My name is James Gregory Paul Sr, but I am known as Pablo (Spanish for Paul). My hometown friends gave me that name when I was five years old. I kept it as my nom de plume (Jaime Pablo) and my stage name when I perform spoken word. I was born and raised in New Amsterdam, Guyana’s oldest town, but now live in Georgia in the United States.
Football has always been my passion from the very first time I kicked a football at age 10. The beautiful game has taught me many important lessons and habits such as discipline, work-ethic, resilience, commitment to excellence, respect, and professionalism, to name a few. I have internalized and transferred these lessons and habits to overcome many challenges in my life.
After migrating to the United States in 1985, I connected with Guyanese American footballers in Brooklyn and continued playing club and master’s football until 1998, when I blew out my ACL, ending my playing career.
I subsequently embraced administrative roles in local football clubs and leagues in Brooklyn before moving to Atlanta where I became a huge fan of Atlanta United FC. I love football because anyone can play. The game unites humanity and brings joy to players and fans all over the world from all walks of life.
Celebrating Our Culture
I am a proud Afro-Guyanese. Based on the sacrifices of my ancestors, I feel compelled to fulfill their dreams to be free, productive humans and work towards building a better world where all living things are respected; a world free of racism and bigotry; a world in which small multi-ethnic nations like Guyana can lead the world in modeling a better and more harmonious way of life and existence.
Now that I am retired, I have reconnected with my other passions, storytelling, and poetry. I have written and published a few books of poetry (Kneeling for Justice, Anthology of Poetry Posters by Pablo) and two memoirs (My Poor Dad and Behcet’s in Black) about my life growing up in Guyana and as a student and professional trying to carve out a better life overseas.
Additionally, I perform as a spoken-word artist at open mic events around Atlanta and in New York, and I host a bi-weekly podcast, Pablo’s Kreolese Korner, to celebrate and showcase Creole culture and talent through music, poetry, stories, and edutainment.
Country Boys
I started playing football on the streets and schoolyards of my hometown with my friends. Historically, Guyana’s capital city Georgetown has been the beneficiary of the lion’s share of football resources and development at both the school and club levels. So naturally, the quality of football has always been at a higher level there compared to other remote parts of the country, including New Amsterdam.
It was therefore harder for players like me to develop our game to a level where we could compete with the “City Boys”. Many of us “Country Boys” overcame this hurdle by relocating to Georgetown for school and/or work, where we joined elite clubs and played with the best local footballers in Guyana, thus elevating our game and improving our chances to make the national teams.
I moved to Georgetown at 16 in 1977 to attend Saint Rose's High School. While there, I joined Santos FC, one of the nation’s top football clubs. I quickly ascended from the junior to the senior first-team and represented the club in the D1 leagues.
Reaching The Top
When I was 14 years old, Guyana’s national men’s football team, loaded with the best club footballers in the nation, were encamped for a few weeks in my hometown. I recall being awestruck by the physical and technical prowess of these players, a few of whom went on to play at the college and professional levels overseas.
This team was preparing for Guyana’s 1978 World Cup qualifying games vs Surinam, a formidable opponent. In 1976, I traveled to Georgetown with my friends to watch our lads defeat the mighty Surinam team loaded with pros, to earn Guyana’s first ever victory in World Cup Qualifiers. I became a Golden Jaguars fan that day and was inspired to elevate my game at the club and county levels so that I could someday play for Guyana’s junior and senior teams.
My hard work paid off, and I earned my first of many junior national caps in 1978. The following year I earned the Best-Player award for my team at the Inter-Guiana Tournament which was hosted by Guyana. My sole senior cap came in 1983 in a loss vs Antigua in the World Cup Qualifiers.
The Power Of Words
I support my national team by attending their games whenever feasible or watching them play on TV, engaging with Jaguar players and fans on social media, interviewing players, writing commentary/editorials and creating related spoken word poetry. I also rock my Golden Jaguars green or yellow jerseys, as well as my national flag bandana.
I am proud of my country, heritage and the sacrifices made by my ancestors to build our fledgling nation. As someone who has benefited tremendously from public resources and sports and educational opportunities in Guyana, I feel obligated to support my country whenever I can and to help preserve, celebrate and showcase our unique culture and talented people through my stories, podcasts and poetry.
I love words. Writing poetry and stories have been therapeutic for me as someone afflicted with Behcet’s Syndrome since 1999. The storyteller in me gravitates to compelling themes and I incorporate elements of Guyanese culture, creative writing and cryptic poesy to craft free-verse poetry to inform, inspire and entertain readers.
I explore Guyana’s rich diversity as a land with six unique groups of people sharing the same geographical space, pursuing happiness and prosperity despite many recurring challenges. I tap into shared cultural elements around food, dress, language, and folklore that serve to unite and distinguish us as Guyanese. I strive to elevate the cultural consciousness and pride of younger generations of Guyanese in the Guyaspora.
Here is one example:
A Cup of Gold
Guyana struck oil
Off shore
And the keys to prosperity
Dangle once more
Like an elusive wish
Over a nation
Younger than most
But blessed with an embarrassment of riches - Flora, fauna, diamonds, gold
And talent...
These Jaguars, Golden and gifted. United as one team; Chasing one dream - Victory,
One game at-a-time.
It takes discipline of mind, body and spirit To climb the trail less-traveled
And claim the coveted prize -
A Cup of Gold
Seated on Mount Concacaf's highest peak, Where only champions dare.
A Cup of Gold
With the power to uplift
The spirit of a young nation Like Guyana
And Sow seeds of unity, respect And love
Among its people.
That trees bearing fruits of prosperity For all
Might rise to the sky like glorious springs From the low coastal plains
To the jagged peaks of Pakoraima... Long after
The wells run dry.
AYO
Hysteria And Madness
Given Guyana’s perennial position at the lower rungs of Concacaf, any success by our national football teams on the pitch is celebrated with fervor, frenzy, and fanfare. Guyanese fans show up in our national colors, waving flags, beating drums, chanting, cheering and cajoling each other loudly in our native Creolese dialect. A few adult beverages are copiously consumed, removing inhibitions and unveiling the true boisterous Guyanese spirit.
The ebb and flow of each game is replicated by our fans, peaking with hysteria and madness for every goal scored by our team and every game won. Guyanese are known to be loud and cantankerous, so it comes as no surprise that we exhibit these traits as fans of football (and cricket). It is indeed a beautiful thing to see Guyanese of different ethnicities, united in support of their national football team.
The photos were taken in Georgia and Fort Lauderdale, Florida at various stages of my journey to watch Guyana play its first Concacaf Gold Cup Preliminary match vs Grenada. They capture key Jaguar fan moments during and after the game which we won on penalties.
Included in the photos are my former football teammates and coaches at club and national levels in Guyana and in New York. We have known each other since we were teenagers. We share similar stories as Guyanese immigrants who left our economically depressed homeland decades ago to pursue the American Dream but never lost our love of country and our passion for The Beautiful Game.
I captured the spontaneous reactions of Guyanese fans, our unique creole expressions and taunts, real-time responses from friends and fans, before, during and after the game. I also wanted to capture the joy, passion, festive colors and camaraderie of Guyanese fans, both strangers and friends, united in support of their national team.
A Changing Nation
Football was an integral part of daily life for most of my friends growing up in rural Guyana. We played at school, on the streets, and on any open field riddled with cow manure, bumps and holes, often barefoot or with ill-fitting boots. We juggled and dribbled old footballs daily with our bare feet, slowly acquiring many unique and unorthodox technical skills and tricks that would separate the elite from the average player.
In my hometown of New Amsterdam and in most Guyanese towns and cities where football is played, school, club and international games are often well-attended by sports-conscious Guyanese fans. The games offer fans a joyous reprieve from the hustle and bustle of everyday life in a fledgling nation with many challenges.
Our recent off-shore oil-discoveries and related revenues should remove financial barriers to football development. As the rural parts of Guyana are developed and connected with state-of-the art roads and bridges, we will attract and exploit a wider base of football talent within our historically neglected indigenous communities, who share a gene pool with many of the brilliant football stars of Brazil. With disciplined, visionary leadership and a sound developmental plan, the future looks very bright for football in Guyana.
Quickfire Heritage Questions
What are the words or phrases/sayings that anyone from your country will know?
Talk half leave (leff) half
All skin-teeth nah laugh (laff)
One one dutty build dam
Monkey know which limb to jump on
Jumbee story
Bannuhs (boys)
Binny (girl)
Obean man (voodoo priest)
Pagalee (clumsy)
What are the most distinctive landmarks in your country?
Kaieteur Falls. Giant Ant Hills in the Rupununi. St George’s Cathedral (one of the largest wooden buildings). Long floating bridges (Demerara Harbor Bridge/ Berbice River Bridge). Rupununi Mountains (Pakaraima, Roraima, Kanuku). Pegasus and Marriott hotels in Georgetown. Providence stadium (cricket and football). Eddie Grant’s mansion on an island in the Essequibo River.
What is your country most famous for?
Notoriously, the Jonestown massacre and the mass-suicide of 918 people led by American cult-leader Jim Jones in the 1970’s. Historically, Kaieteur Falls, the longest single-drop waterfall in the world. Presently, the discovery and exploration of several offshore oil wells.
What do you consider your most distinctive food dish?
Pepperpot – a delicious indigenous stew made with local spices, cassareep (cassava extract) and ample cuts of meat. This is a staple meal on every Guyanese dining table during the Christmas holidays.
If you could say “these three things symbolize our country and our people”, what would that be?
Creolese (dialect). Pepperpot. Burnham & Jagan (two founding fathers and past presidents).
