Kristy.ramnarine@guardian.co.tt
Mexican-born Melissa Madrid is in love with T&T.
She first came to the country with her husband on their honeymoon 27 years ago.
“It was an unusual honeymoon, but we really enjoyed it,” she said.
“Three years after our honeymoon, we moved to Trinidad to live; My husband got a job here.”
Madrid said she was very impressed with the people here.
“My first impression when I came here was that there were a lot of nice people,” she said.
“Two months ago, I lost my phone. The phone fell on the floor at the pharmacy and about 15 minutes later they called on my other phone and said, ‘Ms Madrid, you lost your phone in the pharmacy, can you come and pick it up?’ I was surprised because, in other countries, that won’t happen.
“Trinidad is still the same: the same beautiful people, the same honest people.”
This statement is a breath of fresh air in a country where the crime rate continues to rise, leaving many distressed.
“My husband and I lived in a country with more than 120 million people,” she said. “The experiences I have here, I would have never gotten there.
“Sometimes we are just looking at the bad things. Ok, there is crime, but everywhere there is crime. When people complain about Trinidad to me, I tell them they don’t need to complain because after two months you will be inside a party and you won’t want to return to your home ever in your life.
“I am Mexican, but I am Trini to the bone as well.”
Just like other women of Latin American descent, Melissa encountered heckling when she moved to Trinidad.
“The first time I came to Trinidad, I didn’t have a car,” she said. “My son was three years old at the time. I put my son in the trolly and was walking from west to downtown. During that walk, I hear ‘Aye, aye, Spanish!’ I didn’t know what they were talking about until one of my friends from Trinidad told me.
“I didn’t make an issue about it over the years because I always look for the good in people.” While her husband was working, Melissa was unable to secure a job because she was not a resident of T&T.
“I had to wait seven years before I started working because of non-residency,” she said.
“When I went to apply for a job at the International School, they said I needed to be a resident. We applied for the paperwork and eventually got through. I worked at the International School as a substitute teacher for about 15 years.”
When COVID hit, Madrid lost her job. Following the pandemic, Madrid was still out of work. This is when she decided to put her culinary skills to use and started Melissa’s Kitchen, specialising in authentic Mexican food.
“I love to cook food, and my kids love my cooking,” she said.
“Since I came to Trinidad, I was making Mexican food, and my friends would say, ‘Why don’t you sell it to me?’ In Mexico, I had a huge business; we were feeding more than 40,000 people. I had the experience. I started selling little by little, and now my daughter from Mexico is helping me with my social media.”
The small-business entrepreneur makes everything from scratch for her customers who reach out online.
