Tuesday, during several moments of marvel, from uptown to downtown, I looked at our band (a true sense of the people word) feeling my early desire to play mas with the first band to launch for 2011 was a prideful validation.
Skullduggery - Dance of Deceit as presented by Woi Mas had a difficult birth (I will not cover the creative differences of designer and production team), but on the streets of Port of Spain in full regalia our exuberant masqueraders made this baby breath and move into vibrant life.
Big kudos go out the quite mature mas players who showed with their enthusiasm, and endurance that their average age around 55 years young was really the real dance of deceit, betraying their own chronologies. For many in Skullduggery I saw in their purposeful dancing in the streets a return to form of playing mas, playing a character, playing a memory almost forgotten, almost mourned.
I feel privilege to have witnessed many beautiful life affirming moment in the company of so many beautiful people from widely diverse hues and ages in our wonderful heroic band. Big thank you goes to the determined legendary Trinidad Carnival King, Peter Samuels. You sir are breath of fresh air and hope. There is indeed a big void in our people’s street art to really play ourselves, the complex us as we are with humorous tongue in cheek SERIOUSNESS and CREATIVE mas/life renewal. I loved this band, lots. Just as a growing consensus now, Trinidad Carnival 2011 was indeed quite a standout VINTAGE year! The music, great times, great people, great vibes, great bands made me feel so high, feel so free.
For the season, IZATRINI (I don’t mean only the song) was real, real, real nice. And so too Charlie Roots musicians, absent from the road for many years, David Rudder, and the ageless Black Stalin moved us with their classic musical additions to a quite real Trini essence and a unique Trini joie de vivre. From the constant bee hived crowd around their big truck mobile stage, the heavily appreciated troubadours easily conjured cherished memories and inspired new wonderful memories of the here and now. Congratulations Skullduggery - Dance of Deceit; evolutionary innovative TRINIDAD mas IS quite alive on the streets of Port of Spain.
Of course, a special and quite warm heartfelt thank you goes to Sonya Sanchez-Arias, the amazing wonderful creative talented designer who brought forth the history and love of Trinidad mas from her rich imagination. Not Halloween as criticized, but a beautiful TRINIDAD mas, Sonya.I am looking forward to more of your works in the future. Blessings to you.
Trinidad Carnival VINTAGE 2011 is the bess! Bless up!
