[Guyana Where & What, Gem Madhoo-Nascimento, Ed., Georgetown: G.E.M.S. Inc., n.d., 132 pp.]
The nation known as the Republic of Guyana is an extremely interesting place by many units of measure. This arises from the confluence and co-existence of many things within one country that manifest themselves in a number of areas: geographical location, geology, geopolitics, culture, language, colonial history, demography, economy and socio-political superstructure.
A combination of these will easily make the country interesting, if not slightly curious to a visitor, a researcher, a tourist, or even one with business interests. The first is geography, which accounts for several factors covering a wide range of interesting features. These include the country’s location on the northern edge of the continent of South America, which is responsible for its geology, climate and vegetation as part of both the Guiana Shield and Amazonia with its tropical rainforests and powerful rivers; its landscape and geomorphological wonders, such as waterfalls and its range of natural beauty. But more than beauty is the resulting natural resources and vast but underdeveloped economic wealth. This is further responsible for many factors of geopolitics, such as political borders and international relations.
Then there are such other factors which are vital remnants of a colonial history that has left monuments, priceless historical sights, as well as many other elements of culture, such as language, religion, architecture and art. The history, both ancient and recent, is further responsible for the demography in a country that is a plural society, enriched by racial diversity with the concomitant multi-cultural map of faith, ethos, life-styles and languages.
If it was at all possible to capture all of these in one document, in a single publication, that demanding feat has been attempted in the thirteenth edition of Guyana Where & What edited by Gem Madhoo-Nascimento. This is a kind of hybrid form of a glossy magazine, a travel document, a pocket-book and a tourist guide. It is literally a pocket-book because of its physical size. In the words of the editor, it is a “tour guide and hand book . . . especially designed for your convenience as it fits neatly into your handbag, pocket book or pouch, so that you can easily take it everywhere with you for immediate reference”.
Guyana Where & What, 13th edition, is in circulation and available. It is published in Georgetown by G.E.M.S. Inc. (General Executive Management Services), and has succeeded in packaging a great volume of material including valuable, useful, and occasionally rare information about Guyana in a deceptively tiny reference book. It compiles the “A to Z” of the country in 132 pages of printed reading matter illustrated and illuminated by several helpful photographs from a number of sources – Guyana Tourism authority, Amanda Richards, the National Trust of Guyana and Madhoo-Nascimento herself.
The value of these clear, colourful pictures lie in their documentation and effective information, not in their breathtaking spectacle. They are small in size but many of them are priceless for what they show of what many things actually look like – architecture, amazing landscape, wild animals, festivals and monuments. Some of these are worth much more because their objects are not to be seen every day – far away in remote interior locations.
The hand book is the initiative of Madhoo-Nascimento, a renowned producer, manager and publisher. Although she has other business interests, she is best acclaimed in the theatre. She was a co-founder, with actor-director Ron Robinson, of The Theatre Company which was responsible for launching and sustaining professional theatre in Guyana. She later established and directs GEMS Theatre Productions, has had a stellar career as a stage manager, and is famed as the country’s most proficient theatre producer. Her achievements include The Link Show, overseas tours and many performances by foreign artists in Guyana.
The main focus of this publication is tourism, and it includes a message from the Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce Oneidge Walrond. It reflects the state of the industry in Guyana at the time of writing “the tourism industry – worldwide – has been greatly affected by the pandemic . . . As such, Guyana’s tourism industry is on the recovery road, with its phased opening approach of the airports, hotels, restaurants, lodges/resorts and other tourism-related businesses.
“The Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, the Guyana Tourism Authority, the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana, and other relevant agencies and organisations are working collectively to improve and promote a healthy and safe tourist destination.”
Madhoo-Nascimento’s introduction to the “land of many waters” tells that “Included in this edition are brief descriptions of other towns and tours to interior locations and resorts, to assist you to see much of our country with names of hotels, restaurants and interesting places to ensure you have a wonderful experience.” This reveals that the publication targets the visitor to the country.
Yet, so much of the information is fairly new, not very widely known and even rare, that it also educates the population at large. It has a great deal of value for the specialist travel writer or traveler, anyone interested in tourism, in Guyana’s tourism products and the country as a destination. Many of the factors mentioned above contribute to these.
In the more than a hundred pages Guyana Where & What covers a sweep of general information about the country that will be of benefit to the general reader in addition to those who are in the tourism and hospitality industry or in travel and related fields. The information provided is essential knowledge, and so voluminous that one can forgive a few inaccuracies or generalisations here and there.
There are sections from a list of national holidays with facts about some of them to Guyanese proverbs to a brief overview of the Guyana/Venezuela border controversy. There is much to learn about the country’s architecture, in particular, some of the best known and more prominent public buildings have histories and explanations that are not well known. There are many heritage sites with either still surviving buildings or famous ruins and their history will always make interesting reading even if you are not a visiting tourist or a stranger to Guyana.
