Mention the name Winfield James in Guyana and the two things that come to mind are calypso music and beautiful, exotic costume designs.Winfield JamesSo overpowering has his contribution been in these two fields over the last forty years that few people remember that he is a qualified contractor.James’ input into the culture sector of Guyana has been so consistent and indelible that Coordinator of the Mashramani Secretariat,Authentic NFL Jerseys Wholesale, Lennox Canterbury noted recently that he is one of few persons who have taken a dedicated, committed, consistent interest in Mashramani, and has contributed at every level to improve the festivity.The older folk could relate the excitement and joy that Winfield James brought at Mashramani time just a few decades ago.Once it was learnt that there would be a Winfield James design on the road, people held their breaths in anticipation, instinctively knowing that whatever he came up with would be a sight for sore eyes.During that time the ‘tall man with the slight Trini twang’ was extremely popular for his outstanding artistry and creativity in costume designs and has won numerous awards for his skill and competency in this regard. He has held a number of workshops which resulted in scores of children being trained in designing.These days he is more known for his calypso endeavours, and persons can chant along with his more popular pieces like “All dem men who beating deh women, put dem in the jail,” and “We got to move on.”Even though James is a Trinidadian,Wholesale Jerseys China, he never really had the opportunity to regard himself as such, having thrown all his energies into improving Guyana, which he calls his ‘real home’.These efforts were recognized by the Jaycees in 1985 when he was awarded the ‘Hands Across the Caribbean’ award for the most outstanding non-national who contributed to the development of culture in Guyana.James was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, to a Trinidadian father and Guyanese mother.He came to Guyana at the age of four with his family when his father, Hamilton, who was a popular contractor, came to complete a contract on the Globe cinema.The family would remain in Guyana for the next few years as more construction jobs began to pour in for his father. Some of these included the mosques at Mc Doom and Corentyne as well as the All Saints Anglican School.The senior James is also credited with being the first person to embark on providing low cost housing in New Amsterdam, Berbice.Hamilton was a staunch calypso fan who had close associations with the leading calypsonians of the day and it was not unusual for the James household to be visited by the likes of the ‘Mighty Sparrow’ or the ‘Mighty Melody.’ As such Winfield’s appreciation for the music genre grew and developed.Commenting on his flair for designing, James noted with a laugh that it was derived from his mother at an early age since she was ‘a fancy woman’.“My mother had a house that was so fancy you would not believe it .She loved pretty things and was always adding some new frill or flair to things in the home…. Even her clothing were always an eye candy.”Evidence of an outstanding careerShe made a point of teaching both of her daughters to sew, but somehow, the young James also caught on.After delivering one of his younger siblings, the matriarch of the family needed to have some curtains sewn but her fragile condition disallowed that.His sisters tried their hand at it, but not to their mother’s satisfaction who claimed that they were “running the machine too fast”.James tried his hands at it and ended up doing a perfect job.As a child he was also in charge of the interior Christmas decorations for the home, which in those days were made of crepe paper and balloons, but James would always improvise, winning the approval of his mother with his unique decorating skills. Soon he began designing clothing for his younger sister who, like her mother, had a knack for things fancy.During the riots of 1962, the family returned to their homeland. It was there a few years later that James won a scholarship to pursue studies in construction with an American-run institution. He excelled, prompting the facilitators to offer him an attachment in the US.He declined, preferring instead to return to Guyana.His first stint in the Mashramani arena came in the late ‘70s, shortly after he played ‘mas’ with the Bert and the Nation band.In that instance he was dissatisfied with the costume allotted to him and the next year he took the initiative to help design his own costume.The next two years with the band saw him solely designing his costumes, which he remembers were called the ‘spider’ and the ‘arch’.Recognizing the spark of creativity, the then Minister of Home Affairs Vibert Mingo asked him the following year to design the costumes fo