CLQ04032020 - Page 18

By Nelson A. King The steel band fraternity in Brooklyn is mourning the passing of Trinidadian “Iron Man,” Hansel B. Leon, Sr., who died in his native land on March 25. He was 77. Leon’s daughters, Krishanda Leon-Jemmott and Natasha Leon-Craigwell — both residents of Brooklyn — told Caribbean Life on Sunday that their father died at Couva Hospital in Trinidad and Tobago. “As a family, it is still unclear of how he died,” they said in an interview. But Herman Hall, the Grenadian born publisher of the Brooklyn-based, Caribbean American magazine, Everybody’s, posted on Facebook, on March 26, that Leon, who resided in Flatbush, Brooklyn, was “a victim of COVID-19.” He said that Leon – who promoted steelpan music in the US for almost four decades and “was once married to (the) popular Jean Leon, well known Trinbagonian-New Yorker and former Director of Nursing at Kings County Medical Center – made his annual pilgrimage to Trinidad & Tobago carnival on Feb. 5; he remained in his birth country to avoid wintry New York.” Hall said Leon, who was a welder by occupation, “fell ill on March 13 and (was) admitted at Couva Hospital. “Based on his early departure from New York, he may have contracted the deadly virus in Trinidad & Tobago,” Hall wrote. Jean Leon, who was actually a chief executive officer at the sprawling Kings County Hospital �� Caribbean L 18 ife, April 3-9, 2020 in Brooklyn, told Caribbean Life that she and Leon were divorced 23 years ago. She referred the paper to Leon’s elder daughter, Krishanda, for more information about her ex-husband’s passing. Krishanda then sought out younger sister, Natasha, to join the interview. “Daddy had an ear for timing and rhythm like no other,” they said. “He played many roles in the steel band fraternity. His talents allowed him to play many percussion instruments skillfully, including the tenor steel pan. “He was well known for playing the iron, thus his nickname the ‘Iron Man’,” they added. “He did not only bring his musical talents to this community (Brooklyn) but also his smile, personality and dance moves.” Hall also said that Leon “beat the iron in the rhythm section of several steel band orchestras in Brooklyn, as they rehearsed for Brooklyn’s panorama at the Brooklyn Museum grounds every Labor Day weekend, and added ‘riddim’ in most soca / calypso parties and concerts. “A diehard fan of calypso, steelpan, carnival and other events that promoted the culture of Trinidad & Tobago, ‘Hanny’ (Leon) was a regular or ‘limer’ at Sesame Flyers, the popular cultural and educational organization on Church Avenue, Brooklyn,” he said. “He attended calypso tents and shows presented by Everybody’s magazine,” Hall added. Joyce Quamina – the Trinidadian born, former longstanding treasurer of the Hansel Leon, Sr. (left) and his son, Hansel Leon, Jr. Krishanda Leon-Jemmott and Natasha Leon-Craigwell Brooklyn-based West Indian American Day Carnival Association (WIADCA), the group that organizes the annual Caribbean carnival extravaganza in Brooklyn – said Leon was “a good ‘Iron Man’. “I know him beating the iron,” she told Caribbean Life tersely. Steel band fraternity mourns passing of Trinidadian ‘Iron Man’ Hansel Leon ��