Sangre Grande: Gateway to the Wild East

Big blood

The name comes from Spanish surveyors in the late 1770s, mapping the island's interior. They found the waters of two tributaries of the Oropouche River running red as blood — colored by the soil, not by any battle. The old story about a fight between Amerindians and Spanish settlers makes good telling, but the records don't support it. The red water is the real story — and the smaller, similarly colored river nearby gave the neighboring town its name: Sangre Chiquito, "small blood."

The town that moved downhill

Sangre Grande was settled around 1770 and grew with the cacao boom of the late 1800s. But the town you see today exists because of the railway. When the line pushed east from Arima, Grande became the terminus — and the whole town migrated down the hill to meet the tracks. The old village name, Cunapo, was mostly lost in the move. There's a lovely irony in it: the signs read "Sangre Grande Railway Station," but the train actually stopped at Cunapo.

In the 1930s, the town's nightlife was famous enough for a saying: "Arima tonight, Sangre Grande tomorrow night." In the 1940s, the American air base at Cumuto brought a wartime boom — money, music, and all the trouble that comes with both.

The steelband town

Grande's cultural engine is the Sangre Grande Cordettes, the town's Panorama steelband — a regular contender in the medium-band category, once arranged by the legendary Jit Samaroo. The Tamana Pioneers carry the small-band flag. When Panorama season comes, the panyards are the loudest places in the northeast.

The people

Grande has produced its share of national names: Ravi B, the chutney-soca star; Denzil "Coutain" Coutain, the soca artist; Anisa Mohammed, the West Indies cricketer; Isaiah James Boodhoo, the painter. The North East Stars carry the town's colors in football, and the Sangre Grande All Stars in basketball. It's a town that plays — and plays to win.

The gateway

This is Grande's real job: it's the last stop before the wild east. The road to Manzanilla Beach runs through here. The Nariva Swamp — the largest freshwater wetland of its kind in the Caribbean, nearly 60,000 acres of moriche palm, howler monkeys, macaws, and manatees — starts not far south. The Bush Bush Wildlife Sanctuary at Kernahan is the way in, with bird-watching from the road and guided tours for the deeper tracks.

Grande is where you change taxis, use the ATM, stock up on provisions, and point the car east. Every expedition into Trinidad's wild side starts with a stop in Grande.

What to see

• The Nariva Swamp and Bush Bush Wildlife Sanctuary — howler monkeys, macaws, 200+ bird species. Go with a guide.
• Manzanilla Beach — about 2.5 miles of Atlantic sand, reached through Grande.
• The Cordettes panyard — visit in Panorama season (January–February) and hear the town at full volume.
• The Oropouche River — the red-water tributaries that gave the town its name.

Sangre Grande is a frontier town with a frontier spirit — less polished than the west, more adventurous, and the starting point for the island's best nature. Fill the tank, buy the coconut water, and keep going east.