00:00The grandstand is home to many of our greatest cultural events, and henceforth it will carry the name of one
00:07of our greatest cultural icons.
00:10I am therefore deeply honoured to announce that the grandstand at the Queen's Park Savannah will bear the name of
00:18Dr. Slinger Francisco, the mighty Sparrow.
00:27From this day forward, when Trinidad and Tobago gathers there to celebrate our culture, the name Sparrow will stand above
00:37all of us.
00:39And then I tell you, Sparrow's handed us his music.
00:45It's our responsibility to carry it forward and then to build something even greater.
00:51I say we will refurbish the grandstand and we will name it in the honour of the mighty Sparrow.
01:01Francisco was conferred the honour of the Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in 2014 by Kamala Passat
01:09-Basasa when she served her first term as Prime Minister.
01:13He was also awarded the Hummingbird Medal, Silver, in 1969, the Chiconia Medal, Gold, in 1993, the Order of the
01:22Caribbean Community, Karakum, in 2001, and the Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2015.
01:30Passat-Basasa says he deserves every honour bestowed upon him.
01:35Dr. Slinger Francisco, our mighty Sparrow, was more than a Clipsonian.
01:42He was an icon. He was an ambassador. He was a storyteller. He was a social commentator.
01:51The Prime Minister was so committed to incorporating his musical teachings into the school curriculum, a request put forward by
01:59the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Motley.
02:01We followed through with Mia's suggestion tonight. Certainly, we will work with you and the others in the curriculum to
02:09make your suggestion become a reality.
02:18Motley, at only moments earlier, made the suggestion as she lauded Sparrow for his treatment of Caribbean culture and history.
02:27Or whether it was affirming our identity in that seminal song that I chose to start this evening with, this
02:35afternoon with, Slave.
02:37Which I hope, Kamla, that you and I can join and persuade the rest of our fellow Prime Ministers must
02:45be a core part of the CXE curriculum so that every single child...
02:56Every single child of this Caribbean understands both the pain but the mission that that song presented.
03:06I don't think that there is a stronger theatrical performance of any song in the Caribbean from when we took
03:15control of our fate.
03:16Renasa Cutting, TV6 News.
03:20What a remarkable journey.
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