Day Three: Friday 9/8
Arima is the home of the first people to inhabit Trinidad and means "water." I am staying in an apartment adjacent to Santa Rosa Church Park and Santa Rosa R.C. Church. When in 1757, Spanish Capuchin priests colonized Arima, they built a church and established a mission in the town. The church was dedicated to Rosa, who was a Amerindain girl from Lima, Peru, who had been canonized as Santa Rosa de Lima. The Spanish missionary influence is remains apart of Arima history and can be traced through the survival of the Amerindian community residing just minutes from my front door step. Arima was my last stop on Robert Youngs's "Dotish Tour" last ceremony. I remember the canon blast at 6 am and the smoke ceremony. Too bad I accidentally deleted all that footage.
This is about the past that continues on to the present day. Resiliency.
I am also struck by the name Sorzano. I know a Sorzano from Trinidad, and it turns out the name holds much significance. Michael Sorzano was the governor of Arima in the 1780's. In 1813 Ralph Woodford (who has also landmarks named after him) became governor of Arima and did a lot to preserve the Spanish laws and customs and to keep Arima as a mission and exclusively Amerindian territory. That lasted until his death in 1828.
The British conquered Trinidad in 1797.
Colonization. Acts of resilience. It is all right here.
