Laventille
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Laventille is a Ward of 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 has poor communities (slums) covered with squatter settlements, tenement yards and apartments with most of the population being Afro-Trinidadian.
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.
