Page 31 - Team TTO PARIS 2024

“So what he contributed to that (Barcelona ’92) was a
couple of distinct components, the main one was the
sea-collars which formed the Mediterranean Sea, which
were very dynamic and flexible discs the performers wore
around their necks, with various blues so you saw it like
tides breaking the ocean.”

In the first movement of the opening, those components
also created a montage that spelled the word ¡Hola!
(meaning hello) which was shouted repeatedly by the
audience in the full-capacity stadium. All of this took
place in the space of three minutes of the three-hour
opening. As brief as it may have seemed, the graceful Photo by Ric Birch
choreography contributed to the seemingly
extended time. For the Trinidadian viewer, the
fact that mas came to the forefront added
that extra savouring of the performance. The
presentation demonstrated that mas could
be taken to other places. What was
consistent in both spaces – that is, at home
and in Spain – was the power of spectacle.

“We already had made incursions of taking
the mas into other places. But the idea that it
was going into an Olympic Opening
Ceremony was a big one,” Manwarren said.
“Minshall developed it in what we call this lab

Photo by Ric Birch

Photo by Todd Gulick

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