Carib Carnival Founder Dies

Carlos Lezama, the man who developed and nurtured Brooklyn's annual West Indian Labor Day Car-nival from a meager five-block event into the largest African-American cultural festival in the U.S., passed away on Monday at Kings County Hospital after a brief illness, according to media re-ports.

The 83-year-old former Metropolitan Trans-portation Authority ma-chinist, immigrated from Trinidad to the U.S. over 45 years ago and soon was involved in the annual carnival held in Harlem. Several years later Lezama and a friend, Rufus Goring, made Brooklyn the staging area for the event, since the borough's West Indian population was on the rise. He was elected the carnival association's first president in 1967.

Highly respected, accolades for Lezama poured in after his death was announced. Among those who saluted the popular, charismatic leader were former mayors Ed Koch and David Dinkins.

Borough President Marty Mar-kowitz said on Tuesday, "Brooklyn mourns the passing of the legendary community leader and West Indian-American Day Carnival founder. Although he was 'Trini' to the bone, Carlos will be remembered as a truly great Brooklynite - a man whose vision, energy, and cultural pride were responsible for the parade's transformation from a fledgling, five-block celebration to the largest and most colorful event in the world's greatest city."

His daughter, Yolanda Lezama-Clark, who is the current carnival association president, said, "I am grateful that he has left an impressive legacy of which we all as Caribbean people can be proud."

Neil S. Friedman

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