Tunapuna is a town in the

East–West Corridor The East–West Corridor is the built-up area of north Trinidad stretching from the capital, Port of Spain, east to Arima. The term was coined by economist and political philosopher Lloyd Best, after gleaning the works of a technocrat named ...

of the island of

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

, in

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

Town

Tunapuna is located between

St. Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...

, Tacarigua and Trincity. Tunapuna is the largest town between

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

and

Arima Arima, officially The Royal Chartered Borough of Arima is the easternmost and second largest in area of the three boroughs of Trinidad and Tobago. It is geographically adjacent to Sangre Grande and Arouca at the south central foothills of ...

. It is an important market and commercial centre, and is the seat of the Tunapuna–Piarco Regional Corporation. The Tunapuna Parliamentary seat is a marginal, hence popular wisdom dictates: ''"If you win Tunapuna, you win the elections."''

Carnival

For more than one hundred years, Tunapuna has been a Carnival venue. Each year this regional carnival, which is a showcase for traditional and conventional mas, steel band, and stick fighting, is organised by the Tunapuna Carnival Committee.

Notable people

The renowned writer and scholar C. L. R. James was born and is buried here, and popular 1950s

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

Winifred Atwell was born here. The song ''Tuna Puna Trinidad'' was the B-side of a single released by

Petula Clark Petula Sally Olwen Clark, CBE (born 15 November 1932) is an English singer, actress, and composer. She has one of the longest serving careers of a British singer, spanning more than seven decades. Clark's professional career began during the ...

in 1955. Songwriter, composer, writer and director Donald Heywood, best remembered for composing "

I'm Coming Virginia ''"I'm Coming Virginia"'' is a song composed in 1926 by Donald Heywood with lyrics by Will Marion Cook. It is often wrongly attributed to vocalist Ethel Waters, who first recorded it on September 18, 1926 with Will Marion Cook's Singing Orchestra. ...

" in 1926, which became a hit for

Ethel Waters Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an American singer and actress. Waters frequently performed jazz, swing, and pop music on the Broadway stage and in concerts. She began her career in the 1920s singing blues. Her no ...

. was born in Tunapuna in 1896. Professional footballer Stern John was born in Tunapuna.

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad (island)