Thanks to the Journal of Festival Culture Inquiry and Analysis (JFCIA) for publishing Shaun Rambaran and Catherine Sforza’s biography of Andrew Roland ‘Rolo’ Alexander, aka ‘Moose’.
Please read an except below and visit JFCIA to download the full article in PDF format.
Introduction
In every complex human undertaking, there are those who work loudly—they call attention to themselves and the work, making themselves known to history—and those who work silently—they contain the chaos, building stability around the project, keeping it running safely and smoothly. These silent folks work in the background on the essentials of the endeavour; without them the creation falls apart.
In a small riverside home of Waterhole, Cocorite can be found such a man. He’s lived for Mas and art of all forms—performing art, visual, music, dance, sewing, song-writing, carpentry, wire-bending, and more. At one time he was a crucial part of a well-known Moko Jumbie band of Cocorite. Today, he is a father and grandfather. He adores children, including those of his own ‘Watusi Cultural Caravan’. His name is Andrew Roland ‘Rolo’ Alexander, but many know him as ‘Moose’.
A Mas Family
It’s a sunny Thursday morning in June 2020 (between Covid lockdowns) when the authors of this article find themselves putting a face onto a man who had previously been but a name and a telephone voice. Moose’s energy strikes them immediately as warm and inviting and, although a mature age of 72, he is energetic, lively, and physically solid—his muscles those of a carpenter and a maker, his eyes those of an artist. On this and subsequent visits in August and November, Moose would gradually recount his story:
“I in culture all meh Life,” says Moose. “My family is a Mas family. From since I small; My aunt is a big seamstress.” Moose as a young child learnt via this exposure to his aunt’s work. “When [she] used to be sewing—making wedding dress an’ all kinda ting—I used to be puttin’ on all the little rhinestone-and-ting.” This fledgling creativity soon found expression in Mas, even when it broke the rules. “When Carnival time coming, I get licks for that: I take my school-shirt, rip down my school-shirt [to modify it into a costume] ’cause all the guys-and-them, they like to play Sailor.” These experiments were learning experiences for him. Moose continued, “I kind of self-taught; I never went nowhere [to study the craft]. […] I rip down my shirt and get the pattern how to make sleeve [etc.].”
Please click to read the full article, ‘Gifted Hands that lifted Moko Jumbie Mas—A Biography of Moose’, page 214 on the third volume of the Journal of Festival Culture Inquiry and Analysis.
