Hispanic women embrace TT children

“We are professional ladies who want to use our skills to give back to the country for allowing us to be here,” said Minou Morales-Montano, fashion designer and one of 35 members of Hispanic Women in Trinidad and Tobago (HWTT). When Sunday Newsday met with a few members of the group at their home base in Westmoorings, the home of HWTT President Dianny Hernandez, they were up to their elbows in paper work. It was an amalgamation of ideas from Spanish-speaking women from around the world. There were natives from Venezuela, Guatemala, Mexico, Argentina, Honduras, Ecuador, Peru, Cuba and Panama.

Their stay in Trinidad came as a result of being married to Trinidadians or their husbands were assigned to work in Trinidad. Although each spoke English, fluently, they were connected by their mother tongue, Spanish. Their skills varied from geologist to artist, flight attendant, business administrator, economist, psychologist, translator, Special Education teacher and dentist, to name a few. The project — coordinating what would be one of their biggest events to date — the staging of a hundred-piece Venezuelan youth orchestra in Trinidad, October 20-23. The concert is a bid to raise funds to install a neo-natal unit at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital. Though professionals in their particular fields, they are also mothers and they love children. For that reason, HWTT approached the Ministry of Health to ascertain what needs at the hospitals were a priority on its list, with children in mind. Everyone was assigned a task and while they chatted during the interview, others were away making arrangements for the event. A quick glance around the sitting room showed that they took their job, though voluntary, very seriously.

The curtain at one of the windows served as a notice board. Sheets of letter-sized paper joined by tape were affixed to the top of the window and draped down to the floor. “Those are everyone’s assignments for this project,” said HWTT Advertising Co-ordinator, Sofia Figueroa-Leon of Venezuela. Sofia’s husband is Trinidadian and as a result, “I had to learn all the Trinidad slang like ‘liming’ and ‘boldface’,” she said. “There is so much to do that sometimes I have to bring along my three-month-old baby (Hannah Sofia), my only child, to work.” Most of the women enjoy a brief stay in Trinidad, since their husbands, some diplomats, are posted in various countries. “We couldn’t work because we don’t have work permits,” said Sofia, “so what we can’t do on the job we do here.” Wife of the former Cuban Ambassador, Daisy Batistuta, initiated the group three years ago. “We have had many members but they come and go,” Minou added. However, HWTT Vice-President Andrina Cede?o, also Venezuelan, has been here for six years. “My first son is Trinidadian and the second one will also be Trinidadian,” she said. Andrina is seven months pregnant, and still enjoys meeting with the group on a daily basis. Marilu Kelshall, whose field is tourism, is wife of Andrew Kelshall and mother of one. “We all learn from everybody and we want just to give,” said Minou. “We feel useful, we’re active.”