Glenn Roopchand's TTT mural

When the Bookman and I met Glenn Roopchand, we were visiting the National Museum and he was installing his tribute to his mentor Carlyle Chang. Mr. Roopchand was kind enough to tell us about his early life, having personal family issues that led him to Mr. Chang’s studio and to his mentoring.

Mr. Roopchand now lives and works in United States , but comes back home to Trinidad to exhibit. He was extremely pleased that his work has been very warmly received and that it is in constant demand. His shows at the National Museum have sold more than any other living artist at this time. He is very open to doing work in Trinidad and Tobago, and continues to work daily. - Adele

The old Trinidad and Tobago Television House, Port of Spain. This building had been renovated and Mr. Roopchand's mural is part of its foyer

Remembering Charlotte Elias

Charlotte Elias third to the left at the Watamula artists workshop in Curaçao, 2000

In 1997 very few people knew of a girl by the name of Charlotte Elias. They knew the Elias name, but the girl may have only been glimpsed in the pages of BeeWee Beat a few years before. She came back to her country of origin and began an elaborate venture called Caribbean Contemporary Arts.

I remember those good old days, where a girl of perceived privilege had a big dream and a coterie of artists willing to support the scheme. Naturally over the years CCA7 has had its ups and downs. The level of support garnered by the non-governmental organization was always going to be tenuous, and the artists involved and on the periphery would always want to know what was 'in it' for them. On a good day, such a dream has its insurmountable challenges of personalities alone, far less the ideas of place and space.

This article intends to acknowledge Ms. Elias for her contribution to the history of Art in Trinidad and Tobago and all of its impact, regionally and internationally. She was the figurehead, and the strength behind the name and for that she deserves thanks and appreciation.

Sita - Gim meh one nah

The sweet yet stringy mango starch. Starch is considered a favorite after Julie

Sita was known to the villagers as a women who constantly begged for something. If she saw anyone eating a orange, yellow plums or a pommerac, she wanted one.

One afternoon, the boys in the village killed a Matchit, a snake like a coral with bright red and black marking. They rolled and tied it in into a ball and one of the fellars put it in his pocket and went to the mango tree to pick and suck mangoes. After raiding the tree, they stooped under the tree for shade and began to suck as many mangoes as they could. Not to be surprised by the beggarwoman turning up and began whining to them, Gim meh a mango hah, gim meh one hah, Oh chuts, allyuh belly full, gim meh two to take.

While sucking a mango, a boy motioned, hmm! hmm! hmm! and he nodded his head at his pocket. Sita put her her hand in and pulled out the balled snake, collapsing right there on the spot. The boys dropped whatever they were eating and fled the scene. The woman never begged again.

Stories from Mayaro, Trinidad

A tailor's revenge

Saga Boy Boyse the following Friday after the incident

Every Friday evening, Boyse would come into his friend's tailor shop and with his flat bottom he would jump up on the counter, Braps. He would do this wearing his white long sleeve shirt and pants and the act was to entice the girls who came in and to showoff what a Saga Boy he was. The counter was a place where people put their bread down, and Boyse took no consideration of this and put down a few farts smelling up the place. The tailor had just had enough.

The follow Friday, Boyse bounced in and did his routine and jumped up on the counter. The tailor had spent the week devising a contraption using a needle that was placed between the crease of the boards of the counter and could move up and down by a piece of twine he tied to the sewing peddle. As they conversed, he operated the peddle which in turn sent the needle through the counter. Boyse was agitated by these small prickly jabs and rubbed his bottom on the table to quell the sting. Is ants? As they chatted, the tailor would fire another jook into his cheek and the man fidgeted again.

The night before, a mixture of pitch oil lamp soot and lard were brushed on the counter, this was in preparation for the Saga boy and those notorious white pants. Boyse, unmindful to what was actually causing this itch worked in the mixture well as he continued to wiggle his bottom against it. After a while, he jumped off the counter was walked out the shop.

Boyse, yuh mess you pant or what? grokked someone. The black oil stain had soiled the seat of his pants. Yuh mad or what, I just come from home, these clothes fresh, he fired back. When he reached back to see, all he could say was, But he is a murder and never jumped up on his friend's table again.

It should be noted that the pants was ruined by the stain.

Stories from Mayaro, Trinidad

Salindra pick it

The flower of the citrus fruit


Miss Elianore was a Baptist and every morning she would sing, Jesus loves me. This I know, For the Bible tells me so., Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so and so forth. Her neighbour would be irritated by her hymns because his children would began to sing the chorus, Yes Jesus loves me. For the Bible tells me so. He would say, All yuh better believed in what yuh singing. That would ended their morning prayers.

Miss Elianore also had a orange tree where a few branches overhung in her neighbour' yard. The children were forbidden to pick any fruit although if they asked their neigbour, she would kindly give them. One morning, their father heard some branches rustling and then caught a whiff of a orange rind followed by someone saying, Dat orange sweet, Ah feel to pick more and this commotion made him fly off the spring bed and pelt down stairs to see who had picked the fruit.

I smell orange, he said, who pick de orange? I hope Miss Elianore put poison in de soil, who pick de orange? Is aunti Salindra muttered one of his children. Well this just enraged him even more. Salindra, a big hardback woman like you sucking odder people orange, I hope Miss Elianore poison de tree this morning, I hope she put plenty so yuh go dead. How could you teach meh children to tief.

The elder of the village, Miss Elianore carried a shiny brown leather belt around waist to keep her blossoms in place and many people in the village believed she polished it every day with caster oil, but they knew her reasonings. At every party in the village, Miss Elianore was in attendance and at 6pm she would say, Alright, all children time to go home, is big people time. No one would appose her, not even the host. And by six o'clock, the room was empty of the rascals.

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There is an example of the rich traditions from Trinidad and Tobago remembered by your tanti or elder. It was a time where morals and behavior where set in stone, both by the head of the household and the community. Salindra was his sister in law and the village is Mayaro, Trinidad,

Hasely Crawford

Yuh must watch dem Trini men. Yuh say baby, as see dem do this


Hasely Crawford win of the 100 meter at The Montreal Games in 1976

The year that Hasely Crawford ran the 100 metre sprint, I was in Quebec with my parents. We were visiting my mothers' sister and her family. A few days before, my uncle had taken us to the stadium to look at the sprawling architecture and we took the usual touristy pictures that now sit in one of many albums. American journalism for the games is always thorough, or so I thought at the time. As we sat huddled to watch our local boy make good, the commentry on the match was very Eurocentric, and Hasely Crawford was nothing but a footnote.

I remember when the race started, we all got to our feet as the gun went off. If you blinked you missed the race. It was one of the most exciting moments shared with my family in front of the televsion at that time. We jumped in the air and hugged and shouted and stared at the replay that ran twice. Ever since that day, I remember what it felt like to see our runner win. When someone from a small country places, I always hark back to that moment and wonder about their fellow countrymen and women jumping for joy, unified by the effort of that one person.

For whatever it is worth, the Olympic games makes you feel a sense of altruism, if only for those two weeks. It sets up a sense of better in mankind.



Hasely Crawford is at the far right. At the Beijing games in 2008, the sprinter Richard Thompson won a silver Olympic medal in 9.89 seconds. The fastest man to win the Olympic 100 metre dash is the Jamaica Usain Bolt at a record of 9.69 seconds.

The perception of cow's milk

'Milch Macht Müde Männer Munter'


I ready to taste yuh natural condense milk

If this Tobagonian drinker of Nestlé's low fat reconstituted milk made this Chinee woman do this, please keep back some milk for meh.


Dat milk just make meh poom

These two portraits show the exaggeration in vitality which products use to hook or mislead their customers. There is no case study that supports their claim that consuming a glass of milk would induce a behavior such as this. Contrary the the fact that drinking too much milk can give you a stomachache.

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Benefits of milk
Cow's milk - calcium, zinc, vitamins A and B, and iodine
Man's milk - Thick and creamy with lots of protein and vitamins

Kaiso cartoon by Cucumba # 1

Long before the idea of 'zine's came along, there were small publications that stood to empower the masses. They were manifestos, or propaganda sheets. This little comic book was put together in 1976. I have very little information on it, other than the fact that it was so zany and full of fun. Filled with expressive, irreverent 'bad' drawing. It now stands as a testament to a time when we in Trinidad and Tobago were learning about ourselves and supporting things that were local in such a way that everything felt nice about the place. The caricatures of the calypsonians and the story of The Mighty Shadow's Baseman, all come together in this twelve to fourteen folded newsprint with a glossy cover. It is filled with wit and affection, and it represents something good about our country that needs to come back. - Adele


Lord Get-In-Her

Black Stalin as a caricature

By Cucumba from 1976. See part 2

Kaiso cartoon by Cucumba # 2

A Kaiso cartoon by Cucumba produced from 1976

This is a story of a Kaiso Giant, who didn't start Kaiso as a Giant, But ended out to been (be) one. It was not easy for him, for days and days he cried, wanting to die. He said that he was coming. They did not believe him until some one flew up in his head. He wanted the man dead. but if only doc Leon had killed that man he also would have killed the shadow and Farrell


1


2


3


4

5

North Grand Stand, South Grand Stand. They wanted Shadow. The race was a stiff one with the King Sparrow, The Lord Ketchener ( Kitchener), Franicine. It was really somthing to see and how the Sparrow won the Crown and Shadow won road March some said the Crown should of been on the Shadow's head the judges decision was final!

SPACE contemporary

SPACE contemporary, Trinidad, West Indies

A space allocated to exclusive contemporary art. Shows may be open to public by private invitations only.

Patrimony by Adele Todd at the SPACE runs from July 18 till 22, 2008. hours 11am to 5pm. Visitors may email or called 478-1312 for further inquires.