Susanne Low on the history of Yemanja A queen’s legacy

JANELLE DE SOUZA

After a disappointing Carnival 2007, the team at Trevor Wallace and Associates did not expect to win the 2008 Queen of Carnival title with Yemanja – Orisha Goddess of the Seas. So much so that they left before the results were announced and had to rush back to the Queen’s Park Savannah when the costume was named the winner.

Queen Susanne Low, who is no stranger to carrying queen costumes she played queen for 12 years in Trinidad, as well as five years in Toronto’s Caribana recalled how things unfolded on that evening a decade ago.

In an interview with Sunday Newsday, she said in 2007 legendary mas designer Wayne Berkeley had created Eve, the Garden of Eden for Trevor Wallace and Associates. The costume was extraordinary, with huge fans that opened and closed and the team, as well as many of the spectators, thought it would win.

LEGACY continues on Page 23A

However, the costume placed second and Low said Berkeley–who died in 2011–was so disappointed at the loss that he decided not to design again. With the loss of Berkeley, Wallace had to find a new designer for Carnival 2008. He contacted Alwin Chow-Lin-On who called on British designer Shula Newick to work on a queen for the band’s Nautica presentation.

Newick designed a costume with no wheels and held up by a backpack that was made from a mould of Low’s back.

“The costume could not fit anyone else because of how the backpack was made. It had to be me. Alwin did the frame, the wire, everything so that I could balance that massive thing without wheels. Alwin was a master at that – engineering and constructing costumes with perfect balance.”

“The costume was definitely the most original one there because it was made out of one long piece of fabric and Shula stuck on thousands of pieces of paper on the netting to make it look like crashing waves. That was amazing what she did.”

About that night, Low said, “We were so disillusioned from the previous year that we did not expect to win. Especially since no one came to tell us to stick around, which they usually do. So we went back to the mas camp and we watched to the results on TV. They kept calling and we didn’t hear our name, so by the time they called second place we realised we had won!”

She said Newick, and Chow-Lin-On were not at the camp with them when they ran to the car and rushed to the Queen’s Park Savannah. There, they met up with the designer and builder and accepted the prize.

She said she was happy for Wallace, Chow-Lin-On and Newick because, while she enjoyed carrying the costume and playing the mas, Yemanja – Orisha Goddess of the Seas was their creation.

She recalled when she first put on the costume, Newick was at first apprehensive because she did not think Low could have carried the costume. However, she said by the end of the session Newick was very happy and when she came off the Savannah stage, Newick told Low it was a brilliant performance.

According to her website, Newick designed for several local bands in the mid to late 90s; designed the king and an individual costume for 2 P’s and De Pod Band in 2006; and returned to Trevor Wallace and Associates in 2009 to design the queen called All Dat Jazz. Over the years she also designed and built a number of costumes for Notting Hill Carnival.

Asked her opinion about recent Carnival costumes, Low said she felt the creativity of mas was dying and that has caused a lack of viewership.

“People used to look forward to see what certain designers were coming with for Carnival. They would fill the Savannah and wait with bated breath, but now, even on Carnival Tuesday, the stands are empty.”

She said Trinidad Carnival was no longer the “greatest show on earth” and Brazil’s carnival was taking centre stage. She said even though the Brazilians had bikinis and, at times, near nudity, the creativity was still there.