Kalicharan Mas co-founder dies at 76

Kalicharan Mas co-founder Wendy Kalicharan, 76, passed away peacefully at her home around 1.30 pm on May 8 with her daughter Ayanna Kalicharan-Mahase at her side.

Kalicharan-Mahase told Newsday her mother was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer in 2020 and was undergoing treatment. She said her mother received chemotherapy in December 2024 and radiation in February 2025.

"We're coping. I mean, she did have a long battle, she fought really hard, she did everything that everyone suggested that would help."

She said her mother was proud of her achievements in mas and her contributions to culture.

"She was proud of the art form and of culture and she did a lot for the culture of TT."

She added: "She lived to improve San Fernando carnival. She contributed to all aspects of culture, not just Carnival. You know when they had those community shows, dancers, those kinds of things, so she contributed quite a lot to the San Fernando community. She did a lot of charity work."

Former San Fernando mayor and close friend to the family Junia Regrello said Kalicharan would be deeply missed.

He said they toured many parts of the world together in the 1990s and early 2000s to showcase TT's Carnival and culture. He named places like New York, Italy, Austria and Switzerland.

He credited Kalicharan and her husband with saving San Fernando carnival in their early days by picking up where bandleader Irwin Hinds left off after his passing.

"There was a void, a lull in the quality and we had a lot of small bands. We didn't have big prominent bands for masqueraders to look forward to playing with or to feel good about themselves, and...as a concerned citizen, I was looking at: are we going to get that movement (of people) into Port of Spain and create a gap in San Fernando or a void in San Fernando?

" I think...they gave San Fernandians hope, they gave San Fernandians quality...so people would remain in San Fernando."

The band was founded in 1983 by Kalicharan and her husband Ivan. It has since won some 31 titles, the most recent being this year's Large Band of the Year for San Fernando Carnival. Kalicharan-Mahase, her husband and her brother took over running the band three years ago but the co-founder remained involved.

For their contributions to San Fernando's culture and carnival, Mayor Robert Parris said the council began discussions to rename one of the stands at the city's landmark Skinner Park after the family.

"Ironically, the members of council brought up some months ago that they wanted to rename one of the stands of Skinner Park after them. Perhaps we will continue those conversations through the next couple of weeks – obviously through consultation with the family because Skinner Park is an iconic building not only relevant to sports but also we pay homage to culture icons of San Fernando."

In 2024, the refurbished park's netball court was renamed in tribute to former culture minister Joan Yuille-Williams and the cycle track in honour of former national cyclist Ian Atherly.

Parris described Kalicharan's passing as a great loss to the city and credited her family for contributing tremendously towards San Fernando's carnival landscape.

Greater San Fernando Area Chamber of Commerce president Kiran Singh also described Kalicharan as an icon who represented the carnival in the city and South Trinidad in an exquisite way.

"She's certainly an icon that we hope the youths will follow in her footsteps. She's left a legacy that may never be replicated over her long years of service to carnival and, of course, developing the tourism industry."

Singh said his organisation will support renaming one of the stands in her family's honour if the City Council decides to do so.

"It's a great idea to remember her and for future generations to also remember that who we had and lost in terms of her contribution to southern carnival. She was a household name and she will be missed."