South-West Communities

San Fernando

San Fernando was originally called Naparima by the Amerindians. It began as a seaside village but was declared a town in 1792 by the last Spanish governor, Jose Maria Chacon. It was officially declared a city on November 18, 1988, and by the end of the 20th century had become the industrial capital of Trinidad & Tobago. Some of the communities of San Fernando are: Vistabella, St. Joseph Village, and Navet in the North; and Paradise Pasture, Les Efforts, Mon Repos, and Pleasantville in the South. In the middle of the city sits San Fernando Hill.

Entertainment

Cinemas: In 2002, San Fernando had two operating cinemas: Hobosco 2, on Mucurapo Road; and National, at the intersection of Gomez and Keate Streets.

Calypso: Calypsonians who were born in San Fernando include Lord Invader, Lord Melody, Black Stalin, and Machel Montano.

Steelbands: The following is a listing of the steelbands that functioned in San Fernando, broken down by type: traditional (pans supported around the neck); and conventional (pans supported mechanically).

STEELBAND TYPE LOCATION IN 2002 HISTORY
Fonclaire Conventional Dottin Street Click here for details.
Gondoliers Conventional Defunct Functioned from the 1950s to the early-1960s.
Hatters Conventional Lady Hailes Avenue Click here for details.
Hillside Symphony Conventional Carib Street  
Kalomo Kings Conventional 116 Pleasatville Avenue  
Motown Conventional Navet Road  
Mount Moriah Pan Movement Conventional Wharton Street  
New Wave Conventional Coffee Street  
Pan Glow Conventional Dottin Street  
Panosonic Connection Conventional Macoon Street, Victoria Village  
San City Conventional Carib Street  
Sea Bees Steel Orchestra Conventional    
Skiffle Bunch Conventional Coffee Street Won the 2000 World Steelband Music Festival held in Trinidad. Paticipated in the 2002 Diaspora Music Village in London, England.
Southern All Stars Conventional 8 Carib Street  
Sundowners Conventional 42 Mount Moriah Road  

Mas(querade) Bands: Mas' bands that functioned in San Fernando included:

MAS' BAND LOCATION IN 2002 HISTORY
D'Lakotas 3 Cipero Rail Road  
Ivan Kalicharan Productions 17 Harris Street  
Ramdin and Jackman 3 Harris Street  
Mack Copeland Defunct Functioned from the 1950s to the 1980s.
Rising Stars Victoria Village  

Sports

At the south of San Fernando is Skinner Park which was one of the main venues for First Class cricket and soccer from the 1950s through the 1990s.

Cricket: David Williams was born in San Fernando and went on to represent the West Indies in Test Cricket.

Academic Institutions

SCHOOL LEVEL ADDRESS RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION HISTORY
A.C. Goberdhan Memorial School   17 Blanche Fraser Street    
Anjuman Sunnat-Ul-Jamat Association Girls' College Secondary Todd Street Muslim  
Canaan Presbyterian School Primary   Presbyterian  
Cipriani Labour College College Circular Road Non-Denominational Offers Associate Degree programs of study.
Mon Repos RC School Primary Torrance Street, Mon Repos Roman Catholic 716 Pupils in 2002
Naparima College Secondary   Presbyterian Founded in 1894 by the Canadian Mission and began classes on Carib Street.
Naparima Girls' High School Secondary   Presbyterian  
Pleasantville Government Primary School Primary   Non-Denominational  
Pleasantville Junior Secondary School Secondary   Non-Denominational  
Pleasantville Senior Comprehensive School Secondary   Non-Denominational  
Presentation College Secondary Coffee Street Roman Catholic Began operating in 1930 as St. Benedict's College but changed its name to Presentation in January 1948.
San Fernando Boys' Government School Primary   Non-Denominational  
San Fernando Girls' EC School Primary   Anglican  
San Fernando Boys' RC School Primary Harris Promenade Roman Catholic 1,327 pupils in 2002
San Fernando East Junior Secondary School Secondary   Non-Denominational  
San Fernando Comprehensive School Secondary Farah Street Non-Denominational  
San Fernando Technical Institute Tertiary   Non-Denominational  
St. Andrew's Theological College Tertiary Paradise Pasture Presbyterian  
St. Gabriel Girls' RC School Primary Lord Street Roman Catholic 430 pupils in 2002
St. Joseph's Convent Secondary Harris Promenade Roman Catholic  
St. Paul's Anglican School Primary   Anglican  
Trinzuela Secretarial & Technical College Tertiary 67 Chacon Street Non-Denominational  

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