Street Art Water Lane Kingston Jamaica
History,  Independent travel,  Jamaica,  North America,  Photography,  Travel Blog

Kingston: Heroes And Thankfully No Villains

November 28, 2022 /

Our walk out from the comfortable surroundings of the Liguanea Club each morning takes us across Emancipation Park with its manicured gardens and one-way jogging circuit where copper coloured doves peck among the benches and resting gentlemen call out a greeting, or a welcome to Jamaica, as we walk by.

This park is part of the land which was gifted to the Government by the original and exclusive Liguanea Club as the parishes of Kingston and St Andrew burgeoned in size when merchants and workers alike sought better working and living conditions. Much of the area of what is now known as New Kingston sits on the Liguanea Plain which had been largely unoccupied prior to the devastating earthquake of 1692 when huge areas of the previously thriving capital of Port Royal disappeared into the sea. A more recent earthquake in 1907 saw a further increase in the urbanisation of the former sugar plantations on the plain.

Emancipation Park Kingston Jamaica
Emancipation Park

Emancipation Park opened in 2002, to celebrate Jamaica’s evolutionary history from slavery to freedom – hence the name – together with the resilience and spirit of the Jamaican people, with open spaces and water features designed to represent freedom and purity. At its entrance sits the bronze statue entitled Redemption Song – another Bob Marley reference, obviously – designed by Laura Facey to represent the triumphant rise of the people from the horrors of slavery. The statue didn’t initially meet with universal approval, detractors disliking its somewhat ostentatious representations of certain parts of the anatomy….as you can probably see…

Emancipation Park Kingston Jamaica
Redemption Song statue

Further celebration of Jamaica’s history and culture can be seen downtown in Old Kingston where quantities of glorious street art adorn the walls of an area centred around Water Lane. As we study these works and absorb the messages, the role played by music in the assertion of culture is very clear, the faces of musicians peering out from between the messages of pride and heritage.

Water Lane street Art Kingston Jamaica
Water Lane street art

Water Lane Street art Kingston Jamaice
Water Lane street art

One such, which reads, “The black skin is not a badge of shame but rather a symbol of national greatness”, speaks massive volumes and needs no further input from us. 

Water Lane street art
Water Lane Street art Kingston Jamaice
Water Lane street art

It’s fair to say that Kingston does not enjoy a reputation as the World’s safest city. Wandering in the heat of the day calls for a stepping up of precautionary tactics (keep phones and cameras hidden, stay in busier areas, carry small amounts of cash in several different pockets/bags, just in case), but walking the city after dark is not advised in any guide book. Consequently our evenings out are by taxi both ways, arranged by Liguanea on the way out and by our chosen destination for the return journey. We don’t risk walking between bar and restaurant. Forewarned is forearmed after all and there’s no point taking unnecessary risks.

Water Lane Street art Kingston Jamaice
Water Lane street art
Water Lane Street art Kingston Jamaice
Water Lane street art

One such sortie takes us to Usain Bolt’s restaurant, named Tracks & Records. Its name would suggest a pun pairing rock music with Bolt’s athletic prowess, but it is in fact an American themed sports bar where the NFL takes priority over the World Cup and the size of the main TV screen and its accompanying decibel levels are at the extreme end of extreme. Despite that, it’s still a fun place to be. For a while.

Usain Bolts restaurant Tracks & Records

Friday morning and the increased humidity carries the threat of a storm, which in the end hovers over the mountains but never hits town. We’re escaping the heat sipping a chilled coffee somewhere near the disappointingly sparse Craft Market when Michaela first complains of a growing headache. By the time we’ve returned to Liguanea to sit through England’s turgid World Cup match against the USA with a group of bemused and bored locals, we all feel like our brains are hurting.

National Heroes Park Kingston Jamaica
National Heroes Park

Towards the downtown area of Old Kingston lies a wide open, roughly oval piece of green parkland, originally a race track but now home to the National Heroes Park. Artistically inspired monuments stand proudly above the tombs of the great and good of Jamaica’s history in a peaceful open space where security guards outnumber visitors and butterflies outnumber both. It’s a humbling place. Inscription after inscription, quote after quote, remember those national heroes who fought for the rights of the masses, fought for the honour of Jamaicans, fought for the humane treatment of workers. Fought, indeed, for equality.

National Heroes Park Kingston Jamaica
National Heroes Park

We leave the park feeling considerably humbled and full of respect for a nation which honours those who fought oppression, racism and misuse of power.

Further south from here is the real people’s market, adjacent to William Grant (formerly Victoria) Square, full of life, noise and colour, so different from the disappointing craft market which had zero in the way of character. Higglers shout, buyers test the fruit, people fill carrier bags with produce, the air hangs heavy under a marijuana cloud. Sadly we can take no photographs: we have been told so many times that this is not a place to hold a camera or iphone out in the open. But wow what sights, wow what an atmosphere.

William Grant Square Kingston Jamaica
William Grant Square
Queen Victoria statue in William Grant Square Kingston Jamaica
Queen Victoria

So, what about the safety issue, here in this city with such a reputation? We have, personally, witnessed nothing: we haven’t felt in danger, we haven’t felt unwelcome, we have certainly not felt threatened. Far from it, in fact. But such is the intensity of warning that we have minimised any risk, hence the lack of photos from the more colourful areas. 

The lack of photos is a shame but being unable to use Google maps is inhibiting, as is the lack of opportunity to aimlessly wander. But the warnings are clearly real: find the quietest corner to check the map on your phone, and from somewhere a friendly motorist will call “please put your phone in your bag” as they drive by. Shopkeepers make sure you’ve put your money back into a secure pocket before they let you leave their shop. The danger is clearly here even though, thankfully, we’ve seen nothing to prove it.

Monument in memory of children Kingston

Some themes are developing which are quite likely to remain with us throughout our time in Jamaica: emancipation, Bob Marley and James Bond, for starters. Now though, stage one is complete as we leave the capital city and head for the mountains. The Blue Mountains….

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