2 days ago
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Senior Reporter
The spirit of patriotism remains alive and well at Silk Cotton Drive, Homeland Gardens, Cunupia, despite the cancellation of this year’s Independence Day Parade.
The reason? Residents have spent more than a decade marking the national day with their own brand of celebration and that is not changing this year.
The initiative began with a simple idea: repainting a few worn benches.
According to long-time resident Derek Sealy, a retired policeman, that small gesture of pride in the national colours grew into a community tradition.
“We took it upon ourselves as service members. The benches we had first weren’t looking good, so we decided to paint the benches in red, white, and black. That was just the start of the thing. From there, we started decorating the bridge and then inviting the neighbours out to spend a little time on Independence Day or the day after,” Sealy recalled.
Over the years, the tradition has blossomed into much more than decorations. Each Independence Day, residents gather with food, music, and in camaraderie—reflecting a bond that Sealy said has existed for more than 40 years.
This year, however, the event will carry special significance, as the community prepares to honour one of their own— 2025 Miss Universe T&T, Dr Sihlé Letren.
Her father, Michael Letren, said the idea to include her achievement in the festivities came naturally.
“She was born right here. She isn’t living here again, but she was born right here. So she’s one of us,” Letren said with pride.
The community will host its Independence Day gathering on September 1, where neighbours will come together to decorate, share food and music, and pay tribute to the young beauty queen in a congratulatory ceremony.
“Well, this is an annual thing we do for the independence,” Letren explained.
“Seeing that my daughter had the achievement at the end of July, we decided to incorporate her in the celebration. She won the Miss Universe Trinidad and Tobago 2025 title. She’s going to be representing the country in November in Thailand, so all plans right now are for Thailand.”
Ronald Rollock, another resident involved from the beginning, credited Sealy for leading the charge.
“Mr Sealy is the one who started it. He called Mike, he called me, and we started. And it was just that,” Rollock said.
For Rollock, the gathering is about more than patriotism—it’s about community.
“We already meet as a group for Christmas, Carnival, everything. We like that, and we support it. We try to bring the community together to support and to realise that, look, we as a community also have to show that we love our country. We don’t tell them that, but it’s there.”
Asked whether the cancellation of the national parade would affect their tradition, Rollock was firm. “It hasn’t affected us at all. Nothing at all. We aren’t cancelling anything.”
The decorations—funded entirely out of pocket by residents who jokingly call themselves The Avengers—have become a point of pride for the community.
For Sealy, who has travelled abroad and admired the displays of national pride in places like Grenada and New York’s Labour Day celebrations, there is no reason Trinidad and Tobago should fall short. “I love my country; I love my flag. This is one of the best coloured flags in the world, and we need to show it off.”
English (US) ·