AS PREPARED
Remarks by Ambassador Candace Bond
Fifty Years of Soca, Hip Hop, and CARICOM
Embassy of the USA
Independence Day Celebration
Hyatt Hotel, Port of Spain
July 7, 2023
THANK YOU SO MUCH, MEGAN, FOR THAT WONDERFUL INTRODUCTION.
DR. THE HONORABLE KEITH CHRISTOPHER ROWLEY, PRIME MINSTER OF THE REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO AND MRS. SHARON ROWLEY.
THE HONORABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE, MR. JUSTICE IVOR ARCHIE, CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO AND MRS. DENISE RODRIGUEZ ARCHIE.
SENATOR THE HONORABLE DR. AMERY BROWNE, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AND CARICOM AFFAIRS AND MRS. SAARA BROWNE.
AND TO ALL OTHER ESPECIALLY INVITED GUESTS ACKNOWLEDGED BY OUR ESTEEMED EMCEES, CHARLIE FRANTA AND MEGAN KELLY.
I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU. WHEW! WHAT A WEEK IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO.
I AM DELIGHTED TO WELCOME YOU TO THE U.S. EMBASSY PORT OF SPAIN’S CELEBRATION OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN RECENTLY DREW ATTENTION TO OUR AMERICAN UNIQUENESS THAT WE ARE HIGHLIGHTING TONIGHT: THE POWER OF IDEAS, THAT THE BIRTH OF OUR NATION CAME FROM AN IDEA.
PRESIDENT BIDEN SAID, “WE’RE THE MOST UNIQUE NATION IN THE WORLD. WE’RE THE ONLY NATION THAT IS FOUNDED ON AN IDEA — NOT GEOGRAPHY, NOT RELIGION, AND NOT ETHNICITY — THAT ALL MEN AND WOMEN ARE CREATED EQUAL, ENDOWED BY THEIR CREATOR” WITH CERTAIN UNALIENABLE RIGHTS, THAT AMONG THESE ARE LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS.
TONIGHT, WE’RE CELEBRATING IDEAS. WE’RE CELEBRATING CREATIVITY AND INGENUITY. WE’RE CELEBRATING MAKING SOMETHING OUT OF AN IDEA, A BELIEF, A VISION–REPURPOSING PIECES TO MAKE SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL, SOMETHING USEFUL, SOMETHING MAGICAL.
WE ARE CELEBRATING AND RECOGNIZING TWO CULTURAL PHENOMENA AND ONE ALLIANCE; IN EACH INSTANCE THE WHOLE IS GREATER THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS.
THIS GATHERING TONIGHT IS OUR TRADITIONAL DIPLOMATIC TIP OF THE HAT TO THE MIRACLE IN PHILADELPHIA IN 1776—THE SIGNING OF OUR DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, THE FOUNDING OF OUR NATION, THE TRIUMPH OF AN IDEA.
TWO-HUNDRED-FORTY-SEVEN YEARS AGO IN PHILADELPHIA, OUR FOREBEARS GATHERED TO ENSHRINE THAT RADICAL IDEA ON A SHEET OF PARCHMENT.
OUR FOREBEARS SET OUT TO CREATE A NEW SYSTEM OF SELF-GOVERNANCE, TO BREAK FREE FROM THE OLD WAY, TO SET OUT ON THIS GRAND EXPERIMENT.
WITH AMERICAN INGENUITY AND CREATIVITY, OUR FOREBEARS CREATED SOMETHING FROM NOTHING, A REVOLUTIONARY EXPERIMENT IN GOVERNANCE FOUNDED ON THE PRINCIPLES OF LIBERTY, EQUALITY, AND SELF-GOVERNANCE.
RECOGNIZING THAT WE ARE STILL AN IMPERFECT UNION, OUR JOURNEY TOWARDS A MORE PERFECT UNION IS ONGOING AND REQUIRES CONTINUOUS EFFORT. YET THE ENDURING MAGIC OF U.S. DEMOCRACY REPRESENTS THE POTENTIAL FOR PROGRESS TOWARDS A MORE PERFECT UNION, AND THE CONTINUOUS STRIVING FOR A SOCIETY THAT UPHOLDS THE VALUES OF LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
SO TONIGHT, WE GATHER HERE TO PAY HOMAGE TO THREE REMARKABLE MILESTONES THAT HAVE SHAPED OUR CULTURAL LANDSCAPE, UNITED COMMUNITIES, AND INSPIRED GENERATIONS.
AS WE CELEBRATE THE 50TH ANNIVERSARIES OF HIP HOP, SOCA, AND CARICOM, WE HONOR THE PROFOUND IMPACT THEY HAVE HAD ON OUR SOCIETY AND THE INDELIBLE MARK THEY HAVE LEFT ON OUR HEARTS.
FIFTY YEARS AGO, IN THE VIBRANT STREETS OF NEW YORK CITY, IN THE BRONX, A MUSICAL REVOLUTION WAS BORN. HIP HOP EMERGED FROM THE DEPTHS OF URBAN NEIGHBORHOODS, A POWERFUL EXPRESSION OF CREATIVITY, RESILIENCE, AND SOCIAL COMMENTARY.
IT GAVE VOICE TO THE MARGINALIZED, SHEDDING LIGHT ON THE STRUGGLES, DREAMS, AND ASPIRATIONS OF A GENERATION. FROM THE PULSATING BEATS TO THE POETIC LYRICS, HIP HOP BECAME A GLOBAL PHENOMENON, TRANSCENDING BOUNDARIES AND INSPIRING MILLIONS AROUND THE WORLD.
SIMULTANEOUSLY, IN THE SUN-SOAKED ISLANDS OF THE CARIBBEAN, HERE IN SWEET T&T, SOCA TOOK FLIGHT. WITH ITS INFECTIOUS RHYTHM, SOUL-STIRRING MELODIES, AND VIBRANT ENERGY, SOCA BECAME THE HEARTBEAT OF THE REGION.
IT CELEBRATED THE RICH TAPESTRY OF CARIBBEAN CULTURE, IGNITING JOY AND UNITY. SOCA CARRIED THE SPIRIT OF CARNIVAL, A TIME WHEN BARRIERS WERE BROKEN, AND DIFFERENCES DISSOLVED. IT TAUGHT US THE POWER OF CELEBRATION, REMINDING US THAT MUSIC HAS THE ABILITY TO UNITE DIVERSE VOICES AND CREATE HARMONY—MUCH LIKE SECRETARY BLINKEN DECLARED FROM THE HADCO PANYARD A FEW DAYS AGO.
IN THE SAME YEAR, THE CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY, CARICOM, WAS ESTABLISHED, FORGING A UNION OF NATIONS BOUND BY SHARED HISTORY, CULTURE, AND ASPIRATIONS.
CARICOM BECAME A PLATFORM FOR COLLABORATION, COOPERATION, AND ECONOMIC INTEGRATION. IT EMPHASIZED THE STRENGTH OF UNITY, RECOGNIZING THAT TOGETHER, WE ARE GREATER THAN THE SUM OF OUR PARTS. CARICOM HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN PROMOTING REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, ADVANCING SOCIAL JUSTICE, AND AMPLIFYING THE VOICES OF THE CARIBBEAN ON THE GLOBAL STAGE.
TODAY, WE CELEBRATE THESE ANNIVERSARIES NOT ONLY AS MILESTONES IN MUSIC AND REGIONAL INTEGRATION, BUT AS TESTAMENT TO THE POWER OF HUMAN CREATIVITY, RESILIENCE, AND UNITY. WE PAY TRIBUTE TO THE ARTISTS, VISIONARIES, AND LEADERS WHO HAVE PAVED THE WAY, BREAKING BARRIERS AND SHAPING A BRIGHTER FUTURE.
AS WE REFLECT ON THE PAST 50 YEARS, LET US ALSO LOOK TO THE FUTURE. LET US CONTINUE TO EMBRACE THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF MUSIC, RECOGNIZING ITS ABILITY TO BRIDGE DIVIDES, SPARK CONVERSATIONS, AND INSPIRE CHANGE.
LET US HONOR THE SPIRIT OF UNITY AND COLLABORATION THAT CARICOM REPRESENTS, WORKING TOGETHER TO TACKLE THE CHALLENGES WE FACE, FROM CLIMATE CHANGE TO ECONOMIC INEQUALITY.
IN CELEBRATING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARIES OF HIP HOP, SOCA, AND CARICOM, LET US REMEMBER THAT OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE IS A SOURCE OF STRENGTH, RESILIENCE, AND INSPIRATION. IT IS A REMINDER OF THE BOUNDLESS CREATIVITY WITHIN US, AND THE REMARKABLE POTENTIAL WE POSSESS TO SHAPE A MORE INCLUSIVE, JUST, AND HARMONIOUS WORLD.
INDEED WE SHOULD LET THE RHYTHM OF HIP HOP, SOCA, AND THE SPIRIT OF CARICOM GUIDE US TOWARDS A BRIGHTER FUTURE.
BEFORE WE MOVE ON, I’D LIKE TO HONOR THREE EMBASSY COLLEAGUES FOR THEIR EXCELLENT WORK IN MAKING THIS EVENT TONIGHT A REALITY: MAURICEO RICHARDSON-LAI LEUNG, TEE YANG, AND MEGAN KELLY. I WOULD LIKE TO PRESENT EACH OF YOU WITH AN AWARD OF EXCELLENCE FOR ALL YOU HAVE DONE.
AGAIN, I AM HONORED AND DELIGHTED TO SEE ALL OF YOU HERE THIS EVENING. ON BEHALF OF THE U.S. EMBASSY AND MY INCREDIBLE TEAM, I THANK ALL OF YOU FOR COMING TO CELEBRATE WITH US.
WE HAVE THE DOPEST SOCA COMING UP FROM KES THE BAND, AND TUNES FROM DJ MERRY PERRY, AND I HOPE TO SEE ALL OF YOU OUT ON THE DANCE FLOOR.
BRING YOUR SENSE OF JOY, BRING THE MUSIC OF YOUR SOUL, AND LET US JOIN TOGETHER TO CELEBRATE OUR CREATIVITY AND INGENUITY, AND THE ENDURING BOND BETWEEN THE PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO.