Cheewah reveals 'KING SAILOR'

It's not every day that a mas band or its band leader and designer lets the public see the designs of its King or Queen of the band. Some bands and their designers keep such designs top secret, a tradition that goes back beyond carnival competitions. Usually we (the general public) don't see the mas until its on the Savannah Stage during competition or on the road on carnival Monday and Tuesday.

This is not the case with Strictly Alternative Mas: (S.A. M.)

Last Thursday designer Darren X Cheewah  made public the design on the King of their Trinidad Carnival 2012 presentation 'X' on their face book group page.  The 'King Sailor'  design reveals a massive skull with the iconic sailor cap and a massive red cape with numerous flags with various designs on them. While the design does not give details on the materials being used or the dimensions of the mas, a lot of movement and 'play' can be expected from this King of X.

'King Sailor'  designed by Darren Cheewah.

This design follows the release of  individuals and section leaders that were posted 3 months ago on fb and those of the sections that were released after the band launch. I wonder what the Queen of  X will look like...

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The best and the worst in culture: PETER RAY BLOOD

LEFT: Sherry Ann Guy as The Hummingbird, a Peter Minshall creation.
RIGHT: Master masman Peter Minshall.

“Text blindness” is an affliction that renders a reader blind to what is actually published in black and white. I am forced to make this pronouncement based on the number of responses I’ve had since my last edition of Pulse last Friday. While many called to congratulate me on “my list” of “The best and the worst in culture,” others called to disagree with my supposedly list, and to make suggestions.

Ironically, not one caller, and the callers included renowned scholars and academics, as well as celebrated musicians, composers, arrangers and artistes, realised that the first paragraph of my short introduction boldly stated that the “list of the Best (and Worst) Ever Musicians, Calypsonians, Bandleaders, Entertainers, etc,” was compiled by cultural researcher Dr Kwame Nantambu, with assistance from Dr Hollis “Chalkdust” Liverpool. Today I publish the remainder of Dr Nantambu’s list, as well as a few of my favourites as well.
Dr Kwame Nantambu’s list: