October month of calypso and mas

A model displays the eye-catching Bamboo Patch
 costume from Pulse 8’s C2K11 presentation
 of Out of the Woods.

If you are looking for me, don’t look too far as I will be right in Woodbrook, on “d Avenue.” In what I consider to be some kind of history in mas, mother and daughter Meg and Danah Cheekes, with Pulse 8, are launching their Carnival 2011 presentation—Out of the Woods—in a most unique way. With a stage on wheels, the mas will be launched along the entire Ariapita Avenue strip, from 8.30 pm. Danah said the presentation would make stops at Coco Lounge, CroBar, Sweet Lime, More Vino and a couple other bars on the route. Speaking of mas band launching, Trini Revellers’ C2K11 presentation will be launched on Sunday evening, from 5 pm, at Club Zen, Keate Street, Port-of-Spain. This former Band of the Year title-holder is playing Tales of Merrie Olde England next year.

The much eagerly awaited launch of Brian Mac Farlane’s Humanity: The Circle of Life takes place on October 8, at Mobs 2, Western Main Road, Chaguaramas. The event coincides with the Eventology Conference & Expo, and its entertainment will come from Roy Cape All Stars, featuring Blaxx, Rita Jones and Olatunji, Tony Prescott, DJs CIN, Hocus Pocus and Censored Inc, plus Laventille Rhythm Section. Not to be left out, the following evening, legendary designer/bandleader Ivan Kalicharan will launch his Colours of Light, on San Fernando Hill, San Fernando, from 6 pm. In other mas news, back home from the US is popular Woodbrook bandleader Glenn Carvalho, raring to re-enter the Carnival fray with a presentation titled Valley of the Nile.

Traditionally a late starter, after returning from participating in Miami Carnival, Legacy has red-circled October 23 to unveil its presentation of South Pacific, at The Anchorage in Chaguaramas. The official opening of Showtime Trinidad C2K11 mas camp on French Street, Woodbrook, takes place at six o’clock this evening. For C2K11 Showtime Trinidad, led by Godfrey Enile, is presenting 007 Colours of Green...Our Mission, Save the Environment, specially designed to raise awareness of man’s continuing abuse of the environment. Island People Mas continues its weekly Friday-evening, after-work lime at its band camp, located at 50 O’Connor Street, Woodbrook. Next year, IPM is presenting Shades of the Universe. The band’s innovative special no-alcohol, high-security young people section is a major talking point among masqueraders. Aside from being Calypso Month, October promises to be also quite hectic with the amount of C2K11 activity planned as well.

PETER RAY BLOOD

4th South Mas crown for Kalicharan

FOR THE fourth consecutive year, veteran Carnival mas man Ivan Kalicharan has copped the South Carnival Band of the Year title with his 2010 presentation ‘Outta D’ Rain Forest’. He has now won the South competition a total of 17 times. As San Fernando Mayor Kenneth Ferguson announced the winners at the City Corporation yesterday, Kalicharan said the win had already been predicted by spectators on Carnival Monday and Tuesday.

WINNER: South mas man Ivan Kalicharan...


Smiling, Kalicharan gave tips on how to be a winner. “The key is presenting your mas properly and we had the most beautiful route. People on the streets told us we were the best band that paraded. We will continue next year with the aim to win,” said Kalicharan, who has competed for the past 25 years.
Queen of Carnival and South Queen of the Band Rosemarie Kuru-Jagessar notched up another win, as Masquerader of the Year (female) for the 13th time with her portrayal of “Waka Nisha The Sacred Water Bearer”. The devout Hindu attributed her success to Lord Shiva.
Commenting on statements made recently by National Carnival Committee chairman Howard Chin Lee that bandleaders should concentrate more on the culture than financial gains, Jagessar dismissed this as foolishness.
“If he was following the Carnival he would have known we have been doing it for the love. We are getting old and we are still here. We have to spend plenty money on costumes and of course we will want to get back some,” Jagessar said.
By LAUREL V WILLIAMS

Mas, mas and more mas for Kuru-Jagessar

ONE day many moons ago, Rosemarie Kuru-Jagessar ran away from home to ’chip down the road’ in a Carnival band.
The product of a Hindu home, where it was taboo to play mas, Kuru-Jagessar defined customs. ’I lived on Coffee Street, San Fernando, where all the bands would pass. There was no getting away or locking out Carnival from my mind. I would look at the bands and long to be on the streets among the masqueraders. Then one day, a set of us painted our faces and ran down the street to take a jump up. My mother knew our plan. My father never knew, or he pretended not to know.’


That was the start of her eternal love story with Carnival and costumes. That love was enhanced when she met her life partner, bandleader Lionel Jagessar who has been playing mas since the 1970’s.
Today, decades later Kuru-Jagessar’s love for Carnival has flourished. ’Carnival is in my blood and on my mind every moment and in everything I do. Even if I travel abroad, I think of colour schemes that would look good in costumes. I think of materials, and designs. I live for the joy of creating and making mas,’’ she gushed.
For the past several weeks that is where you find her - burning the midnight oil at the mas camp on Sutton Street, San Fernando, where she assisted in decorating costumes for their 2010 production Sioux Nation. When she is not in the mas camp, Kuru-Jagessar would be at home cooking for the volunteers in the mas camp.

Kuru-Jagessar’s name is synonymous with Indian mas - the kind that has oodles of feathers, sequins, beads, glass, and lots of stripped suede materials and other decor that come together to create unique costumes.
This year, they have decided to bring out costumes with less heavy material to please some masqueraders who like the skimpy look. ’But in so doing, we are not compromising the tradition of our mas,’ she assured.
’One problem we have, is trying to get young people to appreciate this mas,’she stressed.
Her husband, a wire bender, craftsman and designer, studies the history of the traditional Indians, choosing the topic that they would play. ’He designs and draws the costumes and I choose the colours. I get them sewn and I help decorate’ she said.
The former Naparima Girls’ High School student has been playing queen of the band for 28 years. In 1982, she entered her first queen competition portraying an Aztec Indian. She placed 12th in the national competition and fifth in the San Fernando competition. Although her costumes are on par with others, the first place always evades her. ’I have placed from second to 10, but I do not know why I never won the national title. I have seen the score sheets and missed sometimes by one or two points.’


Jagessar 58, a mother of four grown children, said she used to be discouraged in the early days, but not more. She won the San Fernando queen title three times and Masquerader of the Year title on 12 occasions in San Fernando.
She said: ’At one time it bothered me that I did not win the title when I think I deserved it. I even contemplated dropping out but my love for mas won over my desire to win. Carnival is more to me than a title. Everybody cannot win, but we can all keep culture alive and nobody could stop me playing mas.’
They have left behind the authentic Indian mas to enter the competition under the Fancy Indian title ’because it allows us more freedom to use a variety of materials to bring out the sparks in the costumes. Authentic Indian mas never allowed us the use of glitter so we chose Fancy Indian.’
’I have never taken any classes to learn to decorate or match colours, it’s just something inside me,’she explained.


Four years ago, while on stage she toppled and fell. ’The wind pushed so hard that I could not control the costume. I went down with the costume and injured my knee.That incident frightened me, but still could not stop me.’
Besides Carnival, Kuru-Jagessar is involved in events management. A floral arranger and decorator, she got her family involved in her home business too. ’They all help me when I have to do decorations for weddings and other functions.’
val is just wining, jumping, drinking and bacchanal, she said,’ For me Carnival is freedom to express our talents, show off our creativity, craftsmanship.’ It’s also educational. She has been teaching students how to make costumes at several of the nation’s schools for the past five years as part of a National Carnival Commission’s annual workshop. She has handed it over to her younger son who also plays king of the band. ’I am busy throughout the year. When it’s not Carnival, I am doing other decorations. I always say people don’t have to have a big job to have money. I say I have millions in the talent of my hands. Money cannot buy everything.’ She admits that one of the things which worries her is the absence of a Carnival museum in the country. ’We need a place where we could leave our costume throughout the year so that visitors could view and get written materials about our country and culture. Most of the time, she said ’we have to strip our costumes because we have no place to put them after its all over.’ But when the two days of merriment ends here it still continues for this masquerader and her family. ’We continue to promote Carnival, by travelling to various Caribbean islands to design and produce costumes for their carnivals.We also contribute our talents to both New York Labour Day and Nottinghill Carnival in London.’

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Chalkdust has to battle newcomers

Newcomer to the National Calypso Monarch Selvon Noel, aka Mistah Shak, is one of 14 calypsonians heading to Port-of-Spain on Dimanche Gras night on Sunday for the finale of the competition. The 15 contenders draw for positions today. Noel, attached to Kaiso House tent in Port-of-Spain, received the most applause as he sang his hit tune Rogue, dressed in police fatigue at Skinner Park, San Fernando, at the annual Calypso Fiesta on Saturday. The song depicts how Noel protected and served with pride. Also winning a place at the the Dimanche Gras is Anne Marie Cudjoe-Parks (Twiggy), who sang Give Thanks.

While most of the calypsonians poked fun at the PNM Government, Twiggy differed as she gave a spirited performance encouraging the population to give thanks for being blessed. Anthony “All-Rounder” Hendrickson also made it to the finals with his tune Female Life Guard, along with the popular Brian London, who sang A Calypsonian. Carlos James, (Skatie), another crowd favourite with his tune A Cry for Life, also found a place. Devon Seales, Kizzy Ruiz, Kurt Allen, Michael (Protector) Leggerton and Nicole Greaves are also among the finalists.

Veteran distaff calypsonian Singing Sandra proved that she still commands attention with her deep-souled messages when she rendered No Child Shall be Left Behind. The tune also secured a spot for Singing Sandra at the Dimanche Gras. The tune portrayed a heart-rending account of the lives of sexually abused children. Also making it to the finals are Roderick (Chucky) Gordon, Sean Daniel and Winston Scarborough, the Original De Fosto Himself, whose contender is “In a Palace State of Mind.” All fourteen will be doing battle against reigning monarch Hollis Liverpool, aka The Mighty Chalkdust
RADHICA SOOKRAJ

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