Juan Anibal Barria
After almost five years, we say goodbye to Port of Spain. My wife Maria Angelica and I have been tremendously happy in TT and, though we return soon to Chile, we do so with sadness. We have discovered a fascinating country blessed with its geography, its traditions, and its cultural diversity. Every day I learn something new about families, about people who, from different positions, build the present and the future of TT with their unique talents.
My admiration for the creativity and ingenuity of its artists and professionals never ends. There are young writers and poets who masterfully describe to us how this nation was born and has matured over time, and how they face their new challenges.
One in particular explained how the Spanish language, with its different accents, is gradually being incorporated into the ways of speaking, saying and doing things in this country. TT, with its solidarity, gradually and as its resources allow, is welcoming Venezuelans who are arriving in different towns and cities, just as happened before with the arrival and ensuing contributions of so many men and women from Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Europe. I am sure that before long those aromas and flavours of the emblematic arepas will gain the popularity of the ubiquitous doubles, roti, pelau and bake and shark.
I arrived in 2018 knowing about Naipaul and Walcott and I will depart reading Ayanna Lloyd Banwo, for example. I have learned more about TT from recent books published by Ira Mathur, Judy Raymond and Barbara Jenkins. Thanks to Marina Salandy-Brown, I have met these new talents who are annually promoted by NGC Bocas Lit Festival, thanks to a sponsor, NGC, which is led by a president who has a real and personal commitment to local art and culture, Mark Loquan.
It is your musicians and singers like Machel Montano who make us laugh and dance to the rhythm of soca, but it is also the calypso lyrics that make us think and comment ironically and critically on everyday life.
My memories go to two extraordinary voices like those of Calypso Rose and Black Stalin…a part of his song is unforgettable: “We could make it if we try just a little harder, if we just give one more try, life will be much better.”
And, of course, I cannot fail to mention a world-renowned soprano like Jeanine de Bique who, like my friend Fernando Nogales, only wants her fellow citizens to appreciate the power and beauty of her exceptional voice, in the capital and in San Fernando, her native town. Of course, I would love for her also to come to Chile, to receive a standing ovation.
Another trait of the country’s personality is the pride of having been born in these Caribbean islands, which have their own identity. My favourite song is Trini to the Bone by David Rudder, because it precisely describes that deep-rooted feeling of patriotism.
It is also this spirit that brings the diaspora to Carnival in greater numbers every year. I am sure that this new iteration, which has been prepared with so much passion and care, wil
