From quaint to smelly Erin no longer bustling

Inspired by Michael Anthony’s Towns and Villages photographer Edison Boodoosingh went in search of the quaint fishing village at Erin, on the south coast. He felt it was even more timely during the season of Lent. During the colonial times, the Spanish people called the village San Francique. 

Anthony wrote in 1988: “It’s beach and fish sheds are always bustling with activity and hundreds of fisherfolk mill around its beaches...amid all this bustle, thousands of pounds of carite, red fish, cavali and other varieties of fish are dispatched every day. The fishing industry touches the lives of almost everyone.”

Twenty-four years later, Boodoosingh wanted to see the situation down there for himself. “I had to pass through Santa Flora, Palo Seco and Rancho Quemado. I wanted to see a different part of the country. “He did mention it was a quaint village. The mainstay was fish. I didn’t get the quaint feeling. “Back then things were different...I did see a couple of shacks before the sea. It’s not as quaint as I expected it would be. It’s just a different part of sweet T&T.” 

Boodoosingh also did not see the bustling village that Anthony wrote about. “I did not see that large amount of fish or exposed fish. It’s not as Anthony described in terms of the hustle and bustle of people coming to buy fish. I did see the Catholic church. “But huh, there was the smell of fish. “It’s a little smelly. I spent most of my time on the beach. I am sorry I did not walk with my trunks to take a swim.”