You can usually find Ms. de Jesus in her backyard, which she lovingly refers to as “her bush.” Her face is lovely, with a bright glow to her skin, sparkling periwinkle eyes, and a few shiny gold teeth that flash when she laughs. And when she does, her big, passionate smile lights up her whole face. She takes her job picking wine berries to a high degree. She places the harvested berries in a big bucket and carries it home, accompanied by her grandchildren.

Her right leg is stiff. A couple of decades ago, in ’86, she hurt her leg bad in a car accident. But the steel rod in her leg from this accident doesn’t hold her back from walking a lot, she says. Her belief for longevity is walking a lot, as well as eating a lot of meat, beef in particular she “is not a great fan of chicken.” Not so long ago, her doctor advised her to eat less meat, but within no time she felt weak.

Good laugh and a long sleep are the best medication.

You can’t get away without trying her wine. She takes the berries off one by one from little branches, tosses the rotten ones, removes the stems, and washes the berries thoroughly. After crushing them, she lets her berries sleep in sugar for one week in an island style fermentation container.

Ms. de Jesus explains that the flowers begin to bloom in November, marking the start of her berry-picking season, which lasts until February. “The fruits are anti-inflammatory and high in vitamin C,” she says in her island accent that is so thick it’s difficult to understand for non-island residents. Pay her visit and you won’t get away without trying her wine. The taste is strong and sweet—perfectly complemented by a piece of rich, pure cacao chocolate.

Her daughter Chola has her own restaurant/bar a few doorsteps away. It is the place to be on the East part of the island. She is a hard worker, has strong values, and never met a stranger. Ms. Jesus has five children in total: three boys (one passed) Chola, and another daughter. Her husband passed in the 80s, when he was 78 years old. “No man in her life ever since,” she has her hands full with all her grand- and great-grandchildren. She thinks she has 28, she has lost track.

The bottles are ready to sell, right in time before Semana Santa. After the processing starts, Chola’s empty bottles from her café are used for her mom’s wine. Besides selling by the bottle (100 Lps) she also sells by half a gallon (600 Lps) or one gallon (1,200). “A real business lady she is”, her proud daughter says. “And of course I drink her wine almost every night.”

Cooking is her passion. She cooks coconut bread, meat, stew, soup, pancakes, you name it. When you see her grating a coconut down on a board, you realize how physically strong she still is. Most people trying to open them quit after the fifth time, at which point they usually slice open their thumb. “You ain’t no good, my friend,” she comments. Whether making her own coconut oil or producing wine, she keeps moving and never stops.

She loves to be surrounded by her family and most of them live around her. Her secret to a long and healthy life? “A good laugh and a long sleep are the best medication for everything. Time and health are two cherished valuables that we usually do not recognize and appreciate until they have gone,” Ms. Jesus says with a grin on her face.

Ms. de Jesus passed away in July, 2024; she was 94 years old.

Patty McCulla Sings to the Island’s Content

Both of her parents were musicians: her father played the upright bass in a jazz quartet and her mother played the piano. It is therefore not surprising that because of her background and experience since the ‘80s, McCulla, 59, developed her own distinctive personal style. She combines folk, blues, rock, jazz, R&B, and country into an eclectic show.

Recently Patty came back very excited from a short trip to Oregon, where she spent three years back in 2000 as a soloist with a great band. She covered a ‘ladies’ blues tunes’ from 1939 by Idaa Cox in the historic Veterans Memorial Building in Eugene. “It ended too soon for me to get all the verses in, but man we caught a cool groove!” She misses singing the blues and hopes and prays to find a way to make it happen more again. Patty has been a blues-rock singer for 25 years.

In the ‘80’s she played professionally as a soloist and with a blues/rock/Motown/variety band in Tucson and throughout southern Arizona. She has good memories of Chicago where she lived for ten years in the ‘90s. There she was honored to do her solo act in front of some well-known bands in the diverse musical city.

When Patty moved to Roatan she considered not continuing as a musician anymore. Eventually however she realized her music was still “the gift she came to give.” She got very inspired by the locals, the wonderful residents and visitors of the island, so quitting was not an option. Patty wrote two songs about her island Roatan, ‘On Roatan’ and ‘It’s Another Beautiful Day on Roatan.’ She speaks likes she is almost singing, and gets inspired on the spot, that’s the way she starts to write her lyrics.

On Roatan
I can be who I am
On Roatan I can be me
On the isle of Roatan finest people in a jungle wonderland,
Nobody judges you
They just love you, on Roatan.

Chorus from “On Roatan” song lyrics

Patty is always ready for a new adventure and Big Rock Amphitheater in Pensacola is her newest one. Together with her husband Vernon Albert they have almost finished it’s construction, in a beautiful spot in Flowers Bay. “My idea is that this Amphitheater will be a ‘music and arts center that will feature musicians from all over the world,” says Patty in her warm, velvet voice. “We hope to bring talent over from the mainland of Honduras as well, having island parties on the weekends and special concerts and jams on other nights.” The structure sits right on the beach, in its ‘rocky’ environmental little bay; you will experience a beautiful view of the ocean. In this way, she continues to ‘follow her bliss.’

Most recently and together with the talented Guatemalan artist Luis de la Rosa, Patty recorded two songs about Greta Thunberg, the Swedish child environmentalist figure. Patty wrote lyrics for two songs: ‘To Greta with Love’ and ‘How Dare you?!’ Luis de la Rosa added his soul fire, and original music to the song.

Meet this energetic, humble, inspiring artist Patty McCulla’s with American roots rock, bluesy stuff, Motown, island-style, classic rock and originals this Thursday 19th at Pensacola (5:30 PM – 9 PM) for an epic holiday party featuring ‘The Guitar Club’.

Island Volleyball Tournament Helps

Roatan has a lot of young talented volleyball players and not surprisingly the island has been on top of the Honduran Beach Volleyball Tour since 2015. Shanna Rivera (aka Madonna) and Cecille Johnson, are Roatan’s best representation in the female category. They won 2nd place at the U21 Central American Beach Volleyball Tournament in 2018 and placed 4th at the Women’s Central American Beach Volleyball Tournament 2019. “They have made history, the Honduran female teams have never done so well,” said Dennis Hill, defender and the new coach of the BIBVA (Bay Islands Beach Volleyball Association). Alejandra Cruz and Soniva (aka Chubby) also performed very well and competed at U21 Central American Tournament in 2019.

Volleyball offers Roatan youth a way to stay away from drugs and crime and develops ability for them to stay focused. “Playing sports, in general, can rescue a lot of kids from staying out of trouble. It is a great opportunity for the kids to travel, to see more of Central America while playing leagues,” says Giselle Brady, BICA’s program director became part of the Bay Islands Volleyball League (BIVL) in 2011.

The Blue Abyss

Freediving Competition Brings 11 World Records

In August 2019 Roatan hosted the 7th International Annual Caribbean Cup Freediving competition, immediately followed by the CMAS World Cup Freediving Competition. “The conditions are perfect here.The abyssal, dramatic steep walls were an important part of the decision taken by the federations to hold the competitions here,” said Esteban Darhanpé, owner of the Roatan Freediving School.

For the Caribbean Cup there were 68 athletes from 26 countries, and for the CMAS World Championship, 60 athletes from 24 countries. In the Caribbean Cup four new freediving world records were set and in the CMAS World Championship 7 new world records.

Italian Alessia Zecchini and Alenka Artnik from Slovenia shined setting a joint world record of 113 meters in the CWF- constant weight with fins category. “The new Queens of freediving”, says Alex St. Jean freediver and underwater photographer of this event.

Alexey Molchanov from Russia broke a free Immersion descending to 118 meters and staying submerged for 4 minutes 26 seconds.

Diving to Reach the Summit Near Cayos Cochinos

Seamounts are extinct volcanoes that, when active, created piles of lava that sometimes break the ocean surface and come in a mixture of shapes and sizes which makes for beautiful abundant reefs.

Geologically speaking, the word ‘seamount’ has a narrow definition. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) states a seamount is any underwater peak that rises more than 3,280 feet from the seafloor without breaking the water’s surface. Otherwise it would be an island if the top of the mountain broke above the sea level. Most scuba divers however define a seamount as any underwater mountain, pinnacle or reef.

A series of underwater mountains rise between Roatan and Cayos Cochinos forming separate mountains and peaks at around 60 ft in depth. The Seamounts are more suitable for advanced divers, as the currents can be strong.

The Cayos seamounts can even be dangerous. Weather there changes quickly, and sudden squalls can make it difficult for the boat captain to retrieve surfacing divers. Four years ago, Nicholas Bach of the Roatan Marine Park, who is in charge of the marine infrastructure around Roatan, ended up floating alone in the ocean for 11 hours. Bach and three other divers were rescued just before sunset.

While some of the bigger seamounts are miles round others are just a few dozen meters in diameter. The most visited ones are about seven kilometers from Cayo Cochino Grande and can be circumnavigated in one dive. These underwater mountains are perfect for less experienced divers because their tops are flat and at a depth of 40 feet. These guyots are made by repeated wave action eroding the summit of the underwater island eventually forming a flat surface.

With all the currents moving through the area, temperature fluctuation and the rich nourishing water that come from the depths, make the coral at the Cayos Cochinos seamount very healthy and active. There is also a great opportunity to see lots of different schools of Atlantic spade fish, blue tangs, horse eye jacks, hammerheads or pelagic fish and a battery of barracudas just hanging out off the reef as they feed. Most of the time the nurse sharks are swimming around with their curious eyes. There is plenty of marine life to be seen.

Bach marked six mounts on Roatan Marine Park’s google map. “A lot more dive shops offer these trips. Ten years ago, you felt like a pioneer if you took a dive group there. Now there are almost ten moorings,” said Bach.

Several Roatan dive shops offer a day trip to the seamounts with a two-tank dive. Between dives you can explore the rustic Cayos Cochinos. Honduras has been ranked in the top three diving destinations in the Caribbean Sea for biodiversity and Cayos Cochinos is the leader in biodiversity in Honduras.

The two small main islands of Cayos Cochinos in the chain offer a variety of surrounding coral reef structures. One of the two is called ‘Chachahuate, a small Garifuna fishing village.

The chain of 13 cays to the south are coral islands, with shallow coral reefs to the north and sloping walls to the south. These little pure, deserted cays are perfect to go for snorkeling.

The Holistic Lifestyle of an Islander

His hang out is Cannibal Café in West End. Stass is dressed in colorful attire and he walks straight to Taco, the cafés parrot, who cries out in excitement: “Stass, Stass, Stass, Stass!”
“Wait a minute I need to do something about it,” says Stass. He strolls to his cage and speaks to the bird, gives it some corn and calms it down.

Stass was born 84 years ago in “French Men Harbor” as he calls it. Yet according to Stass his birth certificate places his birthplace as “Choloma” on the mainland. “They made so many mistakes I don’t even want to go there my dear,” he comments.

“In the end it took five days for my mother to give birth. The family was a bit worried it took so long and had to arrange a midwife. She figured out she had to bring my mother a bowl of mangos. After the third mango she sucked the juice out… I was delivered,” says Stass sipping on a mango smoothie. Stass’ love for mangos goes a long way back.

His father Fletcher Allan was an “alligator hunter” and his mother Emily was a school teacher. When Stass was about seven years old, he moved with his mother to New York. Stass says that his uncle Oscar was the Mayor of Roatan at the time. Many islanders were still ambiguous about their Honduran identity. When more mainlanders moved to the island, Stass’ mom decision was made: Brooklyn, New York became their new residence. “My mother taught me a healthy life, ‘health is wealth’ was her motto,” says Stass.

Stass went to University of California and met Miles Davis the American world-famous jazz musician. “The people you are with, make it possible”, he says. He travelled to Egypt and there he got the opportunity to make a tour with Miles Davis’ band on the Blue Nile. It was Stass’ “first awakening” and it made him question the origin of things around him. “We were brought in here by pirate Lafitte,” somewhat ambiguously said Stass.

It took five days for my mother to give birth.

Waking up when the sun is rising, he is aware of his entire being and understanding its components. In other words, Stass concentrates on the physical side, being physically healthy and strong. “God of the universe is the sun”, he says with befuddled look on his face.

Later on, Stass and his brother Alvin worked as deckhands on cargo ships. He still blames Alvin for not building a strong house for their father. “Well it was really well meant of my brother to build a house for him, but he built a ‘board house’ instead of building it out of clay from the outside, with bamboo in the inside,” says Stass. “A hurricane came along and blew the whole house away in the wee hours in the morning while my father was sleeping”. Stass thinks he was in his seventies when he passed.” Even today he is still dreaming about having an adobe machine to build his own house made from compressed soil blocks. Over the years Stass developed his own philosophy about different type of roofs. He dislikes the metal roofs as too dangerous and Hurricanes and tornados play with that and can chop people in two pieces. Stass says that roofs made by tiles and palm tree leaves “can take the winds.”

Sharing is not Stass’ thing. He has acquaintances, but no friends. ‘Why should I cater before them?’ When it comes to his family life, like children, grandchildren and wives Stass’ story becomes a bit vague. Stass claims he has five sons and six daughters. “I am telling you what I know,” he says with a smile pulling out an announcement card out of his bag. On the front there was a photo of his son and future wife. While Stass says his son was born on the island, there is not much contact and further information.

In fact, Stass says there have been three wives in his past life; Nadia from California, one from Roatan, a daughter of his dad’s fisherman co-worker and Cecilia from Texas. “Oh boy, she was something else,” comments Stass about Cecilia, but offers little more.

He likes to hang out around his house close to the beach and in front of the Cannibal Café in West End. Stass helped to build the roof of the café and that is where you can find him practically every day. There he contemplates life and food. Fish eggs with fish ‘heads’ is on his regular menu. According to Stass the head gives the soup the best flavor. No fillet fish for him. It is Stass’ secret recipe, one of many Stass’ secrets.

An original Reggae Dancehall Artist on Roatan

A charming and charismatic singer/songwriter and producer of his own music who doesn’t run away scared from anything.

His RoadRanna name refers to his favorite cartoon, Road Runner. In each episode, the Coyote repeatedly attempts to catch and subsequently eat Road Runner, a fast-running terrestrial bird, but is never successful. Road runner runs down the road all day long, faster than the anvils falling from the sky, dynamite exploding and the ever-present predator “the fox” as Drizzle calls him. “The RoadRanna is in charge,” Drizzle explains.

“It wasn’t me”, the biggest-selling collaboration in UK chart history, by Shaggy, paved the way for the likes of Drake, Rihanna and Major Lazer to launch their respective careers. “I was here before Drake” says former cook Drizzle with a smile. Last April, Drizzle released a dancehall reggae song called “ Tun up” , in collaboration with Rambo Style and Elly Yung.

Slang expressions are used to describe something that is wonderful, exciting, spectacular or a great deal of fun. The literal translation of “tun up” is “turned up”. In Patois (Patwa): Di party tonite ago tun up. In English: The party tonight is going to be off the chain. His lyrics use the different influences and mixes of “Patwa” and Island Creole English.

“My gyal come tun up and wine for the dread
 Mi love the way how yo wine feh me pretty gyal
 Tun up bust a split pan yo head
 Mi love d how yo wine fehdehgenneral
 Come wine feh me pretty gyal
 Come wine feh the general
 Wine feh di general
 Wine feh di general.”

Chorus from “Tun Up”

Nine-year-old Drizzle fell in love with singing, an inheritance from his mother and grandmother. His mother, Miss Mazy Raymond, used to sing at church. At nine-years-old she sent him to Belize to live with his aunt and attend school there. There he studied architecture and developed his skills for writing songs. At the age of 18 he moved back to Roatan, to his hometown Sandy Bay as Belize City became too corrupt and dangerous to live in.

Love is the theme for all his lyrics. Drizzle encourages people to stay together in their relationships and hopes they learn something positive out of his lyrics. “One Love,” he expresses on a regular basis, is an expression of unity. One love refers to universal love and respect for all people, social status, regardless of race, or any other defining characteristics. Bob Marley is his hero, as for many islanders, and his source of inspiration.

Grip me is his favorite single, which was released four years ago. Grip me is a metaphor between twerking and a jump. Twerking is a dance move that involves a “gal” shaking her hips and bottom in a bouncy up and down motion causing it to shake, wobble, and jiggle. “The bumper grips me,” Drizzle explains.

Drizzle is building his own studio in Sandy Bay, which takes a lot of time, effort and money. In the meantime, he records his songs in Coxen Hole, where he works together with another producer.

The studio is very small, but that is all they need. The ceiling is covered by empty egg cartons to mute the sound outside. The group writes their own lyrics but use no instruments. Their rapping technique uses beats from the computer. It still ends up sounding cool, especially in the “The RoadRanna” YouTube videos.

Drizzle plays gigs at island festivals, clubs and will soon perform at the first Roatan Carnival on July 19 as well as another performance in September in Mexico.

Artist Drizzle is a brave and strong soldier fighting towards a better future. He performs a lot at concerts where they raise funds for school fees for children and projects to make a better life for the kids.