Suga Candy Mas ‘Dreams’ for Labor Day

Suga Candy Mas ‘Dreams’ for Labor Day|Suga Candy Mas ‘Dreams’ for Labor Day|Suga Candy Mas ‘Dreams’ for Labor Day
Photo by Nelson A. King|Photo by Nelson A. King|Photo by Nelson A. King

The three-year-old Suga Candy Mas is dreaming for another bumper year in the West Indian American Day Carnival Parade.

“This year’s presentation is called ‘Dreams,’” band leader Belizean Maxine Magdaleno, told Caribbean Life, who founded Suga Candy Mas in 2015.

“This has been a dream come true to bring a band on the road, especially winning first place in medium band in 2017,” she added.

With the adoption of the movie title starring Eddie Murphy, Suga Candy Mas played “Coming to America” last year.

Magdaleno, 32, who has been playing mas for 23 years — since she was nine-years-old — said Suga Candy Mas will this year comprise 18 sections: 14 females and four males.

“All sections are named after different types of dreams,” she said. “Some dreams are beautiful; some are nightmares.”

Magdaleno said each section comprises 40 masqueraders from diverse nations. Among them: Belize, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Jamaica, Haiti, Honduras, Guatemala and Barbados.

“Masqueraders can expect a party, fete and a grand time on the Parkway,” she said, adding that preparations are “going well, and the band is better prepared than last year.”

Magdaleno said Suga Candy Mas hopes to place first again for medium bands. In 2015 and 2016, the band placed second for small bands.

Masqueraders will sway to the beat of six DJs this year: Flyboi, Prime Time, Prime, Brutal, Pin and Armaini.

“We wish to have a prosperous carnival with happy masqueraders,” Magdaleno said. “New Year, Suga Candy will be having their fifth anniversary. Be prepared for bacchanal.”

Suga Candy Mas can be reached at: www.sugacandymas.com; Suga Candy Mas (Facebook); Suga Candy Mas (Instagram); or at (347) 656-3753.

The mas camp is located at 662 Blake Ave., in Brownsville, Brooklyn.

Shaska Coarteson portrays “Dream.”
Photo by Nelson A. King