Miguel walks the talk

He has a face that carries an “already made” smile that lights up whenever he speaks. He gives the phrase “passion for living” a new meaning. It is difficult to imagine Miguel Browne being sad or in tears. He is ready and waiting to make you happy. Just talking to him leaves you laughing and smiling. This is what gives him the edge as one of the best “talk artistes” of the country. He has been on the Talk Tent stage since 1991. As  an entertainer he reaches his audience with a package of words, laced with humour and a strong message. A history teacher at his alma mater, St Mary’s College, Miguel, was born in Trinidad to a father of Bajan roots and a Venezuelan mother. One can see the Spanish roots in his appearance and it is no wonder that he took to parang so easily. He is the leader and PRO of the top parang band, los Paranderos de UWI.

A dedicated and hard-working individual Miguel is one of the driving forces of this parang group and is well-known in  parang circles. Right after the parang season ends, he starts preparing for the Talk Tent which will shift venue to St Mary’s College on March 20 from 6.30 pm and March 21 at 8 pm. This year, Miguel is doing his social commentary entitled, “School Days.” In this piece he talks about the children of yesteryear who grew up under strict laws and rules as compared to the children of today who are exposed to all sorts of distractions. “The society is bombarded with promiscuity but we warn the children about misbehaviour in public. We live in a lawless society but we want the children to be otherwise. These are some of the issues I deal with in my piece,” he revealed. “We have an audience sitting and enjoying the humour and in the end we give them something to think about.”

Miguel’s style is unique. He is able to capture the attention of everyone with his smooth flow of words as he does his piece on stage. Going down memory lane, he recalled his days at the Rosary Boys RC Primary School when he was asked to do the poem “The Blind Man.” Taking the stage for the first time, Miguel proved that he had natural talent. Here the seed was planted and the rest is history. As a member of the UWI Players, he wrote monologues for fellow students for Christmas and other concerts.  He was awarded for his work in the UWI production , Beginnings by the Students Guild for his contribution to students of the non-sporting groups at UWI. He was also a former guild councillor. Commenting on Government’s approach to the crime situation affecting UWI students, Miguel noted that it is the duty of any government to protect the citizens of the country and it was wrong to just leave it alone.

“The schools and various learning institutions are places where students prepare themselves for life. Therefore it should not be where they are crossing swords. The mood of behaviour must be of a high standard at all times,” Miguel said. He has two books of his own compositions Trini Talk and Talk Dat Talk at local bookstores. You can read these pieces over and over and the laughter comes with it each time. He also has a tape of earlier work entitled “Jumbies,” recorded before a live audience. These compilations are ideal as gifts for Trinbagonians living abroad. In those compilations Miguel has been able to describe many scenes taking place in the villages and towns in an interesting manner. His inspiration for writing new material comes from listening to people in banks and on the streets. “They are the ones who have all the material. They voice their disappointments openly and I pick up the remarks to make a poem of it. The man on the street comments on everything that is going wrong in the country and he finds the solution for these problems in an instant,” said the man who certainly stands among the best composers and orators of TT.