Legendary masman laid to rest

The casket bearing the body of Wayne Berkeley is carried out by his brothers

Claetus, left, and Oswald, right, and other relatives and close friends

following the funeral service at the Church of Assumption,

Maraval, yesterday. Photo: BRIAN NG FATT

Legendary masman Wayne Berkeley was able to create heaven on earth for those who played in his Carnival bands over the years. Berkeley, who passed away last week Thursday at age 70, was laid to rest yesterday in a colourful send off at the Church of the Assumption, Maraval. In attendance were Berkeley’s brothers Claetus, Eldon and Oswald and their families. Members of Carnival and entertainment fraternity who came to pay their respects included, Minister of Arts and Multiculturalism Winston Peters, Denyse Plummer, Stephen Derrick, Trevor Wallace, Richard Affong, Arden Knox, Keith Ramirez, David Lopez, Thora Dumbell, Rosemary Stone and chairman of the National Carnival Commission Kenny de Silva. In his homily, Father Joe Harris said Berkeley was able to create a heaven on earth with his Carnival creations.


Harris said, “Wayne used God’s gifts and talents to remind us of that other world.” He said through Berkeleys creativity and passion for colour he created a culture of joy, togetherness, beauty, sharing and happiness. Friend and dancer, Thora Dumbell paid tribute to Berkeley, describing him as a “genius” who came up “with the most unique ideas.”

Dumbell said: “Wayne, I salute you for the joy and beauty you bought us.” The eulogy was delivered by Berkeley’s brother, Oswald, who said Wayne’s name would forever be synonymous with Carnival. He described Berkeley as a perfectionist, who was meticulous and methodical in creating his costumes. To celebrate the life of Wayne Berkeley and the contribution he made to Carnival the National Library, Abercromby Street, Port-of-Spain, is holding a special exhibition displaying some of Berkeley’s costumes, art works and sketches. The exhibition, which started on Tuesday, will end on July 15.
more info

Wayne Berkeley passed away last week Thursday at his Clifford Street, Belmont, home at age 70. He made his Carnival debut in 1965. He won 13 Band of Year titles with six consecutive wins. In 1974 he was awarded the Humming Bird Gold Medal for his contribution to the development of Carnival.

In 1985 Berkeley designed the altar for Pope John Paul II at the National Stadium. That same year he designed the interior of the Angostura building for the visit of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. He also designed prize-winning bands for Carnival in St Vincent, St Maarten, Antigua, Barbados, London and the United States.

Alicia Llanos

ADDICTED 'UNLEASH' THEIR SECTION PICS ON FACEBOOK.

'Unstoppable' the Addicted Mas section.

The Specialist entertainment carnival division ‘Addicted’ have released photos of their section ‘UNSTOPPABLE: Culture unleashed’ to their members on facebook over the weekend

Last year Addicted brought the ‘Chaos’ section in Cocoyea and are set to appear in the Cocoyea band launch this year.

Related articles

• Rejection Letter #1 (coceyea.wordpress.com)
• ADDICTED for Nottinghill 2011: UNSTOPPABLE (massassination.blogspot.com)

Wayne Berkeley dies at 70.

Wayne Berkeley  1940 - 2011

Trinidad carnival has lost one of its greatest sons in the passing of mas legend Wayne Berkeley last night. In the last quarter of the 20^th century no other bandleader/ designer won more bands of the year titles than him.

His contribution to mas will never be forgotten, and his presence will be greatly missed. May he rest in peace.

Related articles

• OVERTIMETT Interviews Stephen Derek. (massassination.blogspot.com)
• Advantage Never Done (tillahwillah.wordpress.com)
• The Man Who's Been Taking Trinidad's Carnival on the Road (repeatingislands.com)
• ADDICTED for Nottinghill 2011: UNSTOPPABLE (massassination.blogspot.com)

29 WAYS TO STAY CREATIVE

Motion Graphics:


TO-FU

web http://www.to-fu.tv

twitter http://twitter.com/tofu_design

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TOFU.design



Reference:

http://paulzii.tumblr.com/post/3360025995



Music:

Fairest of them all (#)

by Kämmerer

http://www.jamendo.com/en/track/751979

Paraiso School of Samba: 10 Years of Paraiso, for N.H.C 2011



Comissão de Frente



Paraiso School of Samba is a dance percussion band that have been parading the streets of Notting Hill for 10 years now, and with that in mind Paraiso’s theme for Notting Hill Carnival 2011 is ‘10 years of Paraiso.’ Last year Paraiso were voted by judges to be the best large band on the road and the best Samba band, which in my opinion makes them the 2010 band of the year, and this was not the first time for them either they first did the damage in 2005 the first Samba band in the then 41 year history of the N.H.C. to do so.




Penta



Passista (male)



This year Paraiso celebrate 10 fantastic years of existence in the Notting Hill Carnival,10 meteoric years when you look at the track record in comparison to that of West Indian Bands some of which have a much longer history.

Paraiso also boast on their site a fantastic claim

“The newspapers voted overwhelmingly for Paraiso - 80% of all carnival pictures in the national and London papers were of Paraiso”






The Voice 2009.



The London Paper 26 Aug 2008



So if one Samba band can claim 80 percent of carnival coverage by the press , who gets the other 20 percent?

There are lessons to learn people.



My question is what exactly are the West Indian based bands learning if anything at all?



Wire-Bending, a dying art

INTRICATE: Jeffers with his piece, “Wire Bending Dying”.

Claude Swami Jeffers was literally bearing a cross when he came into the Express recently.
His elaborate wire structure “Wire Bending Dying” was not only visually compelling, but spoke in volumes of a practice that could be lost in time.
As the president of Swami Design Workshop, Jeffers has been making costumes and doing wire-bending for the past 20 years. 
He recalled: “I grew up in a mas camp and panyard, so to speak; St James Tripoli. Then I migrated and was part of the Labour Day Parade [in New York] for many years. I came back to promote wire bending because it is a dying art.”
Jeffers, creator of the first costume museum in Brooklyn, said this unique, cultural art form should be preserved, developed and promoted. 
It is the foundation for creating big mas costumes and should be taught in schools and costume design centres. We want a wire-bending centre in Belmont as a pilot project for the artistic and creative youths in the area. We need a wire-bending competition to promote this (it).”
He said he has spoken to several Government ministers about getting a project off and running but so far nothing has been done.
“This project I envision is about creating wire-benders and costume designers for the future of Trinidad and Tobago Carnival culture. I have sent my proposal to the Ministry (of Arts and Multiculturalism] who in turn sent it to NCC, who in turn sent it to the NCBA and [nothing happened).”
Jeffers hopes that a large corporate entity could assist him in giving back to the culture of this country.
“If government is slow in acting, I believe a company could take up the cause.”
He believes he is the best wire-bender in the land and is hoping to encourage youngsters to take up the craft.
Of his piece, “Wire Bending Dying”, he explained that the pregnant woman on the cross symbolises that even though wire-bending is a dying art form, there is the possibility of rebirth.
“It does not have any religious ties to it,” he stressed.
Jeffers is no stranger to the foreign press and has been photographed with several dignitaries including Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. 
“I believe that the time has come for us to have a centre where artistic youths could come and learn crafts. There are people right now who can make mas for the next few years, but I am thinking 20 years from now.”
Jeffers can be reached at 492-4880

By Sateesh Maharaj 

Related articles

• Tip Of The Week at Caravan Beads Chicago (caravanchicago.com)
• Crafting the Card Box (weddingbee.com)
• Legends Made from Wire Coat Hangers (ittybittywitty.wordpress.com)
• Tutorial - Perfect Loops for your Jewellery Part One (scarletleonard.wordpress.com)
• Easy Craft: Clay Pot Photo Holder Tutorial (thehappyhousewife.com)

LONDON SCHOOL OF SAMBA: NHC 2011, "Ze Malandro and the Forty Thieves"



designed by Fred Turka.



The London School of Samba’s presentation for Notting hill carnival 2011 is called the ‘Ze Malandro and the Forty Thieves’ the launch was on the 8th of May, but details on the theme and the designs are available on their website.

The theme is a fantastic one, influenced by stories such as ‘The Arabian Nights’, Sinbad the Sailor Aladdin and Ali-Baba and the forty Thieves, this story according to LSS is

“the tale of Zé Malandro, who, straight from the backstreets of Rio de Janeiro, finds himself lost in a world of exotic spices, colourful silks and Islamic astrology. Intricate geometric patterns, hourglasses and magic lamps lead the imagination to desert sands, oasises , nomads and minarets, viziers, genies in bottles, flying carpets, scimitars, Djinn, beautiful princesses, riddles, and hidden treasure”



Baianas



With 26 years of history in the N.H.C it seems like it was not until the late 1990’s that the samba schools started making a serious impact on the streets of the Notting Hill Carnival now you can’t google Notting Hill Carnival and not see photos of the samba schools dominating at least the top 10 spots in images, like I always said you can’t beat the Brazilians at their own game. The profile of the Samba Schools are undoubtedly on the rise as the creativity and numbers of mas bands seem to be on the decline for various reasons.



Take a look at some the sections, the designs by Marianne & Nicola of Vortex Creates there is much more to their mas than the minimal formula even we are still minimising on.



Comissão de Frente



Indios

Mestre Sala and Porta Bandeira

Last year with their presentation of ‘Gods Myths, and Monsters’, the LSS came second in the Samba School category and 4th overall, and that’s out of 42 bands according to their website, truly a force to reckon with.

Related articles

• Gisele Throws on a Little Costume to Celebrate Carnival on a Float! (popsugar.com)
• Photos: Carnival in Brazil (fernexpress.wordpress.com)
• Jeanine Barone: 8 Myths About Rio de Janeiro (huffingtonpost.com)
• Every Brazilian lives for Carnival (theglobeandmail.com)