Senior Reporter
kay-marie.fletcher@guardian.co.tt
Beloved columnist and well-known Caribbean writer Basil Carlos Pires, better known as BC Pires, has died after a long battle with cancer of the oesophagus.
Pires, who was 65, dies in Barbados on Saturday, his close friends confirmed yesterday.
Guyana-born Pires, grew up in Trinidad and Tobago and became a lawyer after graduating from the University of the West Indies’ Cave Hill campus.
Called to the bar but led by the pen, Pires pivoted to a life of journalism in 1988.
Known for his controversial point of view on a myriad of issues, Pires spent the last three decades writing for the Trinidad Express, Trinidad and Tobago Guardian and Newsday.
He was best known for his weekly column Thank God It’s Friday and the Trini/Bago to D Bone profile.
He also had international publications in the London Sunday Observer and the London and Manchester Guardian.
Even in his last days, he was still storytelling, as he chronicled his illness and how much he had been suffering via his website.
In a post dated September 30, Pires wrote, “At the time of writing, I have no way of knowing if the stent and my luck will hold. I am still dredging the phlegm out of my infected right lung but there’s less of it and it’s not as difficult to handle the hawking and horrible spitting.”
On October 13, he wrote, “In the last seven days, I’ve had two main destinations between which I move, slowly, carefully: my bed; and the couch in front of the TV, where I can’t bear the current lying news, but take delight in watching magnificent old films with my grown children... Just coughing is by itself tiring. Remember how breathless you were at the end of your own last coughing fit. There is nothing that puts the flourish on exhaustion like sitting on the bathroom floor, hugging the toilet for support and gasping for air. It may be accurate to say I spend most of my time nowadays just catching myself.”
He also revealed that he had lost 20 pounds in 24 days, resulting in him weighing 105 pounds at that time.
Paying tribute to her friend and colleague yesterday, Media Association of Trinidad and Tobago (MATT) president Ira Mathur said, “He fought so hard, and with humour and with endless hope. He gave us so much... Everything he did or said connected with our hearts or minds, politics and lives.”
Speaking to Guardian Media yesterday, she added, “BC, you remain beloved on this earth.”
Another of Pires’ close friends, Danielle Dieffenthaller, also paid tribute to him.
“BC. I don’t know that I have the words just yet. What a devastating loss for his family, friends, co-workers, COUNTRY! My first introduction to BC was when I first entered TTT at age 18 and he posed as a famous Cuban artist. I was fan for life from then,” she said.
“He kept me laughing and thinking for the next 40 years. His wit, humour, intelligence and profound love for and knowledge of film was always something to behold. He would attend even while in chemo. He has been the only columnist whose views I largely shared and in recent times, I had the privilege of sharing afternoon strolls with him while we both struggled through our health challenges. He was alwasy facing this bravely and with humour, spurring me on to continue to be positive and I him. He has left such an indelible impression in all of us and while he will be profoundly missed, he will never be forgotten.”
Scores of condolences and tributes were sent via social media yesterday, with many people labelling Pires as a stalwart in journalism.
Pires was surrounded by his family in Barbados when he took his last breath. He leaves behind his wife Carla Castagne and his two children Rosie and Ben.
