By Tamba Lewis
‘
Trini Revelers” is a group of young people of Trinidadian descent. We got together to promote Trinidad /Caribbean culture in Montreal . While a lot of people still come straight from the islands, those that are born and raised here can become unfamiliar with their own culture.
I played some soca music for a boy my age of Jamaican descent, and he mistook it for African tribal music, which is funny because he doesn’t know what that sounds like either.
I am Canadian-born, but my parents, both Trinidadians, raised me in the Trini culture. Along with all the other good things, I learned that if we, their children, don’t know how to enjoy ourselves, then we can’t call ourselves Trini. So it really sucks when people come here for jump up or Trini-day and say the Montreal crowd is boring.
We may have a good rep when it comes to hip-hop or mainstream dance and music, but some of us are like foreigners to our own people while everyone else is proud to show off their heritage. Well, as descendants of the Caribbean heritage, we feel it is our responsibility to show that we did not come empty handed.
We’ve always taken part in cultural activities. We sang in soca competitions when we were young, performed with WestCan, sang for Trini-day and took part in the Jump Up. Now that we’re older we want to make sure young people never feel like they’ve outgrown their Caribbean roots just because they live in Canada. This country is a melting pot, so we’re going to spice it up with our Caribbean flavor, and it’s going to be lit!
Join us at our first fundraising event on Friday, June 10th, at Caribbean Paradise, 8080 Newman, LaSalle. It’s going to be lit!
Fir information call 438 827 1233
1 Comment
Jo Ne October 5, 2021 at 7:25 pm
Soca is one aspect of cultural evolution but chutney is another and a dirivitive of more than half the population of T&T. In fact, musicians from T&T were at Expo 67 sharing their East Indian cultural roots. You can’t afford to leave out this aspect of our diversity. I have produced several documentaries on the East Indian presence here that you’ll find interesting and educational.