As many continue to celebrate the life of the iconic Dave Martins, pointing to his creativity and cultural heritage, his wife Annette Arjoon Martins announced that there will be a private funeral for the late cultural hero and a public memorial that will be announced at a later date.
Martins, who was famous for among other things the “Not a Blade of Grass” song which is more potent now with the continued threat from neighbouring Venezuela, died on Sunday at the age of 90.
Communications consultant Kit Nascimento has described Martins as “the quintessential Caribbean man and Guyanese patriot in the true meaning of the term.
“In my view he was much more than a calypsonian. His songs, which as he had said reflect and portray his everyday conversation with the people he has met across the Caribbean, reflect the folklore of our people,” Nascimento said.
He recalled when he was president of the Guyana Rugby Football Union, and in that capacity led Guyana’s rugby team to participate in an international tournament in the Cayman Islands where Martins lived. Martins went to the airport to meet the team, he recounted, and invited him to stay at his home and then hosted the entire rugby team of almost 30 to dinner at his home. “Dave then did so again, a second time, a number of years later when we played rugby in the Cayman Islands,” he said in a statement.
According to him, while he served as president of the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) he had invited Martins to deliver the feature address at a dinner. Annette Arjoon was asked to display an exhibition of her photographs depicting the indigenous aspect of our tourist attractions. Martins saw and admired the photographs and asked Nascimento’s wife Gem, about the photographer, “which ultimately led to Dave meeting and marrying her,” he wrote.
Meantime, the University of Guyana in extending condolences on Martins’ death, described him as an “extraordinary individual”.
The university recalled that Martins served as UG’s second Artist-in-Residence from 2017 to 2018, during which time he conducted a nationwide tour that delighted thousands through eight concerts, some of which were live-streamed. His tenure at the university allowed him to share his expertise through master classes and lectures, enriching the experiences of students and staff alike. It noted too that his contributions have left a lasting impact, and the university recognizes his legacy as integral to the cultural fabric of the nation.
In 2022, Martins received the Honorary Doctorate in Arts and Letters. As part of UG’s citation on that day, Master Orator of the select committee on the conferral of awards Al Creighton said this of Martins: “In which language do we extol the brilliance of an artist whose brilliance is his use of language? Here is a writer whose prose pieces are in precise English, but whose poetic genius is articulated in Guyanese Creole. What is more, the Creole is a language that is not only his tool and resource, but his declared culture and identity…”
Vice Chancellor Paloma Mohamed Martin, reflecting on the life of Martin, said: “Dave was one of the most authentic human beings to have ever graced our lives. He was in every way a citizen scholar and an artistic intellect par excellence. We were privileged to receive him as our second Artist-in-Residence and to introduce him and his music to a whole new generation of students and youth. In honouring him with an honorary doctorate during his life, we know he felt appreciated, exalted and loved. On behalf of the Chancellor Prof Edward Greene, deputy vice chancellors, senior management team and the entire university community, including alumni all over the world, we extend most sincere condolences to Annette, his sisters in Canada and his extended family and loved ones.”
The Alliance for Change (AFC) stated that Martins was the essence of what a Guyanese is and was. The party stated that every generation of Guyanese since 1970, has embraced the nation’s unofficial anthem, “Not A Blade of Grass” as that song that we are most proud of after “Dear Land of Guyana”. It was this song that created the spirit of defiance and patriotism that we needed when our neighbours threatened our sovereignty, it added.
Martins’ repertoire of music is a veritable catalogue of Guyanese and Caribbean life, captured and curated in musical notes and lyrics that are second to none, the AFC said. These are capable of spawning fields of study and research and we so recommend, it added. Martins composed the AFC’s theme song in 2005 from his recording studio in the Cayman Islands, and for that and everything else he has contributed and the party expressed gratitude.
Leader of AFC Nigel Hughes and wife Catherine Hughes extended sympathy and support to Annette and the Martins’ family, during their time of mourning.
“Dave Martins was a national hero and must be recognised as such in death,” Hughes stated.
Meantime, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) reflected in a press release on Martins that he was an outstanding cultural icon, as his Tradewinds captured the quintessence of Guyanese life. His music conjured up memories of growing up and life in simpler times.
“Though Dave Martins is no longer with us, his music and his life’s work will remain with us, cheering us up in difficult times, reminding us of life as a Guyanese people and inspiring us to defend our country and its people,” FITUG said.
In the statement, FITUG conveyed condolences to Martins’ family and friends, acknowledging the significant impact of his music on the Guyanese community. The union expressed gratitude for the joy and inspiration he brought to countless lives throughout his career, emphasising that while he may be gone, his legacy will endure in the hearts of many. As the nation mourns the loss of this cultural icon, FITUG encouraged all to reflect on Martins’ contributions and the memories his music has created, offering solace to those grieving during this difficult time.
Growing up in Guyana
In his “So it Go” columns in this newspaper, Martins wrote about growing up in Guyana.
“In my younger years growing up in Guyana, I had the daily school-boy experience of travelling from Hague, on West Demerara by bus to Vreed-en- Hoop to catch the ferry boat to Georgetown. It was often a troublesome matter because the buses were often overloaded for those morning and afternoon trips and it was common practice in a full bus that youngsters like myself would be expected to give up their seat to an adult passenger joining, with the young person then sitting on the adult’s lap for the rest of the journey. Inevitably there was often much turmoil with this arrangement, with the bus conductor having to negotiate the transaction. As expected, the altercations were many and, on several occasions, I recall the bus driver having to get up from his seat and deal with the matter directly. From experience I can attest that the youth sitting on an adult’s lap all the way to Vreed-en-Hoop, or all the way returning home, was a vexatious business at best, with a lot of grumbling and angry faces on both sides,” he wrote.
“I recall one particularly frantic episode, heading for the ferry, when I was a passenger on a bus going up. and a bus before ours had run off the road into a trench and all the passengers from that mishap joined our bus, with many of them soaking wet from the trench immersion and youngsters, like me then having to give up our seat in this arrangement which left us as wet as if it was our bus that had been in the water.
“The entire West Dem bus operation was a daily exercise in frustration stemming from the overloading practices, and the wet-seat experience was easily the worst part of the scenario. Picture young Martins showing up at St Stanislaus College in Brickdam with a definite wet rat appearance, and even a touch of trench mud or greenery. Fortunately, I can only recall three occasions where this was the case, but the memories cling. I recall one instance when the soaking happened on a bus trip heading back to Hague and my mother’s face as this dishevelled rat got off the bus in the village. The bus-driver Kass had to intervene to placate the lady.
“The relinquishing of your seat that landed on young passengers was actually a very frequent part of the constricted country bus experience, coming and going, with many travellers like myself choosing to stand instead, and holding on, for the rest of the journey. It was truly a matter of limited choices. Travellers these days don’t know how fortunate they are without that wet-seat experience. There is a famous Guyanese cuss-word that describes it well, but the editor will surely remove it from my column so I will save him the trouble by not using it here, but believe me the temptation is strong.”
The article was published in 2022.
Dave Martins after he was conferred with the University of Guyana Honorary Doctorate in Arts and Letters in 2022. Also in photo are Vice-Chancellor Paloma Mohamed Martin (L) and Chancellor Edward Greene.
