BARBUDA'S FIRST CARIBANA - Antigua & Barbuda

MasprofilE
Colin Wanga Martin
Lesroy Merchant
After playing mas for a period
exceeding thirty years, Colin “Wanga”
Martin has resisted the seduction of
the “Bikini mas” from Trinidad and
Tobago and in the spirit of great local
mas men like Rick James and Basil
Peters, has remained true to the
traditional concept of mas building.
He has no doubt become the keeper
of the traditional flame of mas
building.
You can expect then when viewing
a mas presented by Colin “Wanga”
Martin and the rest of the creative
team to see "Revellers" adorned in
gorgeous head and back pieces and
tasty body fits. Each section of his
mas would tell its own vivid story
while blending with the other sections
to convey a much more graphic and
spell binding story. And this stands
in stark contrast to the “Bikini mas”
which is merely a large display of
flesh.
However, Wanga has not limited
himself to just presenting a mas
troupe but along with King and
Queen of the band, Prince and
Princess, he has also designed and/
or built Queen of Carnival costumes.
In this connection he collaborated
extensively over several years with
outstanding designer and builder,
Melvin Gregory, and that creative
alliance proved beneficial to both
parties over the years.
We see in Wanga what John Huskin
postulated that is, when love and
skill work together one can expect
a masterpiece. For over the years
he has exhibited a sound love for art
designing and building costumes. It is
no surprise then that his efforts have
been crowned with success. He has
11 Band of the Year awards.
As demanding and rewarding as
mas designing and building is,
Wanga has other activities in his life.
For he is by training and occupation
a potter, and in this connection has
created many exquisite ornamental
pieces such as vases, bowls and
lamps that are decorating tables,
shelves, arches, and stands in local
homes, hotels and restaurants.
He is also deeply dedicated to
community development and
consequently sited his mas camp
within his home community (Ottos)
and draws most of his “Revellers”
from the said area. In this way he
hopes to foster unity and lift the skill
level in his community.
As everyone associated with mas
knows, it can be quite a taxing
experience sometimes requiring
eighteen hours a day seven days a
week. This can put a great strain
on the mas men and their families.
Wanga however, manages to strike
that balance between his work as
a mas man and his family and has
that extra reserve of energy to keep
his family life going.
Wanga finds the time and energy
to work in the Mas Association and
rose to the rank of its President.
And in his cool, inimitable style,
made a sterling effort to protect
and promote the interest of
mas men.
But his vision for mas is
much bigger than merely
advocating a better deal
for mas men, important
as that may be, he’s also
for the advancement
of mas per se. That is
why he is a strong advocate of
having a progressive mas policy
and programme. This would see
designing and building mas as an
integral part of the school curriculum.
In this way we would be able to
harness the creative talent that can
compete on the world stage.
It is also envisioned by him that
Antigua, instead of importing, would
become a significant exporter of Art.
So with his “Little House Productions”
he is blazing the trail and already
exported mas to places like St. Kitts,
Montserrat, Texas, Miami and New
York.
Meanwhile Wanga is going full
stream ahead with his preparations
for the Golden Jubilee Carnival and
would like to make it a record ‘seven
peat’ Band of The Year.
Hats off to Wanga and his team for
revelling over the past 30 years.
come celebrate
our
golden jubilee