Meet a
Trin i Couple
Carnival’s Mike “Big Mike” Antoine & Juliet de la Bastide
by Nasser Khan
Partners ”Big Mike” Antoine and Juliet de la Bastide have made their indelible mark on the Trinidad and Tobago carnival landscape and have been intent on taking T&T’s mas to the rest of the world. With a mutual love for the culture and for the art of entertaining people, especially through their mas productions, these are two individuals who form a perfect mix of creative talent, managerial skills, knowledge and experience, passion, drive and dedication. Big Mike’s résumé reads: bodybuilder (ever wonder where the nick name “Big Mike” came from?), mas maker, band leader, costume designer, masquerader, King of the Band, soca and pan aficionado, promoter of Trinidad and Tobago Carnival. Along with Juliet their deep love for Trinidad and Tobago culture fuels their involvement in Carnival locally and abroad, and have made them true Cultural Ambassadors for Trinidad and Tobago taking mas to carnivals in cities and countries such as New York, Long Island, Boston, Miami, D.C., Springfield, Texas, London, Rotterdam, Paris,
Nigeria, Barbados, Grenada, Antigua, Anguilla, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Croix, and Guadeloupe. In 1995 Big Mike co-founded the band Legends, with then associate Ian McKenzie, which went on to win the Band of the Year title five times and started taking T&T’S carnival abroad. Today however, his new band Legacy, which he formed with de la Bastide in 2004/5, after the closure of Legends, is the vehicle through which they take Trinidad and Tobago’s mas the world over. In 2002, Juliet left the banking industry after eleven years to dedicate herself full-time to the carnival industry. Her involvement in the world of entertainment and culture had begun some years before that when she began working with Big Mike in his promotions. She is a wellknown masquerader, having played Queen of the Band for Legends in 1997, and appearing on stage each year since in a series of stunning individual costumes. The new band Legacy, which has carried on where Legends left off, has maintained the high standards by placings among
the top positions in the Band of the Year competitions. Their productions have taken top honours and awards many times over at carnival competitions in New York, Long Island, St. Martin, Paris, St. Kitts and St. Lucia. Locally their band Legacy has become a fixture at the increasingly popular annual event the Point Fortin Borough day celebrations which is held in May. For Carnival 2010 in Trinidad and Tobago, Legacy’s spicy portrayal of Masala, will focus on the country’s rich East Indian culture by blending its unique Legacy flavour with the hot spices that are the main ingredients of so many of our dishes. Indeed according to Juliet, “…we have certainly since 2007 depicted the various roots that are uniquely T&T in our bands Hiawatha, Passages and Kingdom of the Dragon…” This Trini Power Couple are proud Trinbagonians who make every effort to keep T&T’s flag proudly waving where ever there is a Trini-style Carnival in the world.
The Ins & Outs of Trinidad and Tobago
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