Port-of-Spain, Trinidad – As anticipation for next year’s festival season heats up, Island People Mas under the sponsorship of Bmobile revealed their 2010 presentation to a packed venue of Carnival enthusiasts.
This particular band launch has become a staple in the August calendar of events and Island People loyalists, party goers and general fans of first-class artwork and creativity eagerly await its occurrence each year. This year the band celebrates its 5th mas presentation as well as Trinidad and Tobago’s rich East Indian culture with their 2K10 offering entitled “Kutchela”.
Following a sneak preview of the new costumes held for the media at the Tsunami nightclub in western Trinidad, all action was directed to the main launch area, which was located next door at the Anchorage Restaurant and Bar appropriately transformed into “The Taj”. Upon entering this venue one could clearly see evidence of the commitment to detail and precision that both IP and Bmobile strive to always deliver in their events.
Amidst an ambience of bright colours (yellow, green, purple and orange) were East Indian craftwork displays and complimentary delicacies as well as available Henna paint artistes purposefully positioned for those wishing to further delve into the Kutchela experience. It was also quite noticeable that several attendees were suitably dressed in East Inidan apparel, in keeping with the overall theme.
The onstage presentation itself, was nothing short of creative excellence and included captivating colours, numerous cultural elements such as Tassa drumming, Bollywood styled choreography and an excerpt from the Academy Award winning Indian movie “Slumdog Millionaire”.
This dramatic, almost cinematic approach to mas presentation is one aspect that makes IP’s band launch such a highly publicized affair.
Island People’s founder Derrick Lewis referred to the launch as a happy one, “when we celebrate who we are, we are at our happiest, and no matter what race we are (African, Indian, Syrian, etc), we all have some Kutchela in our blood”. He also expressed his pleasure at having Bmobile on board once again as the band’s main sponsor and stated that he felt truly supported by them. Further, he commended the Bmobile team on the colour scheme chosen for the launch.
In addition to Bmobile’s financial support of Island People, Mr. Lewis shared that he appreciated the team effort, the synergy of both entities and the sharing of skills and ideas. He added that the flagship of a culture is its entertainment and that Bmobile has maintained an endearing approach to the entertainment sector, remains in sync with the vibe of the people and is truly a part of the culture.
After the onstage production ended, all in attendance partied the night away to the sounds of T&T’s top DJs. The Bmobile promotional team was on hand to partake in the festivities alongside IP fans and local celebrities including comedienne Nikki Crosby, journalist Francesca Hawkins and Soca artiste Zan.
With unique section names such as: Bindi, Chandsitarie, Kundalini, Morgandani, Taal, Jaipur, Kalpana, Priyadarshini, Mudra, Nakshatra, Raja aur Rani, Chutney Bhaav and the attractive accompanying costumes Kutchela is positioned to dominate the road in 2010 and with the backing of T&T’s # 1 mobile network, Island People Mas is sure to be a formidable Carnival force certain to leave other bands “green” with envy.
