New home for Highlanders
Loop Entertainment
December 5, 2023 10:41 AM ET
Minister of Housing and Urban Development Camille Robinson-Regis cuts the ribbon at the handing over ceremony for the newly-constructed Highlanders Pan Theatre and Learning Centre.
The Highlanders Steel Orchestra officially has a new home.
The newly-constructed Highlanders Steelpan Theatre and Learning Centre was officially handed over to the band on Friday by the East Port of Spain Development Company Ltd (EPOSDC), as part of the Company's Panyard Upgrade (PAN-UP) initiative.
The panyard is located on the Eastern Main Road in Success Village, Laventille, at a site that was once a gas station. The gas station had been abandoned for over 20 years.
Highlanders Manager Robert Hernandez said the band petitioned the National Petroleum Company (NP) for use of the site and after some four years of "intense negotiation", was finally able to secure a 99-year lease of the land.
The band then approached the EPOSDC with its plans for construction of the Steelpan Theatre.
He said the facility was envisioned as a safe space for the youth of Laventille and East Port of Spain, where they don't have to worry about "borderlines" and negative influences.
"What we are doing here in Success Village, Laventille is working on bridging some of the gaps that exists among the various pockets of our community," he stated.
"You have youths who don't leave (their) areas. Youths in Rock City that do not come down to the Main Road. You have youths from Beetham who don't cross the Main Road.
"We set about to establish the Highlanders Steel Orchestra as a safe space in our community. The overriding mission was to create a space where we can bring youths from all the various communities so that they can focus on music."
Hernandez said music has the power to unify.
"When youths come in a panyard, they tend to leave all the baggage at the door. There is a harmony and a love and a synergy that exists in panyards and we are committed to making this space that type of facility."
Managing Director of the East Port of Spain Development Company Dr Deborah Thomas-Austin encouraged the band to make the best use of the facility, which she said was not just a steelpan theatre but a community hub to host learning initiatives.
"Our panyards are community spaces, they should be safe spaces especially for our young people. They should be safe spaces for learning and for earning. Panyards play a vital role in community development and community integration," she stated.
Minister of Housing and Urban Development Camille Robinson-Regis also hailed the opening of the theatre as a positive addition to the Laventille area and said it must not be just a storage space for steelpans. She called on the nation to recognise the positive things happening in Laventille.
"When something happens in Laventille - good, bad or indifferent - the entire nation has an opinion. So, too, I call on the entire nation to take note of what your Government is doing here today through the East Port of Spain Development Company Ltd."
Robinson-Regis noted that the EPOSDC, under her Ministry, has invested over $13 million in the PAN-UP project.
The company has upgraded seven panyards to date: Desperadoes, D Untouchables Pan Groove, Blue Diamonds, Harlem Syncopaters, Laventille Serenaders, TT Music Stars and Highlanders.
Robinson-Regis said that in the coming year works are scheduled to upgrade the panyards of Courts Sound Specialists, Royal Stars Symphony, Casablanca and Tokyo steelbands, all within East Port of Spain.
The upgraded panyards contain classrooms, conference facilities, covered practice areas and rehearsal spaces, storage rooms and other amenities, inclusive of WiFi connectivity.
