By Claude Mills, Staff Reporter
THIS YEAR'S Emancipation and Independence celebrations have acquired an almost magical quality - a vivacity and soul - not experienced in recent years.
Many believe that the return of Dr. Louise Bennett-Coverley, or Miss Lou as she is affectionately called, is the main reason behind the 'natural mystic' in the air.
Miss Lou has always enjoyed virtual hammerlock on the hearts and imagination of the Jamaican public. But from the moment she made her way down the Air Canada plane's steps to place her feet on the soil of her homeland, she has single-handedly inspired a new joie de vivre in the life of Jamaicans.
EUPHORIA
This is her first visit to Jamaica since she emigrated to Canada in 1987, and the bubble of euphoria associated with her return has spread to swallow the entire country.
Miss Lou has become an object of mass cultural fascination as demonstrated by the 'boonoonoonoos' welcome she received at the airport and on the streets of Jamaica from hundreds of adoring fans. After being wheeled through a 'gauntlet of culture' inside the airport where she was treated to performances from the Rod Dennis Mento Band, the Cari-folk Singers and Ashe', she was escorted to her hotel by police outriders. Adoring fans lined the streets of Harbour View to greet her. They screamed her name as her limo passed, and whenever she paused to acknowledge their presence, they merely basked in the corona of her presence.
On Wednesday, she held centrestage during a rap session with the media at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston. She stated that while it was important to retain the Jamaican dialect as an integral part of the local culture, teachers must make it their responsibility to teach English translations.
UPSTAGED THE PRIME MINISTER
On Emancipation Day, during the Michael Manley Award for Community Self-Reliance, she upstaged the Prime Minister with an extemporaneous address to the audience jam-packed in the Little Theatre. As Miss Lou made her way down the aisle, she set off a round of frantic whispering, and a murmur of excitement ran through the crowd like an electric current. Members of the audience began to clap rhythmically, and they rose to their feet in anticipation of something special. They were not disappointed.
After singing a few bars of Water Come A Mi Yi, she once again implored the gathering to 'talk Jamaican', and defended her lifelong obsession with and championing of the Jamaican dialect. When she finished, she received a standing ovation from the audience.
Miss Lou's return merely attempts to fill out, in the minds of many Jamaicans, the portrait of a woman who redefined the way we looked at ourselves. Through her performances in the theatre and the 12 years she held centrestage on Ring Ding, she became an ideological touchstone for many Jamaicans, and her place is firmly riveted in the national psyche.
Miss Lou's return has set in motion what some dub as the 'Miss Lou multiplier effect' because as Power 106 commentator Tony Laing puts it, "Jamaicans are rallying to her, she has rekindled, revived and restored the spirit of the country... the festival feeling come back".
OPPORTUNISTIC
On the day of her grand return, opportunistic vendors sold 'Miss Lou flags', one can now purchase 'bandooloo' cassettes of Miss Lou's performances, and on Monday, the Creative Production Training Centre (CPTC) had a public launch of a Miss Lou cassette.
She has rekindled interest in all things Jamaican. Copies of her most popular literary works have been sold out. The radio talk shows buzz with talk of her return, and organisers have noted that the attendance at key celebratory activities has also increased. The newspaper is littered with Miss Lou articles, and even ads thanking her for her return.
"People are expressing love more," noted actor Charles Hyatt said of the multiplier effect. "The love they feel for Miss Lou is such that it unites them; it is contagious and I personally feel it throughout the society. The love that we have for Miss Lou has translated into a love for each other. It is one action."
Miss Lou is sometimes referred to as the First Lady of Comedy, but underneath her wily, 'tek kin teeth kibber heart bun' comedic style, she forced the society to face unpleasant truths about itself through the multi-hued, multi-racial colours in her verbal palette.
But it is the bold, proud, unapologetic and unrelenting championing of the use of the Jamaican language internationally that so endeared her to many Jamaicans. The question cynics are asking is: with all the love and attention being paid to her now, will there be a Miss Lou backlash?
On Sunday night, Miss Lou was scheduled to be a special guest at a performance of 'Cindy-relisha' at the Ward Theatre.
Miss Lou will also be special guest at the Independence civic ceremony and the civic tribute/concert at the National Stadium today. On August 11, she will be inducted as Fellow of the Institute of Jamaica at the Little Theatre.
Miss Lou surrounded by well-wishers on arrival.
