Carnaval King Has a Name Befitting His Royal Role

Willis King’s Carnaval costume, with its 530 blue peacock feathers and Mylar sun rays, is so elaborate that he needs a small moving van to transport it.

“Not a big one,” he said. “You know, the smallest one they have, like a 10-foot U-Haul.” When he puts it on, he stands 15 feet tall.

The royal manner King affects in costume will serve him well next weekend when he reigns as potentate of the fifth annual Carnaval and parade in downtown Long Beach.

Crowned several weeks ago at the Carnaval masquerade ball, King will preside--appropriately--as king over the two-day Carnaval celebration. The festival features two parades on Saturday, one at 10 a.m. and an electrical parade at 9 p.m.

Musical guests include Tower of Power, Poncho Sanchez, Jumbalaya and Harmonica Fats. Fire eaters, limbo dancers, Caribbean folk dancers, steel drum bands and entertainment for kids (pet shows, clowns and carnival rides) are also on the lineup.

King’s fascination with Carnaval goes back several years to when he formed a Samba group in Long Beach, bringing together friends with an interest in costumes and dance. Today, the group has 14 members. “We never talk about politics or religion,” King said. “We talk about each other and Carnaval.”

Over the years, the Samba club has become one of the most popular groups in the Carnaval parade, King said, “because we get out there and dance with the people in the crowd, pose for pictures, pick up babies, give the elderly people kisses, shake everybody’s hands,” he said. “The skimpy outfits. That helps too.”

King, 39, an aerobics instructor and nurse’s aide at the Veteran’s Administration hospital in Long Beach, describes his costume as “very Brazilian,” which means he wears a G-string bikini, thigh-high boots and lots of skin below the feathers that fan around his torso and face. The idea for his costume, celebrating the sun god Ra, came from a Samba group member who suggested an Egyptian theme “because she was dating an Egyptian,” King said.

King called costume designer Grant Phillipo in Las Vegas with the idea. For several months, “I talked to him on the telephone and sent him money. I never see anything until I get to Vegas to pick it up.” When done, it cost King $1,500, he said, “and worth every bit.”

Carnaval begins on Saturday at 10 a.m. when KCBS sports anchor Jim Hill leads the opening-day parade, in which King also will appear. The parade steps off at 7th Street and Locust Avenue, continuing down 7th Street to Pine Avenue, where it turns on Pine and continues to Broadway.

From 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., live concerts on five stages begin in the gated area from Pine Avenue to Long Beach Boulevard between 1st and 3rd streets. The lineup includes Poncho Sanchez, Paul Russo, Mayuto Correa, Machine Gun Kelly, Donnie Brooks and Juan Carlos Quintera.

On Sunday, festivities continue from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Musical guests include Harmonica Fats, Tower of Power, Tierra, Charlie Jene, Hymalaya, Don Julian and the Meadowlarks, the Penguins, George Griffen, Jumbalaya, Joe Houston’s tribute to the Drifters and the Sherrells.

At 9 p.m., a smaller electrical parade features dancing groups and lighted, motorized floats. It begins at Broadway and Pine Avenue and moves up Pine to 6th Street.

The parades are free, but admission to the fenced-off entertainment area is $5 a day. Children under 12 are free if accompanied by a paying adult. Parking is free at Long Beach Plaza. For tickets and information, call (310) 437-5900.