The year was 1974. Carnival celebrations in Goa had begun to get noticed by the rest of India. The float parades were taking off, bringing glamour to a people’s festival that had till then been missing.
That was the year a young 26-year-old exploded on the scene, bagging the first prize in the float parade and continuing to win the prize for seven successive years.
That young man was Francisco Martins, popularly known as Fanquito, a sobriquet that stands to this day among family, friends and even acquaintances.
In early 1974, Fanquito had staged the musical, Jesus Christ Superstar, in Panjim. Buoyed by the success of the theatrical performance, the participants suggested that they stay together and put up a Carnival float as the festival was approaching.
I didn’t have time for the float. We did it in a hurry. I got some brown sackcloth for the participants to dress up in, painted their faces, put them in chains and we entered the float parade.
Francisco Martins
And so, within weeks of each other, Fanquito and his troupe went from the stage to the street and hurriedly put up a rather simple float, titled ‘Slavery in Rome’.
“I didn’t have time for the float. We did it in a hurry. I got some brown sackcloth for the participants to dress up in, painted their faces, put them in chains and we entered the float parade. For the Roman soldiers we hired costumes from Mapusa,” recalls Fanquito.
The float was a hit, especially the music, as pop group, Osibisa, was topping the charts those years, and their music caught the fancy of the crowd.
That was the beginning of a streak of seven first-prize winning floats, a feat that remains unmatched by anybody since the 1970s.
The only time Fanquito did not win first prize in the Carnival floats was when he did not participate in the competition
The only time Fanquito did not win first prize in the Carnival floats was when he did not participate in the competition, but he still did have a float in the parade in the non-competitive category, so people didn’t miss appreciating his art.
Of course, the following year, the float was a lot more elaborate, but not as extravagant as they would later turn out.
This time, the theme was '2000 BC' and it had the participants swinging clubs and stones on the streets.
Recalling this float, Fanquito says, “The late Basilio Soares, who was game for anything, brought along with him a huge raw bone with meat on it and acted out eating the meat.”
Five decades later, Basilio’s son, Aldrin, is part of Fanquito’s troupe and will be seen in the float parade this year, too.
The late Basilio Soares, who was game for anything, brought along with him a huge raw bone with meat on it and acted out eating the meat
Francisco Martins
With another first prize, Fanquito had come to stay and his name was almost becoming synonymous with the Carnival float parade.
The following years the Carnival floats would not be complete without his participation, and people began to look forward to them.
The parades also turned a lot more competitive with other troupes attempting to get the better of Fanquito, which of course drove him to do even better.
After 1975, the floats that he presented were highly structured and more sophisticated. The Carnival parade evolved, and with it, so did tourism in Goa.
After '2000 BC' came 'Viva La Difference' that portrayed the contrast between the coming century (which would be the 21st we are in) and the times of the 1970s. Men dressed as robots walked the streets that Carnival day.
After 1975, the floats that he presented were highly structured and more sophisticated. The Carnival parade evolved, and with it, so did tourism in Goa.
It was followed by 'Cronos 78', a take on Greek mythology, and later, 'Nirvana West' which was a commentary on social mores of the times, especially people who sought to ape all things Western.
Around that time, after having won five first prizes, Fanquito began to wonder whether he should continue in the parade or opt out.
And, that year 1979, there came the float 'IF' or 'Imagination Fever', the IF was a take on whether he would or would not present a float. He eventually did.
This was perhaps his showcase float, where 60 animals created out of Plaster of Paris walked on the streets of Panjim. They included lions, elephants, giraffes and others.
The prize-winning floats were all the efforts of Fanquito – artistically and financially. There was no sponsor. It was later that Real Drinks stepped in as sponsor for the float.
“Mr Shirodkar of Real Drinks was my big support and he always gave me a free hand,” says Fanquito, indebted to the Shirodkar family that still supports him, even decades later.
The prize-winning floats were all the efforts of Fanquito – artistically and financially. There was no sponsor. It was later that Real Drinks stepped in as sponsor for the float.
What helped Fanquito at that time was the central location of the Hotel Imperial and Rio Bar and Restaurant, that he was running in Panjim.
At that time, the floats started at the Old Patto bridge and wound their way past the Imperial hotel, the Mermaid garden, went behind the Old Secretariat, turned left at Clube Nacional, went past the Municipal Garden and culminated at the Church Square, before dispersing.
Imperial and Rio became the headquarters of Fanquito’s float preparation. “I would close Imperial for three weeks before the parade. It would turn into a workshop. Everything was minutely designed,” reminisces Fanquito, as he visualises the scene at the hotel in those times.
“There would be fabricators, carpenters, tailors working there, even as my singers and dancers were practicing amidst the work. Even the sound was programmed minutely,” he adds.
Fanquito may have gained his early fame from those floats, but before that he was already known for the mechanical Christmas cribs that he designed
Fanquito may have gained his early fame from those floats, but before that he was already known for the mechanical Christmas cribs that he designed and executed in his native village of Sao Pedro, a mere kilometre away from Panjim.
The distance from Sao Pedro to Panjim is therefore not long, but the distance from Sao Pedro in Goa to Sao Paulo in Brazil is, and Fanquito travelled that distance, crossing continents and oceans to design a float at the Brazilian Carnival.
In 2009, the Carnival in Sao Paulo had a Goan, or rather an Indian, touch to it, as Fanquito was invited to design a float, which he did, giving it an Indian theme.
The first prizes in the Carnival also got him noticed and drawn to the larger platform. Fanquito moved from the main street of Panjim to Rajpath in Delhi.
In 2009, the Carnival in Sao Paulo had a Goan, or rather an Indian, touch to it, as Fanquito was invited to design a float, which he did, giving it an Indian theme.
His prowess at making floats was noticed, and in 1981, he designed and executed the Goa float for the tableaux segment of the Republic Day parade in New Delhi.
'Goa Sings', his 1982 presentation at the National Republic Day parade created some excitement in New Delhi as it had a live band playing, and dancers on giant clam shells.
“Carnival took me to the Republic Day parades in New Delhi. Going to Delhi was a different experience. We won many prizes at the Republic Day parade, and later, I was also a member of the scrutiny committee for the tableaux at the national level,” says Fanquito.
Goa, under Fanquito’s design and execution of the floats, won four first prizes and five second prizes at the Republic Day parades in New Delhi.
The first prizes came in 1987, 1988, 1991 and 2000, while the second prizes were in 1989, 1990, 1995, 2006 and 2012.
“Goa is a small dot on the map of India, and for us to win a prize for so many years at the Republic Day parade at New Delhi was a matter of pride. We were competing with bigger States, artistes from those States who put so much effort in what they did,” says Fanquito
"If I was able to reach that level, then it was because of the Carnival floats in Goa where I started,” he adds.
Goa, under Fanquito’s design and execution of the floats, won four first prizes and five second prizes at the Republic Day parades in New Delhi.
Besides designing the tableau for Goa, Fanquito also presented another tableau at the Republic Day parade that was not for Goa, but commemorating 50 years of naval aviation for the Ministry of Defence in 2004.
Of all his achievements, there is one that holds a special place for him. It was the 'Bharatiyam', in 1998, a presentation of the Sports Authority of India at the grand finale to the Jawaharlal Nehru Centenary celebrations.
Fanquito was chief visualiser for this programme, and worked alongside Gulzar who penned the lyrics, Vanijairam who gave voice to the song, and Ananda Shankar who was chief producer and music composer.
What made 'Bharatiyam' unique was that it had around 30,000 children in a dance performance. It brought 23,849 children from 427 Delhi schools, and 6327 children from 892 schools of all the other States and Union Territories.
Of all his achievements, there is one that holds a special place for him. It was the 'Bharatiyam', in 1998, a presentation of the Sports Authority of India at the grand finale to the Jawaharlal Nehru Centenary celebrations.
“As chief visualiser, I suggested that we need professionals to teach the dance moves to the children. I could show them what I wanted, but there was no way I could actually teach. It was decided to bring three Russian professionals to train them,” remembers Fanquito.
Accordingly, a gymnastics expert, along with two others who were experts in formations, were brought from Russia to India.
The list of Fanquito’s achievements is long. A short list would include choreographing the opening and closing ceremonies of the Pune National Games 1994 and of the Afro-Asian Games at Hyderabad in 2003; and choreographing the Goa segment of the Asian Games 1982 opening ceremony at New Delhi.
And, outside India: Choreographing the entertainment of the India@60 function in New York in 1997; and prior to that in 1989, the centenary celebration of Indians in Guyana; and in 1994 presenting Goan folk dances at the opening ceremony of international food and cultural festival of the government of India at Jakarta.
The list of Fanquito’s achievements is long. A short list would include choreographing the opening and closing ceremonies of the Pune National Games 1994 and of the Afro-Asian Games at Hyderabad in 2003.
In 2008, he was invited to design a float for Perola Negra de Escola da Samba, in the Brazil Carnival, which he did along with Kathak Queen Uma Sharma.
He was one of the main organisers of the papal visit of Pope John Paul II to Goa in 1986 and also that of Mother Teresa just a few months later.
He might have travelled the world and won accolades, but Fanquito’s heart remains rooted in the Carnival.
“I cannot forget the Carnival, it lifted me up. I am what I am because of the Carnival and because of the members of my team, past and present. They are like family to me,” says Fanquito.
He might have travelled the world and won accolades, but Fanquito’s heart remains rooted in the Carnival.
Fifty years after that first prize he won in 1974, there have been a lot of changes and with it, Carnival has transformed, too.
Some, especially the seniors, would say it was not for the best, and though he agrees that there have been changes, Fanquito has a different perspective from that of his contemporaries.
“People do say that the Carnival in the past was so different and better, and now it is not. I don’t agree with that last part fully. Times have changed and with it tastes, too," he says.
"The youth want a certain kind of entertainment. Besides, today, there is so much more imagination and art, and people have learnt so much more,” he says as he prophesises that in the future, Carnival will change even more and that one has to keep up with the times, just as he has done.
This year, the 50th of that first prize in 1974 that set him off onto a career in designing floats and that took him to the Republic Day parades in New Delhi, Fanquito has something special for the Carnival float parade.
The parade in Panjim will have three floats designed by him – for the Health Department, for the CCP and a more modest one that commemorates the golden jubilee of that first prize that took him beyond the Carnival parade of Panjim and across the borders of Goa.
This year, the 50th of that first prize in 1974 that set him off onto a career in designing floats and that took him to the Republic Day parades in New Delhi, Fanquito has something special for the Carnival float parade.
On Saturday afternoon, somewhere among the many floats following King Momo and his entourage, will be the man who is also called the Carnival King of Goa, as Fanquito or if you prefer Francisco Martins, will take a bow as he commemorates the 50th year of his winning the first prize at the Carnival float, that mapped out his onward career.
If there is one man for whom the chant 'Viva Carnaval' is truly meaningful, that man is Fanquito.