Mother of the First Peoples

NONA Lopez Calderon Galera Moreno Aquan has been conferred the title of Queen of the Santa Rosa First People's, a position known for years as the Carib Queen, but it's a title she's quick to point out isn't what she wishes to convey in her humble new role. With growing recognition nationally and internationally for people of native origin, WMN explored Aquan's story and learned why she is exactly what the movement needs right now.

"I have been involved with indigenous communities in the US, but I wanted to connect with my roots, and when this opportunity eventually came around, I was thrilled to be considered. I live a very simple but interesting life - a blessed one,” Aquan explained. Ricardo Hernandez Bharath, chief of the Santa Rosa community, noted that the search for a new Queen wasn't easy at first. "After the passing of our last Queen, and after the 40 days of mourning, the community met to open nominations to the current membership of the Santa Rosa community of which we received six and began a series of interviews. All six eventually declined for various reasons, so we began the nomination process again but this time, decided to explore the lineage of the king of the Caribs, Pablo Lopez, as well as some of the queens," he recalled. "Nona, as it turns out, is the three times great-grand daughter of that last king of the Caribs, who had authority over the mission and had a say in administering the early days of the village in Arima before the Christian missionaries and priests took over much of their role," the chief detailed. Aquan’s lineage is also traced through Leonicia Calderon Galera, her great grandmother, her grandmother Albertina Galera Ravallo and her mother who she affectionately referred to as Mama Lucy, according to her recollection. Chief Bharath added, "On meeting with Aquan, as one of the names suggested by many people, she also referred the village elders to her sister who resided on the island, but in the end, the choice for the community was clear – what was needed was a character as vibrant and involved as Nona.” Having lived in the US for most of her life and been involved with the First People's movements there, she was selected and is in the process of relocating from her life in the US to the Santa Rosa community where she can help to lead many of the initiatives locally, based on her international experience and her unique way of living.

Of her own personal journey, Aquan recalled, "We moved to New York in 1965 after my mother met my step-father there, a Dutchman, while on a work trip for the Trinidad Hilton. Though he lived in South Africa, it was decided due to the racial issues with apartheid that New York would be the best middle ground for us. So while my accent doesn't say it, I'm 100 per cent Trini to the bone!" she extolled with her boisterous laugh. For most of her life, Aquan has worked in dozens of roles – the quintessential peaceful and free spirit that never saw the need to subscribe to the conventional life that most follow. "I attended the Rhode Island School of Design on a scholarship and completed my Bachelor of Arts there. I've had the thrill of working so many different jobs. I did some advertising work, helped design some book covers and I had my own catering company, Kalaloo Catering for some time. But I have also been a nanny, house manager, house keeper and chef to the United States Mission to the UN for six years too,” she detailed. She has even cooked for former US president Barack Obama and his family. Despite her many accomplishments, Aquan, whose name means nine in Latin and represents completion, remains humble and appreciative of the work she’s done and her family of nine brothers and three sisters. "I've lived with my partner for 38 years but never saw the need to get married – we instead raised two sons Maco and Milan, and we now have three grandkids," the sexagenarian also said. "Above all, I really try to stay in touch with my own inner child in how I experience and live my life," she pointed out. "I don't own anything outright and I simply always wanted to make enough money to live comfortably and travel, then I'd come back home and do it all over again."

On learning that she was indeed the selection to be the new queen, Aquan was humbled but quick to point out, that she didn't see the role as one of being a 'queen.' "There's no such thing as a queen in tribes – you have the healer or shaman, the chief but no queen. It's a colonial term that has been adopted over the years," she observed. When pressed as to what she would like to be called – she reflected for a moment and then replied gently, "Mother." Her role as Mother of the First People's of Santa Rosa community would involve many of the skills she has acquired over the years. In her time working with native communities in the US, she has had to learn their histories, reflect on their needs and find ways in which corporate entities and governing institutions could come together to build these communities back into self-sustaining entities. "After I close off on my commitments here in New York, I will be coming home, to support the work that's been ongoing through the vision of Chief Ricardo. The village is a spiritual centre and a home for many people too so I know that there is much to do, from work like the laying of pipelines for water, to the roads and to farming in a self-sustainable manner. As a country, we all have to get back to being more self-sustainable, and the community can lead the way in that manner," she added. "There is work to be done everywhere in TT and not just in the community too – we have to get back to being a community as a country. There's no need for a small country like ours to be so divided. I have been to prayers with my good Hindu friends, I was baptised Catholic as a child and later at 50-years-old by my aunt who was a Spiritual Shouter Baptist, and have wonderful Muslim friends too,” Aquan noted. "I have worked with the Azteca tribes, the Taino from Puerto Rico; I ascribe to Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine. We have to learn, as a people to see the good in everything. And know this – that light attracts light."

Her choice of title as mother, is particularly important for Aquan as she believes we are in a new time – where the role of the matriarch is returning – that of feminine energy. "The Mother system has come back – what is in the dark is coming to light – all the things that have been done by men you see really coming to light. That male energy is necessary, but we need to find more balance. We need to realise this tireless pursuit of money can only take us so far. People with money and those without – they have the same amount of problems - the only difference being that those with the money can afford to hide it. But I have seen true happiness on the face of so many of the poor communities that I have visited in places like Honduras and Kenya – where they had so little, but they would still come to share what they have," she recalled.

While the inauguration of the new Mother of the First People's of Santa Rosa is carded for October, the community with their unique and vibrant matriarch will have several activities and plans between then and now, for the new face of the First People to bring more considerable attention to their cause and their message.