f Paria - Ins and Outs of Trinidad & Tobago 2013

Meet a
Trini Couple
Carnival’s Mike “Big Mike”
Antoine & Juliet de la Bastide
by Nasser Khan
Partners ”Big Mike” Antoine and Juliet
de la Bastide have made their indelible
mark on the Trinidad and Tobago carnival
landscape and have been intent on taking
T&T’s mas to the rest of the world.
With a mutual love for the culture and for
the art of entertaining people, especially
through their mas productions, these
are two individuals who form a perfect
mix of creative talent, managerial skills,
knowledge and experience, passion,
drive and dedication.
Big Mike’s résumé reads: bodybuilder
(ever wonder where the nick name “Big
Mike” came from), mas maker, band
leader, costume designer, masquerader,
King of the Band, soca and pan
aficionado, promoter of Trinidad and
Tobago Carnival. Along with Juliet their
deep love for Trinidad and Tobago culture
fuels their involvement in Carnival locally
and abroad, and have made them true
Cultural Ambassadors for Trinidad and
Tobago taking mas to carnivals in cities
and countries such as New York, Long
Island, Boston, Miami, D.C., Springfield,
Texas, London, Rotterdam, Paris,
Nigeria, Barbados, Grenada, Antigua,
Anguilla, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Croix, and
Guadeloupe.
In 1995 Big Mike co-founded the
band Legends, with then associate Ian
McKenzie, which went on to win the
Band of the Year title five times and
started taking T&T’S carnival abroad.
Today however, his new band Legacy,
which he formed with de la Bastide in
2004/5, after the closure of Legends,
is the vehicle through which they take
Trinidad and Tobago’s mas the world over.
In 2002, Juliet left the banking industry
after eleven years to dedicate herself
full-time to the carnival industry. Her
involvement in the world of entertainment
and culture had begun some years before
that when she began working with Big
Mike in his promotions. She is a wellknown
masquerader, having played
Queen of the Band for Legends in 1997,
and appearing on stage each year since in
a series of stunning individual costumes.
The new band Legacy, which has carried
on where Legends left off, has maintained
the high standards by placings among
the top positions in the Band of the Year
competitions.
Their productions have taken top
honours and awards many times over at
carnival competitions in New York, Long
Island, St. Martin, Paris, St. Kitts and St.
Lucia.
Locally their band Legacy has become
a fixture at the increasingly popular
annual event the Point Fortin Borough day
celebrations which is held in May.
For Carnival 2010 in Trinidad and
Tobago, Legacy’s spicy portrayal of
Masala, will focus on the country’s rich
East Indian culture by blending its unique
Legacy flavour with the hot spices that
are the main ingredients of so many of
our dishes. Indeed according to Juliet,
“…we have certainly since 2007 depicted
the various roots that are uniquely T&T
in our bands Hiawatha, Passages and
Kingdom of the Dragon…”
This Trini Power Couple are proud
Trinbagonians who make every effort to
keep T&T’s flag proudly waving where
ever there is a Trini-style Carnival in the
world.
The Ins & Outs of Trinidad and Tobago
87