Hundreds wait in town for Lara

Hundreds braved the inclement weather yesterday to get a vantage point under a sea of umbrellas to welcome the “Prince of Port-of-Spain” and the new Ambassador of Sports, Brian Charles Lara, at his own Brian Lara Promenade. And while the crowd waited, they lapped up performances by the Lara Brothers from Lara’s hometown Santa Cruz, who brought a Christmas and joyous feel to the atmosphere, along with Rootsman and Chutney Monarch Heeralal Rampartap, who had a specially composed song for the occasion. This song had the audience in front of the stage, which was facing the Cipriani Statue, jumping up with their umbrellas as the rains continued to come down heavily.

The live performances then went on hold as Lara was nearing the venue, so the DJ took up the slack. One lady in the crowd took the DJ’s selection, Scrunter’s “Bachelor,” to invite a policeman on duty to “come over” stating that she was a bachelor. The crowd around the two were entertained with the side show. Then anticipating Lara’s eminent arrival on the promenade, MC Phil Simmons worked up the crowd into chants of  Lara. At approximately 6.30 pm, the Lara entourage arrived at the venue. They then abandoned their vehicles and, accompanied by the Defence Force pan-round-de-neck playing Superblue’s “Lara,” and the cheering fans, the entourage made its way to the massive stage constructed just for the event.

As Lara mounted the stage, the Roy Cape All Stars played the appropriate fanfare to hail the arrival of the “king” while confetti shot into the air. This was followed by the playing of the National Anthem by the Neal and Massy All Stars which was proudly sung by the crowd and loudly cheered afterwards. The entourage on stage comprised Prime Minister Patrick Manning, his wife Hazel, Minister of Community Development, Culture and Gender Affairs, Senator Joan Yuille-Williams, Sports Minister Roger Boynes, Transport Minister Franklyn Khan, West Indies players Ridley Jacobs, Dwayne Bravo, Ravi Rampaul and the man himself, Brian Lara.

A touching rendition of “To God Be The Glory,” by Rue Ann Cabralis, not only had the crowd singing along and cheering, but also had the full attention of a tired Lara who warmly applauded her after the rendition. Pierrot Grenade Felix Edinborough also entertained with “Tribute to Lara” and jokingly questioned when Lara will be going for 600 runs. Boynes then hyped up the crowd before making way for the Prime Minister’s address. In between that, daughter Sydney Lara, who was temporarily lost in the arrival, was brought on the stage by one of Lara’s sisters and immediately the fatherly instinct took over as he reached for her sandals to put them on her bare feet.

As Manning was heaping his accolades on Lara, retired policewoman Marjorie Beepatsingh made her presence felt with loud interjections of her own praises. It was then Lara’s turn to respond to Manning, but he had to wait for the tossing of confetti and loud chants of “Lara! Lara!” to die down before he started his acceptance speech. Often shifting from one foot to the next, an exhausted Lara eventually managed to finish his speech to more cheers from the crowd who didn’t want to see him leave, but accepted that he was indeed tired.

The other West Indian players were then presented to the crowd before they left the stage. The crowd was then entertained by the Roy Cape All Stars who started their repertoire with “Lara,” followed by popular 2004 Soca songs. By this time, ladies in their office attire daintily chipped away from the promenade, while the rest of the crowd waited to hear Brother Resistance, Ronnie Mc Intosh, Singing Sandra and the rest of Roy Cape’s session.