Caribbean Belle WEDDINGS
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Caribbean BELLE eMagazine...now ONLINe!
Cover Photo: Clothing and Styling: White, chiffon evening gown, designed by Enrique Acevedo, CEO, Tomace, The Falls at West Mall |
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From Me to You
Over the last eight years our team has worked tirelessly at creating the Caribbean Belle brand that you know and love. Our efforts have been rewarded by fans who write to us every day, by enthusiastic advertisers and brand managers who sometimes squeal (literally) with delight when they receive their copies, and, oddly enough, even the "Belle snatchers" out there who grab up the complimentary copies sent out to spas, doctor's offices and salons.
Each issue that has left our premises and fallen into your hands has been very special to us. Often, it's the people we feature who make the difference; such was the case for this edition. I've had the pleasure of meeting one of Trinidad and Tobago's most recognized music artistes—Marcia Miranda.
Newly Crowned
Avionne Mark’s journey to Miss Trinidad and Tobago Universe 2012
She embodies selflessness amidst the most alluring of smiles
and a calm gait. Basking in the presence of Avionne Mark’s glow
was made most pleasurable due to her altruistic disposition, earnest
words and the endearment she conveys without forcing any
eloquence whatsoever.
This warm afternoon at Tribe’s Mas Camp in Port-of-Spain showed that not only could beauty proverbially match ‘brains’, but that it could be directly proportional to genuine humility.
Shining Star
Marcia Miranda has inspired a nation with both her festive melodies and war against breast cancer
Marcia Miranda is sitting in an armchair in the private guest
room at Bally’s Salon in Woodbrook. She has just arrived,
straight from her workplace, and is wearing a simple pencil
skirt. Kirk Thomas is at hand, to provide the right touches to
her facial features. His job is enviable. Miranda has a ready and
almost permanent smile; her golden-bronze skin, tight and radiant
as that of a sixteen year old, is a ready symbol of good
health. I get the feeling that if I asked how many glasses of water
she drinks per day, she might say twelve. I don’t even ask her
about the gym, and whether she has a routine, not just then, I
leave that for later.
Second Chances
Alternative health care at Eden Heights Clinic
I am on the second floor of Eden Heights Clinic at Montague
Avenue in Trincity, and I am stunned. The clinic
is owned and run by the husband and wife team Carlos
and Bronwyn Navarro. Mrs. Navarro is giving me the tour
and we stop off at the ozone sauna. She is explaining why
colon cleanses are so important. “What’s the worst that
you’ve seen,” I ask. “You would not believe the things that come
out of people, that we all have in our bodies. The worst that I’ve
ever seen was a pig farmer, he had a lot of parasites. There is also a
jar with dead parasites that Mrs. Navarro has shown me. “They’re
dead,” she says. I make a mental note to get a colon cleanse.
Straight to the Heart
Belle’s nutritionists recommend 6 foods to keep your heart healthy
Cardiovascular disease is currently one of the number one causes of death worldwide.
More frightening, is that it no longer descriminates between young and old. Many have
lost parents, at a young age, from this disease, including Belle’s editor-in-chief. She has
spoken with many nutritionists in the last few months, as she steps bravely into her midthirties,
to ensure that her body is up to scratch, and escape her genetic predisposition.
Here are six foods that the experts agree on.
The Happiness Effect
Toni Crockett Design on creating happy spaces
It is tricky to put into words what it feels like to come home.
Home looks and feels different to everyone. However, there
are similarities in the architectural elements, which create
that welcoming space we desire, that feeling of, "Ahh! We're
home."
How do you feel each time you arrive home and open the door? Happy for finally getting there? Joyful or relaxed to see your things the way you’ve arranged them? What’s your overall impression of your home?
These are questions we never really think to answer, but they are always there and whenever you open that door, a feeling – good or bad – always comes to you. Being happy in your home is essential. I truly believe that we each need to have a space where we’re at peace. That’s all.
Flower Story
Gabrielle Beston Edwards challenges her audience to appreciate the subtleties of nature
Gabby Beston Edwards can’t remember
a time when she wasn’t creating some
form of art, whether childish stick figures,
cartoons, or other. It’s the only thing that
she recalls doing consistently and wholeheartedly
at school and for pure enjoyment
(besides reading - she was an avid reader of
Roald Dahl). As she grew older, her skills
improved beyond stick figures to more
elaborate compositions; her work became
noticed by both teachers and the wider
community, and her artistic drive revved
on. Her career as an artist grew naturally
out of commitment and growth; she avows
that she has never seriously considered another
career option, and jokes that thanks
to her supportive parents, it never occurred
to her that she should spend any more time
than necessary honing math skills.
Mover and Shaker
Belle chats with character artist, Thaddeus Maharaj
Twenty-eight year-old Thaddeus Maharaj lives the dream
of many young males, not only in Trinidad and Tobago, but on
a worldwide scale. The ‘Chindian’, as he likes to call himself,
won’t admit this as he prides himself on humility and a modest
disposition…but when you’re a character artist at the worldrenowned
Rockstar Studios, it comes with the territory.
Rockstar Games is a multinational video game developer and publisher based in New York City, owned by Take-Two Interactive following its purchase of British video game publisher BMG Interactive. The brand is mostly known for Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne, L.A. Noire, The Warriors, Bully, Manhunt, Midnight Club, State of Emergency, and Red Dead, series and the use of open world, free roaming settings in their games. Maharaj eventually acknowledged, quietly, that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Having twisted his arm to get this confession, he elaborated on just how surreal his journey has been – from the days of Queen’s Royal College to the struggles of freelancing as a graphic designer. Coming home for the 2012 Animae Caribe Festival as a guest lecturer and chatting in the halls of his alma mater dredged up a whirlwind of memories for Thaddeus as he embraced the nostalgia whilst keeping his father waiting in the car-park.
Cook me happy!
Do your favourite childhood memories revolve around food?
When asked about your happiest times you’d more than likely leaf through the pages of your memory, to those childhood moments - with grand parents, parents, aunts, uncles, siblings and cousins - when you bonded with delicious food and drink. This represents that fountain of happiness from which we draw so that we may pass on and share with our own families and a whole new generation.
When I was growing up, I got to spend the weekends with my favourite aunt and uncle. Each Saturday evening, we would head out to their favourite Chinese restaurant for dinner. My love for Chinese food started way back then and I was not even in my double-digits. This weekly outing is one of my most enduring food memories, as it brought me intense happiness. I felt not only highly favoured, but also deeply loved; and still do. Food preparation is a way of saying, I love you, and I miss you.
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