WITH HER BLONDE HAIR and blue eyes and strong German accent, Tina Puckerin joins the ranks of many non-nationals who have immersed themselves in Barbadian culture and call it home.
Now she is making and producing films and theatre productions about Barbados and the region through a company called CaribbeanTales.
But Tina’s journey to drama, film-making – and ultimately to herself – came through many difficult lessons and people.
Though Tina admits that coming here with her then boyfriend 17 years ago wasn’t a hard sell, she was surprised by her initial reaction to the country.
“The air was touching my body like silk, and all the tension went through my feet, and a few days later I was sitting on the shores of Long Beach, and it was only me and the sea and it was the first time I felt sheltered,” she recalled, smiling.
Initially, it was difficult trying to feel like a native as she didn’t have a good grasp of English.
“I couldn’t speak English at first, so I got a book by Kamau Brathwaite and I taught myself English so I could be able to converse,” Tina revealed.
Since she was the partner of an ambassador, she wasn’t allowed to work. Her days were often spent in leisurely activities like windsurfing, partying and the like. Though she enjoyed herself, she admits enduring periods of depression because she wanted more out of life and from herself.
“I decided to try out everything I pushed aside because of duty, like art, reading, acting, and I really studied Barbadian life and culture,” she said.
That interest took her to Jamaica – since her boyfriend was to be transferred there – where she immersed herself in acting school.
“It turned out he wasn’t to go but I went,” she said. “The separation was very difficult.”
Not only did she immerse herself in school, but she ended up falling in love with a Jamaican man and living in downtown Jamaica.
“Because I knew I was going to study drama, I decided to do what my German drama teacher told me. He said ‘You don’t have a right to go on stage if you only know the upper crust of society; you have to be knowledgeable about the whole’,” she admitted. “Kingston led me to myself. It was the university of life.
“I came from upper middle class in Germany . . . . We were the first generation that did not experience the war. We had to clean up what our forefathers had done, so it was a lovely time to be there. We very free. We were politically active and the government gave us a castle-like house to live. While it was limitless in Germany, it was still very sheltered. When it came to Jamaica the ethics I had tumbled down. It’s very easy to be a good person when you’re rich.”
Tina decided to lose any fear of life in Jamaica and there she thrived and so too did her acting career.
“Jamaica changed me profoundly. Seeing the tragedy of downtown Kingston taught me to stop wasting time, and to focus on what I wanted to do instead of what my mother wanted me to do,” she said.
After returning to Barbados she worked for brief periods in tourism, but that desire for acting never left.
“Earl Warner asked me to be the white woman in his play Lights,” she said.
She worked in plays, taught drama and took a course in film-making.
“I worked on Hit For Six, co-produced Holding and worked on three documentaries. CaribbeanTales has three parts: a film production section, distribution company and a festival organization,” Tina revealed. “Our festival [division] has an incubator where film-makers receive training from professionals in the diaspora.”
Tina, who describes herself as a rebel, has found her calling through the art of expression and living here.
“Barbados has a lot of things in common with where I come from in terms of a bad past, and it has the right size for me. Living in Bathsheba allows me to be on the fringe and then when I’m ready I venture into society.”
She has plans through CaribbeanTales to produce a 13-episode TV series.
“The first target group for the television series is the young people in Barbados,” Tina said. “Because I’m a film-maker, I get around in all places in society. I go to dub fetes and I see what is going on and I am very worried about the girls here.”
CaribbeanTales also works with the schools, inviting students to the Olympus Theatre to see Caribbean films.
“It’s very impactful to see people from different school settings together,” she said.
Through films and her work in the arts in the Caribbean, Tina hopes to give back to the country and region that have given so much to her.
“It is very fulfilling,” Tina said. “I feel extremely privileged. My German culture taught me if you are very privileged you have a duty. My duty is to try and preserve the beauty in Barbadian culture.”
