Oracabessa
Oracabessa | |
|---|---|
One Street Town | |
| Country | Jamaica |
| Parish | St Mary |
| Population (2009)[1] | |
| • Total | 4,100 |
Oracabessa is a small town in St Mary, Jamaica 10 miles (16 km) east of Ocho Rios. Its population was 4,108 in 2009.[1]
Lit in the afternoons by an apricot light that may have inspired its Spanish name Oracabeza, or "Golden Head", it is a friendly town with a covered produce market and a few shops and bars. The main street is a pleasant and graceful promenade with a number of well-maintained buildings in the early 20th century Jamaican vernacular tradition [2].
To the east Oracabessa merges into a residential community which is the site of luxury villas such as Goldeneye, Golden Clouds and Firefly Estate, once the home of Noël Coward. To the immediate west of Oracabessa is the village of Boscobel, home of Boscobel Aerodrome, Jamaica's newest international airport [3].
One of Oracabessa's most well-known residents is artist Richard Von White, grandson of W.E. White a self-made man, baker, planter and Oracabessa's leading citizen in the early 1900s. Von's brilliantly hued, evocative canvasses reflect the tropical flora that is the source of his inspiration[4]. Other notable residents of Oracabessa include legendary music producer Chris Blackwell and bestselling author Colin Simpson. Blackwell owns Goldeneye villa, original home of author Ian Fleming, who wrote many of the James Bond novels while living in Oracabessa. Simpson owns Golden Clouds villa and is the great-great grandson [5] of renowned slavery abolitionist James Phillippo.
History
A centre for the export of bananas until the early 1900s, Oracabessa became something of a ghost town when the wharves around the small natural harbour closed, taking with them the rum bars, gambling houses and most of the workers.
In the 1920s, the arrival of Ruth Bryan Owen brought a new focus to the tiny village. Owen began construction on her magnificent home, Golden Clouds [6], while her husband [7], a British Army officer stationed in Jamaica built roads and schools [8]. Owen was the first female American Ambassador[9], and the daughter of prominent U.S. politician William Jennings Bryan. She had many influential friends in politics and entertainment, who visited her regularly in Oracabessa. One such visitor was Charlie Chaplin, who was her guest at Golden Clouds [10].
In 1946, Ian Fleming purchased a plot of land and built Goldeneye [11]. The arrival of Fleming brought many celebrities to Oracabessa [12], and new-found international recognition as a tourist destination.
In the mid-1990s, the Island Outpost corporation owned by Chris Blackwell bought seventy acres of prime coastal land and opened the village's main attraction, the James Bond Beach Club. Located just off Main Street along Old Wharf Road, this pretty strip of white sand has brightly painted changing rooms, a water sports centre, a bar and a restaurant. Its expansive lawns are a regular venue for concerts by local and international artists[13]. Scenes from the classic James Bond movie Dr. No, which features a young and beautiful Ursala Andress were filmed at James Bond Beach [14].
In the 21st century, Oracabessa has become known as an artist community with studios operated by musicians, painters, and carvers [15] . Art galleries in Oracabessa include Von White's studio, and the Wilderness House of Art [16]. Oracabessa has a wide range of musicians who live, record, and perform in the area. The music group UB40 has a studio in Oracabessa [17], and large reggae concerts are presented at James Bond Beach with artists such as Rihanna, Ziggy Marley and Lauryn Hill performing [18] [19].
In popular culture
Several scenes from the 1962 James Bond film Dr. No which featured Sean Connery as Bond, and Ursala Andress in her Golden Globe-winning role as Honey Ryder were filmed at James Bond Beach.
In the 1973 film, Live and Let Die, James Bond and his guide, Quarrel, drive through Oracabessa and stop at the triangular intersection in the main square to ask for directions. [20]
UB40's hit song "Oracabessa Moonshine" was written about Oracabessa's stunning sunsets and clear moonlit skies. [21]
Interior and exterior scenes for the 1989 film, The Mighty Quinn, starring Denzel Washington were filmed at Golden Clouds villa in Oracabessa[22].
Sting wrote the song Every Breath You Take while on vacation in Oracabessa [23] [24].
References
- ^ a b "Jamaica: largest cities and towns and statistics of their population". World Gazetteer. Retrieved 21 December 2009.
- ^ [1] Description of Main St.
- ^ [2] Reference to new international airport
- ^ [3] Richard Von White reference
- ^ Public Record Office Readers Guide No 11. PRO, Kew, Surrey, 2nd Edition, (2002) pp 116. ISBN 1 903365 38 4
- ^ Caribbean Caravel, Ruth Brown Owen, Dodd, Mead & Co. (1949), New York, pp. 130.
- ^ [4] Commanding Officer, Reginald Owen
- ^ Caribbean Caravel, Ruth Brown Owen, Dodd, Mead & Co. (1949), New York, pp. 131.
- ^ [5] Owen's role in politics
- ^ Caribbean Caravel, Ruth Brown Owen, Dodd, Mead & Co. (1949), New York, pp. 146.
- ^ [6] Reference to Ian Fleming
- ^ [7] Fleming's celebrity guests
- ^ [8] Description of Oracabessa
- ^ [9] Reference to James Bond movie
- ^ [10] Reference to Oracabessa's artistic community
- ^ [11] Reference to Oracabessa Galleries
- ^ [12] Reference to UB40's studio in Oracabessa
- ^ [13] Concerts at James Bond Beach
- ^ [14] Partial list of artists who have performed at James Bond Beach
- ^ [15] Oracabessa in Live and Let Die movie
- ^ [16] Reference to Oracabessa Moonshine
- ^ “Franklin J. Schaffner (Scarecrow Filmmakers Series) (1995) Scarecrow Publishing P. 277 ISBN 9780810817999
- ^ [17] Reference to where Every Breath You Take was written
- ^ [18] Location of Sting's composition of Every Breath You Take
