By:Sean Nero
Bandleader Ronnie Mc Intosh and the design team at Ronnie and Caro The Band are ready to take on Brian Mac Farlane and Associates for the George Bailey Band of The Year title in Carnival 2013. Mystery of the Cascadura is the theme of the portrayal. It’s the band’s sixth consecutive offering to the national festival. New rules laid down by the National Carnival Bands Association (NCBA) for the staging of the Parade of The Bands Competition in the run-up to Carnival 2012 bumped Ronnie and Caro from its prescribed and much enjoyed medium category, consequently placing the outfit in the big league. That meant the band with its portrayal The Mask Of…could not defend its title.
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| The costume Teal Bird , mirrors the beauty of the model that adorned it. PHOTO: SEAN NERO |
The team, however, remains unfazed.
In just five years, the band won three Harold Saldenah Band of the Year (medium) titles; a proud feat. “We were basically forced into large category, but we would keep the number close to where they usually are. We would go further than 1,200-1,400. Even though we are large, we still would take it beyond that. “This is to ensure that service remains high. We want to keep it in a way that we know almost every masquerader.” Ronnie and Caro is a small unit, Mc Intosh said. “We are fully aware that we can’t manage 4,000 people. It makes no sense trying to do that because the level of service would drop. Masqueraders stay with us and new one join us because of the level of service that we offer.”
Consumer satisfaction is not the only aim of the bandleader. He is on a mission to revive lost traditions associated with T&T Carnival, even though it could limit his efforts at wealth creation. Proof of that is the band’s decision to move away from premiering its costumes in a party setting. For the past two years the band has opted to unveil its works of mas free to the public in an enlivening parade through Port-of-Spain, as witnessed back in August for the launch of with the launch of Mystery of the Cascadura. Asked why the band chose this option to premier its works of mas, Mc Intosh said it was a deliberate attempt to preserve a tradition of Carnival from the bygone era. Back then, Mc Intosh recalled, Raoul Garib, Stephen Lee Heung, Glenn Carvalho, costumes, as part of their contributions to T&T Carnival, would unveil their works of mas along Ariapita Avenue in Woodbrook and scores of culture enthusiasts would come out to witness these attractions. These launches were always free to the public.
Career Highlights
Accomplishments
Medium Band of the Year (Downtown) – 2012
4th Place Large Band of the Year (NCC) – 2012
Medium Band of the Year (NCC) – 2011
Medium Band of the Year (Downtown) – 2011
Medium Band of the Year (NCC) – 2010
Medium Band of the Year (Downtown) – 2010
Medium Band of the Year (NCC) – 2009
Best Designer (medium band) – 2009
2nd Place Band of the Day Medium – 2009
2nd Place Amoco Renegades – Medium 2009
Medium Band of the Year (NCC) – 2008
Medium Band of the Year (Piccadilly) – 2008
Most Colourful Band (Downtown) – 2008
2nd Place Band of the Day—Medium – 2008
2nd Place Amoco Renegades—Medium–2008
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