Lewis, Omala clinch King, Queen of Carnival 2024 titles
Masquerader Joseph Lewis is the 2024 King of Carnival, with his portrayal of Xhirkomak – Lord of The Underworld.
This is his third time winning the title which he also copped in 2019 and 2022.
Masquerader Roxanne Omala is the Queen of Carnival 2024 with the portrayal of Queen Tarantula. This is her second time winning the title, after her initial success in 2020.
The duo was crowned Senior King and Queen of the Band 2024 at the Dimanche Gras finals on Sunday at the Queen's Park Savannah.
Lewis said his victory felt amazing.
“In 2020, I thought I was going to share the title with Roxanne at that point. She used to play with Antourage Productions and it feels amazing to share this year with Roxanne Omalo, granted she’s in a different band, but it’s amazing.
“This win is dedicated to (masquerader) Ravi (Lakhan). I said after what happened in the semi-finals, I am coming out today with a vengeance, this title is coming home. I said it, and I made it happen. Ravi, this is for you, brother.’
Ravi Lakhan’s costume, Zeus – King of the Gods, tipped over owing to strong winds.
Omala said she had planned to retire after her last win but changed her mind when Lakhan appealed to her.
“When you see my designer call on me, I have to come out and here I am today. We had the crown for him and I brought it back to him, and at the end of the day, retirement nothing. I want to say thanks to my team, my designer, and this one is for my daughter and son, and Mayaro on the whole.”
Lakhan had five costumes in the finals across the King and Queen categories.
“It is a blessed feeling to actually win the National King and Queen of Carnival, and I must say thank you to my queen and to my other design Roxanne Omalo. I think it’s about time the two of them took the first-place win together.”
Lakhan said the double win was a great victory. He said his father passed away the day before the preliminaries and it was a rough season for him.
“We couldn’t hold back the production and I know daddy would be really happy. He always wished for both of them to be king and queen, and I know he’s at rest and would be really happy to know this.”
Meanwhile, defending champion Raymond Mark said he was disappointed with the judges' decision as he felt he had portrayed all the elements required by the NCC judging rule book.
“One of the things stated in the rule book is craftsmanship. Usually this is judged backstage, but this year at no point of the competition, preliminaries, semi-finals or finals, did the judges come backstage to judge craftsmanship. In both the king and queen in my band, everything is hand-drawn and painted, any pattern, any design. A lot of natural and recycled materials were used, all the faces are papier-mache and chicken wire, so how can you tell me you’re going to judge craftsmanship without coming backstage to judge it?”
He asked if the rulebook had changed, and said if it had, he had not been informed.
He said in terms of artistic impact, creativity in use of shape and dimensions, portability, and emotion, he did not see where he was at fault.
“Tell me as a head judge or any of the judges there that I didn’t portray my costume of Spirit Dance well, bringing what it was, celebrating the ancestors, and a masquerader having the ability to dance around two birds on the stage, and they didn’t move and I didn’t run them over. Tell me if that is not sheer skill.”
Mark said based on those elements, he did not see how he had placed sixth.
Many masqueraders who made it to the finals added elements to their costumes, some using fireworks, while others added costume pieces.
The strong winds which had posed problems to several competitors during the preliminaries and semi-finals were mostly absent during the evening.
The main song played during the competition aspect was Kes’ Miracle, with Mical “Teja” Williams coming a distant second.
Very few people were left to hear the results at the end of the competition, which ended at approximately 1.30 am, as several guest artistes performed during the intermission between the Calypso Monarch Finals and the beginning of the Kings and Queens competition.
Queens
- Roxanne Omala – Queen Tarantula
- Dana Rampersad – Flight of the Monarch Butterfly
- Savitri Holassie – Azalea the Serpent Sorceress
- Laura Rampersad – Princess Takara
- Priya Nagassar – Mother Nature – Beauty of Nature
- Elizabeth Lucas – Dance Annie Dance, A Tribute to Tourist Annie
- Peola Marchan – African Monarch Butterfly
- Maria Davis – Mystical Warrior Queen: Celebrating the Strength of a Black Woman
- Takeya Fletcher-Marshall – The Dream Catcher
- Turona Rambharose Mora – Water is Life
Kings
- Joseph Lewis – Xhirkomak – Lord of The Underworld
- Marlon Rampersad – Spirit of Panthera Leo
- Arif Grantum – Guardian of the Mystical Realm
- Fareid Carvalho – Aktapas
- Erron Sookdeo – Wind – The Raw Power of Nature
- Raymond Mark – Spirit Dance – Celebrating the Ancestors
- Adrian Young – Masquerade of Traditions
- Russell Grant – Boson Jumbie
- Keston Benthum – Zanshim – The Age of Awareness: The Samurai’s Quest
- Glen De Souza – Grand Voleur
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"Lewis, Omala clinch King, Queen of Carnival 2024 titles"