El Museo del Barrio New York

The Queens Museum of Art, in partnership with El Museo del Barrio, Studio Museum in Harlem & cariBBeing Presents “Carnival Panorama: Families Celebrate Carnival Traditions” as part of the public programming for the current exhibition Caribbean: Crossroads of the World.

Starting at 3pm we demonstrate centuries old Caribbean traditions of Carnival in different areas of the region, with hands-on mas making by well-known costume designer Randy Brewster, Afro-Caribbean percussion workshops with Jose Obando and interactive steel pan tutorials with CASYM.

Don’t forget your dancing shoes as we “jump up” and take a musical journey around the majestic unisphere and through the islands with live performances by Request Band, RaRam, La Cumbiamba NY and more!

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

CASYM: Performance + Steel Pan Workshop
CASYM is the acronym for the Caribbean American Sports and Cultural Youth Movement. Since its inception in 1983 as a non-profit organization, CASYM has provided academic, recreational, social and cultural activities for young people in Brooklyn. This professional orchestra has performed with jazz legend Lionel Hampton, the Harlem Boys choir, the Calypso King of the World -the Mighty Sparrow and Calypsonian David Rudder. CASYM has performed at the world famous Apollo Theater, Madison Square Garden and Harvard, Princeton, Yale and Rutgers Universities.

Request Band featuring Razor: Performance
The Brooklyn-based Request Band (“RQB”) blends their unique style of dynamic vocals and calypso and reggae/dancehall-inspired melodies with a fusion of the hottest island beats. RQB’s brand of soca sets them apart from their contemporaries because of their incredible ability to excite audiences with their electric and highly energetic performances. Their considerable talent and creativity is virtually unmatched. RQB has collaborated with a host of established and up-and-coming artists, including but not limited to, Lord Nelson, Rupee, Benjai, Edwin Yearwood, Iwer George, Fayann Lyons, Lil Rick, Timmy, Ed Robinson, Khari Kill, Jah Bami, Scrunter, Gillo Treason, Maximus, and Blazer. With such hits as U Alone, De Boat Ride, J’ouvert, Hot Gyal Anthem, and Gimme Music, RQB has an ever-growing catalogue of original music with more music on the way. With the release of their first music video in 2011 and appearances in Houston, Miami, Rochester, DC, Jacksonville and Brooklyn to name just a few, RQB has propelled themselves to national fame on their way to international superstardom.

RaRam: Performance
Raram was established in Bel-Air, Port Au Prince, and Haiti in 1993 by Frantz Denis. Their mission was to spread love and unity social to the youths of Bel-Air. After time it was apparent their hypnotic harmonies were contagious as they paraded through CAFOU, PAP winning over young and older patrons. Raram proved they were more than meets the eye. Their evolution in sound and style inspired the younger generation. They were quickly labeled as one of the top bands in Haiti. After the devastating earthquake in Haiti on January 10th 2010, many of the Raram musicians lost love ones. Many migrated to the United States of America scattered throughout the states seeking to rebuild. On November 2011 Rarams’ Orchestra established Raram De New York. It was very important to the musicians to continue promoting rara music in the USA after 19 years of existence.

La Cumbiamba NY: Performance
La Cumbiamba NY performs concerts and workshops with traditional instruments from both the Indigenous cultures and the European and African Diasporas as well as the mestizo/criolla culture of Colombia. All of which are blended together to create the traditional musical styles that developed throughout the colonial era and continue to evolve. Capturing the inclusive spirit of the outdoor parties, known as “cumbiambas.” The ensemble was founded by percussionist, arranger/composer Martin Vejarano. La Cumbiamba NY has performed shows and taught master classes on Colombian Music at such venues as: Summer Stage at Central Park, Lincoln Center Out Doors, Summer on the Hudson Festival, and River to River Festival. They have collaborated with artists such as Marc Ribot, Dan Zanes, Lucia Pulido and Marta Gomez.

Percussion Workshop by Jose Obando
The Afro-Caribbean Percussion Workshop includes a description of each instruments and musical movement by Jose Obando, Salsa Consultant, Musical Instruments Department of The Metropolitan Museum of Art & team. The program would also include two interactive segments: instrument distribution and a dancing lesson. He will distribute instruments as the program progresses. These are not plastic replicas but professional instruments. He will teach the merengue from the Dominican Republic which is danced in short steps while dragging one foot because the Africans were shackled on one foot and this is the manner they would respond to the percussion line.

Mas-Making Workshop by Legendary Randy Brewster
Randy Brewster is a well-known and popular costume designer. Join us for this hands-on mas-making workshop with master of this centuries old Carnival tradition.

Inside the Museum: Screening of Dalton Narine’s “Mas Man”
Mas Man is a featuring documentary exploring Peter Minshall’s leap from designer in the Trinidad Carnival to an artistic director of the Opening Ceremonies for three Olympic Games, based on his knack for “making what is small seem big in open space.” Minshall was instrumental in staging the 1992 Barcelona Games, Atlanta (1996) and Salt Lake City (2002), for which he won an Emmy. Olympic Games producers found Minshall’s genius for orchestrating grand spectacles in the Trinidad Carnival, where his themes usually played on good and evil. His platform has been “the Mas,” which he brings to the streets as theatre, or dancing mobiles, way beyond the horizon of masquerade. Check out the trailer. Note: Minshall has some work in Caribbean: Crossroads of the World exibition at the QMA – please take a look!