#BTFocus – Well wishes, poetry and music . . . Barbadians congratulate Venezuela on its Independence

The COVID-19 pandemic did not stop a diverse group of activists, artists, cultural workers and diplomats from Barbados from joining together to send messages of solidarity and congratulations to the Venezuelan people and government on the occasion of the celebration of its 209th anniversary on the 5th of July.

This large group of friends of Venezuela in Barbados made use of technology to express their solidarity and support.

Barbados’ Ambassador to CARICOM David Comissiong stated that: “We have added our voices to the call for the lifting of sanctions against Venezuela. We know that these sanctions are wrong. We understand that the Caribbean must be a zone of peace.”

Also, Attorney-at-Law Lalu Hanuman, who is the Caribbean Secretary General against Apartheid in Palestine, stated that, “Only two countries in all of Latin America are genuinely independent. These two countries are Cuba, since 1959, and of course Venezuela, since Hugo Chavez came to power.”

One of the most significant messages was that of Andrea Wells, Director of the National Cultural Foundation of Barbados (NCF), who highlighted the ancestral bond between Venezuela and Barbados through the indigenous peoples.

Barbadian artists Winston Farrell and Sonny Meraki offered Venezuela their poetry and music. Farrell, who participated in the 13th edition of the World Poetry Festival in Venezuela in 2016, performed his song The Bus Driver, The young and promising Barbadian artist Meraki sang tunes from Bob Marley’s Redemption Song.

Another important cultural figure who joined in from Barbados was the talented singer, sculptor and visual artist Onkphra Wells, who is also the President of the Coalition of Pan-African Organizations. Onkphra, who is about to launch a beautiful song dedicated to the eternal commander Hugo Chavez, participated last year in the 3rd Biennial of the South, in the state of Bolivar, Venezuela, through a sculpture dedicated to Orlando Figueras, the Afro-Venezuelan who was assassinated in the 2017 fascist mobs in Venezuela.

Likewise, the ambassadors of the Republic of Cuba and the People’s Republic of China, accredited to Barbados, Sergio Pastrana and Yan Xiusheng, respectively, sent warm messages of brotherhood to the Venezuelan people.

Finally, the Chargé d of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Barbados, Álvaro Sánchez Cordero, thanked the Barbadian people for “sharing their art, their culture and their messages with us through the beautiful videos that we were able to watch in this segment.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XDO51Z_hZs