Jamaica’s Take on Bob Marley Differs from His Global Image

SAN JUAN – Bob Marley’s image in his homeland contrasts from the common international view of the late singer and musician as the epitome of reggae, Rastafarianism, marijuana and even Jamaica itself. “Whereas many foreigners think Bob Marley is above everybody else, in Jamaica he is seen as equal to other artists,” Ray Hitchins, a lecturer in the Institute of Caribbean Studies at the University of West Indies, told Efe..”Celebrities are not put on a pedestal here like in other places of the world,” he said, while adding that Jamaicans are aware of how much the island’s tourism and economy has benefited from their country’s most famous son, who would be 70 on Friday. In Jamaica, Marley shared the spotlight with many other reggae stars, such as Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs, John Holt and Peter Tosh, who was Bob’s bandmate in The Wailers before embarking on a solo career

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