Professor Rex
Nettleford, Vice Chancellor Emeritus of the University of the West Indies
(UWI), scholar and cultural historian died Tuesday night in Washington.
Professor Nettleford had been on life support at the George Washington University Intensive Care Unit since collapsing a week ago while attending a fundraising gala for the UWI.
He reportedly suffered a heart attack which caused brain injury.
Professor Nettleford would have celebrated his 77th birthday Wednesday.
Born on February 3, 1933 in Falmouth, Trelawny, Rex Nettleford was a leading Caribbean intellectual and visionary.
He was often referred to as a "Third World Scholar".
During his life, Professor Nettleford nurtured his sensibilities into being more creative.
His vivid imagination urged him to become more interested in the daily workings of the Caribbean country lifestyle.
He observed their religious practices, music patterns and dialects and was able to create his own ideas to convey the Caribbean Identity.
Rex Nettleford got his high school education at Cornwall College in Montego Bay, St. James and earned a degree in History at the University of the West Indies.
He later became a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University where he studied political science.
Professor Nettleford remained loyal to promoting the Jamaican culture.
An advocate of higher education
His art, expressed particularly in choreography and writing, unleashed his creative power by expressing the struggles of the Caribbean people.
In his works, Rex Nettleford described how the quest for identity can cause citizens to come to terms with their heritage and the discomfort it sometimes creates.
His first publication, "Mirror, Mirror, Race, Identity and Protest in Jamaica" (1970), explains Jamaican Society and the apprehensions people have towards their identities.
Nettleford became an advocate of higher education which prompted him to become founder of the Trade Union Education Institute, an organization which allowed factory and farm workers to unite with scholars to help bridge the education gap between the classes.
In 1963, he became the Co-Founder, Artistic Director, Choreographer and Lead Dancer, for the National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica.
Nettleford also received several awards during the course of his career.
In 1975, he received the Order of Merit, the Gold Musgrave Medal from the Institute of Jamaica and The Living Legend Award from The Black Arts Festival in Atlanta in the USA.
He also received CARICOM's highest award, the Order of the Caribbean Community.
Professor Nettleford also served as a Cultural Advisor to successive Jamaican Prime Ministers.
Wealth of information to benefit generations to come - Grange
Meanwhile, tributes have started to come in following Professor Nettleford's passing.
Culture Minister Olivia "Babsy" Grange says the country has lost one of its distinguished sons.
"I'm really saddened by his passing ... a man of great intellect and enduring vision. Nettleford's love for his country and the Caribbean was well known and he dedicated his life to the promotion of Caribbean culture and unity."
Miss Grange says despite the sadness of his passing the country can take comfort in the legacy that he has left behind:
"A wealth of information, a vast catalogue of research materials and opinions and we'll certain benefit from that richness of information generations to come," she said.
Testimony to the success - Simpson-Miller
Opposition Leader Portia Simpson-Miller, who was a personal friend of Professor Nettleford, said she was deeply saddened by his passing.
An obviously moved Mrs Simpson-Miller hailed Professor Nettleford as a son of rural Jamaica who contributed much to the development country's culture.
"This is a loss not only to Jamaican but to the region and elsewhere in the world and a loss that I feel personally. Words are inadequate to capture the grief I feel at this time ... a son of rural Jamaica, whose life is a testimony to the success that is possible through work, grit, determination and resilience," she said.
And there are indications that the Government will be making special arrangements for Professor Nettleford's funeral.
Miss Grange added that the matter will be dealt with following Prime Minister Bruce Golding's return from an official visit to China on Saturday.
It is not yet known when Professor Nettleford's body will be flown home.
Professor Nettleford had been on life support at the George Washington University Intensive Care Unit since collapsing a week ago while attending a fundraising gala for the UWI.
He reportedly suffered a heart attack which caused brain injury.
Professor Nettleford would have celebrated his 77th birthday Wednesday.
Born on February 3, 1933 in Falmouth, Trelawny, Rex Nettleford was a leading Caribbean intellectual and visionary.
He was often referred to as a "Third World Scholar".
During his life, Professor Nettleford nurtured his sensibilities into being more creative.
His vivid imagination urged him to become more interested in the daily workings of the Caribbean country lifestyle.
He observed their religious practices, music patterns and dialects and was able to create his own ideas to convey the Caribbean Identity.
Rex Nettleford got his high school education at Cornwall College in Montego Bay, St. James and earned a degree in History at the University of the West Indies.
He later became a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University where he studied political science.
Professor Nettleford remained loyal to promoting the Jamaican culture.
An advocate of higher education
His art, expressed particularly in choreography and writing, unleashed his creative power by expressing the struggles of the Caribbean people.
In his works, Rex Nettleford described how the quest for identity can cause citizens to come to terms with their heritage and the discomfort it sometimes creates.
His first publication, "Mirror, Mirror, Race, Identity and Protest in Jamaica" (1970), explains Jamaican Society and the apprehensions people have towards their identities.
Nettleford became an advocate of higher education which prompted him to become founder of the Trade Union Education Institute, an organization which allowed factory and farm workers to unite with scholars to help bridge the education gap between the classes.
In 1963, he became the Co-Founder, Artistic Director, Choreographer and Lead Dancer, for the National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica.
Nettleford also received several awards during the course of his career.
In 1975, he received the Order of Merit, the Gold Musgrave Medal from the Institute of Jamaica and The Living Legend Award from The Black Arts Festival in Atlanta in the USA.
He also received CARICOM's highest award, the Order of the Caribbean Community.
Professor Nettleford also served as a Cultural Advisor to successive Jamaican Prime Ministers.
Wealth of information to benefit generations to come - Grange
Meanwhile, tributes have started to come in following Professor Nettleford's passing.
Culture Minister Olivia "Babsy" Grange says the country has lost one of its distinguished sons.
"I'm really saddened by his passing ... a man of great intellect and enduring vision. Nettleford's love for his country and the Caribbean was well known and he dedicated his life to the promotion of Caribbean culture and unity."
Miss Grange says despite the sadness of his passing the country can take comfort in the legacy that he has left behind:
"A wealth of information, a vast catalogue of research materials and opinions and we'll certain benefit from that richness of information generations to come," she said.
Testimony to the success - Simpson-Miller
Opposition Leader Portia Simpson-Miller, who was a personal friend of Professor Nettleford, said she was deeply saddened by his passing.
An obviously moved Mrs Simpson-Miller hailed Professor Nettleford as a son of rural Jamaica who contributed much to the development country's culture.
"This is a loss not only to Jamaican but to the region and elsewhere in the world and a loss that I feel personally. Words are inadequate to capture the grief I feel at this time ... a son of rural Jamaica, whose life is a testimony to the success that is possible through work, grit, determination and resilience," she said.
And there are indications that the Government will be making special arrangements for Professor Nettleford's funeral.
Miss Grange added that the matter will be dealt with following Prime Minister Bruce Golding's return from an official visit to China on Saturday.
It is not yet known when Professor Nettleford's body will be flown home.
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