The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune

On this past Christmas Eve night, the Grand Bahama Youth Choir – upon the invitation of the Memories Entertainment Director – put on a command performance at the Memories Resort at Lucaya for guests.

In the midst of that performance the resort’s General Manager, Gabriel Valera, who had apparently not been informed of the event beforehand, showed up and demanded that the choir and its director, Kevin Tomlinson, get off his property.

When informed by Tomlinson that the choir was present upon the invitation of his Entertainment Director, Manager Valera responded that the entertainment manager did not call the shots at Memories Resort, he, Valera did. When told that the matter could end up in the press, Valera shouted that he did not care, “Get out! Get out!”

If Valera, who I am told, insists on being a little pot dictator who seeks to micro-manage all of Memories Resorts affairs then clearly the right and proper thing to have done was allow the choir to complete its performance – then rake his Entertainment Director over the coals, later on.

What Valera did in fact do is simply unforgivable. Valera has earned the reputation as an arrogant, nasty little man. What transpired with the youth choir on Christmas Eve is but the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Valera has allegedly been humiliating and degrading Bahamian members of his staff since the day that he arrived here.

Bahamians have long suffered the indignities meted out to them in the workplace by the Valeras of this world in silence. There is literally no one to turn to. When it comes to such issues the Department of Labour is a joke and our political leaders are next to useless.

Our political leaders cannot even be shamed into action. They have long ago proved that they are shameless. They cannot be shamed by their own actions, let alone their inaction. And since these, our political leaders will claim as they always do, that they had no idea this was going on – Bahamians in general and Grand Bahamians in particular – must say to the Minister for Grand Bahama, the Minister of Tourism, the government of The Bahamas — This cannot, must not, will not stand! Gabriel Valera has to go.

Since we are on the subject of the Memories Resort, with particular emphasis on entertainment, this would perhaps be a good time for the Minister of Tourism to tell Bahamians why a Mexican dance troupe has been allowed to provide entertainment at the Memories Resort for well over a year now.

I am not going to presume that their presence has anything to do with the fact that the operators, including Mr Valera, are Mexican. I would think, though, that tourists visiting a small country like The Bahamas would expect and appreciate indigenous Bahamian music and entertainment.

Now, tourists looking for Mexican entertainment … I don’t know, I may be wrong but I think that they might … go to Mexico!

CORNELL STUART

Freeport,

December 31, 2015.