Profiles: Heroes, Role Models and Pioneers of Trinidad and Tobago - by Nasser Khan

72 PETER MINSHALL (1941- ) B ritish Guiana’s loss was certainly T&T’s gain when as a child, Guyanese-born Peter Minshall and his family moved to Trinidad. The Queens Royal College and London educated Minshall has become T&T’s most internationally acclaimed artist in the field of mas and theatrical productions. He views mas and Carnival as street theatre, as evidenced by the theatrical nature of his Carnival bands through the years, some 25 spanning from 1978 to 2006. In 1976, he designed for Stephen Lee Heung who took Band-of-the- Year honors with “Paradise Lost.” In 1978, he formed his own Carnival band, the Callaloo Company and went on to produce many winning presentations among them two epic TRILOGIES, his bands from 1983- 1985 (River, Callaloo and The Golden Calabash) and those from 1995- 1997 (Hallelujah, Song of the Earth and Tapestry). He won the Large Band-of-the-Year title six times: 1979 Carnival of the Sea; 1981 Jungle Fever; 1987 Carnival is Colour; 1995: Hallelujah; 1996 Song of the Earth; 1997 Tapestry. He created “dancing mobiles,” the most famous of which were his male and female characters “Saga Boy” and “Tan Tan”. His work was displayed in 1987 at the 19th International Biennial Exposition of Contemporary Art in São Paolo, Brazil, and at the 1993 Edinburgh Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. Other countries where his work was displayed were Barbados, Canada (Toronto), England (London), France (Nimes, Paris), Jamaica, Japan (Tokyo), and the USA (Miami, San Francisco). Minshall was the first to use revolutionary new materials like fibreglass rods to make mas. His Carnival success gained him worldwide recognition and he went on to design and choreograph the following international events: 1987 - Opening Ceremonies of the Pan-American Games, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; 1992 - Opening Ceremonies of the XXV Summer Olympics, Barcelona, Spain; 1994 - Soccer World Cup Finals, Chicago, Illinois, USA; 1996 - Opening Ceremonies of the XXVI Summer Olympics, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; 2002 - A 12-minute segment (Fire Within) at the Opening Ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake