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WENDY'S HARTS STORY |
In her
own words…
In 1998, after winning Miss
Trinidad and Tobago, Peter Elias re-introduced me to the
children of the legendary mas’ makers, Edmond and Lil Hart.
Peter felt that as Miss Trinidad
and Tobago Universe 1997, I needed to be very visible at
Carnival 1998 and there was no better band in which my
visibility would be amplified than in Harts.
Harts has built a reputation as
the band with the most beautiful and well-toned women in
Trinidad and Tobago. Peter, always my biggest fan and
supporter, therefore surmised that the “hottest body and
most beautiful of them all” could not be anywhere else for
Carnival 1998! Gerald, Thais, and Luis, now running the
carnival dynasty created by their parents, kindly obliged.
There began a relationship with this close-knit family that
has withstood the excitement and frenzy of Miss Universe
1998 and 1999, my time living abroad thereafter, and my
pregnancy during the 2006 Carnival season.
As a child, I interacted with the
family socially through the Lions’ Club of Port of Spain
Central to which both my father and Edmond Hart were
members. We, the families of the Club members, interacted
occasionally. The Harts kids are a little older than my
sister and I so our interaction was minimal. I do remember
Down de Islands “limes” with the Club and how close the
Harts all were. Central to this fun, close family was Lil
Hart.
This sense of family and family
loyalty is evident in their Carnival band on the road. It is
a well-oiled, fun machine that just feels like home. Harts
is truly one of, if not the only, large family owned and
operated band in Port of Spain for carnival. The costumes
are all designed by Gerald Hart, who is to pretty mas’ what
Georgio Armarni is to the tailored suit…consistent,
creative, detailed and luxurious. Luis is the king of
logistics. Harts has had band security long before any other
band. It is the only large band I have experienced in which
costumed masqueraders are not squeezed out of the space
around their music trucks on the road at 4:30 PM on Carnival
Tuesday and we never feel trapped or imprisoned by the
security intended to protect us. Some how Luis manages to
keep this big band (with a legion of young followers that
out-number its masqueraders) in check without this massive
effort being obvious to either the Harts masquerader or the
Harts fan.
My first Harts costume took me to
the first place in the national costume competition at Miss
Universe 1998 and gave me the edge to win that competition.
Before being crowned Miss Universe 1998, National Geographic
Magazine requested a photo of me in my “Freedom” costume for
a story they were doing on global standards of beauty…a
testimony to the beauty and power of this presentation. In
that costume I felt like Peter Elias envisioned me…the
epitome of beauty and grace.
I’m the first to admit Gerald
Hart can build a deck on a woman’s chest like no other. With
minimal effort he could put Victoria’s Secret out of
business. His attention to detail inside and out and his
creativity is unsurpassed. No designer understands and
celebrates the female form more thoroughly and gloriously.
Thank you Gerald for your
friendship, eye for design and consistent belief in me. Our
decade of mas’ together is just the beginning.
Like so many other Harts
masqueraders, three generations of Fitzies will take to the
streets for Carnival 2011. My Mom, Juditha, will likely be a
fancy sailor. I will, of course, don whatever costume Gerald
decides I should wear. I will have no idea what it will look
like completed until 6:30 AM on Carnival Tuesday when I
dress at the Mas’ Camp. My son, Ailan, will spend a few
hours on both days, hands in the air and costumed, jumping
with his grandma and mama both looking and feeling like
Trini Goddesses. We will not have a care in the world for we
will be captivated by the Harts’ Magic.
By Wendy Fitzwilliam
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