There are quite a few minstrel groups that move up & down the 7 mile beach in Negril, playing Jamaican and Caribbean music for the tourists for tips.They can be very, very colorful and entertaining and the kids, especially the little ones, all love them. They carry their musical instruments with them up and down the beach all day long in the hot sun and set themselves up anywhere that there is a group of tourists or when they are beckoned to play.
These people are of course looking for a handout but they are offering something worthwhile in return for it. They are not some kind of criminals stealing or doing other worthless things like some people end up doing to survive in a poor country. They're just plying their legitimate trade, trying to eck out a meagre living from the benevolence of the tourists. Some tourists are so ignorant as to let them entertain them or even beckon them to entertain them and then just walk away without tipping them! This is disgraceful! These minstrels provide colorful entertainment that deserves at least some small compensation.
Sure, they're not top talent but we have to go way out of our way and then pay big time to be entertained by top talent somewhere. These folks bring their little entertainment right to us while we're lounging around, magnetized to the sand. So a tip of a few bucks when they come by and play for us is certainly in order.If you don't want to spend any money on this form of entertainment then walk away from it before it starts or tell them "No" when they ask if you'd like them to play something for you.
You might want to ponder all of this next time you see these wonderful little people doing their good thing for everyone on the beach in Negril.
14 years ago
