Jabbar, master drummer in Hopkins Village, Belize My hands come down on the once-soft animal skin, now stretched tightly over a tree trunk, producing a deep bass tone that momentarily takes me to West Africa. The rhythm is  familiar to one I learned from a Guinean master drummer once—one that […]

It’s mid-morning and the merengue, coming from different corners of the village, reaches the porch where I’m sitting and makes me smile. One is fast and in my face. Another is slow and suave. Almost romantic. And the third one is medium tempo and just right. Across the street–the dirt […]

Today’s photo is of a rare Sumatran tiger, also known as Panthera tigris sumatrae, a tiger subspecies that is critically endangered. It’s native only to the Indonesian island of Sumatra, and even there, the numbers are limited. Sumatran Tiger, West Sumatra Approximately  200 Sumatran tigers are currently living in zoos […]

Today’s photo is of ‘Nandi,’ Lord Shiva’s/Siva’s holy cow and vehicle, found inside one of the temples (Candi Nandi) at Prambanan, the largest Hindu temple complex in Indonesia, which was built in the 10th century. Nandi, Shiva’s cow and vehicle, at Prambanan Most Shiva temples have this bull, which is […]

This photo is of a Kuna Yala woman, a resident of Carti Island, in traditional clothing. The colorful part right above her skirt is a mola, which means ‘shirt’ or ‘clothing’ in Dulegaya, the language spoken by the Kuna. The ring in the woman’s nose is called an olasu. The […]