{"id":759,"date":"2025-02-24T22:04:01","date_gmt":"2025-02-24T22:04:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chile.panorama.uk.com\/?page_id=759"},"modified":"2025-02-24T22:41:50","modified_gmt":"2025-02-24T22:41:50","slug":"tobagos-unique-selling-point-is-its-booming-orange-economy","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/chile.panorama.uk.com\/es\/tobagos-unique-selling-point-is-its-booming-orange-economy\/","title":{"rendered":"Tobago\u2019s unique selling point is its booming orange economy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Tobago\u2019s unique selling point is its booming orange economy<\/span><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t<\/div> \t
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Numerous platforms have been established to showcase the islanders\u2019 culture and arts to the world<\/span><\/h6>\n\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t<\/div> \t
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\u201cTobago\u2019s orange economy has been booming, it continues to grow and we have data that says it\u2019s going to outpace the oil industry eventually. Creative products are Tobago\u2019s unique selling point,\u201d declares Jared Prima, interim CEO of the Tobago Performing Arts Company (TPAC). \u00a0<\/span>\u201cOur island\u2019s unique and rich culture is more than just performance and presentation, it\u2019s what defines us as a people. We\u2019re proud and passionate when it comes to who we are and our cultural history,\u201d he adds. Established in 2021 under the auspices of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Antiquities and Transportation, TPAC is a multidisciplinary arts institution tasked with preserving and advancing that culture, as well as promoting the island\u2019s extensive dance, music, drama and film talent via activities such as education, training and forging international partnerships.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s about arts being the vehicle by which we showcase our wealth of culture to the world,\u201d Prima summarizes. \u201cWe want to get our people ready for when the true orange boom happens here. We want, for example, our performers to have honed their craft and how they function as businesses, as brands.\u201d A focus for the company is building up human capacities by, for instance, developing multimedia productions of works written, performed and produced by local artistic and technical talent, which address real issues facing the island\u2019s communities. \u201cAll our productions are not just infusing Tobagonian culture, they are showing how drama, dance, music and film can work in concert,\u201d he states.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"\"As well as generating cultural products that entertain, TPAC aims to create products that educate. Prima says: \u201cWe\u2019ve developed a lot of avenues for that. One we\u2019re very proud of is Fource, a multidisciplinary festival we held for the first time this year.\u201d The June event included performances, workshops, master classes, debates and discussions targeted at emerging and established creatives, as well as art lovers. International talent will be welcomed at future editions. \u201cFource is a hub for creativity and a safe space for artists to perform. We want it to be an incubator, a platform, a showcase for creative technologies, where we can tell our stories and expose our excellence in music and dance,\u201d he states. Another illustration is a new boot-camp competition for young soca musicians. \u201cWe bring music, production and business professionals in to teach them about sound, stagecraft, copyright, licensing and so on. It\u2019s about elevating artist development and capacity building,\u201d Prima stresses. \u00a0<\/span>As an experienced movie director, he is enthusiastic about Tobago\u2019s potential in film and television. He explains: \u201cThere\u2019s so much content to create here and many unique stories that could be converted into amazing universal content with global relevance. We have all the necessary tools.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Developing Tobago\u2019s orange economy is not a one-organization endeavor and TPAC collaborates closely with others, including the Tobago Festivals Commission Limited (TFC) that is also under the Department of Tourism, Culture, Antiquities and Transportation\u2019s umbrella. TFC\u2019s CEO Kern Cowan says: \u201cWe\u2019re primarily charged with overseeing festivals and events in Tobago, providing managerial support and strategic direction. His organization is kept very busy. \u201cTobago is a mecca of festivals in the Caribbean region, offering year-round authentic cultural experiences,\u201d he notes.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t<\/div> \t

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Reveling in paradise<\/b><\/b><\/h4>\n

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The biggest event in the island\u2019s annual calendar is its carnival, which takes place over the final weekend in October, with TFC providing over $145,000 in funding to support participants in this year\u2019s edition. The carnival has a rapidly expanding worldwide audience. \u201cBetween 2022 and 2023, visitors to the island for the Tobago Carnival increased from 20,000 to 50,000,\u201d Cowan discloses. As Prima notes: \u201cIt\u2019s a festival that brings people in to experience Tobago and revel in its events, as well as our sea, sun, sand, food, culture, crafts and people.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Other Caribbean nations also celebrate carnival, but Tobago\u2019s is different. Prima explains: \u201cIt speaks to Tobago\u2019s unique identity. People are inspired by our landscapes, flora, fauna and folklore in their costumes and performances, for instance, and ritualistic elements are important.\u201d These include Mud Mas, in which mud is used for costume, self-expression and celebration. \u201cPeople find Mud Mas very freeing. Mud is on the face, the body \u2014 you\u2019re completely covered in mud!\u201d he comments. \u00a0<\/span>Other central features of the carnival include soca, calypso and numerous steel bands that take to the street. Prima says: \u201cTobago\u2019s steel pans were born out of the country\u2019s oil boom experience. An important part of our carnival is Rhythm, Steel and Powder, which describes how we infuse our rhythms into our pans and other percussive instruments, creating energy.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Another event that is popular with international tourists takes place during carnival in Bloody Bay village: the Blue Food Festival, which celebrates an indigenous variety of dasheen, or taro, that turns blue when cooked. Attendees are able to sample an immense array of savory, sweet and baked treats, and even wines made from the gluten-free starchy vegetable. One unmissable summer draw is the month-long Tobago Heritage Festival that embraces the island\u2019s cultural traditions. Every night, a different village takes its turn to welcome guests and introduce them to its dances, theater, music and foods. Among the participating communities, Cowan highlights Moriah\u2019s reenactment of an 18th-century processional wedding dance. \u201cThe Ole Time Wedding is a whole cultural experience by itself,\u201d he insists.<\/p>\n

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The range of festivals held on the island is vast, with its calendar running the gamut from traditional goat and crab racing at Easter, to a four-day yacht regatta and carnival in February. Every Tobagonian celebration has one thing in common though. Cowan reveals: \u201cOur food is one of our major selling points. We\u2019re talking about our curried crab and dumplings, and all the other things Tobago is known for.\u201d Among the best places to discover the diversity of the island\u2019s cuisine is at a Harvest Festival. These thanksgiving feasts occur once a month on a Sunday and are hosted by a different village each time.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t<\/div> \t

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Tobago is a mecca of festivals in the Caribbean region, offering year-round authentic cultural experiences.\u201d<\/b><\/em><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t<\/div> \n\t
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\nKern Cowan, CEO, Tobago Festivals Commission Limited\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t<\/div> <\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t

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TFC prepares rigorously for every festivity it manages. \u201cWe try to have at least a three-to six-months\u2019 window of pure planning before any execution, and we ensure each event gets the oversight it requires because we believe in brand quality,\u201d Cowan asserts. \u201cTobago has unique culture, heritage, dances, linguistics and other qualities that we home into as a commission, as they are the things that set us apart from anywhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n

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TFC is stepping up its efforts to promote the island\u2019s orange economy, which the CEO is convinced has huge potential to attract international tourism and investments. \u201cIn 2025, we\u2019re going to engage in early, wider-scale promotions. North America is one of the markets we\u2019re targeting,\u201d he reveals. As far as TPAC is concerned, \u201cOur work has only just begun,\u201d Prima says. \u201cWe will continue to develop well-created, produced and curated content that showcases Tobago and can earn revenue as creative products. And we will continue to partner with local and international entities that want to assist in the development of Tobago\u2019s cultural product.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t<\/div> <\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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