Ricardo Bharath has been a key figure responsible for the revival and resurgence of the Carib Community. His primary devotion has been the maintenance of the Santa Rosa Festival, which though it is a Catholic festival, Arima's Caribs were historically responsible for preparing and performing it, according to Bharath. Ricardo Bharath grew up immersed in the Carib area of Calvary Hill, a residential area overlooking the city of Arima, and he has held onto enduring childhood memories of the elders, the traditions, and the beauty of the Santa Rosa Festival. Ricardo felt this bond rupture when his family relocated to North America. For years as a teenager he lived in Detroit, Michigan. He admits that he never got accustomed to life in the United States and always looked forward to returning to his native home, Trinidad. He would often work just to save money to return for a few months and see the Festival and even help to pay for some of its expenses. He felt depressed to see the festival reach a point of disarray and neglect, as he saw it. As Ricardo himself emphasizes, when he returned to live in Trinidad in 1973 it was the Santa Rosa Festival that was his main if not sole concern. He says that he knew little or nothing of the community's or his own Amerindian history and only discovered this through conversations he had with elders as an adult. Ricardo recognized that this Festival was the main vehicle by which the Carib community was held together. From that point onwards he helped to lead a revival of interest in the community's Carib heritage, both within Arima, and within Trinidadian society as a whole. Some of those working with the Carib Community argue that were it not for Ricardo's efforts, there would be no organized Carib Community today.

Ricardo Bharath is what some would term a "culture broker." He is responsible for networking with a wide range of institutions and agents: the Catholic Church, national political parties, businesses, diplomats, government ministries, the mass media, other cultural groups and ethnic associations, researchers, and indigenous groups and organizations in the Caribbean and North America-- everything from Prime Ministers to Girl Guides. He has to address and respond to a number of clienteles as a result, both external and internal to the Carib Community. In many senses, he is the prime "gatekeeper" of the Carib Community. Sometimes this puts him at a disadvantage insofar as he may find himself caught in the middle of competing interests and that no matter what he does someone is bound to feel slighted.

We may list some of Ricardo Bharath's key achievements as follows:

1. Revitalizing the Santa Rosa Festival

2. Obtaining financial support for the community's activities

3. Constructing a Community Centre

4. Representing the Community to the powers that be

5. Fostering links and working relationships with other Caribbean Amerindians

6. Holding classes in traditional Carib weaving techniques for students of all ages

7. Lobbying for land and funds for the Community

8. Creating a formal organizational structure for the Community

9. Presenting a Carib perspective for media visitors

10. Assisting foreign researchers in learning more of the Carib Community

11. Highlighting the importance of the Carib contribution to the nation

Ricardo Bharath is also a member of the People's National Movement (PNM). For 30 years the PNM held office and was led by the renowned historian, intellectual, and nationalist leader, Dr. Eric Williams. It was the PNM, under Dr. Williams, that helped to secure Independence from Britain for Trinidad in 1962. Ricardo has been elected to the Arima Borough Council on four occasions, and has served as Deputy Mayor of Arima twice. He has been responsible for Culture in the Arima Borough. His first term began in 1993 and he was re-elected in 1996, 1999, 2003, and 2006. Needless to say, given that national governments have changed, and three times in the last 15 years the PNM has been in Opposition, sometimes members of the ruling parties may look askance at Ricardo's political affiliation.

In spite of everything, under Ricardo Bharath's stewardship, the Carib Community now receives an annual $5,000 TT (approx. $800 USD) from the Arima Borough Council and an annual $30,000 TT (approx. $5,700 USD) from the Ministry of Culture. Both sources of support are for the maintenance of the Santa Rosa Festival. Until Ricardo was elected to the Arima Borough Council, the Caribs received only $500 TT, and before then only $200 TT. Also, in May of 1990, the ruling National Alliance for Reconstruction publicly proclaimed the Santa Rosa Carib Community as the only legitimate retained community of indigenous people in Trinidad. In 1993, the Carib Community received a national award, the Chaconia Silver Medal for Culture and Community Service. The Carib Community was also strongly promoted in the two region-wide Caribbean Festival of the Arts held in Trinidad in 1993 and 1995.