Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Sosheba - Trench Town Girl Rocks International Runways

In less than two years Sosheba Griffiths has moved from being a simple girl in Trench Town to a well-known international model.

She has been featured in a Victoria Secret catalogue and has had to grapple with the realities of racism in the international market.

Sosheba was discovered in 2005 by Deiwight Peters, the CEO of Saint International, while attending Denham Town High School. She was groomed by the agency and entered the Fashion Face of the Caribbean model search, which she won in 2006. She finished school that year and this gave her the opportunity and time to fully launch her career as a model.

During her short time on the fashion scene, she has already been featured in several overseas publications and campaigns. So far she has been on campaigns for Moschino, has graced the covers of Vogue Knitting, Japan's Luire, Ibiza Style, had six pages in Chinese Bazaar and editorial appearances in Teen Vogue, Trace Magazine, Vogue Gioella, The Guardian, Seventeen Magazine and WIG Magazine.

The dizzying pace has also landed her the high-profile campaign for Erin Fetherston and she has appeared on the runways of New York, London, Paris and Milan. She has also made appearances for leading clients including Chloe, Van Cleef and Arpels (London), Sportsmax, MAC (Milan).

Sosheba is also featured in a 12-page spread in France's Jalouse Magazine, which is currently running.

With all these achievements, she says the biggest one since the start of her career has been her appearance in the Victoria Secret catalogue within two months after she won Saint International Fashion Face of the Caribbean.

"The Victoria Secret catalogue had lots of girls and I, the only black girl in the competition, won it. It went well with the photographer and I liked it. It's tough for black girls 'cause only one or two will burst out. So you have to work hard for it to come true," said the excited Sosheba as she recounted her experience.

Faced with racism

She says she has already faced some level of racism as the black models have to work harder than the other models to get jobs in some of the magazines or modelling agencies that traditionally employ Caucasian models.

While racism has been her biggest challenge yet, she says that she misses her parents and the rest of her family but due to her drive to succeed in modelling, she says she is willing to make the sacrifice.

"I have to wake up really early in the mornings to go to castings and photo shoots from eight in the mornings to 10 in the night. For the Erin Fetherson campaign, I start photo shoots from two in the day and go 'til the following morning but I don't complain like the other girls," she said.

She says the other girls complained about the lengthy hours but she loves what she is doing and remembers her humble beginnings.

Diewight Peters, who has guided Sosheba's career thus far speaks very highly of her.

"All the clients also report on her warmth. She is also very personable and has a great spirit. In the pressuring world of fashion, sometimes it's hard for girls to remain personable and friendly under pressure, not Sosheba."

Confident individual

She also has attributes which she believes make her easy to work with. "I am very confident in myself, outgoing, like to work a lot, friendly, meet different people, like to travel and be myself," Sosheba said.

At only 18 years old, she says she has at least another 12 years in the industry. Peters, however, says he believes she has more than 15 years left. He believes she has a 'timeless' look that can almost guarantee her a place in the industry for decades like Lauren Hutton, Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Kate Moss, Iman, Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista and Tyra Banks.

Sosheba has her role model in sight as well. "I want to be like Naomi Campbell. She is a supermodel. She has been in music videos and she has given to charity," she said.

Sosheba is also planning to give back to charities and to kids, hospitals and her alma mater, Denham Town High. Her aspirations for modelling are high, but she is aware that they are not guaranteed as she intends to pursue a career in midwifery when her modelling career ends.

But those concerns have been neatly stashed away as she is enjoying every bit of her golden opportunity. She will leave London within three weeks for New York for castings, photo shoots, shows and fittings. She will be in Milan by February and then Paris by March to participate in a 'Ready to Wear' fashion show.

Source: The Jamaica Gleaner

Bonita Jamaica
Beautiful Place. Amazing People.

See you in Jamaica.

Michael Manley for Civil Rights Walk of Fame

WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 (JIS):
Saturday, January 05, 2008

Some 10 years after his death, former Prime Minister, Michael Manley will create history when he will be the first Jamaican leader to be inducted into the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame, on Saturday, January 12.


Mr. Manley's induction, part of the annual Trumpet Awards, will take place at the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, following a ceremony at the landmark Ebenezer Baptist Church. He will be inducted alongside such American civil rights icons, as poet Maya Angelou; singer/dancer Sammy Davis, Jr.; activist, Benjamin Hooks; radio host, Tom Joyner; and Martin Luther King's attorney, Clarence B. Jones.

The annual Trumpet Awards programme, which begins on Thursday, January 9, culminates on Sunday, January 13, with the presentation of the awards at the Atlanta Civic Centre. Inaugurated in 1993, the Trumpet Awards honour African American achievers in many different fields of endeavour, including law, business, medicine, politics, entertainment and public service.

Glynne Manley, widow of Mr. Manley will attend the ceremonies in Atlanta and unveil Mr. Manley's footprints on the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame. Prime Minister from 1972 to 1980 and from 1989 to 1992, the late former Prime Minister was also a Vice President of Socialist International and a recognized voice for a new international economic order and for civil rights.

Mr. Manley's footprints will join others from previous years, including former US Presidents, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and Lyndon B. Johnson; current Atlanta Mayor, Shirley Franklin and former mayors, Andrew Young and the late Maynard Jackson; the late former Bahamian Prime Minister, Lynden Pindling; Harry Belafonte, Stevie Wonder, Sidney Poitier, Lena Horne, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Dick Gregory, Julian Bond, Medgar Evers, Rosa Parks, and Thurgood Marshall.

According to the Trumpet Award Foundation's Executive Director, Xernona Clayton, Michael Manley was selected for induction based not only on the outstanding contribution he made during his life, but also because of his powerful enduring legacy in civil rights. He was a prominent voice in raising international awareness about the great civil rights issues that continue to resonate around the world.

The International Civil Rights Walk of Fame was created five years ago as an added feature of the Trumpet Awards, and recognises those who have sacrificed and struggled to make equality a reality for all. The Civil Rights Walk of Fame display has become one of Atlanta's most visited tourist attractions.

Bonita Jamaica
Beautiful Place. Amazing People.

See you in Jamaica.

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Mary Seacole Honoured With Blue Plaque

LONDON, England (JIS), December 5, 2007:
The London home of pioneering Jamaican healer, Mary Seacole, has been marked with one of English Heritage's prestigious blue plaques. The plaque, which was unveiled last week at a ceremony at the house at Soho Square in Westminster, describes Mrs Seacole as a "heroine of the Crimean War".

The house is in fact one of several places in London where Mary Seacole lived during her time there and is the only one that has survived until today. The very plaque mounted at Soho Square previously adorned Mrs Seacole's earlier address at George Street in Marylebone before its demolition.

The Soho Square address was where Mrs. Seacole lived after her return from the Crimean War and at the time of the publication of 'The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands', the first autobiography written by a black woman in Britain.

To coincide with the unveiling of the plaque, the Florence Nightingale Museum has opened a display devoted to Mary Seacole's life and contribution to the nursing care of British soldiers during the Crimean War.

English Heritage has managed the blue plaque scheme since 1986. Plaques have since been issued to commemorate the achievements of a vast range of figures from different countries, cultures and backgrounds including late former Prime Minister and historian, Sir Winston Churchill; American musician, Jimi Hendrix; crime fiction writer, Agatha Christie, and Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist, Sigmund Freud.

The residence of another legendary Jamaican, Bob Marley, was commemorated with a plaque last year.

Mary Seacole was recently voted greatest ever black Briton in an online poll.

Bonita Jamaica
Beautiful Place. Amazing People.

See you in Jamaica.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year from Bonita Jamaica.

Wishing you BIG things in 2008 and, of course, make sure you visit Jamaica in 2008.

Bonita Jamaica
Beautiful Place. Amazing People.

See you in Jamaica.