Bustamante’s Spirit Lives On

National Hero, the Rt. Excellent Sir Alexander Bustamante, has been hailed as an exemplary leader, whose legacy lives on in the descendants of those for whom he fought.

Addressing a civic ceremony in Hanover on Friday (Feb. 24) to mark the 139th anniversary of the National Hero’s birth, Minister of State in the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Alando Terrelonge, said that Bustamante remains a symbol of hope for the poor and downtrodden.

“Bustamante’s back bone not only helped us up and strengthened us as a people but is the foundation on which future leaders have governed our great nation,” he noted.

“For me, Busta’s spirit embodies what it means to be Jamaican; to be strong in the face of adversity, to be resilient,” he said.

“Busta’s spirit also says to every single boy and girl born here in Jamaica, that whether you are from a rural district of Blenheim, whether you are from the cities of Kingston or Montego Bay, your rise to fame, your rise to the status of hero depends on how you view, not just yourself, but how you view your fellowman,” the State Minister added.

Chairman of the Hanover Municipal Corporation and Mayor of Lucea,Councillor Sheridan Samuels, in his welcome address at the civic ceremony held at Bustamante’s birthplace in Blenheim, said that the National Hero has taught Jamaica many valuable lessons, one of which was the importance of law and order to successful nation building.

Quoting from Bustamante’s address to the new nation in 1962, he read: “Independence means the opportunity for us to frame our own destiny and the need for us to rely on ourselves in so doing. It does not mean a licence to do as we would like, it means work and law and order”.

Mayor Samuels said that Bustamante’s words “provide food for thought” as the nation deals with a high level of lawlessness.

“I often wonder what Daddy Busta would say if he was here today. He would not be pleased… today gives us an opportunity to reflect on the work of this humble man, this great man, this master thinker; an opportunity to use his legacy as a catalyst for change,” he said.

The civic ceremony, which was staged in its full format for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, was attended by representatives from the Hanover Municipal Corporation, Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB), Jamaica National Heritage Trust (JNHT), political representatives, members of civil society, students, residents, among others.

It included tributes in song, drama, poetry, and dance by students of Cacoon Primary, Maryland Primary and Infant and Green Island High schools.

In a poem entitled ‘Papa Busta,’ students from Cacoon Primary, where Bustamante received his early education, petitioned for the institution to be renamed and a statue erected on their school grounds in the National Hero’s honour.

Floral tributes to were paid to Bustamante by Justice of the Peace (JP), Lennox Anderson Jackson, representing Custos of Hanover, Dr. David Stair; Mayor Samuels; Member of Parliament for Hanover Western, Tamika Davis; Assistant General Secretary of the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU), Collin Virgo; and State Minister Terrelonge.