I was born and raised in the Caribbean. People are wrong to reduce it to sun, sea, and sand. [Video]

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Tenille Clarke, founder of the Caribbean-based public relations company Chambers Media Solutions. Clarke was born and raised in Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago.

This story has been edited for length and clarity.

I was raised in a part of Port of Spain called East Dry River, one of the poorest communities in Trinidad and Tobago.

My mom migrated to Canada when I was three years old, so I was raised by my maternal aunt. My dad was very active in my life, but he also traveled a lot for work.

Life in East Dry River was never considered ideal. But you learn to see beauty in the simplicities of life; I had great neighbors and a good extended family.

The magic of East Dry River is that it’s the birthplace of Carnival, a historic festival that dates back to the Transatlantic Slave Trade, where enslaved people of African descent emulated masquerade balls of …