You Are What You Eat

Sunday is Jounen Kwéyòl (Creole Day) in Saint Lucia.  Preparations were underway the beginning of October and culminate this weekend with various celebrations across the island.  

Local dishes such as roast breadfruit, Green Fig (which are green bananas), king fish, Manicou (possum), Souse (a soup made with pork and often cucumber), Accra (a fried dough which contains salt fish), and Bouillon (fish, chicken or meat stewed with dasheen, yams, plantains, banana and dumplings), which is less a soup and more a stew. 


The locals get a faraway look in their eyes as they recount a long list of foods they plan to enjoy  Perhaps, this holiday is like Thanksgiving in the U.S. Traditional foods are anticipated throughout the year, and appetite finds a bedfellow with a hunger for Nationalism.  I'm enjoying the addition of the colorful Madras cloth to drab Castries.  Vendors sell pre-emancipation style clothing and decorations made of the bright plaids. Buildings and buses boast banners and ribbons.  A van makes decorative deliveries right to your door!  Although the cloth originated in India and was sold to the Lucians by the British, Madras is now an emblem of Kwéyòl  heritage.

2 4 6 8 Principle 10

"Saint Lucia and the Commonwealth of Dominica are the only two Eastern Caribbean countries that have not yet signed on to the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) Declaration on Principle 10."  









I don't know why Saint Lucia hasn't joined Latin American and the rest of the Caribbean in voting for legislation that requires transparency of information, but I can guess!  When you're a young, beautiful country, life seems like it can go on forever. Resources seem bottomless.    Poison the rivers to catch crayfish?  Why not!  Leave the picnic trash behind when you head home?  Of course!  However, age and negligence have taken a toll on this island of abundance and the neighbors are starting to talk.
I gathered a small group of small students who care, and we recorded this radio jingle (click jingle to hear) to promote the adoption of Principle 10.  Though I had to explain the concept of advocacy, I did not have to explain the problem of litter on the beaches.

Neighbor Notes

Jose demonstrates vibrato exercise. 

Venezuela and Saint Lucia are neighbors. These two countries share a common history and cultural identity, and as far back as 200 years, fought together during the Venezuelan Revolution.  When Saint Lucia gained her independence from the British in 1979, Venezuela set up an embassy on the island and has been a helpful neighbor ever since. When a hurricane destroyed bridges, Venezuela sent materials.  When negotiating oil export, Venezuela seeks deals with Saint Lucia.  When Venezuela exports their socialist music method, El Systema, the embassy discharges tutors to the Saint Lucia School of Music.

Two weeks ago, six teachers ages 19-24 arrived to assist in music education at the Saint Lucia School of Music. These rigorous, passionate young people are products of a government-run after school program, and they arrive eager to share their knowledge and pedagogy with their neighbors.

New energy for Chamber Orchestra!

Suddenly the sleepy campus is transformed! Music sessions are underway inside, outside and on the paths in between.  French horn, oboe and double bass emerge from closets and broken instruments are repaired and put into service.  

Dining at Dukes

What do you do on a Saturday night in Saint Lucia? Eat, of course! Friday nights feature the well-advertised local FishFrys.  Communities of Anse La Raye, Gros Islet and Dennery all boast weekly street parties set with stacks of speakers and lined with makeshift bars.  However, Saturday is quieter and quite tasty if you stop by Dukes Place in Gros Islet.

Don't be daunted by the throng of hungry tourists and locals.  Yes, the line isn't moving much, but while you queue, you can sip and chat while watching cooks pull rack after rack of barracuda and potfish off glowing coals.

Seasoned fish sheathed in chicken wire stays richly moist in thick cut pieces. As the mesh is carefully pried apart, fillets are delivered directly onto one paper plate after another.

Further down the table are provisions: a deep kettle of Caribbean rice and bottomless bowl of slaw.  Use both hands to navigate your heaped portions to picnic tables stapled with oilcloth.  There is always a seat. Somehow the numbers in line to get food is always greater than seats available!

AfterMatth

After Tropical Storm Matthew blew through Saint Lucia,  residents started cleaning up. Downed power lines had cut electricity to most of the island.  Rivers  choked with wreckage and tree limbs overflowed bridges.  Landslides, floods, and drowned livestock seem to be the biennial consequence of high winds and rain.


The major export crop, bananas, was literally turned upside down.  The top heavy plants lack a stabilizing root system. The fruit is usually protected by plastic bags, but with this much rain,  the skins  burst from relentless moisture.

Since the public schools are used as emergency shelters, music classes were canceled for three days during the clean up. All police and rescue workers reported to work and appeared in uniform at roadsides with chainsaws.  A boat sank in the marina, and sand rearranged itself on the shore in beautiful new ways.

As I survey the new topography of the local beach, the government workers take a deep breath, pick-up their chain saws and rakes and clean-up, again.