ALLAN NICHOLAS EMMANUEL - CYCLOP

SHORTEST CALYPSONIAN IN WORLD DOING FINE

HE'S THE MAN!

by
Renee Olivel

Newsday, February 3, 2002 p.23

Before Cyclop can sing his first note on stage his audience goes wild. "They already know what to expect ... his visual impact makes a very, very big stir," explained Errol Fabien of Maljo Kaiso Tent. The antics, dance and humour are all his own and the audience loves him for it.

His entrance on stage is unlike any act. His buddy Jo-L (Joel Parsons) gives him a boost to get up on stage and he's on his own from there. Standing two feet, ten inches tall, and goes by the sobriquet Cyclop, Allan Nicholas Emmanuel never regrets leaving off his desire to become a technical engineer, for the thrills he receives at Maljo.

"In this tent there is a lot of love. Everybody supports you, and everybody stays as one family," Cyclop said. There's no doubt about that since he proves a magnet for the ladies! Even his manager and sound system engineer for the tent, Victor Donawa, wishes he knew Cyclop's secret recipe. The self-dubbed "quiet" and "very moody" 22-year-old revealed that his name describes just the opposite. He said: "When Errol first saw me he said 'Yuh bold, brave and yuh spirit tall like a cyclop' and I liked that. I always appreciate what Errol has given me." Cyclop has been with Maljo Kaiso Tent from its inception. However, his shot to the spotlight came when Fabien discovered him during the shoot of his brother's, Bunji Garlin, 1999 video "Jump up and ride that rhythm."

He revealed: "I did my first show with Fabien in 'The Jerry Springer Show' sharing the stage with Beulah (Shirley King) and Sprangalang (Dennis Hall). Later I went on to Yangatang, and now Maljo. "When Errol told me he wanted me to sing and I tell him I cannot sing, then he said 'I going to make yuh sing' and he wrote my first song." He made his debut with "Ah Tall", which gave him the introduction he needed and in 2001 he returned with "Tall girls only teasing me", written by Wendell Etienne. This year he sings "De Jockey", written by Kerwin Cruickshank. "In the song, I do everything a jockey does while riding a horse, and ah have a special dance too," he quipped.

Although he's fairly new to the stage, he's not intimidated by his height or any "negative talk" that should come his way. "I have a very high self-esteem. Nothing negative I take so! I pray and I think positive only and I've lived to reach this far, being successful. If God spares my life I will reach even further.

"Of course I've had the help of Errol and Nikki and I look up to them as mother and father ...," he revealed.

Asked how he responds to heckles or criticism about his height he said: "People come up to me and ask me 'how it is you feel being short?' and I ask them 'how it is you feel being tall?' and they say normal. So I say why shouldn't it be normal for me? And it is normal for me because this is not something that just happen just so, this something I grew into or didn't grow into," he joked. Cyclop enjoys touring with Maljo and revels in the warm welcome he receives abroad. He looks forward to touring out of the Caribbean this year when the tent visits Brooklyn College in New York.

"On April 6 we go to Brooklyn College. They have an annual calendar of events. Most of the great entertainers perform there at reduced fees, when they are in town on their concert tours. They perform there to raise money for the school. And every year on that calendar they have a week allocated to West Indian culture and one night of that is dedicated to West Indian comedy. This year comedy 2002 will feature Maljo Kaiso ... and of course, Cyclop is going to be there," said Fabien.

Fabien admitted that he is greatly concerned about Cyclop's safety when performing outdoors, due to his height. "People rush to him so much that they sometimes could hurt him. In St Kitts / Nevis (last year) was the biggest experience of that. People wanted to touch and grab his clothes so we always have to pair him off with Jo-L who will kinda keep people off ... he (Cyclop) is a young superstar."

Cyclop, though admitted he enjoyed every minute of it. "It was a sight to see, I thought those things only happen to big superstars. When you really see how much people appreciate you, you feel good.

"There was this time I went to school here, and signed one autograph, and that was the mistake I made because then I had to sign for everybody." On the personal side, Cyclop revealed that he's taken, no longer single and disengaged. Always a hotshot he admitted to having "plenty of girlfriends in and out of school. Yes, I have girlfriend. Yes, she's of average height ... but I don't want to be totally committed to anything right now, my whole goal is to do my job, and make the best out of it and reach that peak. From there everything will flow," Cyclop said.

He lives with his mother, six brothers and one sister in Arima and says he hasn't seen his brother much lately. "Bunji and I only have phone conversations for this Carnival season. He has his own stuff, and I have mine. He's real cool, down to earth, we talk. He helps me out whenever I need anything," he said.

He admires his brother a lot, and hopes to be just as successful and more recognised.