Laventille
Laventille is a suburb of Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The name Laventille hearkens back to colonial times, especially when the French dominated the cultural traditions of the island. One etymological derivation of the name is due to the fact that The northeast trade winds come to this part of the Island of Trinidad before it reached any other part of Colonial Port of Spain. Hence the metaphorical name La Ventaille ("The Vent"). Geographically, it is the source of Orographic precipitation for the capital city.
One of the wards of the city, it is bordered by St. Ann's River (commonly called the Dry River) to the west, The Lady Young Road to the east, from the lowlands along the Eastern Main Road which includes the actual port of Port of Spain, a dump called La Basse, and a mangrove swamp ("the Mang") in the south, into the hills of the Northern Range to the north.
Laventille is characteristically a poor community, notably, but not predominantly, covered with squatter settlements, tenement yard and apartments with a noticeable amount of Afro-Trinidadians and usually stereotyped as a community where poor and undesirable people and elements live. In Trinidad and Tobago, where crime has become an increasingly more noted issue and problem, Laventille has become a central focus, especially by the local media. Criminal activity has inddeed been on the upsurge in the community, despite the vast majority of Laventilleans objecting to it. Though there are extremely heavy criminal elements present in Laventille, many otherwise non criminal elements exist there such as the Roman Catholic Church "Our Lady of Laventille" which has been a usual site of various local pilgrimages.
Laventille is the home, birth and otherwise of many people, involved in community work and other types of cultural activity. Destra Garcia, a soca artiste was born at Desperlie crescent in Laventille.
The name has also been used as a general term for the poor neighbourhoods of eastern Port of Spain including not only Laventille "proper" (Success Village, Trou Macaque, Never Dirty) but also Belmont, Gonzales , East Dry River, John-John, Sea lots, Beetham Estate Garden, Caledonia, Maryland, Mon Repos, Chinapoo and Morvant. Some of the areas are also given colorful names such as Brooklyn, Africa, Chinatown and Harlem.
Categories
Port of Spain | Towns in Trinidad and Tobago