A connoisseur of Jamaican culture, Colin Smith never tires of hearing a Miss Lou poem or the folksy ‘twang’ of a mento band. It is a passion he has carried since his years at Cornwall College.

A longtime resident of South Florida, Smith is president of the Louise Bennett-Coverley Heritage Council (LBCHC) and founder/director of the Tallawah Mento Band. He is determined to keep the traditional sounds of his country alive.

That zest earned him the Badge of Honour For Meritorious Service from the Jamaican Government. He received the award from Governor General Sir Patrick Allen on October 17, National Heroes’ Day, at King’s House.

Smith spoke to the Jamaica Observer about getting national recognition.

“Firstly, it was a feeling of surprise because it was unexpected, and then a feeling of honour and pride. However, after numerous congratulatory messages and expressions of good wishes, I moved to a stage of reflection which was sobering because you then realised what you were doing was so meaningful,” he said.

Born in St Elizabeth, Smith has lived in the United States for 22 years. He took his love for folk culture to that country and started the Tallawah Mento Band in 2003; four years later, Smith, along with Norma Darby, Easton Lee, Marcia Magnus, Valerie Simpson and Marcia Ward started the LBCHC.

Smith is also director of the Jamaican Folk Revue which he describes as a “folkloric choral group” and a landscape painter whose work has shown at exhibitions in South Florida. In each endeavour, he educates Jamaican youth at home and the Diaspora about their country’s non-dancehall heritage.

“It is very important that the young ones know their heritage, and the older ones participate in sharing the culture with the younger generation so that our unique cultural traits are preserved,” he said.

Smith admits that can be a challenge, given the distractions of cable television and social media.

“Learning about our culture in the Diaspora is vastly different from my youth, living the culture.

Whereas as a youth I had no competing culture, in the Diaspora it is so easy for our young people to have no exposure to our culture and be completely absorbed in the culture in which they live,” he stated.