I went to the Monday Night Theatre Forum (MNTF) as a reporter with the Caribbean New Media Group (CNMG) in June 2016. I went to report on the talk that veteran actor, director and member of the rapso group 3Canal Wendell Manwarren had to say about his creative life in Trinidad and Tobago.

Formed by the Tony Hall and Raymond Choo King, both now decreased, he MNTF was held at the Trinidad Theatre Workshop when it was situated at 23 Jerningham Avenue in Belmont. It has since moved to St. Claire and a new entity is being constructed on the Belmont site.

MNTF was a space for the local theatre community to talk about their craft, history, wins and losses. And Wendell did all of that and more. His comments on the need for sacred spaces resonated with me. Deeply. In Trinidad and Tobago most of us live here thinking that our things lack meaning. Our buildings, sites and customs, his talk laid that bare in a way that was as revolutionary as it was obvious.

Eight years later the Caribbean space where he gave that talk is no more. It was, as is typically done in this country, torn down to construct something modern and new.

But we remain, needing a connection to our history in a way that informs who we are so that we could be better informed how to live fulfilling lives in these beautiful but wounded spaces. So that we stop acting as though we mean little and be resolute in our right to exist exactly as we are. That we have spaces in this country that centre and heal us. And that we aren’t always reeling from the hurt of mourning something that should have been precious to all, but whose true value was only known to a select few.

The name of this blog ‘This Caribbean Space” was a response to that call. The name makes me think of how Wendell spoke of the importance of the Big Black Box on Murray Street in Woodbrook, the performance space managed by 3Canal, that evening. It was once the home of Godfrey Sealey That linkage may be implicit to some, but it remains available to be shared especially for whom it really matters.

What I had hoped for this blog is that it helps to shed light, not just on our built history, but our customs as well. As a journalist I get to do a lot of interesting things. I have too often learnt things as an adult I wish I knew earlier. Much earlier. My hope is to share some of the stories I have worked on throughout the years, new original work that explores who we are, and why This Caribbean Space matters far beyond the tourist traps we are often associated with.