Bavina Sookdeo
THE usually quiet community of Los Atajos sees a sacred tradition every Easter with the Good Friday walk – a community re-enactment of the Passion of Christ that draws people from near and far. The creative force behind the elaborate costuming of the annual event includes three women with skilful hands and devout hearts – Reena Donna De Leon, Marsha Luke and Jeanelle Blackburn. Their work is more than costume design; it is a ministry.
De Leon, 41, recalled a childhood marked by simplicity and creativity.
“I grew up very poor and used coal to draw on the roads when we couldn’t afford crayons. I even made figurines out of mud,” she shared.
Her mother gifted her a sewing kit when she was eight and De Leon began making clothes for her dolls. What began as a necessity soon became a passion and a calling.
She and Blackburn, also 41, are from Tabaquite, while Luke, 47, is originally from Maracas, St Joseph, but has lived in Tabaquite for over two decades. In 2012, the Tabaquite Roman Catholic Church formed a women’s group called Women of the Word, of which the trio are a part alongside five other women. That year also marked the beginning of their journey in designing, sewing and coordinating the costumes that bring the Passion of Christ to life on the streets of Los Atajos.
However, their collaboration began even earlier. In 2009, De Leon had a Carnival band – Reena and Associates – of which Blackburn and Luke were members so designing costumes was something they had done before. In 2012, De Leon was also the secretary at the Tabaquite Roman Catholic Church, where Fr Robert Christo was the new parish priest.
She recalled, “He decided he wanted to bring some reality to the parish and give parishioners some feeling of that journey that Jesus made to Calvary and the crucifixion. He decided to formulate a play together with our current director Dave Marcus. For the first year, we borrowed costumes and for the second year, Fr Christo wanted us to have our own and when we looked online it was costing a lot of money. At the same time, Women of the Word was formed, and we thought we have all this talent and I know how to make costumes, so we decided to save the parish some money and make the costumes…that is how we started with the costuming for all the main characters.”
The current parish priest is Fr Simon Peter who blesses the walk each year before it begins.
[caption id="attachment_1150574" align="alignnone" width="1024"] The Tabaquite trio hard at work. -[/caption]
De Leon was fond of art since childhood. A teacher and hairdresser, De Leon gained her artistic ability from her dad who is also creative.
“Doing work for the Lord comes with a lot of challenges, especially around this time” she expressed.
“There are times where we feel like giving up, but we push through each day and night, enduring the many burnt fingertips,” she said with a laugh.
Luke too has been involved in art since childhood. She related that her inspiration to get involved in the re-enactment really came from th
