PORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD (AP) - How about a room with a view?
Trinidad is a charming tourist mecca of mountains and seashore, but the Summit of the Americas opened in a nondescript hotel ballroom that didn’t even afford a view of the water.
Residents of the two-island Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago, many of whose residents are descendants of former slaves and indentured workers, are hugely proud to be hosting this summit _ and with it, America’s first black president.
So it was only natural that the meeting take place at the brand-new Hyatt Regency Hotel complex. Completed just a year ago, it’s right on the capital’s seafront overlooking the Gulf of Paria, which separates Trinidad from Venezuela.
The beige hotel tower and adjacent buildings were decked out in flags of the 34 summit nations. There also was a tented “summit village” featuring local wares and industries.
Officials said the hotel flew in employees from other hotels in North and South America _ and discreetly upgraded several guest rooms to accommodate all the leaders in attendance.
Trinidad is used to large crowds. After all, it’s host to an annual carnival that claims to be the Caribbean’s largest.
But even with the 428-room Hyatt, Port-of-Spain would have been hard pressed to accommodate the estimated 20,000 people taking part in the summit, including organizers, delegations and journalists.
So the government arranged for two Carnival cruise ships to take the overflow. They were docked a short stroll along the waterfront from the summit headquarters.
___
Trinidad and Tobago calls itself “The Land of the Steel Pan, Calypso and Limbo,” so it was only fitting that a steel drum greeted Obama’s arrival at the Hyatt complex.
His motorcade from the airport had roared past a largely straight road leading into the capital, with small groups of residents gathered to watch. Some shielded themselves from the sun with umbrellas. Several were seen holding signs with Obama’s trademark slogan, “Yes, We Can.”
Trinidad is proud of its polyglot heritage. Visited by Columbus (he named the island Trinidad after the Holy Trinity), it was ruled for hundreds of years by the Spanish before being taken over by the British. Today, its population of 1.3 million is a multiracial mixture that includes descendants of former slaves and a large minority of Hindu Indians.
___
Sure, it’s a former British colony, but the local version of the queen’s English still takes a little translation.
So the U.S. Embassy helpfully supplied a little in a summit handbook.
According to the embassy, “Papa yo!” is an expression of surprise.
A “saga boy” is a “flashy dresser, a dandy.”
“Goin’orf” is someone acting strangely.
“Tabanca” is “the forlorn feeling one gets when a love affair is over.”
“Back chat” is an “insolent response, as a child would give an adult.”
If someone says, “Yuh faddah is a glassmaker?”, you’re probably blocking his or her view.
And “Yuh makin’ joke!” is translated as “You can’t be serious!” Perhaps that one needed no translation.
___
Obama said he felt right at home on the two-island nation.
The president, who spent much of his childhood in Hawaii and Indonesia, didn’t miss a chance to highlight that upbringing during opening remarks at the summit.
“All of us are extraordinarily excited to have this opportunity to visit this wonderful country,” Obama said. “And as somebody who grew up on an island, I can tell you I feel right at home.”
Obama later repeated the sentiment, surrounded by Caribbean leaders.
___
Obama got the biggest applause of the night when he walked into the summit’s ballroom, but Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega offered the longest speech.
Ortega’s speech went on for some 50 minutes, longer than other participants and longer than the schedule had designated. Ortega said it was not a true summit of the hemisphere without Cuba or the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico.
Asked later about his opinion on Ortega’s speech, Obama was curt: “It was 50 minutes. That’s what I thought.”
Obama’s speech lasted 16 minutes.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.