RichardsRendezvous Our identity further enriched

It would be more than an understatement to say that, in recent times, we are failing to promote our identity and culture.

Almost every day we hear of some Llanito book or piece of poetry being published for all to read and appreciate.

Stage plays are being produced and Spanish – or Llanito – is evidently being used more and more on radio and television and in the written word also.

Even in our House of Parliament we hear the odd phrase being articulated from time to time by our MPs.

Our British and Spanish heritage is clearly evident whichever way you turn. There’s no denying it forms part of our daily lives.

But our make-up does not just originate from the British Isles and Spain. We all know - by just perusing through the telephone directory - there are very many surnames that indicate our ancestry deriving from many other parts of the world (and in recent years Gibraltarians are being born here from parents originating from many other countries, not least from Eastern Europe).

I understand we are now home to more than 40 nationalities which, to my mind, are all very welcome, adding more strands to our identity enriching, what I call, Gibraltar’s melting pot.

As we’re very much aware, Jews, Hindus and Moroccans – all or many who are Gibraltarian - certainly form part of our Gibraltarian identity also and links with the countries where they came from are maintained, but I’ve recently been thinking about our other ancestors who arrived on the Rock a couple of centuries ago or more about which we hear very little.

Some of those hailing from Portugal (and there are many), we know have continued links with that country helped by the fact the Iberian nation is relatively close but, again, referring to the telephone directory, how many Italian (mainly Genoese, but not just), and Maltese surnames do we find there?

Loads upon loads of them, right?

But apart from the fact we know that, judging by their surnames, many of their relatives who landed here all those years ago now form part of most of the Catalan Bay community, we know very little or nothing at all about any connections any of the families there may still have with their Genoese ancestors. Much the same is the case of our Maltese descendants.

I know of one gentleman who kept up the link with Malta, cooked Maltese food and spoke Maltese. He is unfortunately no longer with us.

Strangely enough I met another friend this last week who is off to the island of Sardinia where he will visit long forgotten family members on the island from where those individuals originated and headed west to find work, as they all did, on this Rock of Gibraltar.

So not all came from Genoa.

It would be good to hear more about our ancestry and those few who visit Genoa or any other place in that country, now part of Italy as we know it today, and the same for those with Maltese surnames, although I think I’ve heard of one or two who have gone to Valetta chasing their forefathers.

Bearing in mind that our Genoese ancestors formed the largest group of the local population and, all those years ago, Genoese was the spoken language alongside English and Spanish and, like today with the Spanish language, many Government and other notices were published in Genoese also.

Yet there’s not a trace – bar a few words and references – of the Italian or Maltese language on the Rock despite the strong influence they must have had on daily life in Gibraltar and consequently on us, its people, The Gibraltarians.

It’s so sad so much of those influences and connections have been diluted with the passage of time unlike our English and Spanish connections and indeed, customs.

So, seeing as our identity and culture and the promotion of our Llanito lingo are all very much ‘flavour of the month,’ in recent times, I wonder if there is a way of encouraging a wider celebration of our rich heritage and not let it slip into oblivion as years go by, finding ways to bring to the fore the strong connections these two very major antecedent nations have – or should have - that form part of our identity and culture.

Just a thought.

My first observation this fortnight highlights those individuals in high places who should know better – much better.

We have a top British Opposition politician calling Gibraltar’s Chief Minister, First Minister as they’re called in other places. Pathetic.

And that reminded me of our man in New York some years ago now, whose main task was to do with looking after and organising whatever was needed for our politicians when they visited the UN in New York on many occasions. He was Perry Steiglitz. I heard him many times calling us ‘Gibralt’ns.’ He never learned to call us by the correct demonym - a word used to identify those natives or residents of a particular place or country. He clearly never bothered to find out nor was he ever corrected. Amazing.

Here’s a Spanish or Llanito name for Cloister Ramp I’d had never heard of, had you?

And finally, a bit of polish wouldn’t go amiss on this plaque, as it marked an important change to the area of Casemates from a greasy horrible car park and workers’ hostel to what it is today.

Bye, see you in a fortnight.