MASSASSINATION.: Recent Episodes
noreply@blogger.com (MAS ASSASSIN)
In 2019, Addicted Mas will be celebrating 10 years of existence at Notting Hill Carnival, whilst tapping into the energies that have fueled the ADDICTED journey.
From its inception in 2010 with the presentation 'CHAOS' ADDICTED was formed out
of the love and passion for our carnival culture, and driven by the love, energy, and passion of our masqueraders, whom for ten consecutive summers have supported and represented the brand its growth and philosophy of originality.Our themes of the past have explored the strength and tenacity of human nature and the triumph of the Caribbean presence in the world and the possible futures we may face.
Our style has been influenced not just by the mas around us, but by histories, science, architecture, Soca, Rap, world events, and social commentary. Yet we have explored in our ten years the tip of the metaphorical iceberg that is ADDICTED. In celebration of 10 years of Addicted and our relationship with the legendary mas band Cocoyea, we look back at the energy, creativity, love, and elation that we experience on the road….the intense pleasure….the intense joy….RAPTURE. The Colour Purple: According to the website the 'bourne creative',”the colour purple is associated with royalty, nobility, luxury, power, creativity, wisdom, peace, pride and independence.” In Hinduism, the purple or violet chakra is known as the Crown Chakra and represents the transformation of spiritual awareness and creativity. And, in the Yoruba traditions, purple is a colour of the Orisha Oya, protector of women she is the Orisha of change and the four winds. Starburst: The image of a star, sun or starburst is familiar to us all, from the scientific theory of the big bang to God the creator saying “let there be light”. All life and creation are imagined to come from an explosion of energy. This explosion is depicted through the gold motif of a starburst throughout the female costume, sending beams of light and creative energy through a universe of light, one rapturous event after another. It is this energy that transforms to the spirit of Carnival, from the masquerade traditions of Africa to the celebrations of freedom in the Caribbean and its global expansions. We pay tribute to that energy in 2019.This is RAPTURE!Addicted Mas 2019Designer: Stephen A. Armstrong
For more information go to : https://specialist-events.com/addictedmas/
On Monday the 6th of May 2019 Addicted Launched with the band Cocoyea marking not only the sections tenth year of existence but also the relationship shared between the two carnival entities that started in 2010.
held at the Yaa centre cocoyea launched its 2019 theme of SANKOFA. The event was well received and RAPTURE had a great response, check out this video that summarises the event.
Monday August 27th 2018. Addicted Mas took to the streets of Notting hill with 'Zenith'. A great time was had by all, here's a summery of that day' I hope you enjoy it.
Zenith: The time in which something is at its most powerful or successful. It is also a point of time when the sun is at its highest point in the sky. A culmination; a climax; a peak.Mountains too have their summits the highest of them have snow covered crowns identifying them as lords of both landscape and skylines. To surmount these mountains and reach their peaks is a perilous journey, reserved only for the brave and the bold, who are prepared to look death in the face in the pursuit of reaching that Zenith. Many have died trying to achieve while others turn away from the challenge and perils of such a journey. But warriors full of daring and desire face the greatest risk for the highest thrills. Like the sun above and the mountains below it, we spend our lives climbing from the valleys of our existence aspiring to reach our Highest Self. History is flooded with the names of individuals who reached their Zenith illuminating our hearts and minds with their abilities; from Usain Bolt to Floyd Mayweather, Michael Jackson to Beyonce, The Mighty Sparrow to Bob Marley; Marcus Garvey to Martin Luther King. Those super-humans who rise to plateaus above us all, with seemingly effortless ease as if they were gifted with talents from the Gods, beyond mere mortals.Ancient history also echoes with the names of those whom while in their Zenith transformed the world, Alexander the Great the Macedonian KING, considered one of the greatest military leaders of all time conquered the known world by the age of 32 .Sundiata Keita founder of the Mali Empire overcame adversity and physical disability as a child to become a great leader before he died at 37.
Civilisations and societies too can rise to a cultural and economic Zenith, they supersede their predecessors or contemporaries be it Egypt, Persia, Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, Mongolia, England the United States or China, Civilizations and Empires have risen levels of accomplishment that are without equal and almost unimaginable if not for the evidence of their presence. Zenith is the realisation of ones highest self, the understanding that you have the power to change your environment, the awareness that you can influence positive growth in others, and doing so. Zenith is you determining your own future; creating your own destiny; implementing and achieving your own goals. Zenith is knowing your limits and surpassing them, facing down your fears and conquering them, examining your strengths and improving them.Either you are looking back at it, rapidly approaching it, or currently existing in it. The Zenith is that point in our lives when we are at our most energised, the strongest we have ever been, the fastest, the most radiant, the healthiest and ultimately the most successful versions of ourselves. Being in your Zenith is being at your highest. Like the ice capped mountains of the world or a mid-day sun in the sky we are at the height of our existence right now. This year Addicted looks at the Zenith as an analogy for our lives. A celebration of the life force within us all, as we ascend to the peak of life's experience. This is ZENITH, this is where your powerful now is!The costumesThis year Addicted has chosen white to depict the theme of Zenith.White does not just symbolise the ice and snow found on the tallest mountains around the world, but combined with the iridescence of AR stones and holographic foils, it reflects the radiance found in the spectrum of light that emanates from these snow capped mountains and the sun when bright and high in the sky.White is also the colour of the Crown Chakra SAHASRARA) which is said to be our connection to the divine.Among the Orishas White is the traditional colour of Obatala, this father of all Orishas, Obatala holds influence over leadership, fatherhood, justice and geology, and is often symbolised by mountains.RADIANT PRIME: This year addicted has produced a limited production individual costume radiant prime, this costume depicts light bursting from its source, an entity in her zenith .Join ADDICTED MAS on the streets of Notting Hill 2018 and celebrate the Zenith of your life,S.A. ArmstrongAddicted Designer For more details go to: http://specialist-events.com/addicted-mas/
What traditions are we losing in our Carnival, how can we bring them back and what have we not yet explored? This was the main theme of mas band Vulgar Fraction’s Carnival post-mortem session, Independent Mas Speaks, held at Granderson Lab, Belmont. The panelists were political and social critic Rhoda Bharath, cultural researcher Arielle John and cultural activist Amanda T. McIntyre, and the panel moderated by Robert Young of the Cloth.Bharath, who views Carnival through the lens of ancestor veneration, said she was shaken when two regional visitors said T&T’s Carnival was very commercialised and had no cultural elements, based on their observations. She said the ancestral mas and cultural mas felt like they were being subsumed by pretty mas, although these were all valid ways in which to experience mas, depending on the personality of the masquerader.Bharath said Carnival comes out of yards, and it is essential for yards to take themselves to another level in educating people about mas. She said they should be continuing the work outside of the season and there is now no excuse for not recording, storing, archiving, representing and re-presenting themselves.Bharath called on the National Carnival Commission (NCC) to put more effort into having a separate route for ancestral mas and traditional mas because there was an audience for them. She said she was not advocating for handouts but better organisation. Bharath said she didn’t believe that Carnival is dead or dying, but it can be floundering and directionless, and this could be remedied by thinking about the underpinning of the Festival.John said in her research on the divine impulses that we celebrate within the mas, she has begun the establishment of a counter-Trinity in Carnival of the Mother, Maiden and Crone as evidenced by the Virgin Mary, the Orisha deity Oshun and the Hindu goddess Kali. She said the Virgin Mary represented the oppression wrought by European Christianity and the history of subjection and subjugation which came with it.John said Oshun, who embodies sensuality and love, is the easiest entity to find in the Carnival. She is represented by women in their costumes, the flag women and the jammettes who were some of the earliest originators of the Carnival rebellion. She said Kali is the great destroyer, the goddess of death and rebirth, and she is evident in the stick-fighting rituals and the warring factions of the steel bands as they fought for recognition. John said while there is violence in Carnival, it is part of ritual and can be viewed in a positive light. She said we need to interrogate who the onlooker is who denounces it as barbaric.Bharath said there are traditions in dance to be explored, especially as they relate to the various deities. She said more research and discussion need to take place on the traditions which both enslaved and bonded Africans would have brought to T&T.McIntyre spoke about the Culture of Consent campaign and the uproar about the police warning against assault, linking it to Vulgar Fraction’s presentation Playing White in We Sh##hole Country. She said there was a sense of entitlement, or ‘playing white’, in how those with more power related to those with less, for example between rich people and poor people, men and women, and adults and children.Bharath said we have lost sight of our culture, which has always had non-verbal cues for asking and giving consent. She said we are failing to teach young people the codes which used to exist in households, like the look which brought instant obedience. John questioned why men only respected women’s agency and right to say no when the law was watching them.Source: Trinidad GuardianPaula Lindo
Roxanne Omalo achieved her goal earlier today, when at about 1.45 am, she was declared the 2018 Queen of Carnival while veteran masquerader, Earl Thompson won King of Carnival for a Peter Minshall-designed costume.Omalo was the last of the 10 queen finalists to perform during Dimanche Gras on Sunday night at the Queen's Park Savannah, Port of Spain. She won for her portrayal of Lilith, Mistress of the Eternally Dammed.The costume, from Antourage Productions' presentation Dance of Mystery, was a mix of vibrant red bands with black and gold accents, framing Lilith's large skeletal frame. On either side of Omalo, were the large faces two monsters, baring their sharp white teeth.There was no third place queen this year, as the South Queen of Carnival, Gloria Dallsingh – with her costume Gem of the Ocean – tied with Krystal Thomas – with her costume De Head Huntress – for second place.Speaking with reporters shortly after being crowned queen, Omalo said, "Eight years I've been playing but I told (my team) that before ten, I would win it and I did it tonight. Varma Lakhan and Antourage Productions, well-done."Thompson's portrayal of Death And The Maiden, The Fancy King Sailor Plays Pegasus, was a crowd favourite from the preliminary round last Tuesday.The costume is the presentation, The Eyes of God, a collaboration between Minshall's band, The Callaloo Company and Exodus Steel Orchestra.Sans wheels, the flying horse costume was dependent on Thompson's skill and Minshall's training to ensure its fabric wings stayed unfurled for the judges to fully appreciate the hand-painted images of a naked masquerader on one wing and a skeleton on the other."He (Minshall) demonstrated to me, what to do and how to do it. In terms of moving the costume and how to keep the wings flying," Thompson said.Last year's winner, Ted Eustace from the band Paparazzi, placed second with Dos Bandditos while there was tie for third place between Ravi Lakhan – Balrog, Bringer of the Apocalypse – and Marlon Rampersad – D Midas Touch.Sasha HarrinananSource:Newsday
Ronnie and Caro Mas Band have retained their National Carnival Commission (NCC) Band of the Year title for their 2018 presentation of Life’s Checkered Board.The large band, owned by veteran soca artist Ronnie McIntosh and his wife Caroline, copped their third consecutive title when the results were announced yesterday.The band had previously won the Medium Band of the Year title for four consecutive years between 2008 and 2011, before it grew into a large band.In an interview at the band’s Woodbrook mas camp just before he began celebrating with staff last evening, McIntosh said while they were happy titles were not the driving force behind the band’s annual presentations.“When we first started we were not concentrating on the titles. We won the first year we came out, but that really was not the plan,” McIntosh said.Saying the band was focused on providing good customer service, he said most of their 1,000 masqueraders were returning customers and foreign nationals.“Customer service is one of the things that’s making us famous and making people come back and recommend us to other people,” McIntosh said.He also said his masqueraders did not need much prompting to stick within their sections at judging points and were synchronised for much of the parade route.“Presentation is important. It does not mean that you have to do theatrics, drama and fireworks. It is just how you come across stage and give the judges and people an opportunity to see the band and costumes,” he said.In second place in the large band competition was The Lost Tribe’s presentation Seven followed by Paparazzi Carnival’s Nomadik Nation.The top three results were the same for the Port-of-Spain City Corporation’s Downtown competition for Carnival Tuesday. It was the fifth time that Ronnie and Caro had won the corporation’s Carnival Tuesday title.In the medium band category, K2K Alliance’s We Stand United beat Republic Bank Exodus Steel Orchestra’s The Eyes of God, which was designed by former multiple Band of the Year winner Peter Minshall. In third place was Jus Wee and Friends’ presentation Wee Take Flight. Like Ronnie and Caro, the win was K2K Alliance’s third title in as many years.NCC BAND OF THE YEAR RESULTSLarge Bands
1. Ronnie and Caro Mas Band - Life’s Checkered Board - 1275
2. The Lost Tribe - Seven - 1245
3. Paparazzi Carnival - Nomadik Nation - 1204
Medium Bands
1. K2K Alliance - We Stand United - 1270
2. Republic Bank Exodus Steel Orchestra - The Eyes of God - 1235
3. Jus Wee and Friends - Wee Take Flight - 1198
Small Bands
1. Tribal Connection Cultural Promotion - Call of D Tribes - 1192
2. Utopia Mas - Folklore: A Collection of Animal Tales - 1191
3. Belmont Exotic Stylish Sailors - Masters of the Art - 1182
Mini Bands
1. The Orginal Jab Jab - Spirit of D Whip - 1196
2. Simply Cultural - We Claiming We Space - 1184
3. Rhapsody in Blue - Blue Madda Dan Dem - 1164Source: Trinidad Guardian
As the reign of the Merry Monarch came to a fantastic finish yesterday, The Eyes Of God, a production of legendary masman Peter Minshall, took centre stage at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain.Minshall, who re-entered the big stage after an absence of several years, produced a sailor band accompanied by melodious sounds from the Exodus steelband, much to the delight of masqueraders and spectators alike.The Eyes Of God was produced in collaboration with the Calaloo Company and featured a black and white colour scheme of white sailor pants, white sailor caps and white T-shirts with black writing which drew much appreciation.Bikini and beads also had their usual spot on the big stage as frenzied frolickers portrayed brilliant, intricately-woven costumes displaying a kaleidoscope of colours.Earlier, it was not unusual that the Harts band was at the entrance to the Savannah stage promptly at 8 am. The 11 sections were in keeping with the band’s theme Shimmer and Lace, with costumes featuring lace, sheer body suits, capes and some bling.Large band Ronnie and Caro’s Life’s Checkered Board also put on a fantastic display with sections like Fight to the Finish, Game Changers, Game Haters and Lovers of the Game which told a story: life is like a game of chess where people must play wisely and create their own niche, as the journey is only for a time.The band, which is in its eleventh year, has copped a hattrick with its previous wins.Band leader Ronnie McIntosh, who briefly spoke afterwards, said the tough economic times had some effect this year as their numbers were down.“This year we have about 1,100 masqueraders. We were eventually sold out in the end, but when people are faced with one month-end salary before Carnival it is hard and we understand that,” McIntosh said.“But our foreign customer base has increased. We treat everyone really good because Carnival makes an important contribution to our economy...people are spending their money and customer service must be important.”Another large band, Paparazzi, which had an estimated 1,500 masqueraders, was spectacular with its presentation Carnival is Nomadik Nations. The sections, including Red Light District, featured cultures from around the world.Legacy’s We Jamming Still created its concept from the 2017 Road March by the Ultimate Rejects.Band director Mahindra Satram-Maharaj said although the song was last year it was very relevant today given the financial constraints faced by many.“It shows the resilient of our people ... that despite in the face of adversity we persevere and find solutions,” Satram-Maharaj said as sections like Hope and Unity crossed the stage. Just after noon, however, there was a lull when party band Fantasy Carnival took much longer to cross the stage as revellers were reluctant to exit. With its presentation the Isle of Olympia, Fantasy was accompanied by soca star Machel Montano, who delivered his runaway hit Soca Kingdom from one of music trucks.K2K Alliance and Partners also weaved a theme of hope with its presentation We Stand United, as it honed in on unifying topics such as love, faith, brotherhood, family and resilience born through struggle.There were also some small band’s like Masters of the Art, which featured Belmont Exotic Stylish Sailors showcasing traditional fancy sailor mas.Some 75 bands were registered with the National Carnival Commission (NCC). The results for Band of the Year are expected to be announced today.Geisha KowlessarSource:Trinidad Guardian
Persistence and dedication paid off for two veteran masqueraders who secured victory in this year’s Carnival King and Queen competition following years of unsuccessful forays in the annual contest.
Earl Thompson and Roxanne Omalo improved on their fifth and seventh place results in the preliminary round of the competition, as they dazzled both the judges and the modest audience and outshone their 18 competitors at the Dimanche Gras show at the Queen’s Park Savannah on Sunday night.
Thompson, whose costume “Death and The Maiden The Fancy King Sailor Play Pegasus” was designed by acclaimed designer Peter Minshall, was crowd favourite as he utilised his theatre experience to animate the costume.
Minshall’s interpretation of the Greek mythical creature was an intricately designed black stallion with hand painted wings which featured a dancing skeleton and a semi-nude masquerader.
Thompson slowly trod on stage with a pre-recorded introduction voiced by Minshall and performed to a pan rendition of Bach’s eerie Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, played Republic Bank Exodus Steel Orchestra, the band he will perform with on Carnival Monday and Tuesday.
The costume was Minshall’s first since 2016 when his moko jumbie and ballet-themed costume—The Dying Swan, Ras Nijinsky in Drag as Pavlova—failed to win despite receiving widespread acclaim. In an interview after being crowned Thompson said he was able to improve his performance through first-hand demonstrations from Minshall, whose Callaloo Company he has been a member of for almost 27 years.
“It (preliminary performance) was me not understanding the costume and what it was meant to do. Over the past few days, I was well schooled and taught how to do it by Peter. He demonstrated to what to do and how to do it,” Thompson said. Thompson said the performance was assisted by Minshall’s deceptively simple design.
“A costume designed by Minshall is literally one that you would die to want to wear because of its balance and the thinking behind it,” Thompson said.
Thompson’s only narrowly beat defending monarch Ted Eustace, who came second.
The 30-foot tall costume “Dos Bandditos”, comprised of two sombrero-wearing skeletons riding two menacing skeletal dragons, which Eustace controlled mechanically.
Eustace’s brother Curtis missed out on a record tenth win in the competition as his costume “Kamatachi- D Chinese Demon Butterfly” failed to make the top three despite topping the preliminary round.
The older Eustace appeared to suffer a costume malfunction as one of the wings of his monstrous colourful butterfly appeared to be fractured when being set up backstage. Ravi Lakhan and South King of Carnival Marlon Rampersad tied for third place.
Rampersad’s mother Gloria Dallsingh, who also won the South Queen of Carnival, tied for second place in the Queens competition with last year’s winner Krystal Thomas.
However, they were no match for Roxanne Omalo, whose costume “Lilith-Mistress of the Eternally Dammed” was easily the largest in the competition.
Her costume, designed by Varma Lakhan, featured a crimson and black skeletal figure carrying a scythe, being led by a pair of demonic figures that released fireworks as she performed before the judges.
Despite its size, Omalo, a perennial finalist who never won, was able to effortlessly manoeuver the costume across the stage while dancing freely compared to other competitors who carefully negotiated the props positioned for the Calypso Monarch competition.
“I just had to know how to control the costume on stage because in the preliminaries the stage is free. I guess because of my expertise I knew when to turn and how to execute it and here we are tonight,” Omalo said.
Omalo almost did not make it to the final following a mishap with the costume earlier this week.
“This year we started off very rocky because the costume broke on the morning of the preliminaries, so we had to go back to the drawing board,” Omalo said.
She went on: “I was in position 10 so I knew whoever was before me, I had to close the show with a bang and I did it.”
Omalo, who has participated consistently over the past eight years, said the victory was a dream come through as she predicted that she would gain her first crown before she made decade in the competition.
RESULTS
Carnival King
1. Earl Thompson - Death And The Maiden The Fancy King Sailor Play Pegasus
2. Ted Eustace - Dos Bandditos
3. Ravi Lakhan -Balrog “Bringer Of The Apocalypse” and Marlon
Rampersad - d Midas Touch
Carnival Queen
1. Roxanne Omalo -Lilith-Mistress of the Eternally Dammed
2. Krystal Thomas - De Head Huntress
and Gloria Dallsingh - Gem Of The Ocean
Source: Trinidad Guardian
Ainsworth Mohammed and Peter Minshall showcased costume options to their 2018 Carnival contribution The Eyes Of God, Soul Food: Black Eye Peas and Rice, at Kaiso Blues Cafe, Newtown, last Friday evening.Essence of Mohammed’s and Minshall’s The Eyes Of God, is to return to a pure idea of mas which was steelpan, sailors and a flag-bearer (Flag Woman) as opposed to what we see now; beads, bikinis and feathers. The band is black and white with no frillsIt was after a religious event where someone said to Peter Minshall: “All men are equal in the eyes of God” and he responded, “Would that mean ‘all gods were equal in the eyes of man’.”Our national anthem states: “Here every creed and race, find an equal place” and Soul Food: Black Eye Peas and Rice plans to visually depict such. Imagine seeing a sea of white, a sea of pureness, above it flags and wings with eyes (of God) looking back at you, the people, and down on the masqueraders coming on the road for carnival. That is original carnival in it’s purest sense. The eyes are the window to the soul therefore the band celebrates the soul as well.After 50 years, Minshall aims to portray a vision of our true selves that we don’t see anymore as American cable news, reality TV, and TV boxes with foreign programming has changed our people’s mindset and the original purpose and meaning of carnival.The Eyes Of God, Soul Food: Black Eye Peas and Rice aims to bring us back to the original essence of carnival that is “pan, mas, and flags.”A quote that has driven Mr Minshall, according to Kathryn L Chan is: “You may give your island, which regards itself rich on the dregs of Western culture, something of itself.”The band is being produced and brought out by a committee in keeping with the meaning behind the band, “All ah we is one.”SOURCE: Trinidad Guardian
Mourners braved the inclement weather yesterday to attend the funeral of 94-year-old masman Neville Romus Aming at the Church of the Assumption in Maraval.“Daddy was a pioneer of Carnival,” said Aming’s daughter Crystal Aming-Marcus who delivered the eulogy. She fondly recalled memories of him. “His influence lives on in me, as I have been a costume designer for the past 18 years,” said Aming-Marcus.
| | | PIONEER: Neville Aming |
Deacon Mike Smith said he recalled growing up with Aming and realising from a young age that Aming had a passion hinged on Carnival. “It was a privilege to know him. Neville intrigued us with his passion for mas,” said Smith.“His family meant everything to him. Neville was dedicated to his family, friends, vocation to God and his profession—creating mas. This was reflected in him being awarded the Humming Bird Silver in 1996 for his contributions to society,” Smith continued.Among those in attendance were widow Conchita Aming, eight children, close family members, friends and the president of the National Carnival Bands Association David Lopez. “Neville gave Carnival immense creativity and we thank him for his contributions,” said Lopez.Aming assisted in developing regional, as well as international, carnivals and was one of the founding members of the Carnival Band Leader’s Association. Some of his most popular Carnival presentations were 1959’s - Reign of the Mings; 1960 - Golden Age of China and 1967 Oriental Fantasy.“Neville’s passing calls us to look at our own lives. Let this funeral make you reflect on your lives to see if you are living a life that is pleasing to God. Let his death be a conversion for us,” said Deacon Smith. Aming’s grandson Kyle Awah said, “My grandfather was the best and he will be missed.” Aming died peacefully on September 22, surrounded by family. He was buried at the Lapeyrouse Cemetery.source: Tenisha Sylvester
Huddled around an old photo album in a small apartment on Nelson Street, tales flow of the extraordinary life of well-known mas man Benidict Morgan.Two of his daughters, Annette and Christine, smile as they give story after story. It is clear how proud they are of their father, their sadness at his death at the age of 90 on August 8 mixed with the joy of so many wonderful memories.Though he was popularly known simply as “the Original Bookma
| | | Benidict Morgan portrays the popular Carnival character The Bookman at the staging of Camboulay. |
n” because this was what he played for the last 20 years or so, he played all kinds of Mas throughout the course of his long life.Christine remembers when she was a child he played the Art Gallery. “People used to stopped us all the time. On the costume there were pictures of Trinidad from long ago, the tram car, things like that. He lived for his mas. He said he played mas since he was seven,” she said.“He played with Mac Williams, Saldenha, he played with so many bands, even Peter Minshall in Rats and River. He played sailor. He played Roman soldier. He play a mas that looked like a knight in shining armour from head to toe complete with a shield and spear.“He was a pan man too, a Casablanca man in the early days of the band,” she added. “He had a tattoo on his arm from the band. All the old members had the same tattoo. He was proud of it.”Christine takes out his birth certificate to show that this name is Benidict and not Benedict and that he was born on Besson Street in 1927. “His mother was Willimina Morgan, but I don’t know anything about her as she died when he was 12. After that he had to look after himself and his sister. He was a fire officer in his younger days, and then later in his life he became a prisons officer.”Morgan was one of the few people left playing the Bookman, one of the leading figures of the Devil Band which had its heyday in our Carnival during the first decades of the 1900s.Originally known as the mythological winged demon Beelzebub, the Bookman carries the Book of Law in one hand and a large pen in the other which he uses to record the names of the subjects of his kingdom.In the evolution of this portrayal, Bookman characters would write the names of historical/political figures, both local and international, who they deemed to have gone to “hell” through their misdeeds.There are just a few people left now who consistently play the Bookman. Sylvan Joseph is the main one, while Winston Daniel and his sons play a variety of Beasts, Lucifer, Satan and the Grim Reaper. There are also others who play various characters from year to year, especially the Dragon, but they are also a handful.The Crosstown Carnival Committee has been trying to keep these traditions alive on Carnival Friday with their Dragon Festival and over the last two years tried to re-imagine Patrick Jones band, Khaki and Slate.Notably, in 2010 there was a wonderful presentation of a number of the Devil Band characters on Carnival Sunday organised by Lari Richardson with students from UWI’s Creative Arts programme.What does the future hold for traditions like the Bookman, will this become a figure only seen in old photos?Or will the theatrics and splendour of this elaborate Mas find revived wings in the fertile imagination of the new generation of Mas jumbies like ten-year-old Jude Sankar, the youngest son of Mas woman Tracey Sankar, whose immediate response when he heard of Morgan’s death was: “I will play Bookman. I will play this mas for him.”HISTORY OF BOOKMAN PORTRAYALSPortrayals of the Devil have very early origins in our Carnival, with references as far back as 1848 in the writing of Charles Day.By 1900 the popularity of playing the Devil was well established, though not as yet formalised into a band of characters.A major milestone in this type of Mas came in 1906 when Patrick “Chinee” Jones, a leading Mas man and calypsonian of his time who sang under the name “Oliver Cromwell/The Lord Protector” organised the first devil band called Khaki and Slate inspired by illustrations in a copy of Dante’s Inferno.This first Devil band included Lucifer, a Dragon, along with traditional red devils which were then renamed as imps. Over the next three decades, when this type of Mas was very popular, the number of characters increased, as did the level of drama in its portrayal.Errol Hill records in his book Trinidad Carnival that Beelzebub/Bookman was introduced in 1923.Jeff Henry in his book Behind the Mas writes “with a facial expression dripping with mischief and sensuality, he is an enchanting monster. His feet are hooves turned backwards. He carries an extraordinarily large book, with a large pen in hand and ink well on his heel. Bookman is Hell’s recording secretary. He wears an immaculate gown, beautifully decorated in bright colours, with sequins and embroidered gold braid. His movements are smooth and gracefully exquisite. Among his carefully chosen intricate movements are glides, spins and freezes. Occasionally he moves in slow motion. In a ethereal moment, he twirls and dips his pen in the ink well, pointing to one of the spectators and calming writing something down in his book. The action means the person he points at, or someone close to them, is going to die. The mad scramble to get out of the way when Bookman dips his pen for fresh ink is something to behold.”Henry goes into great detail on the many characters of the Devil Band were divided into three distinct categories: Rulers/Gownmen, Beasts/Dragons and Imps. Each was introduced by a specific piece of music.Devils bands were always led by Lucifer, then there was Beelzebub/Bookman, Satan-the Second King, Sun of the Morning and the Bride of Lucifer, who was Queen of the band and it’s only female member. There was also the Ghost figure who represented Death, and a figure known as Gentleman Jim. Next in line were the Uncaged Beasts and the Dragons known as Caged Beasts-Satan in Rage attended to by the Key Imp who unlocks the chains of the Beast. And finally there was a host of Imps whose basic costume was tight fitting with wings, tails and half masks with horns carrying an assortment of axes, scrolls, scales to weigh sin, bells, dice and cards. Imps famously portrayed elaborate rituals and dances for the Dragon to be able to cross water. Among other Devil Band characters were ones known as Billiards, the Prince of Darkness and the Wooly Man.• Maria Nunes is a photographer and cultural activist who has a special interest in the preservation of T&T’s Carnival traditions.
source: Trinidad Guardian
“He lived and died Carnival,” was how Crystal Aming-Marcus described her grandfather, the late Neville Aming, whom she also referred to as her father. The veteran mas leader, who won the medium band of the year title four times, passed on Friday at 9.20 pm at a private nursing home. Aming’s funeral will be held on Monday at the Assumption Church, Long Circular Road, Maraval. “He passed peacefully. The nuns and his daughters were all with him and they sang him into heaven,” Aming-Marcus told Newsday.His son, Bobby Aming, who spoke with Newsday via phone, said his 94-year-old father was not ill but rather grieved to death for Carnival and his children.Bobby said, “He lived and died mas. He retired from Carnival in Trinidad in the mid-90s and then he moved on. He was always into Bermuda and Washington DC, which is where I lived. He would always come after Bermuda and join us and bring carnival. He helped develop carnival in Washington DC.” One of Aming’s daughters, Lisa Aming-Castor also had a band in Washington DC’s carnival.Aming assisted in developing regional, as well as international, carnivals and was one of the founding members of the Carnival Band Leader’s Association. The band leader was also most known for costumes which referenced Trinidad and Tobago’s history and did not like “bikini and beads mas.” He was awarded the Humming Bird Silver for his contributions to the mas in 1996, the same year Peter Minshall was awarded the Trinity Cross.Wrenwrick Brown, secretary of The National Carnival Bands Association, extended condolences to the Aming family saying, the entire carnival fraternity mourns whenever one of its icons passes. Aming, he recalled, served on the executive of the then carnival body and was its treasurer at one point. Brown said he was proud to represent TT at the Pan Am games in the US along with Aming.Aming leaves to mourn his wife Conchita Aming and eight children.SOURCE: Newsday
The year is A.D. 2017 and the Addicted Mas section invites you to join us on a journey of realisation, revelation, enlightenment and new understanding.Come with us and re-examine your past and present, through the
lens of Afrocentric eyes.AFRO DOMINIAfro Domini is the awakening of African history and consciousness. It is taken from the Latin “Anno Domini (AD)” meaning “in the year of the Lord”, based on the traditional year of the birth of Jesus Christ.Anno: in the year of his age, taken from anno aetatis suaeDomini: originating from the word dominus, meaning “belonging to the lord god or lord master”Because of Africa’s presence in World history and events, our designer believes that Anno Domini should be Afro Domini (belonging to Africa). AD is a term used in Western history to define every period of history by Latin Christian dominion, despite the fact that the African continent, its civilisations and histories have pre-dated, contemporised, interacted and interwoven with European history as a silent continuous and undoubtedly dominant partner in history.
Africa and her resources have been tied to humanity’s development in recorded and lost history. Her religions, social and spiritual philosophies have formed foundation blocks in every great empire and epoch in the history of man. Her mythologies and cultural traditions have survived attacks and atrocities that span geography and time. Her people have been disseminated around the world via land, sea and air; all contributing cultural growth wherever they set foot.
HEGEMONYAfro Domini is then the awakening and understanding that we are the inheritors of this hegemony.In the Western cannon, the Motherland is depicted as a dark savage land and her people, an undeveloped nation lacking all necessities that can sustain quality living. When in fact, Africa is the giant that that holds the world on its shoulders. Her people on her lands and her people that make up the Diaspora are the creators of religion, language, music, beauty, fashion, philosophy, art, and society.Afro Domini is the understanding that you do not sit at the bottom of every social ladder as depicted in the media; but you are the foundation stones of every great society. You are not a symbol of poverty, starvation, illiteracy, and death; but icons of strength, stamina, longevity wealth, knowledge, and immortality.OUR COSTUMESOur costumes consist of three main colours: Green, Gold and Black, two of which can be found in the flag of the Pan Africanism movement. In the flag of Marcus Garvey’s UNIA, Black represented the people and Green the land of Africa. These colours, together with red, can be identified in the national colours of many African and Caribbean countries that share the pan-African philosophy.Green and Black are also associated with the Oresha Ogun, god of labour, war and technology. It is said that Ogun clears the roads, and was the first of the Oreshas to come to earth and make a home for humankind. Ogun is the energy that sustains life and motion, constantly evolving and manifesting in form as we develop. When the demands on our energies change, Ogun adapts. MAS WITH A DIFFERENCEAfro Domini is an African theme but not an ‘African mas’. In the The design was also influenced by the rebirth in afro centric awareness in the mainstream society today, especially in fashion. tradition of African mas, there are
motifs which are influenced by the African masquerade traditions.
The male headpiece and chest plate draws influence from the Zulu warrior’s traditional costume. The triangular motif throughout the costume echoes that of traditional African design in sculpture and clothing. The female leg pieces and wristbands are both designed with strips of cloth, a tradition of Carnivals in the Caribbean with its roots in West Africa. Like her counterpart, the triangular and diamond motif is repeated on the leg and armbands.
The stylised sun burst on the skirt, which is repeated on the tiara and headpiece, not only echos Egyptian iconography, but symbolises the awakening and understanding of AD - seeing yourself in a new light that illuminates the past, present and future. The loincloth/skirting on the female carries a motif influenced
by the fashionable print seen today.
OUR THEMELike ZeroFive Fifty, Kingdom come and Unstoppable, Afro Domini is another commentary on of the Once again the philosophy of Ethiopianism and its base in Psalm 68; 31 “Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands onto god” and the belief of the Hebrew Israelites whose ethos lies in the scripture of Deuteronomy 28; 68 “The Lord will send you back in ships to Egypt on a journey I said you should never make again . There you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves” have been used by the designer as the philosophical foundation blocks of the theme.importance of Africa, her Diaspora and the present Caribbean’s contribution to global development.
Africa’s history has been one of ‘running her jewels’. All her resources including her people, a people the ancient Greeks once believed were so beautiful the Gods dined only with them, have been and is still sought after by her global neighbours. The gold around your neck, the diamonds on your fingers, and the Coltan in your mobile phones. Africa, while excluded from the pages of Western history has spread her arms around the world, her story is not always a beautiful one but her dominating presence is a historical and contemporary fact.How else can the meek inherit the Earth?AFRO DOMINIS. A. Armstrong
Addicted Mas Designer
In 2010 ADDICTED exploded on to the streets of Notting Hill carnival with our presentation “Chaos”Seven years later Addicted invites you to explore our theme for 2016 Seventh Heaven.SEVEN is one of the most mystical and magical numbers in human history, from the seven deadly sins to the Seven Wonders of the World, the number seven is clearly recognised as one of the most significant numbers/symbols.In almost every religious text, there is also mention and recognition of the number, in the bible seven is mentioned over 700 times, and we all know that according to the bible the world was created in seven days and we live in the 7 day week even today. In Numerology, seven is seen as the number of sacred spirituality, mystic energy, completion and both spiritual and physical perfection.Heaven the religious concept:Regarded as the home of God or the gods that exists in the sky depending on the belief system, heaven is that Utopia that those whom do good in this life, or lives by the universal law of love are sent to as a reward when life ends. Also known as Zion, paradise or nirvana, there is the myth within some systems that heaven is divided into seven divisions.The notion of 7 heavens, goes back to ancient Mesopotamian religions, they believed that the heavens were divided into seven parts, this concept is repeated in Judaism, it is believed that the universe is made of seven heavens, the seventh heaven being the home of god and his most exaltedangles. Islam also speaks of seven heavens and Muslims on pilgrimage make the ‘kaaba’ seven times. In Hinduism, the belief is there are seven upper worlds and seven lower worlds, and the human body is said to have seven chakras or wheels of energy. The Buddhism belief says that when the new born buhadda was born he rose to his feet and took 7 steps.Of the seven heavens the seventh is said to be the highest and final level, not only is it where God and the angles exist but it is also the a place of supreme happiness and ecstasy. Our colour scheme Pink and blue.The colour combination of pink and blue are our main colours of choice this year, while most will associate heaven with the traditional angelic white, we at addicted never comply with such norms, in the creative imaginative spirit of carnival we expand the boundries...Pink has been long understood to be the universal colour of love, blue the colour of trust loyalty and wisdomAccording to the belies and traditions of sanitaria the Oresha that governs the colours pink and blue as well as the number seven is the Orisha ‘Oko’, Oko is the oreisha of harvest, fertility and abundance. i.e. Nirvana, Zion, Heaven.Religious connotations aside Addicted’s “Seventh heaven” is an analogy for our lives and the release and bliss we experience on the days of carnival, the creative energy that can only be described as mystical, the ecstasy we experience on the road on carnival day, the mental and spiritual harvest that we reap after a year of hard work and sacrifice, the exaltation we feel when we raise our hands to the sweet vibrations of soca music.Completion: Perfection:Reward;7th Heaven
7thHeaven.For Teresa Shirley Armstrong3/10/37 -31/12/15My Mother, My Compass, My Friend.
I know exactly where you are.S.A. ArmstrongAddicted Designer
"With Caribbean migration to and from European colonial capitals and North American urban centres, Carnival, and other festivals such as Junkanoo, have influenced and in turn been influenced by artistic developments and social events around a reconfigured, postcolonial, circum-Atlantic circuit.
This timeline chronicles the creation of diasporic pan-Caribbean carnivals from Harlem to Notting Hill in the pre-and immediate post-Independence era, as well as in Brooklyn and Toronto in the mid- to late 1960s. It traces the emergence of Caribbean carnivals and festivals on theatre, dance, and Broadway stages in New York and London, in metropolitan contemporary art galleries and biennials from São Paulo to Havana to Gwangju, at the Olympics and other games since the 1980s as well as in protest and other movements, all the way to Occupy Wall Street.
Cursory yet never compiled before, this account seeks to record the impact Carnival has had on contemporary artistic and curatorial practices as well as critical discourses on art and performance, participation and the public sphere among an increasingly global ever growing number of creative domains. It highlights the contributions of artists, critics and curators, many of whom are collaborators of En Mas’, while pointing to the way in which these events have provided benchmarks for their practice–from Lorraine O’Grady’s attendance of the Caribbean Carnival musical in Boston in the 1940s to Marlon Griffith’s experience of Peter Minshall’s Rat Race in Port-of-Spain in the 1980s.Like most exhibitions about the Caribbean produced in the English speaking world, this timeline is predominantly about the English speaking Caribbean even as it strives to account for accomplishments in the Spanish and French speaking Caribbean as well—even as it also shows how Carnival continues to dismantle such boundaries in a post-colonial, multi-focal, global arena. Like En Mas’ , this time-line places a great emphasis on the Trinidad Carnival and its diasporic exports, due, in part, to the unprecedented reach of the Trinidad Carnival model—akin to, say, the recognition of Jamaican music globally. And like En Mas’ as a whole, it is only but a bench-mark towards further studies and future creative endeavours." (source;Claire Tancons)
For more on 'Broadway to Biennial' use this link.
| | | Y.U.M.A. Mas Band unveils their elaborate costumes for Trinidad’s carnival in 2016 to a sold-out crowd outside of the national stadium. Large, contemporary bands like Y.U.M.A.’s typically sell out months before carnival day.KENYA DOWNS FOR WLRN LISTEN HERE |
The island nation of Trinidad and Tobago boasts one of the world's largest carnivals. Dating back to 1783, the pre-Lenten celebration blends French, African and Indian cultures, all leading up to two days of masquerading, also called “playing mas.”And unlike its South American counterpart in Brazil, anyone can take to the streets in a glitzy, colorful costume, dancing through Port of Spain to the sounds of sweet soca music.Carnival is big business in Trinidad. Hopeful masqueraders rush to shell out thousands of dollars for a spot in some of the country's most sought-after bands. That doesn't even include other accommodations like tickets to parties and musical competitions leading up to the great parade.Acacia de Verteuil is coordinator for Y.U.M.A, one of Trinidad's most popular bands. Y.U.M.A's launch for 2016 carnival is a fashion show-like spectacle that culminates the end of band launch season.“We have always strived to mix our mas in the sense of maintaining some form of tradition in terms of being a storyteller,” she says. “Carnival has always been about telling a story, about portraying something different.”As popular as Trinidad's carnival has become, it’s that sense of tradition that many say is lost as a consequence.
| | | Y.U.M.A. Mas Band unveils their elaborate costumes for Trinidad’s carnival in 2016 to a sold-out crowd outside of the national stadium. Large, contemporary bands like Y.U.M.A.’s typically sell out months before carnival day.CREDIT KENYA DOWNS / FOR WLRN |
For some, what was once a community-oriented celebration is now mostly mass produced. Steel drums are often manufactured in Japan. Top musical artists produce the season’s hottest tunes in New York and London. Even costumes are mostly supplied and pre-assembled in China.Roland St. George, leader of the award-winning band D’Krewe, says now much of what makes carnival distinctly Trinidadian is actually outsourced to other countries.“The profit margin is better for them to have it done [in China], mass-produced there and bring it across here without giving us the money,” he says.D’Krewe is a year-round operation, supplying costume prototypes for carnivals around the world. Inside the headquarters, called a mas camp, workers are assembling by hand some of the most detailed costumes for not only Trinidad’s carnival, but Miami, New York and Toronto as well.St. George has played the king of his band for decades and sticks to what’s referred to as "old mas" -- the traditional form of masquerade.Carnival’s growing popularity worldwide is something St. George says makes Trinidad’s “new mas," -- or modern carnival -- a watered-down, commercial product.
| |
The showroom of D’Krewe mas band. Workers assemble mannequins and costumes for the 2016 carnival season.
| CREDIT KENYA DOWNS / FOR WLRN |
“There’s no creativity in it. They put together from a copy of what we have done before," he says. "How much skill can you put into a panty and a wire bra?""Carnival didn’t come from skimpiness, or nice female decorative bodies," he adds. "It came from decorative costumes, the street parade, the glamor and glory of saying ‘look me, look what I’ve created.' It takes away from that glamor of excitement of costuming.”Tribe, Trinidad's largest band, has pioneered the transition into “new mas,” garnering just as much criticism as it does praise. But inside a showroom in Woodbrook, they're premiering a new, smaller band called The Lost Tribe. It pays homage to old mas while still keeping up with modern trends.
| | | The Lost Tribe is attempting to reach a balance between masqueraders who miss the traditional storytelling of “old mas” but enjoy the glamour of “new mas.” Inside their small, private showroom, designers unveil their presentation for this new band as attendees choose their favorites.CREDIT KENYA DOWNS / FOR WLRN |
“It’s taking that frame that we know and something that is nostalgic, and transferring it into a shape and form to something that is applicable to our contemporary generation,” says lead designer Val Maharaj.Maharaj says it’s unfair to pinpoint carnival’s commercialization solely on costume design. He points out that as technology made the world more connected, all aspects of Trinidad’s carnival culture evolved.Mostly importantly, the music became faster. Once primarily calypso, carnival became more soca based and incorporated more pop and techno influences. The experience of carnival became just as much about being free to party as it was the famous costume competition.
| | | Fashion designer Anya Ayoung-Chee poses with Ava, her presentation for The Lost Tribe. The band aims to incorporate elements of old mas into contemporary costumes.CREDIT KENYA DOWNS / FOR WLRN |
“So it would be naïve to think then that the costumes would have remained the same because the costumes then started to be designed for a specific niche market and a specific generation in the first place,” Maharaj says.But older generations say this new mas is too much like Brazil’s carnival, made up of mostly jeweled bikinis and feathered headpieces – no longer an artistic expression that tells the story of Trinidad’s rich and unique history.Not true, says Trinidadian designer Anya Ayoung-Chee, best known globally as the season-nine winner of Project Runway. She says old mas is still there, it’s just that new mas is more popular now.Some of Trinidad’s most celebrated designers are Ayoung-Chee’s mentors. And she’s used that influence as the co-creative director of The Lost Tribe.“I feel very privileged to have one foot in the camp of the contemporary mas and what it’s becoming, and having one foot in the genius of what mas once was," she says.Ayoung-Chee designed costumes for both the contemporary masquerade of Tribe and the traditional mas of The Lost Tribe. And that’s the point she says: there’s room in the carnival business to satisfy everyone.“I do think it’s possible to maintain the essence of carnival, not lose what it was entirely intended for, but letting it become something else. I really do think it takes, like everything else, living in the moment and going with the flow,” she says.By now, most of the country’s biggest bands are completely sold out, but smaller ones where costumes are often more traditional and locally produced give last-minute revellers an opportunity to take part in the bacchanal.
| | | Y.U.M.A. Mas Band CREDIT KENYA DOWNS / FOR WLRN |
“At the end of the day, we are selling Trinidad and Tobago and we need to make our products something that is sellable,” says Maharaj.Despite longing for the days of old mas, Roland St. George agrees."Essentially, you cannot tell another man how to make his money," he says.Come February, the streets of Port of Spain will be filled with thousands of locals, foreign-nationals, and tourists taking part in Trinidad’s biggest pastime, both new and old. Ayoung-Chee says it all serves the purpose of propelling Trinidad's culture to the world.“I believe in the vehicle of carnival as the most effective way to tell the story of what Trinidad is about to the rest of the world,” says Ayoung-Chee.
And whether that costume is a reflection of the current era of beads, bikinis and feathers or traditional characters like sailors, dragons and kings, it’s an experience often called the “greatest show on earth,” one that has masqueraders saving up for next year long before they’ve even put on this year’s costume.
SOURCE:http://wlrn.org
Mas Man, a film about artist-designer Peter Minshall, produced and directed by Dalton Narine, won the Long Beach International Film Festival prize (http://www.longbeachindie.com) for Best Feature Documentary on Oct. 11, in Long Beach, a city in Los Angeles County.Dr. Daniel Walker, scholar, filmmaker and founding director of the illustrious festival, spoke about the film’s appeal and the jury’s decision.“As a person who wrote a book about the political dimensions of festivals in Cuba and New Orleans, I know I had a high bar to impress, and the film did all that and more.”A few weeks earlier, Narine had hoped Mas Man would fare well at the Fine Arts Film Festival in Venice, Los Angeles. “The film drew enthusiastic appraisal from the audience,” Festival director Juri Koll said.
| | | Dalton Narine, producer/director, Mas Man, wins Long Beach International Film Festival Best Documentary prize, the film’s 15th award |
“Mas Man is, above all, a fine arts film,” Narine says, “though juries at fifty or so festivals around the world, had promoted it in every category imaginable.”Still, with the film’s latest success, coupled with the tourism prize it received at Document Arts Fest in Bucharest, Romania (as well as its screening in Cannes) both in the past year, Mas Man has amassed 15 prizes across the board. They include Best Film, Best Director, Best Cinematography and special awards.Narine says he pushed the film in the Los Angeles area because Don Mischer, a Hollywood producer featured in the film, was a key figure in tapping Minshall, the masman himself, for the Barcelona Olympic Games’ opening ceremonies in 1992. Minshall reprised his role as an artistic director of the Emmy award-winning opening ceremonies at the1996 Atlanta Games, and Salt Lake City Winter Games in 2002, for which he received an Emmy.That Mas Man made an auspicious debut is testament to its staying power.
| | | Peter Minshall, remembered as Best artist/designer in Trinidad's Carnival for three decades (Photo: Courtesy Dalton Narine) |
A full-house screening in New York City’s Greenwich Village, proved that Narine and his crew could transform a pastiche of scenes that won the People’s Choice Award for Best Feature Documentary at the 2009 Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival to the top tier of the New York Film Festival in 2010. “In Trinidad, we had a week to put it together,” Narine recalls, “just so the public would get an inkling regarding what the noise was about. It was a ways from being a film. Not even a work in progress. Call it ideas.”Narine credits not only Callaloo Company’s Peter Minshall and Todd Gulich, but also filmmakers Benedict Joseph and Danielle Dieffenthaller, editor Eduardo Siu, Pennelope Beckles,Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival founder/director Dr. Bruce Paddington, as well as Trinidad & Tobago Film Company and GISL for their contribution, particularly as the film underwent a period of gestation.
| | | From left,Todd Gulich, managing director, Callaloo Co., Peter Minshall, an artistic director of the 1996 opening ceremonies for the Atlanta Olympic Games and Hollywood producer Don Mischer, on eve of the Emmy Award-winning extravaganza. (Photo: Callaloo Co.) |
Back then, to accommodate festivals, it required Narine to transfer Mas Man to HD hard drive and Blu-ray. “Today, the medium is Digital Cinema Package (DCP), and we had it mounted, at huge cost, in Hollywood, where the film had a screening at the legendary Ricardo Montalban Theater at Hollywood and Vine.”“Now, it is screenable at any movie house anywhere in the world,” Narine says. “I would love to have the 89-minute version shown at MovieTowne in this format. Of course, at the behest of Minshallites everywhere, we’ve been pushing a longer cut at 145 minutes on DVD.
| | | Peter Minshall’s Papillon, about the ephemeral nature of life, a 2.000-strong portrayal in 1992 Trinidad’s Carnival(Photo: Courtesy Callaloo Co.) |
Mas Man has been screened in Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Europe, Australia and the Caribbean. The film received Best Caribbean Film award in 2012 at a red carpet festival in Antigua that included a couple of American actors, a filmmaker from India, and the chair of Columbia University’s School of the Arts film division. It also prompted a stir of excitement in Jamaica media a few months ago. But to Narine’s delight, a few Trinidadian students at US universities have studied the film as their thesis toward a master’s degree. And a group of UWI students chose the work for a class project a couple of years ago.Mas Man, along with eight earlier Narine documentaries about T&T’s mas/pan culture, are available at masmanthemovie.com, Crosby’s, Cleve’s, Paper Based Bookshop (located at the Normandie Hotel), The M Store (Piarco Airport) and Sanch Electronix, Curepe.
| | | 1976 King of Carnival “The Serpent” portrayed by Peter Samuel. Paradise Lost will be shown at MovieTowne in Port of Spain on September 18 at 4 p.m. and again on Republic Day, September 24 at 11 a.m. |
A new documentary on the 1976 revolutionary Carnival mas band Paradise Lost, the first local band designed by Peter Minshall, is premiering this month at the trinidad + tobago film festival! It will be shown at MovieTowne in Port of Spain on September 18 at 4 p.m. and again on Republic Day, September 24 at 11 a.m. It will also be shown as part of the CaribbeanTales festival in Toronto on September 14 at the Royal Theatre, 608 College St at 6.30 p.m.
This film details the creation of the band that stunned Trinidad and Tobago and forever changed mas making in the country. Paradise Lost won 1976 Band of the Year for Stephen Lee Heung and King of Carnival “The Serpent” portrayed by Peter Samuel. The late Roy Boyke, photographer and editor of the annual Trinidad Carnival magazine had noted, “It is doubtful that the work of any single individual has had so searing an impact on the consciousness of an entire country.”
Paradise Lost: The documentary traces this famous band from concept to creation, from designs to living embodiment in the masqueraders. It tells the evolution of Minshall’s art at this pivotal point in his career, how veteran bandleader Stephen Lee Heung sought out Minshall after a long relationship with artist and designer Carlyle Chang to take his band in a new direction.
Source
The universe radiates with energy We are made of the universe We work hard We play hard Our lives a constant flow of energy And energy never dies We are strong when we unite In fusion we are Powerful In fusion we are Atomic Every second of every day of our lives we release energy, like stones thrown in a pond, every one of our actions sends ripples of energy through time and space, constructing futures that affect us directly and those around us indirectly.With only a thought and an action any one of us can change the course of our lives or history.What kind of existence could we construct for ourselves if we combined our energies for a single cause?What walls could we breakdown, what empires could we construct? Combining our energies we could be the most powerful force on the planet, like an atomic bomb obliterating barriers and reshaping the environment in our favour. If we were to fuse like atoms the energies we release could be unstoppable.
“If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.” Nikola Tesla
In World War II the United States dropped two Atomic bombs on
Japan breaking the back of the Japanese war machine and establishing the United states as a new world power . Less than seventy years later the Japanese economy is one of the strongest in the world the culture of the people and their abilities to harness their energy mean that not even an A-bomb could stop their progress. It is from that snipet of history that atomic theme was born. The energy we poses and release in our lifetimes never die, even long after we die our actions go on affecting and consturucting the world around us. Sometimes unknown to us our energies can clear a path or form obstacles creating a an environment in which we exist. Ripples &waves:What does expelled energy look like? Often it is depicted in ripples or waves expanding into a limitless space of light or darkness, it is this ripple / wave motif that the designer used throughout the costumes.On the female costume the motif curves like the curves of a woman her energy is soft but strong, constant, and rhythmic.
On the males the motif is bold and sharp, masculine in nature. Strong like that of the shock wave of an earthquake or an explosionThe headpiece is based on that of the helmet of the samurai, the front of these helmits often symbolically depicted an aspect of the animal or force of nature that the samurai wished to attack his opponent with.
So to does our headpiece symbolise the unleashed energies of an atomic explosion with its energies reaching out beyond its physical manifestation. The costumes main colors are the high energy colors red, yellow and gold.Red is associated with passions sexuality, courage, and willpower and staminaYellow is associated with joy intellectual and physical energy, creativity, humor and personal power.Atomic is you: An energized individual in a larger environment of energy. Atomic is your energy: that energy that enables action, that creates, that affects change, but never dies..
Atomic is Fusion. Ideas shared, goals collected, talents amalgamated, Energies combined, and goals achieved. We are AtomicOur energies have combined And we're about to explode.
| | | see the Addicted website for more details |
For Jesell Spencer Knight.1981 - 2014 whose energy lives on...
S.A. ArmstrongAddicted Designer
Tribe Carnival tied the fi nal knot of its bejewelled rope around the mas industry with an emphatic no-expenses-spared three-tier presentation, on Saturday night, at the Queen's Park Savannah, Port of Spain.The Dean Ackin-led mas makers paired the Bliss brand with their marquee Tribe mas during a theatrical, simultaneous-showing on a two-level pyramid designed stage.The clattering bois and screams of live stick fighters atop a dramatic DJ-played Afrikaans rhythm pulled the massive “Soca Monarch-sized” crowd into the opening of their Forbidden (Tribe) and Secret Garden (Bliss) presentations.Both were consistent in design, staying true to their respective brands of bubble gum bright elaborate feathered head pieces (Tribe) and detailed gem studding with matching custom-made jewelry accessories (Bliss).With all the talk of evolving design in mas Tribe/Bliss has stuck to what they know best, selling the experience of carnival. The Woodbrook-based band seemed more focused on the glitz and glamour of creating a larger than life occasion than actual costume design.The dramatic musical score, dynamic electronic visuals and stunning firework display outshone the costume design. Widely popular DJ Private Ryan, hovering above the crowd from the stage's upper level, also did his part to add to that grandeur with his trademark cuts and samples on pop dance music during an hour-long set following.Tribe also delivered on décor transforming the outdoor venue into a raving club with pulsing lights and fog machines. And this time around they threw in a glittered curve ball.Earlier, Ackin hosted a backstage limited release, media-only showing of the band's new nostalgic line: The Lost Tribe. The presentation, which challenged the band's young design team to create costumes using no feathers, was the most refreshing part of the night.“It is said T&T has lost touch with our culture and who we are as a people. We are a lost Tribe searching for home,” Ackin said of the presentation that features not a single feather.The influences of mas design greats Peter Minshall, Wayne Berkeley and Stephen Derek were hard to miss in the display. In 1999, Peter Minshall presented a band called The Lost Tribe.Lead by creative director Valmiki Maharaj, with consultation from fashion designer Anya Ayoung-Chee, the experimental project, a refreshing innovation in design from the band, is the latest step in their apparent quest to corner the market. The question is would this lost Tribe, from the previously criticised “too commercial” band, now find a home in the heart of the mas purists?Judging from Saturday's display and keeping in mind their new-found alliance with mas veterans Harts, Tribe is poised to dictate the direction of mas for the foreseeable future.Ackin's willingness to entrust the creative to young upcoming talents like Maharaj and his 29-member design team is heartening.
It also signals the changing of the guard with the emergence of talents like Maharaj, Ayoung-Chee and Leah-Mari GuevaraMichael Mondezie
Atomic is you: An energized individual in a larger environment of energy. Atomic is your energy: that energy that enables action, that creates, that affects change, but never dies..Atomic is Fusion. Ideas shared, goals collected, talents amalgamated, Energies combined, and goals achieved. We are AtomicOur energies have combined
And we're about to explode.