Kitchener’s calypso Quweina
“(They) used to say I was his eyeball”. Daddy was very excited to have a girl, as he started having children later in life. I'm the only girl among the guys, so I always felt that I had extra security around me. Daddy loved me, passionately, and he was not afraid to show it. He was a protector and a provider,”
Michael Mondezie
Quweina Roberts beamed those heartfelt words through the computer screen lighting up at the opportunity to talk about the special relationship she shared with her father the late great calypso icon Lord Kitchener (Aldwyn Roberts), on Thursday.
Currently pursuing her PhD in International Family and Community Studies at Clemson University in South Carolina in the United States, Quweina says she was and always will be a true daddy’s girl.
“Daddy was very excited to have a girl, as he started having children later in life. I’m the only girl among the guys, so I always felt that I had extra security around me. Daddy loved me, passionately, and he was not afraid to show it. He was a protector and a provider,” an emotional Quweina recalled during an online exchange with the Express on Thursday afternoon.
Kitchener had Quweina at the ripe age of 60. Following his separation from her mother he would remain a permanent fixture in her life, taking her on dates and asking her to accompany him to events, she said.
“I felt that he made an extra effort to be around. He would show up each week at school just to see us, even if it was for 30 minutes. All of my friends would gather around and fans would be hailing him out, but it never really hit me how famous he was. To me he was just Daddy, or as we called him ‘Dadoonks’, trying to make the best out of an unfortunate situation and striving hard to be a good father.”
Kitchener always carried himself in a classy manner and demanded the same from his daughter, Quweina revealed.
“I remember him barring me from eating Doubles at the side of the road. We had to eat with knife and fork all the time, and to this day I still cannot eat with a spoon, unless its soup. He took me on my first ‘date’ when Nicole Dyer won the Miss Trinidad and Tobago title. I remember him spending $1200TT on a fancy dress in Grand Bazaar, sending me to do my hair and nails, and he was the perfect gentleman. He picked me up at home and when we entered the National Stadium, people were thinking that I was his mistress. He had to tell them that I was his daughter. Many were amused by him having such younger children,” a bemused Quweina recalled.
Kitchener was a stickler for academic success first in life and now in death. Quweina dropped out from after her father’s death in 2000 and only returned after he visited her in a dream, she revealed.
“Daddy insisted that I focused on school and go as far as I can so that life would not be as complicated. He was very proud when I graduated from Barataria Secondary Comprehensive with all my subjects, and then he sent me to SITAL to do my LCCI Diploma, Travel and Reservations courses, and another language. In the middle of my LCCI programme, he passed away and that was the most traumatic time of my younger years. I struggled to remain in the programme,” she said.
“He came to me in a dream one night. In my dream, I walked into the yard at (the family home) Rain-O-Rama (in Diego Martin) and saw him laying on his hospital bed at the side of the house, in a brown suit and hat. It was a strange thing because I know he was dead, but he was right there at the house. I asked him, ‘Daddy what are you doing here? Did you see anyone else?’ Then he responded stuttering, ‘I just came to tell you, doh play de ass with yuh school work’.
“I told him that I won’t and that I loved him. Then I told him I’ll be back because I wanted to go in the house and call my brothers to tell them that Daddy was outside. When I went inside and looked out the window to show them where he was, he was gone, leaving only the hospital bed there. That was the most telling moment of my decision to fully dive back into academic life,” she continued.
Quweina completed her SITAL course and went on to complete a B.Sc. at Florida Memorial University in Miami, then a M.Sc. at the University of the West Indies (St. Augustine), before enrolling at Clemson.
“I’m a huge advocate for Community Transformation, Community Economic Development and Socio-economic transformation for those in need. I believe you can create a sense of belonging and a sense of community in every sphere of life where people coexist. I was recently appointed the Senior Training Director for the Chick-fil-A location I’m currently assigned. This is where I get to create an enabling environment for community building within the workplace, amongst other things relating to training and development. I’m 100 per cent Daddy is proud. I know my Mommy definitely is,” she beamed.
Missing Daddy
Quweina admits she’s “never really gotten over” her father’s death, but has “learned to live without his physical presence.”
“He’s in my heart, thoughts, and memories constantly. I live as though he’s still here. When he passed I dealt with that trauma for a while. I felt cheated of the opportunity to have him do the special things with me, like walk me down the aisle, see his grandkids, and share in my greatest moments,” she lamented.
There is great joy in the delight of his memories and the overwhelming love the family receives from the public in his honour, she admits.
“He was such a man of the people that he mixed and mingled with the rich, poor, and indifferent. That level of humility was unique and genuine. I still don’t eat doubles on the side of the road though,” she laughed.
“He also told me to position myself for greatness and that stuck. I want to be a blessing to others because I am blessed. This is how he lived, mentored and developed people around him. He never forgot where he came from and remained humbled. Did I mention how much of a comedian and story teller he was? Man, he would have you on the floor laughing with his jokes and quirky words. I guess that’s why he was such a prolific composer.”
Becoming a mother to a son Liam has in many ways brought her closer to her father, Quweina said.
“Now I understand. And Liam is fully aware of his grandfather’s contribution. He plays his music on YouTube and learns lyrics. He’s crazy over his Uncle Kernal, so much that people think Kernal is his Dad. He also plays the steelpan and composes his own music, so we already know what direction he’s heading,” she smirked.
Quewina said despite not following a professional musical route, she is still he father’s child and can “buss a tune” when necessary. She counted Kitch’s classics “My Fancy”, “Margie”, “Twelve Bar Joan”, “Mystery Band”, “Deceitful One”, “Pan in A Minor”, “RainORama”, “The Carnival is over” among her favourites from his catalogue.
“Given the chance now, I will take every opportunity to pelt out some vocals,” she laughed
“Music is in my blood so it’s not going anywhere. I still have plans of getting back into it after I complete my PhD later this year. You never know, you might just hear me on the radio. Daddy’s influence resonates with me forever and I hope to always be a beacon of light to others as he was to many. May he continue to rest peacefully. From his only girl and the love of his life, Q,” she concluded.
