My name is Kathy-Ann Ortega and I’m the manager of a city jewelry store.
My father’s a Venezuelan and my mother’s a born Trini. I was born in Trinidad but spent my first eight years in Caracas. I don’t remember it much. My surname is probably the most Spanish I speak.
I grew up in St James, a stone’s throw from Western Main Road, going towards Panka Street. It was such a free place then. I live in Woodbrook now. So I didn’t move very far. I think my mother buried my navel string quite deep.
I grew up Catholic; but then I evolved. Into a born-again Christian. And keep evolving.
I have a 26-year-old daughter named Donna. I saw her from birth to down the aisle: I’ve been the proud mother of the bride. She’s a successful, well-rounded individual.
I come from a long, long line of what I would call, “lionesses”: strong women.
I’m not very tall. I was always the smallest in my class at school. But it never held me back. I’ve always enjoyed my height. Precious things come in small packages.
Life throws you some curve balls and you have to do your best to deal with it. In some people’s eyes, I might not have accomplished much but, for me, and for God, I have: my family is healthy and they love me; I have a roof over my head; I eat everyday; and I am blessed to have a job I love.
I grew up looking at the original Planet of the Apes movies but the way they did Dawn of the Planet of the Apes really touched what humanity is and what an animal really is. Either ape or human could do good or evil; what matters is what you are exposed to in youth and what you carry through your whole life.
It’s been very difficult having my daughter leave home. I went through a very short empty-nest syndrome. She sorted herself so she could be independent. That meant I have done something right.
I went up to secondary school but I didn’t really like school. I was an artistic person and didn’t fit into the school norm.
With the store being off Henry Street in downtown east Port-of-Spain, you have to be alert, but we feel secure. What helps is, everything is in a showcase and you have to unlock it. I know how to spot the “characters” when they cross the threshold: what to look out for: what they wear; how they carry themselves; whether or not they have something in their waist.
If I see a “character,” I don’t worry about my height: I watch them dead in their face put on what’s called, “a lion voice.” They tremble when I speak. Eye contact is very important. When they look at you, they tend to look down and go.
There are people in town who are mentally ill. My great concern is the ships docking and these foreigners coming to have a look at Port-of-Spain. There’s one particular one who suffers from schizophrenia, hears voices in his head, and cusses them at the top of his own voice. Some of Port-of-Spain’s homeless are all right and just need to be placed. They’re really and truly “displaced” persons. You have money leaking elsewhere when it’s supposed to be helping these people.
Our leaders come on television and lie to the citizens. They think we’re idiots. That’s why a lot of us are very disenchanted.
The last time I dipped my finger (into electoral ink), I really wanted change. The last regime was really hell. But now we are very unstable and nothing is being done. So I’m no longer going to practise dipping my finger. It seems as though every single one of them do the same thing. It blows my mind.
The best part of my job is engaging with the customers. Every single one of them is a VVIP to me. The bad part is the quiet times, like September, when nobody is buying jewelry because they’re buying school uniforms and books. But we get the Christmas rush.
A Trini is a flamboyant free spirit. Who engage with anyone in any aspect of life: their smile, their love, their heart. Very inviting.
T&T is a precious gem to me.
Read a longer version of this feature at www.BCRaw.com