‘Bunji’ gets key to Arima in Civic Award ceremony

Garlin, whose real name is Ian Antonio Alvarez, was delivering remarks at a Civic Award Ceremony, held on Wednesday at the Eastern Credit Union Auditorium, Sorzano Street, Arima, celebrating 128 years of Arima’s status as a Royal Chartered Borough.

A former student of the Arima Senior Comprehensive School, the evening’s moderator said he displayed his unique chanting skills whenever he had the chance, adding that this led to his entrance into the local entertainment industry and a string of triumphs on the international music scene.

He said there was always a “parenting vibe” in Arima in which all the parents would bond together to look after all the children in the community.

He said “that is what has helped me to this day.” He was echoing sentiments expressed earlier by former Arima Mayor and former Health Minister, John Rahael, who received a Lifetime Leadership Award at the ceremony, and in his remarks attributed his achievements to the community of Arima.

He said that as a boy growing up in Arima, “every mother was my mother, every father was my father.

If I did anything wrong, they had the right to correct me and it is really sad that as years go by and times change, that that kind of community no longer exists.” He said he wasn’t speaking about Arima alone but of the whole country.

He said some of the people awarded during the ceremony as well as many others who had died, were all responsible for what he had achieved in life.

Also receiving awards were journalists Michelle Loubon and Irene Medina; Dr. Lloyd Ramcharan, and the late Michael Woods, posthumously, for Public Service; and Community Business Awards were given to Harold Chadee and Judith Chai and the Xtra Foods Supermarket.