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Santa Rosa First Peoples Heritage Day/Festival
October 14, 2020
On this day indigenous people of Trinidad and Tobago are celebrated as they have contributed so much to our history and culture.
The Caribs of Arima are known to be the direct descendants of the original Amerindian inhabitants of Trinidad.
In 1973 the Santa Rosa First Peoples Community Council was incorporated to preserve the culture of the Caribs of Arima and maintain their role in the annual Santa Rosa Festival (dedicated to Santa Rosa de Lima, the first Catholic saint canonised in the New World).
The Santa Rosa First Peoples Carib Community is recognised by government as the legitimate representative of Trinidad and Tobago’s indigenous people and in 1993 received a National Award (Chaconia Silver) for work done in the field of culture and community service.
The group was also instrumental in influencing the Government to designate October 14th as the official day in acknowledgement and appreciation of our indigenous Amerindian legacy.
The Santa Rosa First Peoples festival is celebrated for an entire week around the October 14th observance day with a series of events in Arima.