A most gracious host: Trinidad & Tobago
By Betty Vedrine, Lifestyles Reporter
It is the birthplace of the steel pan, soca, calypso and limbo. With vast oil and gas reserves, Trinidad and Tobago is a bountiful land with a high standard of living and well-planned infrastructure. Even though tourism is not the mainstay of the economy, Trinbagonians, as they prefer to be called, are a warm and friendly people. This dual-island nation, is located approximately seven miles off the coast of Venezuala and lies safely outside the path of most Caribbean hurricanes. From a geographical standpoint, the islands, are an extension of the South American mainland. In fact, Trinidad's Northern Range is considered to be a part of the Andes. This may explain the abundance of flora and fauna, as opposed to the rest of the Caribbean. Even though Trinidad and Tobago are connected politically and geographically, the two islands are very different culturally.
The capital of Trinidad is Port of Spain and is home to some 300,000 of the island's 1.3 million inhabitants. Like any major city, downtown Port of Spain is a modern commercial centre with a myriad of office buildings, hotels, restaurants and heavy traffic congestion. The island offers all of the modern amenities including high tech communications, seamless banking and reliable transportation.
The charm of Trinidad lies in the ethnic mix of the population. The majority of the population is either of African or East Indian background - the descendants of African slaves brought here during the island's relatively short slave history of some 80 years, and indentured East Indian labourers, who came to work the plantations in the 19th century.
Trinidad is synonymous with a variety of celebrations and art performances that range from African drumming to classical Indian dance. A glance of Trinidadian television stations is evidence of this ethnic mix. Of all its festivals, however, Trinidad is probably best known for 'Carnival,' an annual festival which takes place in February. And this year, Trinidad plays host to Carifesta for the third time.
The national cuisine is an amalgamation of the two cultures, however, other groups such as the Spanish, French, Lebanese and Chinese have also left their footprints here. As a result of this, all of these different ethnic groups have influenced what is known as the Trinidadian cuisine.
In addition, many of the art forms synonymous with the Caribbean were born here. Art forms such as Calypso, soca, limbo and the steel pan (drum) were created on this island. The island also lays claim to two winners of Nobel prizes in Literature in the persons of V. S. Naipaul (2001), who was born in Trinidad and wrote several of his earlier books about the island, and Derek Walcott (1992), a St. Lucian who moved to Trinidad in 1953. Many tourists make a pilgrimage simply to trace the places mentioned in Naipaul's magnum opus, A House for Mr. Biswas.
Even though Trinidad is an island, beach lovers who seek electric blue water and white sand of coral islands, may be in for a rude awakening. Unfortunately, the best beaches are on the north coast and come with peach sand, clean blue-green water with the forest-covered Northern Range in the background. Most of the beaches have no form of hotel development.
Tobago lies 23 miles northeast of Trinidad. The population here is much less ethnically diverse than that of Trinidad, with the majority being of African descent. Tobagonians have their own dialect and distinct culture. Tourism is much more a part of the island's economy, and you can find excellent resorts and facilities. Tobago also has beautiful white-sand beaches.
In addition, the two islands do not share the same history. Unfortunately, like other countries in the Caribbean, the Amerindians, the indigenous people, were all wiped out with the arrival of the Europeans in 1498, when the island came under Spanish rule.
In an attempt to build the population and provide greater numbers to fend off a potential British conquest, the government at the time, encouraged French Catholics from nearby islands to settle in Trinidad. This migration is evidenced by the large number of entities that carry French names; these places are scattered around the island. Despite this effort, the British conquered the island in 1797.
Tobago's history was turbulent. The island was named after the tobacco that was used by the native Amerindian population. It was settled by the British in 1508 but the island changed hands 22 times before eventually returning to Britain in 1814. The two islands became one crown colony in 1888, with Tobago being made a ward of Trinidad. Independence was achieved in 1962 under the leadership of Dr Eric Williams, who became the first prime minister. The islands became an independent republic in 1976, with a bicameral Parliament and an appointed president. At present, the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago (T&T as it is affectionately called) is Patrick Manning, who was elected on October 10, 2002, representing his third time in this office.
