More pics to follow.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Better Late than Never
I finally found the pics from my 2007 section "Taino", the band's theme was A Cibola's Quest. This was Carnival Divaz first year producing an entire section.
More pics to follow.
More pics to follow.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
And the Newbie Band List Grows
So far for Carnival 2009 we have had new bands like Spice, Kaotic and Elements. For NY Labor Day Carnival Parade 2009, we have Karma, Gem promotions, Ramajay, and Exotica.
Gem Promotions was the first band to launch on March 7th. Due to daylight savings time and another event that I planned to attend I missed this one. I must admit that it takes a brave soul to launch their band right after Trini carnival. After looking at pictures on Facebook, I will say that I think that was a bad idea. We just took off our beautiful costumes from Trini that were well-made, had plenty of feathers, and were original in design. Gems costumes are a bit dated and there’s nothing innovative or new with this band, even by New York standards. They have a lot of time to revamp and do the launch all over again. I think they would’ve gotten a better response if they had launched in the summer when the Trini Carnival Tabanca wears off and people are willing to wear a costume that is not up to Trinidad standards but still looks nice and doesn’t fall apart.
I hope everyone is well prepared for the positives and the negatives that come with mas all over the world. It’s not an easy task to bring a truck on the road for Labor Day Parade as the city nor its residents support carnival as much as they should. I am eager to see who will rise to the occasion and who will fall. I am contracted by one of these bands and I must say that so far they are on the right track. Carnival in New York has lost its flair so let’s hope that these new bands do big things and bring NY Carnival back to where it used to be.
Gem Promotions was the first band to launch on March 7th. Due to daylight savings time and another event that I planned to attend I missed this one. I must admit that it takes a brave soul to launch their band right after Trini carnival. After looking at pictures on Facebook, I will say that I think that was a bad idea. We just took off our beautiful costumes from Trini that were well-made, had plenty of feathers, and were original in design. Gems costumes are a bit dated and there’s nothing innovative or new with this band, even by New York standards. They have a lot of time to revamp and do the launch all over again. I think they would’ve gotten a better response if they had launched in the summer when the Trini Carnival Tabanca wears off and people are willing to wear a costume that is not up to Trinidad standards but still looks nice and doesn’t fall apart.
I hope everyone is well prepared for the positives and the negatives that come with mas all over the world. It’s not an easy task to bring a truck on the road for Labor Day Parade as the city nor its residents support carnival as much as they should. I am eager to see who will rise to the occasion and who will fall. I am contracted by one of these bands and I must say that so far they are on the right track. Carnival in New York has lost its flair so let’s hope that these new bands do big things and bring NY Carnival back to where it used to be.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
My Carnival Review
For carnival 2009, after hearing enough criticisms and hearing rumors that my costume of choice would’ve been in the back of the band (which later was confirmed to be true), I purchased 2 costumes. One that I truly adored (love option B) and one that I liked but wasn’t totally in love with (dream frontline).
Costume collection
Now from being on both sides of the fence as far as band vs. masquerader is concerned, both parties are to accept some sort of responsibility. I arrived of Friday to pick up my costume because it was my friends pick up day so we decided to pick everything on Friday instead of going back and forth. The line was extremely long and it was hot as hell. I must admit despite a little commotion that went on, the masqueraders seemed to be patient and was not bothered by the wait. As many of us expected this to occur, hey its carnival Friday if there wasn’t a long line I would’ve been worried. The young ladies were very helpful to me, and one even remembers me from the years prior. The process to pick up my costume wasn’t as bad as I expected from previous years. I am use to being in a chaotic mas camp, and IP was not that bad on Friday. We had to come back on Saturday to pick up my friend headpiece (she played in ray of light. My costumes looked beautiful and I was so excited to take them home and try them on. When I got home the first thing that I did was try one the wire bra as it seemed complicated and too big. That when I realized that my bra and necklace was broken and could not be repaired, I then tried on my Dream frontline costume to only realize that my belt was also broken and couldn’t be repaired because it was metal and the only way it could’ve been repaired is if it was soldered back together. I know that for a fact because I went to school to make jewelry. By then my mood started to change about by costume choices. When I arrived at the camp on Saturday, things went a lot smother that Friday. I was in and out in a matter of minutes, that’s when I was told that I have to come back on Sunday to get my defective items switched. I didn’t get upset or anything because I wasn’t hyped about my costumes anymore. Sunday came and they tried their best to accommodate me, I received a larger bra and they attempted to fix my belt and necklace. I went to Samaroos and purchased items to fix my costume.
Carnival Monday
After fixing my Love Option B costume, I was excited as all hell. I truly loved this costume and no one could’ve killed my joy for this costume. I did my makeup and looked absolutely stunning. I was getting compliments from everyone. You could’ve sworn that it was Carnival Tuesday for me because I was all dolled up (minus my headpiece). When I met the band, there was some people snickering and staring at me for having on my costume on Monday. A group of girls that was in friends section actually had the nerve to call me nasty. I didn’t care because I was having a great time, and everyone was taking picture of me. This reminded me of the time that I played an individual in Legacy, we was required to wear our full costume both days. My friend asked to take my camera to take pictures of me because I looked great and was carrying on. I handed her my camera and went back having a blast. A few blocks down, I seen a friend of mines and wanted to take a picture of him, when I went to retrieve my camera I realized that it was not on her wrist anymore. In fact she lost my camera. Well that killed my mood for the rest of the day. To know that I wouldn’t have pictures of me in my favorite costume killed my joy. I tried on numerous occasions to put a smile on my face but I couldn’t. Carnival Monday was a blast in the beginning but ended on a sour note for me. Thanks to all of my friends that took plenty pics, but it didn’t help.
Carnival Tuesday
After loosing my camera and not loving my costume, I was not in a rush to get dressed. It was so bad that I watched Harts, Spice, and tribe crossed the stage on TV. I finally got of bed and got ready. I wasn’t in the same mood I was on Monday, but I tried to make the best of it. I looked great in the first half of the carnival, but when I rain stared to pour is when I had the best time. I love water to the rain didn’t bother me one bit and because I was not in love with my costume I didn’t mind getting it ruined. I know it sounds crazy because I paid my money for this costume, but I don’t know what came over me. I stayed with the last truck for majority of the day because I couldn’t stand being in the crowd and no one stayed in their sections even when security tried their best.
Overall
I had a good time on the road with IP especially on Monday. But, I decided that I will not be playing with IP next year as it’s a fun band I am looking for a greater experience. I am looking into Evolution and my friends played in that band and had a blast, and my favorite designer (Sandra H.) designed a section in evolution also. I will be playing an individual and might produce my own section instead of playing in someone else’s only to be disappointed. Also the 2 costumes were definitely worth it even though they snagged and tore up everyone’s costume that I came in contact with, which was hard since the band was so large.
Costume collection
Now from being on both sides of the fence as far as band vs. masquerader is concerned, both parties are to accept some sort of responsibility. I arrived of Friday to pick up my costume because it was my friends pick up day so we decided to pick everything on Friday instead of going back and forth. The line was extremely long and it was hot as hell. I must admit despite a little commotion that went on, the masqueraders seemed to be patient and was not bothered by the wait. As many of us expected this to occur, hey its carnival Friday if there wasn’t a long line I would’ve been worried. The young ladies were very helpful to me, and one even remembers me from the years prior. The process to pick up my costume wasn’t as bad as I expected from previous years. I am use to being in a chaotic mas camp, and IP was not that bad on Friday. We had to come back on Saturday to pick up my friend headpiece (she played in ray of light. My costumes looked beautiful and I was so excited to take them home and try them on. When I got home the first thing that I did was try one the wire bra as it seemed complicated and too big. That when I realized that my bra and necklace was broken and could not be repaired, I then tried on my Dream frontline costume to only realize that my belt was also broken and couldn’t be repaired because it was metal and the only way it could’ve been repaired is if it was soldered back together. I know that for a fact because I went to school to make jewelry. By then my mood started to change about by costume choices. When I arrived at the camp on Saturday, things went a lot smother that Friday. I was in and out in a matter of minutes, that’s when I was told that I have to come back on Sunday to get my defective items switched. I didn’t get upset or anything because I wasn’t hyped about my costumes anymore. Sunday came and they tried their best to accommodate me, I received a larger bra and they attempted to fix my belt and necklace. I went to Samaroos and purchased items to fix my costume.
Carnival Monday
After fixing my Love Option B costume, I was excited as all hell. I truly loved this costume and no one could’ve killed my joy for this costume. I did my makeup and looked absolutely stunning. I was getting compliments from everyone. You could’ve sworn that it was Carnival Tuesday for me because I was all dolled up (minus my headpiece). When I met the band, there was some people snickering and staring at me for having on my costume on Monday. A group of girls that was in friends section actually had the nerve to call me nasty. I didn’t care because I was having a great time, and everyone was taking picture of me. This reminded me of the time that I played an individual in Legacy, we was required to wear our full costume both days. My friend asked to take my camera to take pictures of me because I looked great and was carrying on. I handed her my camera and went back having a blast. A few blocks down, I seen a friend of mines and wanted to take a picture of him, when I went to retrieve my camera I realized that it was not on her wrist anymore. In fact she lost my camera. Well that killed my mood for the rest of the day. To know that I wouldn’t have pictures of me in my favorite costume killed my joy. I tried on numerous occasions to put a smile on my face but I couldn’t. Carnival Monday was a blast in the beginning but ended on a sour note for me. Thanks to all of my friends that took plenty pics, but it didn’t help.
Carnival Tuesday
After loosing my camera and not loving my costume, I was not in a rush to get dressed. It was so bad that I watched Harts, Spice, and tribe crossed the stage on TV. I finally got of bed and got ready. I wasn’t in the same mood I was on Monday, but I tried to make the best of it. I looked great in the first half of the carnival, but when I rain stared to pour is when I had the best time. I love water to the rain didn’t bother me one bit and because I was not in love with my costume I didn’t mind getting it ruined. I know it sounds crazy because I paid my money for this costume, but I don’t know what came over me. I stayed with the last truck for majority of the day because I couldn’t stand being in the crowd and no one stayed in their sections even when security tried their best.
Overall
I had a good time on the road with IP especially on Monday. But, I decided that I will not be playing with IP next year as it’s a fun band I am looking for a greater experience. I am looking into Evolution and my friends played in that band and had a blast, and my favorite designer (Sandra H.) designed a section in evolution also. I will be playing an individual and might produce my own section instead of playing in someone else’s only to be disappointed. Also the 2 costumes were definitely worth it even though they snagged and tore up everyone’s costume that I came in contact with, which was hard since the band was so large.
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