More than 400 students and their teachers are expected to attend the 2017 edition of Vista Latina, a Latin American arts and culture festival, hosted by Trini Tica International (TTI).
The festival, which takes place at the Lion’s Cultural Centre, Port-of-Spain, is in its second year and event organiser Aleah Guitan said the response by several secondary schools across T&T had been encouraging.
Guitan is a lecturer at Arthur Lok Jack Graduate Businesss in Mt Hope and she has been attached to the main campus for the past three years. “I teach Business Spanish to the students pursuing their Masters degree,” said Guitan.
Guitan has a Bachelors degree double major in Spanish and Latin American Studies from UWI, St Augustine.
She also has a Masters degree in Latin American StuDies, with emphasis in culture and development from Universidad Nacionale in Costa Rica, attained in 2012.
She began TTI in 2013 when she returned home from Costa Rica.
Vista Latina is Guitan’s brainchild. She hosted the festival for the first time last year, through her company TTI, as an opportunity for students studying Spanish to gain further exposure to the language and culture of some of T&T’s Spanish speaking neighbours.
Guitan receives no subsidy from the Ministry of Education or government to produce Vista Latina.
She said: “This entire project is finances by Trini Tica International.”
Five embassies have agreed to participate in this year’s edition of Vista Latina: Cuba, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and El Salvador.
Last year, the participating embassies hosted talks with the students about their respective countries. During the day they would host short talks with the students about their countries—discussing culture and lifestyle.
Added attractions of Vista Latina include a Latin dance workshop hosted by Nalini Akal of N9 Dance company, and performances by the Ernesto Salsa Band, a Latin music band originally from Venezuela.
A main feature of the day’s activities is the Conversational Club where students have discussions with facilitators in Spanish.
“The entire day is dedicated to immersing students in Latin American culture and language to help improve their appreciation and understanding of Spanish language and their Latin neighbours,” said Guitan.
“When I conceived of this festival it was really to help students improve their Spanish language skills. I lived in Costa Rica for two years and that immersion really helped my understanding and appreciation of the people, the culture and lifestyle of Costa Rica itself, and Latin America overall.”
Guitan is a major advocate for establishing deeper ties between Latin America and T&T, noting the immense potential for socio-economic partnerships and overall national development.
She added: “We have a great deal to learn from and to offer each other. With Vista Latina the opportunity alone for students to spend the day immersed in Latin culture, makes a big difference in appreciating the language. Many of the schools attending this year, came last year and I am happy that the students and teachers found value in it.”
This week Guitan said that she was overwhelmed by Friday’s event, especially with the response she has received.
She said: “I have over 400 students and teachers registered to attend from school across Trinidad. Unfortunately there are no attendees from Tobago.
“I am somewhat taken aback over there not being any students from Tobago because when I first started my business a school from Tobago, Mason Hall Secondary, was my first client. They did an exchange programme in Costa Rica with me and was also the first school to host Costa Rican students at their school and homes. Since then Bishop’s Tobago has participated in my programme.”