By Claude Mills and, Damion Mitchell Staff Reporters
Cultural icon, Louise Bennett-Coverley (Miss Lou) beams with delight as she greets broadcaster/actor Fae Ellington (right), shortly after her arrival at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston yesterday. Looking on is Wycliffe Bennett, Chairman of the Board of Ward Theatre Foundation. - Rudolph Brown/Staff Photographer
IT WAS what Miss Lou herself called a 'bonoo-noos' welcome yesterday as Jamaica's First Lady of Culture returned to the island for the first time 13 years.
Dressed in a black outfit emblazoned with a giant orange flower, and a headwrap made of the same material, she made her way down the plane's steps on tottering, unsteady legs to the whirr of press cameras. However, the moment her feet touched the hot tarmac, her face radiated simple joy. She was home again.
Hundreds of people, young and old waved replicas of the Jamaican flag from the airport gallery as Dr. Louise Bennett-Coverley Miss Lou, disembarked the Air Canada aircraft.
State Minister of Industry and Tourism, Dr. Wykeham McNeill and Chief of Protocol, Elinor Felix along with Information Minister, Burchell Whiteman, Mayor of Kingston, Desmond McKenzie and Jamaica Labour Party Deputy Leader, Babsy Grange comprised the official welcoming party.
After greeting the dignitaries and close friends with kisses, Miss Lou was wheeled towards the waving gallery to greet the flag-waving children gathered there to catch a glimpse of her. They cheered and waved Jamaican flags.
Then, she was wheeled through a 'gauntlet of culture' inside the airport, leaving a small army of press people
dignitaries and curious onlookers in her wake.
First, she was met by the Rod Dennis Mento Band which struck up a lively version of 'Long Time Gal (Mi Neva See Yu)' to her delight. Miss Lou's eyes lit up immediately. She flashed her 100-watt smile, then swayed her hips and hands to the music and sang lustily along verse by verse.
Afterwards, she tapped into her African ancestry and 'commandeered' a shaker, as the Kingston Drummers stirred up ancient passions with decadent, tribal rhythms
ABSOLUTE GLEE
In the immigration area, Miss Lou was toasted to a softer version of 'Long Time Gal' by the Cari-folk Singers, and a syrupy sweet rendition of 'Mango Time'. Afterwards, she clapped her hands in absolute glee as the dancers from the Clonmel Primary and Junior High did the quadrille.
However, the coup de grace of Miss Lou's 'cultural gauntlet' was Ashé's performance of 'Simply the Best' outside the airport.
At 2:31 p.m., Miss Lou was helped from her wheelchair into a waiting Volvo limo for the next leg of her journey. Curious onlookers shouted 'greetings' and called her by name. Others elbowed each other in an attempt to snap pictures of the cultural icon while others merely jockeyed for position to catch glimpses of her as she got into the car.
One woman commented: "But she nuh look no different? She look like the same Miss Lou... she shoulda come back long time, man, mi did miss har."
A teenage girl also chimed in: "...and mi love how she look white, her skin well brown."
The next stop was the Harbour View roundabout where students from the Harbour View Primary did yet another version of 'Long Time Gal' led by the students, Fernando Thompson and Olivia Smith.
POWERFUL CAMEO SINGING
However, it was Calabar Infant Primary and Junior High teacher Oniel Peart who wowed the crowd and Miss Lou with renditions of her poems, 'Is Me' and 'Uriah Preach'. Veteran reggae artiste Tony Rebel made a short but powerful cameo singing 'What A Nice Place to Live' and 'If Jah Is Standing By My Side'.
Afterwards, led by police outriders, the motorcade then made its way to the Michael Manley Highway, where it made two stops for Miss Lou to greet small groups of people who had come out to greet her. She shook their hands, flashed her megawatt smile, and they basked in the corona of her presence.
During her stay, Miss Lou will be the guest of honour at a number of events, celebrating Emancipation and Independence.
SPECIAL GUEST
Miss Lou, 83, will be special guest of honour at several Emancipation and Independence celebrations including the Michael Manley Foundation Awards, the National Independence Church Service, the Prime Minister's Gala and the Independence Civic ceremony.
On August 11, she will be inducted as Fellow of the Institute of Jamaica, at the Little Theatre in St. Andrew.
"Her return is a tremendous inspiration to all of Jamaica," said Minister Whiteman while noting that the cultural icon represents the best of Jamaican values. And Wycliffe Bennett, former chairman of the Creative Production and Training Centre (CPTC) said, "a national treasure has returned home."
Lena Samms, 86, while recalling the years she watched Miss Lou in performance at the Ward Theatre, said they are moments she would always cherish.
The JLP's deputy leader Olivia 'Babsy' Grange said she hoped that the visit would encourage greater levels of respect of the Jamaican culture especially our dialect.
Today Miss Lou will host a rap session with members of the media at the Jamaica Pegasus.
