2018 Queen and King of Carnival

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 Harrinanan

Source:Newsday

NCC hat-trick for Ronnie & Caro

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 RESULTS

Large 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 - 1164

Source: Trinidad Guardian

Minshall, Montano rule at Savannah

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 Kowlessar

Source:Trinidad Guardian

Minshall mesmerises Savannah stage

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

Soul Food: Black Eye Peas and Rice

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 frills

It 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

Neville, a Pioneer of Carnival

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

Book closes on Benidict Morgan, iconic mas man

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 PORTRAYALS

Portrayals 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