TUNAPUNA is prominent for several things, not least its political leverage as a constituency, the community watering holes, its cosmopolitan blend and the vast opportunities to shop at bargain prices.
It is a major point of transit as a thoroughfare from east to west, sandwiched between St Augustine and El Dorado.
Like Arima, Mucurapo, and many other places in Trinidad, the name Tunapuna pre-dates Columbus's arrival.
The Tunapuna River, one of 12 tributaries that flow into the Caroni River, would have fostered sustainable living for indigenous people, who joined their word "tona" meaning "water" or "river” with the suffix "puna/pona," meaning "upon." It maintains a community of First Peoples.
Tunapuna is the largest town and capital of the region of Tunapuna-Piarco, where more people live than in any other of Trinidad's nine regions, and which is the third most densely populated, after Diego Martin and San Juan-Laventille.
The 2011 census counted the region of Tunapuna-Piarco's population at 212,825, with 16,628 living in Tunapuna itself. The Elections and Boundaries Commission, however, lists some 24,650 electors in the parliamentary constituency of Tunapuna.
[caption id="attachment_894980" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Customers at the Tunapuna Market. - AYANNA KINSALE[/caption]
A decade ago, the census reported a near-balance of East Indian (5,576) and African (6,038) people living in Tunapuna, together with 3,714 people of mixed descent (African, East Indian and/or other), and a small scattering of Chinese, Indigenous, Caucasian, Syrian/Lebanese, Portuguese (fewer than 200) and 1,186 "not stated," but it omits Hispanics.
Some 14,623 people said they were born in TT, while another 792 listed as foreign-born, and 1,212 did not state.
But the census appears to be far outdated in terms of demographics. Since 2011, there has been a marked influx of foreign immigrants, renting and subletting, many home-owners noted.
“Not just here, but St Augustine, too. The whole landscape is changing,” Mr Kissoon, a life-long resident of Lashley St told Sunday Newsday.
Pre-covid19, short and medium-term opportunities began to open up to Venezuelan migrants, particularly women, many of whom took up work as bartenders and bar-backs at many of the town's popular bars, before the government-mandated cessation of all but essential business.
“I think at first, (about five years ago) people didn’t know how to react to all these people coming into the area,” The resident, a retiree said. “They’re mostly respectful and hard-working, though, so I think the attitude towards them is changing.
[caption id="attachment_894996" align="alignnone" width="1024"] The Tunapuna Police Station. - Angelo Marcelle[/caption]
Kissoon said he loves Tunapuna because it has everything he wants and needs. “I drive in and out all the time but I do everything I need to do here in Tunapuna. Not every town has its own arch,” he quipped.
“I have good neighbours and mostly everyone seems to get along well.”
Tunapuna's ethnic composi
