Living a Piece of History

Monday marked election day in Trinidad. The day of the decision, where everyone by the end of they day would have their fingers dipped pink, a sure sign they voted. Based on proportions of advertising and listening to my friends talk, I thought the outcome would be clear--the incumbent PNM and Patrick Manning would remain in power. Though I enjoyed watching the country prepare, I wasn't sorry to say goodbye to the trucks passing by the hospital at the tail end of visiting hours, blaring "We voting PNM" at the top of their lungs, to the point where you can't hear the person in the bed next to you. Or the UNC truck parked outside my apartment last week, shouting "Who we voting? Carolyn. Who we supporting Kamla" to the point where the glasses in the cabinet were rattling.

Monday night, I was alternating between reading and writing when Vidya called me--did I want to go to Couva, to UNC headquarters? Though I was tired, I wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to see something unique and to possibly see history being made. We arrived, and finagled our way upstairs (though we weren't technically supposed to be there; once we were there, we were fine though...being foreign helped me, and Vidya has lots of connections), where results were coming in and every time the People's Partnership (UNC, COP, and a few others) won a seat, a green check mark was placed on the board to much cheering and shouting. I don't think the energy in the room could have been better. The partnership was doing surprisingly (to me) well, and kept gaining ground. When we got the swing seat of Tobago West, the room just erupted; people screaming and cheering and smiling, blowing into plastic horns and jumping up and down. The energy was contagious. I couldn't help being excited too. About an hour or two into the night, they announced that Manning had conceded; Kamla would be the next prime minister and the Partnership had won. It was a moment of history. Kamla was the "Change Candidate," like Obama, and the first woman prime minister--and she ended up winning by a landslide, the Partnership taking something like 29 or 31 of the country's seats. (Or maybe UNC alone took that many seats...can't remember.) It was a privilege, to be in the US to elect the first black President, and then to witness the announcement of the first woman prime minister in Trinidad. I wish I could explain the excitement in the room, all these people upstairs, many many many more downstairs, celebrating victory. The rest of the night passed with candidates and victors passing through to a cavalcade of cheers; Kamla's name was like a magic word--each time it was uttered, the joy became even more powerful, the screams louder. We of course missed Kamla--she didn't actually come upstairs, unfortunately. But as we left, just standing amid 100,000+ people gathered to celebrate, watching fireworks explode and the 3/4 moon rise, wow, just to be a part of that was incredible. Worth getting home at 3am for, absolutely. (I will say though, that the young woman waiting for a taxi with me one night was right on--election day is like Carnival...free food and drink, people coming in at 2am, an all-night party. Leaving though, despite the incredible traffic, reminded me why I love this country--cars going and coming would pause and talk on the street, passers by were helping cars back up without hitting anything, people called out excitedly to strangers...)

A week and a half ago, I traveled to the Performing Arts Center in Port of Spain (which cost more money than many citizens wanted to spend, has a hotel in it, and looks very much like the Sydney Opera House, though it illuminates very nicely at night) to see a steel pan show--Genesis in Steel, featuring the National Steel Symphony Orchestra. Steel Symphony Orchestra? You bet, and it sounds more orchestral than you would believe. I am almost always fascinated by steel pan music as a whole; I can't quite fathom how it makes the sounds it does, which are lighter and more elegant than you'd expect. Given that, the Genesis performance simply blew me away. Though the program did include Calypso (and Latin and Broadway), the entire first act was classical--Bach, Candide, Tchaikovsky, all that. (And Handel's Hallelujah Chorus, which gave me chills.) And wow. Just wow. I don't think I could describe it if I tried, but it just knocked my socks off. You could hear the strings and the brass within the steel pan. It was unlike anything I'd seen. I am only sorry I became aware of them just now, as I am getting ready to leave the country.