hurt in the interim. Try to recall incidenceswhen you felt disrespected. How did you feel?Hurt, belittled, angry, sad, many emotions triggeredat the same time, due to that one situation. Howdid you react? Lash out, yell, cry, and use obscenelanguage? We all react differently in the situation.

Women and men alike both deserve respect. It issomething that is earned not demanded; you cannever rush being respected or want respectovernight. It takes time, time to grow and blossom.In any healthy relationship, respect is extremely im-portant. There isn’t a single person that likes beingdisrespected? Respecting yourself as an individ-ual helps you to respect others for who they are.Therefore in turn respecting your partner for whothey are. If your partner does most of the talkingwithout waiting to hear your opinion or your viewthen they don’t regard your opinion as an individualwhich turns out to be disrespectful.

There are many incidents that may make you think

that your partner is disrespecting you

Does your partner dismiss you or disregard youropinions?Does your partner bring you down instead of en-

couraging you and pushing you to do better?Does your partner exclude you in daily decision

making?Does your partner embarrass you in public orlaughs at you in front of is friends?Does your partner degrade you in front of familymembers?Does your partner make hurtful comments to

you?Does your partner involve himself inappropri-

ately with the opposite sex in front of you or evenwhen you’re apart.

Has your partner ever cheated on you?Does your partner not stand up for you in any

given situation?Does your partner talk down to you and make

you feel less of a person?

We all want respect as individuals, but sometimesit seems like we can’t get it. It should come natu-rally. Respect and communication go hand in hand.Without either a relationship would fail.

Women andmen alike bothdeserve re-spect. It is

something thatis earned not

demanded; youcan never rushbeing respectedor want respect

overnight.

“

“

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Do I love myself? Do I forgive myself? Ican’t even answer those questions becauseI cannot even find myself. I lost me when Icommitted to you and even after you left Istill don’t know where to look to find myself,do I even still exist? Or am I too just a mem-ory like everything of importance in my life?

Where did my voice go? Where did mysmile go? Where did my faith go, better question where did I go and why am I still there and not herewhere I should be? I want to run away from the pain I want to forget the hurt and resume life where Ileft it. I do not know how. Everything is so different now, even I am different now. I feel like I am on

the outside looking in on my life, screamingfrom the side-lines “Don’t do it, you’re makinga big mistake”

Can a person’s entire life be a mistake? Canone person make so many bad choices thattheir entire existence has been nothing but atest run? Nah! Everything happens for a rea-son and things happen in your life only for aseason. We need to learn the seasons of ourlife. I think I need the met office to help mebecause I been in winter for the past fiveyears, I need some sun shine, save me therain. I have had enough, direct me on thepath to spring and I will follow.

I do not expect it to be easy, but I do expect itto have progress. Or will every experience inmy life be just like you? Slow and painful,never making any sense and always leavingme stranded with no backup plan? That’s thething about taking a leap of faith, you neverknow if when you leap if someone will catchyou or if you will fall flat on your face. There isno safety net so unless you are willing to ac-cept the consequences head on then don’tleap.

I wish I knew then what I know now, but then if I did know, I would not have need to experience it, sotherefore I would not have learnt from it and then I could not have shared this message with you, soyou see everything servers a purpose and it all happens for a reason. The lesson to be learnt is this:Take your time if you are not sure what to do, but always be confident in your choices and believe inyour decisions and even if you make a mistake do not beat yourself up over it, life is a learningprocess, so don’t look at it as failing , see it as your living because every mishap of today is your safetyrail for tomorrow and it does not make you different, it just makes you human, better yet it makes youalive because even angles learn to fly.

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Letters to Lou

Loyalty, commitment, hon-esty, trust and communica-tion are the base to everygood relationships andmost females sometimeseven men also look atthese aspects in a compan-ion, let's forget for one sec-ond about theappearances, looks andmoney but instead let's gointo what's really necessaryin a good relationship.

Why most men and amsorry for being so roughand I may seem to havesome sort of anger towardsmen but please don't getme wrong I don't hate menjust dislike the way societyhas made you all turn intothe new definition of theword man. Whatever hap-pened to good values, instaying focused in onewoman being loyal to themnow I know I know somewomen have done thesame, the whole cheatinggame we have all beenthrough that but why mustwe follow the crowd and

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their bad influences.

Yes in life we are constantly temped both malesand females get tempted we are humans and wemake mistakes but there is nothing wrong at stay-ing true with yourself and your partner males seemto think that telling personal facts to your womanwill make you less of a man, of course not. As fe-males we always wish to have the best communi-cation with our boyfriends. As much as we wish toread each other's minds we can't so we gotta do itthe old school way which is by sitting down. Stay-ing true with your partner will save you from a lot offights and from a lot of unwanted trash talk.

The best policy is in getting to know one anothernot rush into a relationship by doing so and onlythinking with our hormones we only jeopardizingour future (in a relationship if there is one) sittingdown and talking with your loved one will cost younothing . Real men have no stories to hide fromtheir girlfriends and the same thing goes to theladies, not saying you all have and must shareevery single little thing but talk a bit.

In a good, ok balanced relationship conflicts will al-ways come about but at having that sort of com-munication, honesty and loyalty between boththese problems can be solved. If there is no trust orlack of communication what kind of relationship isthat really?? Come on let's be honest I wouldn'twant to be with a girl or a guy whose constantlylying about everything, that's NOT a healthy rela-tionship.

Staying honest with your partner does not makeyou less of a man or less of a woman, having twoor three girls in a relationship does not make you abetter man, it makes you even more stupid thanwhat you already are the same goes for the ladies

having three and four men doesn't make you a bigtime woman makes you a big time whore who noman wishes to have anything serious with, onceagain the same goes with the fellas. So if you thinkthat talking to your girlfriend / boyfriend is a badthing then you are looking for a much messed uprelationship and don't you dare coming asking forhelp because clearly you are the wrong one fromthe start.

In conclusion staying true not only with yourself butyour partner, lover, best friend, boyfriend, girlfrienddoesn't make you a weaker person it actuallyshows that you are a serious person and this does-n't only apply in boyfriend girlfriend relationshipsthis applies to friendships too. No one wants a liaror a poser around them so please consider these.Staying true with your self is the best medicine inthis crazy world we are living on.

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Loyalty, com-mitment, hon-esty, trust andcommunica-tion are thebase to everygood relation-

ships

As you walk on the avenue you will see more than one sign for El Pecos, you will ask yourself: what’sso great about this place that they need more than one location? As the old saying goes, “don’t knockit till you try it,” And try it you must. In our time of recession prices who would have thought that you canget great quality for next to nothing in price. As you enter expect to see a line, but note that the linemoves so quickly it’s like you jus float your way through. Once you join the line, you will receive yourgloves in preparation to take your own food.....YES ITS SELF SERVE! You pick what you what, and howmuch of it you want. I know you are thinking sure “pick what you want....let me pick the price too nah?”Truth is that after you have parcelled off your meal and disposed of your gloves you will arrive to yournext step. Weight, yes! They weigh your box and base your price on your weight of your box and not itscontents individually so when I tell you value for your money, I’m not kidding. For sweet fried plantains,cassava, fries, bbq chicken, fried chicken, stewed pork and mashed potatoes I paid $TT45, and withdrink $TT45.

Trust me when I say nowhere in Trinidad you can get that, and the food is delicious, pure flavour andgoodness, the ambience is lovely and the eating areas very cool outdoor setting and you can have yourmeal under an umbrella at one of the tables while you take in some good trini culture. When I tell youit’s a dining experience you cannot afford to miss out on, I’m not joking, so with that being said visitthem today, for an amazing experience that will leave both your belly and pocket happy.

I think I am more excited forJanuary’s issue of Pellau Maga-zine, than November or Decem-ber when you see it you willknow why, it will be in print ( yesour first printed issue) and it willcontain all our favourites fromeach issue from the past 12 is-sues, slight change in publish-ing dates. Both November andDecember will be out on the25th of each month (it comes

out Christmas day)....however we will be out effectively January 1st 2011 on our site(www.pellau.cjb.com) and in print on the 15th which is our birthday, PELLAU TURNS 1

In this issue we will feature all the memories that we have from our previous year, you will get to meetall of the people who made each issue possible, we are introducing a new short story, and so much moreQUESTION: “Even though you are going to be printed now? Will you still be on the site?”ANSWER: YES!!!...we have a following of 50, 000 subscribers and they are mostly international so toleave them out of the goodness, would be pure selfishness, from January, we will be digital and printedso when you pay to advertise, you go in 2 places for two different markets

All advertisers who pay for December will gettheir same ad paid for, free in our Januaryissue. It will run for a month that is ourChristmas gift to our faithful and dedi-cated advertisers

As a special thank you toall the persons, whomakes it special by theirtime and clothing,service etc, all ofyou will be appreci-ated more in Januaryissue by an ad or featureto promote you or yourbusiness because we trulyare grateful for all the help you havegiven.

In the spirit of giving, we have ads starting at $500and even have free spaces as well, but to findout how to get the free space, contact me per-sonally.

Thank YouChris JenningsPELLAU MAGAZINECo-founder and Editor In ChiefChris.jjennings@hotmail.com

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Yoko Fung is an international designer, makeup artist, fashion model and image consultant.For the last thirty years, Yoko has taken de-signing to greater heights. Her versatile cro-cheted creations of swimwear, fashionaccessories and casual garments are yearsahead of the rest with their unique colour co-ordination and design.

Fueled by a passion for organic farming, Yokocontinues to intrigue her world with her mag-nificent talents and creativity. She brilliantlyshines in any Fashion arena and aggressivelyleads so that others can follow.

Y o k o F u n gD e s i g n e r

“ I L O V E YO U ”Maybe its because we are scared she does thinkthe same? Maybe we don’t what to seem “soft” fordifferent guys the reason will vary, but the fact stillremains this is a hard thing to say.

“ I NE ED SOME MANT IME”Personally I think this is hard to say because I don’twant her to feel neglected. From time to time usfellas need some time to keep up with our ownidentities. Before we were with you we had friendsand separate lives and miss it at times.

“ I DON ’ T L I K E YOURFR I END”We don’t want to tell you that Tamara isn’t our

favourite person in the world. Yes the same ob-noxious one who always has a problem with every-thing. Let’s face it, I don’t like Tamara, but the factis you don’t like all my friends either, so we’re even!

“KE EP DOWN THERE“ TR IMMED”Most fellas would like to say it, but are afraid to of-fend you. The fact is we prefer it to be clean andwell organised.

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T heT heHa rdes tHa rdes tWo rdsWo rdsfo r afo r aGuyGuyto Sayto SayA re. . . . .A re. . . . .

“Men still go with the notionthat we should be the

“Though Guy””Be in Control”“the Protector” and all othermanner of clichés as such”

.............those where the words that sent the crowdcrazy as she came up on stage.

In case you hadbeen livingunder a rock,the above is thebeginning of IttyBitty Piggy, thesmash hit off ofT r i n i d a d i a nborn, Americanbased rapperNicki Minaj’s hitmix tape,“Beam me upScotty”.

And the firstverse of the firstrap of the nightthat she per-formed at “Localize It”, the concert, held at theHasely Crawford Stadium, October 30th 2011 inTrinidad.

As the night kicked off, there were performancesfrom other local artists and a fashion show featur-ing some of Trinidad’s best designers, but thingsgot really heated when Ms. Minaj came up onstage....Just the beat of her hit single sent thecrowd in an uproar sending teenage boys and girlsplummeting toward the stage.

The concert was divided into sections, general, (All

the way to the back at $250.00 a ticket), VIP (Inthe middle at $ 400.00 a ticket) and the VVIP akaThe MTV Zone, which was directly in front of thestage (at $900.00 a ticket). Alongside that section,was the Red Zone, the most controversial sectionof the night; This area was for parents and childrenand even though they did not pay the same$900.00 price for their ticket, they too were nearthe stage and just a portion of it, could touch thestage as well.

This made most patrons unhappy, because theyfound it unfair that people, who paid $250 and theirkids $100, should not have the same experienceas them.

Truth be told apart from the geography both sec-tions were different,the MTV zone, as itsname hints, had MTVCamera filming them.They had some ofTrinidad’s best of thebest photographerstaking their pictures,every blog, and publi-cation that was estab-lished in Trinidad wasthere. Everyone whoperformed that nighthung out in the crowdwhen they finished.Everybody who wasanybody was there,and the ambience wasnice. The section was

filled with Lots of great food and drinks that repre-sented our culture, and it was all for free, their se-curity was amazing, and it was not ram packed sothere was sufficient breathing room, and only thereyou could be directly in front or on the stage ornear it, so with that being said, that $900 was noth-ing to a true Nicki Fan for what they Got.

As she performed all her hit verses from all thetracks she have been featured on such as, Mon-ster, by Kanye West...or Dutty Love by SeanKingston, the crowd sang harmoniously with her,on every verse to every song and as she sang herhit records “Your Love” and “Right Through Me” off

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“Ahh Huh, Ahh huh, Yo a yoI was on the plane wit De-

wayneYou can call me Whitley I go

to hill maneListen, I'm the baddest in theschool, the baddest in the

gameExcuse me honey but no-

body's in my lane”

her soon to be released albumPink Friday, the crowd went nuts.Complete insanity showing lots oflove and dedication to her musicsinging word of word in time withher. Girls trying to climb up onstage and dudes reaching for atouch from the superstar had thesecurity on point. Nicki’s bodyguard really did what his title en-tails as he guarded her body.

In typical Nicki fashion, there wasthe giving of t-shirts and the sign-ing of boobs, as she said herself inItty Bitty Piggy “I keep a bad bit*chlet me sign ya boobs.” And Signedshe did, girls were blessed with herinitials on their bosoms and guyson their hands.

“ This part of the show is very spe-cial to me, it’s where I sign all myBarbie’s boobs and all my Ken’shands....lets go, where’s mymarker?”, said the rapper. After theshirts were given and the signa-tures where completed, it was onto the next item on her list, whichwas to see a true Trini wine. Fi-nally! Fans were able to go up onstage and show their stuff. Therapper handpicked boys and girlsto come up and show her how it’sdone, after she openly admittedshe cannot wine. Her jaw droppedas she looked on in amazement atsome of these, young guys andgirls throw waist. One guy even wined on his head,leaving not only a lasting impression on Nicki her-self but the audience as well.

At this time she was coming to the close of her per-formance, and before she left, she gave 2 lasttreats, one was a preview of “Roman’s Revenge”the next tract to drop off her Pink Friday album. Andshe also gave hope. The rapper claimed she neverbeen to Trinidad for a carnival and she plans to behere for carnival 2011, where she will have a fullconcert, with costume changes and all the songs

off her first album, to be released November 23rd,entitled Pink Friday.

As she exited the stage, her fans still cheered on,and after she left the entertainment continued, withmore local artist who performed, until the show wasover. It was a night to remember, I enjoyed it withsome of my best friends and even some new onesand I can truly say I will never forget the day Nickicame home.

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Onika Tanya Maraj (born December 8, 1984),better known by herstage name Nicki Minaj, is an American Rapper and Singer-song-writer signed to Young Money Entertainment with distribution fromUniversal Motown. Born and raised in Trinidad until the age of 5, be-fore she migrated to New York City, Queens to be exact. Her debutalbum Pink Friday will be released November 23rd 2010.

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As we approach the end ofOctober, we are bom-barded by scary decora-tions, outrageouscostumes and invitations tothe spookiest of parties,WHY? It's Halloween! Thisfestival was primarily cele-brated by the US alongwith other northern coun-tries, but how did the cele-bration start in Trinidad?

I am aware that residentsof the West for instance celebrated it since the early 70's because those areas are full ofresidents who migrated from northern continents but now the festival is National! Withevery store commercializing the festival, from the bumble-bee costume to the frenchmaid, skulls to doctors and every popular club in the land hosting a costume gala withprizes for the Best. Is Halloween becoming part of the Trinbago Culture? If so Why isn'tmentioned in the national Calender?

Does the nation understand the significance of the Halloween celebration in terms of Re-ligion and Superstition? Or has the Media just infiltrate the celebration in our minds assomething "cool" and the opportunity to play Dress up and Disguise?

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Q1: What inspired you to start designing andretailing clothes as a business?

A1: love for clothes and not being able to affordthem, I decided to create my own

Q2: What motivates you to continue being inthe fashion industry?

A2: creativity as well as my country and its culture

Q3: What is your pet peeve when it comes tocustomers?

A3: lack of self confidence.

Q4: What do you think fashion is?

A4: a statement without saying a word, a creativeaction

Q5: Where was your greatest shopping expe-rience?

A5: Barbados, shoe shopping

Q6: What is your biggest achievement thus farwith your career?

A6: winning the award for best upcoming designer

Q7: How would you describe your style in threewords?

A7: classy, timeless and structured

Q8: If you could shop in any country for a daywhere would it be?

A8: New York

Q9: Other than designing what other profes-sion do you think you would be good at, or in-

terested in?

A9: teaching

Q10. What is your best fashionable moment todate?

A10: my first fashion show in Jamaica

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Q11: How was your companyfounded and promoted?

A11: it was founded by myself andpromoted through customers,friends, family and myself.

Q12 What would you say is onething every woman shouldhave in her closet?

A12: the LBD, the little black dress

Q13: If you could style one in-ternational celebrity whowould it be and why?

A13: Patti Labell, she wears gar-ments in style

Q14: What is your vision for SHAUN GRIFFITH DE-SIGNS in the next 10 years?

A14: three store fronts, one in Trinidad, one in To-bago and one in L.A

Q15: what do you think about TRINIDAD ANDTOBAGO FASHION WEEK this year?

A15: innovating and redefined, with each year I seegreat progress.

Q16: What is favourite fashion source otherthan yourself?

A16: Step Easy, an amazing shoe store

Q17: What is one goal you would like to ac-complish before you die?

A17: my one goal would be to learn to drive andpurchase my first car

Q18: If you could giveone piece of adviceto anyone with adream. What would itbe?

A18: be persistent withGod and what you be-lieve in.

Q19: If you could buyone item now whatwould it be?

A19: A car

Q20: Who is your styleicon or favourite de-signer?

A20: Heather Jones

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and Valentino

Q21: What do youthink of the currentfashion movementin Trinidad and whatpart do you play?

A21: I think is movingalong nicely, more andmore informationgiven and it has cre-ated an outlet for somany young men andwomen, with talent, soin essence I believethat the current fash-ion movement, is thebest possible thing forTrinidad at this point.The less time youngpeople have to focuson negative and themore they can on thepositive then the bet-ter our society will be. Icontribute by creatingone of a kind piecesnot found anywhereelse in the world, I amin every sense of theword couture.

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