City News: David Alexis, Providence Sound Session

From the City News interview series...

Providence Sound Session’s Mas Camp Manager David Alexis: “Come on down. Come bring costumes. You’ll have a great time!”

A decade ago, Trinidad native and Providence resident David Alexis had the opportunity to meet Donald King, Providence Black Rep’s Artistic Director, at a theater production at Brown University. They formed a friendship that took them to a place where West Indian and Afro-Caribbean culture was influencing the art and music of the neighborhoods – specifically, Brooklyn in 1997.

David invited Donald to the annual J’ouvert Carnival – a celebration of Caribbean folklore, culture, and religion. The Carnival tradition is based on five disciplines: Steel Pan, Calypso, Soca, DJ-ing, and Mas (short for Masquerade). Its origins date back to the 1800s when emancipated African slaves in the West Indies adopted and reformed the French Mardi Gras festivities into their own celebratory gatherings. Many of them would transform their homes into so-called “mas camps,” a type of headquarters for the costumes they’d don at the parades.


The 4th Annual Providence Sound Session, which kicked off this past Sunday, will conclude on Saturday, July 21, with its own unique, homespun version of this festive tradition. In the parade will be many participants and volunteers from the Black Rep Mas Camp, who have been hard at work assembling colorful attires in honor of this year’s parade theme, “Divine Providence.”

City News catches up with David to talk about the history and the future of the mas camp ritual.

Tell us briefly about the origins of Mas Camp. How did it come to be a part of Sound Session?

I’d go back to taking Donald to Brooklyn for him to witness masquerade and parade, and then taking him to Trinidad where there are big parades and camps where costumes are made. He observed the atmosphere that was built around it and we decided that we would bring that element here to Sound Session with the parade.

The parade and mas camp started three years ago when we just decided to make costumes, jump in the parade, and have fun. In 2006, we decided to be more constructive and have it more organized. So we decided to use downstairs (at the basement of the Black Rep), we got materials and made costumes. People came in and did their own thing, made their own costumes and we entered the parade and had fun!

You’re from Trinidad …

Yes, I am.

What is the historic connection of mas camp to the West Indies?

It goes back to Carnival. It happens many places in the world. It has been said that the French brought it, yes they did, but Africans always had forms of celebration. When African slaves worked in the Caribbean, the French were the rulers, the plantation owners. The slaves observed the festivities that the French had around the Lenten season, which is forty days before Easter. The slaves weren’t a part of it but they observed. These types of celebration were the types of pomp and circumstance, where they showcased the best that they had, go to people’s houses and make costumes.

The slaves were emancipated in 1834, and in 1838 they took to the streets and celebrated – that was August the 1st. It is during that time that they used to celebrate with drums and other instruments that they had. In 1881, they started to celebrate at night and bring torches and drums, but the public did not like that. They didn’t like torches because of fire for one and they didn’t like the noise. So, many tried to stop these celebrations. But the emancipated slaves fought back and started the Camboulay Riots.

Camboulay means “cane burning,” taken from the form of rebellion used by the slaves against their masters where they would burn the sugar cane fields. What would happen is that the masters would call upon other plantation owners to send over their slaves to put out the fires. This, in turn, became a reason for the slaves to meet and gather. They met from different plantations, sang songs, and participated in a celebration. “Cane burning,” or Camboulay is where they met.

So, the festivities in the Caribbean were one, Marti Gras, or the French celebration that took place forty days before Easter and two, Camboulay, by the slaves that was celebrated on August 1st. Eventually, Camboulay was abolished and they were told to join the Marti Gras festivities instead. The slaves wanted to have a whole week to celebrate but they were denied that, and well, the slaves were so eager to celebrate they couldn’t wait until the morning parade, so they began the ritual of celebrating at 12:01 (just past midnight!).

At their camps, (the mas camps) is where they’d get their food and get their costumes. It was their form of separation from the Marti Gras festivities. It is the process for the parade. The parade happened one day or two days but the process (at mas camp) took a long time to build the costumes. Mas is short for Masquerade.

Similar gatherings have taken place in other cities in the U.S. and the Caribbean, what makes the Providence version unique?

Oh! It is unique. First off, most of these parades happen during the day. This one happens at night! That makes it unique in itself.

What is the importance of assembling a Mas Camp today? What does it signify and how does it benefit the participants?

The significance is that it brings people together. It brings families together. First off, the parents are the ones that are sewing the costumes and they bring the kids along and the kids participate and watch what’s happening. Obviously, it’s a place where people come together and they meet new people, they meet new friends.

Making the costumes, sometimes is a strict, stringent type of activity and so for fun, we have volunteers who come and bring food, tell jokes, and you know – make it easier on the workers who are volunteering.

So the significance is bringing people together.

Tell us about the theme of this year’s Mas Camp and Parade, “Divine Providence.”

We came up with that theme because we know that Providence has a history of slavery. Also today, we have a lot of immigrants in Rhode Island here. To them, it’s Divine Providence! Just to come here and to look for a better life that Providence would provide.

Caitlin Beck, who is a graphic designer, did some images for us and came up with a concept for the theme. The concept touches upon Providence with its history of slavery, combined with the symbolism of the water (through which many slave ships have passed). So she took the concept of water as a symbol and so most of the costumes come from that theme.

What were some of the attires/costumes people should expect to see?

We have six different sections; each section comprises fifteen to twenty people. We have three sections of women and three for the men. For the women, the sections are Sirens, Calypso, and Skimp. For the men, they are Sea Warriors, Fishermen, and the Sea Monster. Also, we have people that are coming in doing their own thing. These are concepts that we make but people can come in to the mas camp, use their own materials, and make whatever they want to make; or you can make your costume at home and come to the parade and have a good time.

What goes into making them?

We have some people sewing here with some assistance and people come in periodically and whenever they can to the mas camp to volunteer. It definitely is a real group effort.

How many participants and volunteers do you expect to see this year?

Just for the Black Rep/Divine Providence group alone, we expect to get at least sixty to eighty people here – that doesn’t include those that will be coming in with their own costumes. So this will be very big!

For the parade, we also have a Bolivian group coming with fifty dancers and beautiful costumes. We have a Polynesian group coming – so it’s very diverse. So, this is not just a West Indian-derived thing, it’s all different nationalities coming together doing their thing!

We also do lots of outreach to the community in Providence. Eventually, we’d like to do workshops with them, show them how to make masks, make costumes and come and participate. It is our goal to teach our kids to make masquerades all year long.

Now that a tradition that originated in your native land has finally come to Providence, through Sound Session, how does that make you feel?

I take pride in that. I’m very happy to see that it’s not just a Caribbean thing because most of the people that are working in the camp, some of them have never even seen a West Indian parade! But it’s all a work of art and we are an artistic company here. So I’m happy to see another art form that is accepted at the Black Rep.

What do you want to tell people about Sound Session?

Be a part of Black Rep! Be a part of Sound Session! Come on down. Come bring costumes. You’ll have a great time!

Providence Sound Session is produced by the Providence Black Rep in partnership with Mayor Cicilline and the Department of Art, Culture and Tourism. The festival runs through this Saturday, July 21. For more info on concert schedules, festival events and partners, and the parade route, go to www.providencesoundsession.com.