The Guyanese West Side story

The ‘West Side’, in the past ten years, has grown into a preferred and vogue entertainment destination in Guyana. It used to be a place where people had been ashamed to reveal that they were from, now persons are emboldened to the point that they proudly declare, even without prompting, that they are West Siders. How did this remarkable ‘West Side’ transition happen and how did the term originate, evolve and take root in Guyana? Who is really to be credited?

Before we delve into the appearance and evolution of the ‘West Side’ catch phrase and what it spawned it must be reiterated that prior to its appearance in the Guyanese lexicon the West Bank of Demerara, West Coast of Demerara and the East Bank of Essequibo and their peoples were treated with scorn and detachment by those on the eastern side of the Demerara river, particularly the urbanites.

Before ‘West Side’, WBD, WCD and EBE were simply and derisively lumped together and known as ‘over de river’ or ‘West Coast’. People from the ‘West Coast’ were to be scoffed at, they were country folk, lesser, not equal. At the turn of the century the genesis of change emerged. Here is the full story.

In the late 1990s Javed Ali, a young Vergenoegen born and bred entrepreneur and son of Shairaz Ali, the chairman of the Two Brothers conglomerate, along with a little help from his brother Faiaz and a few committed friends formed the Slingerz Family Sound System.

The ambitious Ali was never content to have a mere top sound in the village. He had his eyes set on the national scene from the very inception but to break in the well established sound system industry he needed a credible DJ. Ali secured the services of DJ Face, an effervescent and dynamic up-and-coming DJ from the city who had honed his skills on the trendsetting Stone Love Sound System. In just over a year, DJ Face transformed Slingerz from an underground West Coast sound system to a much sought after and highly demanded mainstream sound system.

In those days – early to mid 2000s – only razor blades were thinner than DJ Face and he was the height of most professional jockeys. Then in his twenties, he had an unmistakable cocky swagger when he walked, sugar leaking from his tongue when he spoke whether on or off the microphone and confidence to match ugly, fat women who wear micro-miniskirts. All together his irrepressible persona made him seem six feet tall and he had a versatile voice which he exploited depending on whether he felt the need to bellow commands to the hardcore dancehall rude bwoys or whisper sensual lyrics to the ladies.

And it was DJ Face who first branded WBD/WCD/EBE the ‘West Side’. He kept repeating and reiterating it at every event he played. ‘West Coast’, to DJ Face, was not catchy, it was not hip. He needed something which would resonate with the people, he needed something people would be proud of. And he struck gold when he borrowed the ‘West Side’ terminology from the United States. The fans loved it and instantly gravitated to DJ Face and embraced the ‘West Side’ branding. DJ Face and Slingerz became household names in Guyana and acquired legendary status on the ‘West Side’.

Through the efforts of DJ Face on the Slingerz Family platform, in a few short years, WBD/WCD/EBE became a cool place and it all had to do with the DJ Face inspired unofficial name change.

Barbecues, dances and shows held in the region (Region 3 – Essequibo Islands/West Demerara) began to attract increasing numbers of patrons from Georgetown and other parts of the country. And thousands travelled from all parts of Guyana to the annual Vergenoegen Village Day, held on Christmas Day. It has now become the marquee Christmas Day event in Guyana and Ali ensured that it continued to grow over the years by booking major dancehall and other acts to perform.

Unfortunately, until now, the ‘West Side’ tag and the resulting coolness has not been properly analysed and adequately recognized. The ‘West Side’ moniker made WBD/WCD/EBE into a sexy place, a preferred destination for the average Guyanese to party and hang out. It spawned several drinking spots and pool shops but it was the almost weekly Bushy Park Beach limes which really drew Georgetownians to the West Side on a regular basis. And West Siders turned out in droves for these weekend events.

This never-before-seen interest in WBD/WCD/EBE injected confidence in the spirit of the residents. They now belonged, they were not being shunned but being acclaimed, celebrated and revered. They received a sense of prominence through the success of Slingerz and the sound system’s ceaseless declarations that it was from the West Side and that it was proud to be from the West Side.

Slingerz Family remained headquartered in Vergenoegen and grew to become, arguably, Guyana’s number one music system, winning countless awards and accolades over the years. DJ Face migrated overseas and other DJs have held the reigns since his departure but the status of the sound system continues to improve and Ali has branched into promoting large scale dancehall and other entertainment events within the region, in the city and other parts of Guyana.

It cannot be overstated though how much the success of Slingerz Family and its DJs invigorated self worth and belief in residents of all races, classes and other distinctions.

What was unique about Slingerz, and perhaps its major advantage over the other well known sound systems in Guyana is that it is owned by Indo-Guyanese but the popular DJs and selectors are all Afro-Guyanese.

They espoused the ‘family’ as per their name. They have painted and promoted a picture of unity to the public in a country where division of all kinds are just below the surface. The fans have admired their commitment to unity among races and, unwittingly, it has been key in their success.

But the success of Slingerz and their celebration of the ‘West Side’ have had a broader impact in the region. Apart from spawning a ‘West Side’ brand which now is attached to barber shops, pool halls, mini buses, taxi services, grocery stores and countless other establishments there have been individual triumphs on the national scene for several individuals from the region.

It is by no mere coincidence that in this period of national success for West Siders corresponds with the rise of Slingerz Family.

Slingerz Family, perhaps without realising it engineered this phase of growth, development and recognition for the West Side. It must be noted though that Slingerz Family is not without fault. They have had several brushes with the law as they pursued ’street cred’ and ‘rep’ as is the standard modus operandi of sound system crews across the Caribbean. Their benefits to the region far outweigh the few negatives.

An indirect result of the Slingerz induced West Side popularization was that there have been several national beauty queens emerging from the region. The beautiful young ladies have always been on the West Side but they were not previously confident enough to enter pageants, let alone win. In recent years they have become infused with confidence enough to enter and even win various high profile national pageants. West Siders have, through the diligent efforts of Slingerz in highlighting and promoting the West Side, a sense of self-worth and belief that was previously missing.

The success of Odessa Phillips, of Vergenoegen has been the most notable. She won the Miss University of Guyana Pageant then went on to historically claim the double title of Miss Guyana World and Miss Guyana Universe. To date she is the only young lady to have achieved this feat.

Olive Gopaul of Blankenburg narrowly missed displacing Odessa. Olive won Miss Guyana World and came first runner up to Odessa in the Miss Guyana Universe pageant. Both young ladies received their secondary education at the Stewartville Secondary School.

Candace Charles of the West Bank Demerara also won Miss Guyana World while Christa Simmons of Den Amstel won Miss Bartica Regatta 2007, Miss Jamzone 2007 and was the Guyana Beauty Ambassador to the Miss Tourism Queen International Pageant which was held in China. Christa was also Guyana’s 2008 delegate at the Miss World Pageant in South Africa and represented Guyana at the Face of the Universe Pageant in Ghana.

Meanwhile Candace carried the Golden Arrowhead at the Miss Europe and World Junior Pageant in the Czech Republic.

While there have been other West Side successes in pageantry the latest entrant is Carla Wynter, from Tuschen. She is a contestant in the wildly popular Miss Jamzone 2009 Pageant. The 18 year-old has already established herself as one of the favourites to take the crown and the top prize of a motor car.

Further Shellon Garraway – known throughout Guyana by her stage name Shelly G – who is based in Den Amstel is the reigning Carib Soca Monarch and the hottest female artiste in Guyana with several hit tunes in her repertoire.

During the period the West Side has also produced award winning body builders, karatekas and boxers along with top athletes in various other disciplines. And in education several top students have emerged from the region.

There has been an unquestionable explosion of talent in various areas on the West Side. It can be with little doubt that the unearthing of this talent pool is as a direct result of West Siders receiving a boost of confidence through the endless and pervasive promotion of the region mainly by the Slingerz Family on their sound system all across Guyana and on their radio and television programmes.

Without warning the West Side has risen as a force to be reckoned with to the point where it has rendered the competition virtually invisible. There is no East Side v West Side war in Guyana as there is in the US. There is no Gaza v Gullyside war in Guyana as there is in Jamaica. You do not hear of West Side v Georgetown or West Side v East Coast or any such like.

The West Side stands tall and independent in Guyana and the rise has been dramatic as it has been astonishing. Slingerz Family, DJ Face and Javed Ali, take deserving bows, your West Side owes you all a debt of eternal gratitude.

Entering Vergenoegen

Imran Khan photo. June 8th 2009

Vergenoegen respect

Imran Khan: To this day, at 30, whenever I go to Aunty Camille’s shop on Old Road in Vergenoegen (the village where I grew up) I greet her by referring to her as “Aunty Camille”. Whenever I address her I never fail to say “Aunty Camille”. It is what I have always said for I knew no other way. It is how I was brought up by my grandparents. Referring to Aunty Camille without the requisite ‘aunty’ would have been nothing less than disrespectful. During my youth it would have been unthinkable. How could I dare leave out the ‘aunty’ and call her ‘full mouth’ “Camille”?

Unremarkable Vergenoegen

Editor’s note: The following was inspired by this blog and was first published on the Seeker’s blog. Be warned that it contains explicit content. If you are easily offended you should not read on.

There is nothing particularly remarkable about the village. Except perhaps the rice dust that blew into everything, food, clothes, water, furniture; or the woman next door, who, every other night, soundly cursed her silent husband. You fucking scunt! You is not a fucking man. You ah fucking jackass. Fuck Fuck Fuck…

This would go on into the night while I imagined that had it been me, she would have been out a long time ago.

There was big, tomboy Tandy-the one with the pineapple jam name, whose mother owned the shop at the corner and was the first woman I knew, who smoked. Son and Chiney with the fruit trees and who allegedly “do it whole day”. Chiney is dead now, I was told.

Baby and her brother Bo.

Which school you does go to? This from Tandy’s mother; a not-so-thin woman, puffing on a cigarette.

Das good man, Das good. Approving nods, smoke wafting over her face.

On hot days, the black water trench in the middle of Vergenoegen was a soothing place; where the dirt and dust from the rice mill could be washed away as you dived through the cool dark water to emerge cleansed and refreshed, if you didn’t hit a hidden post somewhere, of course.

There was football on the sandbar at the Essequibo River and sand mountains that could in no way be termed sand-castles. In a way, it was a bit ironic because it was here that I finally retired from cricket, after being hit hard by the ball, one too many times. There is still a bump on my knee from the day I quit.

I spent two years in Vergenoegen and most of my days were filled with silent anger; a teenager, who disliked everything and everyone and spoke in grunts and gave one word answers. My solace was me, and my Walkman (it was still popular then) was my loud companion. Everyone said I would be deaf by the time I was 20. I did not care. As Eminem soundly cursed his world, I did the same to mine.

Scars resulted from climbing the coconut trees in the yard; but the jelly was never enough. The stunted mango tree was a half-dead weakling, under attack from wood ants and maybe only sustained by the nearby latrine, which filled with water during the rainy season. It rarely bore mangoes but when it did, the fruits would be green one day and ripe but bat-eaten the next. The puny genip tree, I suspected was a male, but one year it bore little genips.

However, in Son and Chiney’s yard, there was a grand genip tree, located close to the fence and when I thought they were sleeping, I would climb on the roof, sneak over the zinc sheets and pick from the bountiful overhanging branches. Son would be looking from the windows but never say anything and I did not know.

While I sneezed and cursed the dust and Baby pleaded with her screaming mother to stop throwing stuff and stop saying fuck this and fuck that, Son and Chiney, if my brother was to be believed, were having the time of their lives, doing it “morning, noon and night”. Several years later, when I was told that Chiney had died, I wondered.

And when the bicycle was damaged and it was no longer possible to fly down the streets, the breeze slapping your face, I had to walk. In some ways it was good because then I could eat the biscuits and cheeze sticks from Papso’s (or is it?) shop and not have to share with the spoiled brats that were my nephews. I did not feel sorry for them, when their dog Sheba died, having been struck down by a car. Sheba was a stupid, spoiled dog that deserved to die if she was dumb enough to run about crazily on the road.

Vergeonegen. I learnt there that you have to be careful when going to a latrine in the rainy season; that strange, aggressive insects lurk in coconut trees; that women smoke AND curse. I learnt that no one can ever do things exactly the way you want them to and that is why I am the best ‘clothes presser’ (ironer?) in my family. It takes years of practice to achieve perfection. And if I ever get a lung disease, I know which rice factory to sue.

The village was also where the best tailor man, the one who made your clothes just the way you wanted them, lived. My worst ever birthday was there and it was also the place where I was introduced to alcohol. Here was the last time I swam in a black water trench, stole fruits, and played games on a beach.

Maybe it is a remarkable place after all.

Welcome to Essequibo

This massive sign, sponsored by Guyana’s award winning, world famous Banks beer (brewed and bottled by Banks DIH, Thirst Park, Georgetown), is on the southern side of the highway at Zeelugt and welcomes all to the Cinderella County of Essequibo. The second village in is Tuschen and the third Vergenoegen. Essequibo is the largest of the three counties in Guyana, the other two being Demerara, the smallest and Berbice. The counties are named after the largest rivers in each which are also the three largest rivers in Guyana.

Imran Khan photo. June 5th 2009

Conservancy

The tranquil and picturesque conservancy aback Vergenoegen is an ideal place for relaxation and to get away from it all. Many people, including from the capital city of Georgetown and other places have been known to travel to the area to enjoy a day outing, bush cooks, fishing or just for a change of scenery.

Imran Khan photo. May 31st 2009

Fishing at the conservancy

Khalil Khan, an ardent sport fisherman of School Street Vergenoegen, enjoys a spell of rod and reel fishing in the conservancy aback Vergenoegen after a messy and muddy spell of his preferred cast net fishing elsewhere in the backdams. Lukanani (peacock bass), tiger fish, piranha, himara and hoori are some of the popular catches when fishing in the conservancy. When fishing elsewhere in the backdams (in the smaller trenches) hassa, patwa, tilapia, hoori and other smaller fish are popular catches. Caimans and the odd anaconda, popularly known in Guyana as ‘camoudi’ are also known to prowl the area but are easily scared away.

Imran Khan photo. May 31st 2009

Piranha catch

Lloydie, a Parika taxi driver by weekday and avid angler by weekend and who is formerly of Bartica but now lives in the new neighbouring Tuschen Housing Scheme (one of the largest in Guyana) snags a ferocious piranha in the conservancy several miles aback Vergenoegen. Fishing whether by cast net, seine, rod and reel or just stick rods is very popular in Vergenoegen and the rural areas of Guyana in general. Sport fishing is developing slowly in the country and the marquee event is the Rockstone Fish Festival which is attended by anglers and fans from all across the country.

Fuaad Majeed photo. May 31st 2009

Back dam

This is a dam deep in the Vergenoegen backdams which exits an area known as ‘Savannah’ which is where Two Brothers Corporation has hundreds, possibly thousands, of acres of rice land under cultivation. These dams are used by farmers to move their paddy harvest from the fields to the rice mills. This particular dam leads to the conservancy aback Vergenoegen. In the dry season they are baked hard but as they are essentially mud dams, in the rainy season they can become quite muddy and slushy and consequently dangerous. A few days ago a resident of neighbouring Philadelphia known as Pucky (son of popular rice farmer known as Boyo) died after his tractor slid overboard in an area not too far from that which is photographed above. And this was in the dry season.

Imran Khan photo. May 31st 2009

Backblading

A farmer backblades his rice land in the Vergenoegen backdams. Rice farming is the leading agricultural activity in Vergenoegen and Vergenoegen’s Two Brothers Corporation is one of the largest rice farmers/millers in the Caribbean. Backblading is the process which takes place after ploughing. A backblade (large metal blade) is attached to the back of the tractor and is pulled across the land to level the upturned soiled caused by ploughing.

Imran Khan photo. May 31st 2009