the new york times came to grenada…
The New York Times came to Grenada… and got it wrong.
My spidey sense must have been cranked up extra-high last night. This is the only explanation for why I checked out the early New York Times Sunday Magazine articles online. (I used to do this every Saturday, but lately have been much more casual about it.)
Lo and behold! The Travel section had an article about Grenada!
My glee was quickly tempered by the article itself. As I quickly scanned the first page, my jaw literally dropped in dismay.
The second paragraph begins: “It’s November, just a few weeks after the 25th anniversary of the United States’ invasion of this island nation — which the locals I meet politely refer to as “the intervention,” as if their excesses had to be corrected.“
Technically speaking, I guess this is true, but it’s misleading. I have lived here in Grenada for four years and have never heard a Grenadian refer to this event as “the intervention”. They say “when the Americans came”. Much more important, though, is the glaring omission of this fact -> Grenadians commemorate the arrival of the American Marines with a national holiday, and they call that holiday THANKSGIVING.
I wonder, did the author of this article simply fail to ask for clarification? Does he not know about the Google? Or is he just getting all his information from a couple of taxi drivers and hotel staff who no doubt didn’t fully understand his questions but humored him rather than ask him to repeat himself?
Sigh. There are several other statements in this article that annoyed me. For example, he says that cruise ships “disgorge” passengers in St George’s every day, which is patently false. Also, he praises the cheeseburgers at The Lazy Lagoon. (I love The Lazy Lagoon but under no circumstances do you ever want to eat the cheeseburgers. Trust me.) Finally, he utterly fails to look critically at the resort where he stayed. It seems the Port Louis/Mount Cinnamon people (bless them!) gave him some of their lovely brochures and he took them at face value.
(My original thought was to go through the article point by point and dissect it. But I won’t do that for two reasons. First, once I read the second and third pages I found a few quotes and moments that were hilariously typically Grenadian. Second, today is my mom’s birthday, so I have some very important feting to do. Also, some praying: “Please, Jah, let me look half that good when I reach the age of 62!”)
I shouldn’t be too hard on Mr. Ned Martel (the author). It’s not easy to be a white foreigner guy in Grenada… and he totally got played. Next time, Mr. Martel, please feel free to contact me. I would love to fact-check anything you (or anyone else) wants to publish about Grenada. We writers, we’re all in this together, you know?
Posted on February 8th, 2009 under Grenada • Tags: blogging, caribbean, getting it wrong, Grenada, media, new york times, tourism, travel, writing. • 
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February 8th, 2009 at 11:05 am
that guy certainly got the stereotypes thru in the article… but i always knew Billy Ocean was a Trini i guess its never too late to be corrected… oh sorry he is… that guy doesn’t have a clue… well let me get back to my island life with rasta craft merchants who really make their living sellin marijauna…
February 8th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
The article serves to drive home the point that there is a big difference between living somewhere and just visiting for a few days. He’s just regurgitating sound-bites from his guided-tour operators, poor thing.
Do email him and let him know it’s Chantimelle, not Chanticelle. Steupse.
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February 8th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Did you also see the thing about “Love the Progress: Vote NNP”? I mean maybe he actually saw that somewhere, but the hundreds of signs I saw with my own eyes always said “Let the Progress Continue”. Also, I need to reread the article to be certain, but I do not think he mentions nutmeg or cocoa once, not even when he’s talking about Ivan’s destruction.
February 9th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
they always get it wrong dont they
February 9th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Indeed. I’m torn between being glad they at least tried and wishing they hadn’t bothered. I’m working on a really long post in which I annotate the entire article. It’s going to take a while because I’m making a concerted effort to be “nice”.
February 12th, 2009 at 10:54 am
I am a little disturbed by the burger comment. So i make this offer to anyone out there. Come to Lazy have a burger (proper name is RFG Burger) and if it is not the best burger on the island it is FREE! I make this offer as the owner of lazy Lagoon. Call me if you doubt ( 407-4111)
Your other comments i agree with……………..
February 12th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Hello there, owner of the Horni Baboon/Lazy Lagoon.
I apologize for the burger comment. It was based on hearsay. In other words, I’ve heard bad things about your burgers but I’ve never actually had one myself. Some time very soon I will come and have a burger. If it’s any good, I will dedicate an entire blog post to letting the world know I was wrong.
February 15th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
well luv, it’s either one extreme or the other… we’re either tantalisingly exotic, or just riddled with “third world” poverty, crime and disease… i guess Grenada came out at the happy end.
February 24th, 2009 at 6:40 pm
I recently visited Grenada and absolutely loved it. I agree with the author when it comes to prejudice against America. I did not see any. The locals were very friendly. I did not visit the lazy lagoon but I am sure their burgers are just fine.
March 20th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
It’s not funny when they get it wrong all the time. Wow, what a joke of a journalist. Seriously, it’s like people don’t take their jobs personally any more.