Professor celebrated for 35 years of teaching Spanish

In celebration of the 43rd Anniversary of the Venezuelan Institute of Culture and Cooperation (IVCC), The Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to Barbados recently celebrated its birthday with an online event via Zoom, in which the Order Francisco de Miranda in the First Class was awarded to Professor Melza Archibald for his contribution to the promotion of the Spanish language and cultural exchange between Venezuela and Barbados during 35 years at the IVCC.

The celebration was joined by Senator and Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Technology and Vocational Training, Dr. Rommel Springer, who was the keynote speaker, and Peggy Agard, Ministry of Education Officer in charge of Modern Languages.

After the singing of the national anthems of Venezuela and Barbados, Chargé d’Affaires, Alvaro Sanchez Cordero, gave the opening address, followed by IVCC students Deborah Marshall and Roger Lorde, who expressed their appreciation to Archibald for his long career in Spanish language teaching and congratulated him on receiving such an important award.

Senator Springer then expressed his joy at recognising the work of the IVCC and Professor Archibald for his 35 years of teaching Barbadians, highlighting the benefits of learning other languages, as the best way to learn about other cultures and interact with other people in the world.

Senator Rommel added that those students who have learned Spanish at the IVCC contribute to the country in many areas, and said that Barbados owes much to the IVCC for its educational contribution for 43 years, while acknowledging that despite the difficulties that Venezuela has experienced in recent years, it continues to use its own resources to continue teaching Spanish and Venezuelan culture to Barbadians.

In his speech, Chargé d’Affaires Sanchez Cordero highlighted the privilege of having Archibald as a teacher at the IVCC for 35 years, who also stands out for his professionalism, speaks five different languages and has extensive experience as a teacher in several schools in Barbados.

He also pointed out that Archibald lived in Venezuela for more than a decade, which gave him a better perspective of the culture, being also a music teacher of “Cuatro” (Venezuelan four-string guitar) at the IVCC and a founding member in Barbados of the Venezuelan music group Guataka.

Sánchez also expressed that he was truly honoured to hold this significant event to decorate Archibald with the Order Francisco de Miranda, First Class, an order named after one of that country’s most distinguished heroes, and concluded with the reading of a quote by Commander Hugo Chávez: “Culture is consciousness and knowledge. Culture tells us where we come from. It tells us what made us and who we are.”

Archibald briefly recounted how it all began, when in 1974 he was offered the opportunity to go to Venezuela where he learned Spanish, and when he returned to Barbados in 1985 the IVCC gave him the opportunity to become a teacher to spread Venezuelan culture and teach the Venezuelan language.

Peggy Agard expressed her satisfaction at celebrating together with the IVCC the achievement of Professor Archibald whom she met years ago when she herself was a Spanish teacher at the IVCC, where she also learned the language. She stated that it was a well-deserved award and that she was very proud of him.

Once the presentation of the award was over, Archibald gave a musical presentation along with Cuatro player Myrna Martineau, who played Barbadian and Venezuelan songs, such as: “Beautiful Barbados”, “Emmerton”, “El alma llanera” and “Venezuela”.

The event concluded with a well-deserved toast to a Barbadian who has dedicated 35 years of his life to teaching the Venezuelan language and culture. (PR)