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Brother Valentino: Life is a stage
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Staff Article
Interview Recorded: June 12, 2005
Posted: July 07, 2005
I was born on the 7th of July 1941
I have been to most of the Caribbean islands except Barbados and Jamaica. One of the best places I ever performed in the Caribbean was in Guyana; it was in the Guyana Cultural Center. I understand that it was Trinidad and Tobago that lent them the money to build that place. You wouldn't believe how nice that place is right there in Guyana. It is a shame that we do not have a place like that to perform the art here in Trinidad. We need something like that. We cannot settle for the Savannah all the time. I want to tell myself that there is a reason why this thing hasn't been built as yet. Since in Dr. Eric Williams' days we have been clamoring for that and we have never gotten it. I do not think that is such an impossible task. They are going to spend eight hundred and fifteen million dollars to build a stadium in time to accommodate a World Cup. What about the performing arts?
The art is the pulse beat of your country. The culture is the pulse beat of the nation. It comes like your heart beat. That is what keeps it ticking. It is the rhythm you move with. They could use it as an emergency project, and within the space of a year or nine months, they could complete it. Look at the public library they built. That is a sight to behold. If they could build that public library, what is a performing art center to build? I do not know the reason, but it has to be a reason. I do not think that a government, the people in power who may or may not understand what culture is all about, learn and take example from an ethnic group who understands the importance of culture. You need a house for your culture. Trinidad is the land of Steelband and Calypso. When a tourist comes here, he should be able to say that he went to the Performing Arts Center in Trinidad and Tobago; a place where the Steelbands and the Calypsonians perform. It should be an historical landmark. I guess they do not see sports and culture in the light that we see it. I find that they are the two most important functions in a country. They really do not pay serious attention to them. We know for sure that is not first on their priority list.
On the 7th July 2005 (this year), I will be sixty-four years old. I was born on the 7th of July 1941. I am the 7th and the 'Mighty Sparrow' is the 9th. We usually have a show at the Mas' Camp Pub to celebrate. The last time I saw him he told me not to forget. The Mas' Camp Pub is the only place you can come to in a nice respectable manner. It has a nice environment, and you get to see the cream of the crop. There is no discrimination. No artiste is too big to perform in the Mas' Camp Pub. It comes like a home for everybody. The accommodation and the management are really nice. That is why you would find a guy like Sparrow would always be there. I will be performing there next week (the 15th June).
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