By *Jomo Thomas
Jamaica got Reggae; Trinidad got calypso and carnival; Barbados got Crop Over with Soca on the Hill; St. Lucia got Jazz Fest; Grenada has Jab Jab and St. Vincent? Well, we got carnival too, but sadly, it is not a standout occasion beyond nationals, both at home and in the diaspora. With a little imagination, we can do more and be more.
Since I was small, people have been talking about Baxter Road in Barbados. Land in Trinidad, and someone takes you to a doubles-and-roti or a bake-and-shark treat. You don’t leave Jamaica without visiting Bob Marley’s residence, Dunn’s River Falls or tasting jerk. In Grenada, you go to a Fish Friday Festival lime in Gouyave or make a solemn pilgrimage to Fort Rupert, where Maurice Bishop, the inspirational revolutionary leader and other cabinet colleagues were gunned down in an implosive conflict that doomed Grenada’s transformative experiment.
We are a nation that flatters to deceive. We have so much, yet we have not properly marketed our slice of paradise. Vincymas and the Nine Mornings celebration are our biggest thrill, but the June-July masquerade and Nine Mornings are shadows of what used to be. The carnival crowds are smaller; the private, exclusive events, more aptly described as fashion shows in colour, run rings around calypso, pan and mas. Cultural tradition is on life support. Meanwhile, at the exclusive events, everybody vies to be crowned king or queen.
Yeah, we vibing still, but the cultural authenticity is increasingly being lost. Memory is in short supply. Reckoning is postponed as we summon the next bottle of anything…
But SVG has too much in its bosom for us to become so “waste down”. We have enough to sell SVG as the perfect place to be. We have one of the largest seascapes in the region and barely use it. Our culture and sport ministry should plan and launch, to begin with, a one-week event labelled Regatta Central, where boats and yachts from across the region and around the world are encouraged to come to our Grenadines. Our younger swimmer should be challenging their counterparts in the OECS. This event should culminate in a Conch and Salt Fest on Union Island, with immediate marketing outreach and appeal to Carriacou, Petit Martinique and beyond.
The Barrouallie Fish Fest should be supported and the Culture Pot at Calliaqua must be revived
Discover St. Vincent/Explore the Grenadines is another project that can be developed into a fascinating adventure and marketed to locals and foreigners alike. Paul Cyrus and others have done a wonderful job of showcasing our country’s interior to the world. More waterfalls and hot springs are revealing themselves, thus exposing the beauty and splendour of our country. Integral to this project should be an annual La Soufriere challenge and an adventure titled “Explore the Grenadines”. One is struck by how little we know about our island home.
Uniquely Garifuna. There are none like us. We have the history with a culture of resistance as proof. The younger generation must know our story of strong resistance to conquest and slavery and the genocidal price we paid with blood and exile. Heroes Month should be much more than the annual Garifuna conference, a visit to the cenotaph at Dorsetshire Hill, and a visit to Balliceaux.
Mini-Garifuna events should be encouraged and promoted in known Garifuna enclaves such as Greiggs, Sandy Bay, and Rose Bank, climaxing with a large cultural festival at Chatoyer Park in Rabacca. Money should be earmarked to develop the park into more than a grassy area. It must be made into a site of culture and celebration.
Heritage Square. Forty years ago, we went to Rick’s Bar. Today, carnival revellers and weekend limers go to Lano’s Bar or to hang out and meet friends and colleagues at Richie’s, George’s or Kathy’s. After all these years, nothing has changed except for the people who make a living selling drinks and food. This reality is a sad commentary on our insight and foresight because the place dubbed Heritage Square has everything except heritage.
It need not be this way. Heritage, or Ouasigani Square, where Ouasigani is the indigenous name for what we know as Kingstown, should be permanently closed to vehicular traffic. It should be reimagined and designed not as a place for parking vehicles but as a cultural oasis where locals and foreigners alike can relax and entertain themselves or be entertained. The asphalt should be removed; cobblestone or bricks should be laid. The river should be bridged, and the businesses should be relocated above the river. Benches should be strategically placed between the businesses. Such simple changes will create an avenue for our painters, singers, calypsonians, dramatists, DJs, artisans, and other entrepreneurs to excel.
Pirates of the Caribbean. Seven months in power, it ain’t their fault, but the Minister of Tourism and the government of SVG should be embarrassed that the site where the movie was filmed is listed as a tourist attraction. Tourists taken to Wallilabou must experience a big let-down, as there is nothing to see. The set, or what was left of it by the time the movie was completed, has all but disappeared.
There may be licensing issues to resolve, but the government or a private enterprise should give serious consideration to constructing a replica of what the movie’s producers left behind.
Eco-tourism. Our country is blessed with lush vegetation, parrots, birds, hills, valleys, and mountains that can boost our eco-tourism. A lift (gondola) that takes you up and around La Soufriere would lure citizens and foreigners on an adventure of discovery.
Government and private partnerships can take our country to unparalleled highs. In a few years, with care, guidance, support, assistance and community buy-in, some or all of these events/activities would emerge as major attractions on the Vincy cultural calendar.
The time for our collective imagination is now. As Black Stalin reminds us: We can make it if we try just a little harder.
*Jomo Sanga Thomas is a lawyer, journalist, social commentator and a former Speaker of the House of Assembly in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
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