Many monuments make a political statement, and the memorial to reggae superstar Peter Tosh, plunked a kilometer south of Bluefields on the beach road in Belmont, is no exception. And the cause here is, as Tosh once sang, to ‘legalize it.’ You can guess what ‘it’ is, but if not, just check all the murals, which depict a Rasta man with a huge joint, jumbo marijuana leaves, and, best of all, a red-eyed Lion of Zion on Tosh’s actual tomb.
Behind the tomb is a garden where they ain’t growing oregano. This is a casual place with few visitors, a stark contrast to the tourist maelstrom surrounding fellow Wailer Bob Marley’s mausoleum in Nine Miles. It is run by the Tosh family – his nonagenarian mother lived on the property until her death in 2013 – and your money is taken by a caretaker who will give you a brief tour along with commentary on Tosh’s political positions (‘I’m like a smoke. Dat why we say legalize it.’). In mid-October the annual Peter Tosh Birthday Bash, an informal local affair, features live roots reggae music played deep into the night.
