A Lifestyle Influencing the World

For many  younger Kingstonians, getting dressed to party every Wednesday evening with the intentions of dancing and sweating all night to the early morining, is as common as going to work each morning for most of us.  But who would think that this lifestyle commonly referred to as Passa Passa carried out at downtown clubs in Kingston would sweep across the island and take set in other caribbean islands and as far away as Uganda?

While visiting family in Jamaica, I stopped by to witness the craze first hand, I was enlightend but not surprised. Passa Passa is a grand scale street party held at local dancehalls on Wednesdays at events called Weddy Wednesdays at clubs such as Asylum. The event is rumored to have started in 2003 on Ash Wednesday and it is definetly as authentic as dancehall culture itself and it’s not being watered down to make it more palatable to the upper class society. It is ground zero for the culture: music, artists, dance, fashion, slang, as is evident by the frequent presence of luminaries such as Vybz Kartel, Sean Paul and Beenie Man. But its success and longevity defies convention and history. More than entertainment, it presents a viable lifestyle and economic opportunity for Jamaicans living in communities known as garrisons.

Jamaicans have always been a proud people.  Their determination to succeed is only surpassed by the lack of 9-5 jobs on the island.  Surprisingly, the economy has not inhibited the lower class from making a life for themselves and their loved ones. Consequently, it  has birthed an entreprenuerial spirit in the impoverished Jamaican.  This spirit has propelled them to find ways to exploit resources and use the country’s number one attraction: entertainment to create a lifestyle the world not only admires but tries to emulate.

On a good night, a club owner can serve liquor and food to nearly 500 patrons attracted to the sounds of dancehall music thumping from 10 foot speaker boxes and anxious amatuer and professional dancers willing to perform their version of the Passa Passa dance for the chance to earn $10,000 in contest prize money.  Vendors outside the club selling cigarettes, snacks and beer are eager to exchange with people passing by and willing to spend money with them.  Even the unemployed person can ‘trust’ [buy on credit] chicken, fish, cigarettes or a box of beer from a wholesaler and start a business. Sell, pay the debt and keep it going. Everybody profits.

Across the globe, its common to see dancehalls transformed to accommodate and showcase Passa Passa dancers who boast the best moves on camera which is captured and sold to avid followers who either could not attend the event or simply want a copy of the DVD for their library.  A lifestyle turned into an opportunity which is now influencing the world around us be Talawah.