Cubans find their roots in Vincyland

Sixty years after their grandfather went to Cuba to work in the sugar industry , 24-year-old Rony Robinson and his 21-year-old brother Denny came to St Vincent and the Grenadines to search for their roots.

The brothers arrived in St Vincent on July 30 last year, and have been staying with friends who studied in Cuba.{{more}}

Their search began in Barrouallie where their grandfather Albert Christian Goodgie lived. The brothers were able to meet many relatives and were given contacts for other family members who had either moved away or had their family name changed. “ It was so exciting meeting our own flesh and blood,” Rony said.

While in SVG, the Robinson brothers were involved in a number of activities. They worked as tour guides and interpretors for passengers of Spanish cruise liner Blue Moon and taught Spanish at several schools and worked with the Curriculum Unit of the Ministry of Education and the Cuban social workers in the energy saving bulb exchange programme.

Denny, a professional musician and arranger told SEARCHLIGHT that he did some work at a recording studio here and produced some of his own music, before returning to Cuba last month. IT specialist Rony had nothing but high praise for SVG, “This is a blessed land with lots of gifts for the people to enjoy, I feel at home here and I hope to return in the future,” he said. Rony will leave tomorrow.