Dragon keeps watch over his moko jumbies-in-training at the Keylemanjahro School of Arts & Culture on the outskirts of Trinidad's capital, Port of Spain. Photo taken in January 2024 by Skye Hernandez, used with permission.

Moko jumbies, elegant, ethereal stilt walkers drawn from West African traditions, are said to straddle the divide between heaven and earth because of their towering height. These captivating characters, now a staple of Trinidad and Tobago Carnival, were once a dying breed – until one man, Glenn “Dragon” de Souza – almost single-handedly turned it around. Skilled in the art of “walking,” as the art form is called, he and a friend made quite a stir one year at the national Emancipation Day parade; after that, there was no turning back.

In response to the upsurge of interest, Dragon decided to start teaching. In a 2012 article for the Trinidad and Tobago Review, Global Voices contributor Skye Hernandez interviewed Dragon about his “moko jumbie love.” He explained, “My friend told me that when a fella IS a moko jumbie, he doesn't teach the art. I said, if that's so then the art will die, and so I decided to do it by myself and teach everyone to be moko jumbies.”

In 1984, what is now known as the Keylemanjahro School of Arts & Culture began welcoming its first students, adults and children alike. Nearly 41 years later, on March 17, 2025, Dragon – whose name was practically synonymous with moko jumbies in Trinidad and Tobago – died suddenly of a lung infection, stepping across that veil between life and afterlife, having symbolically portrayed that connection, year after year, in his masquerade bands:

The Carnival arts community was immediately thrust into mourning, with steelpan historian Kim Johnson saying, “Dragon has passed, a titan has fallen, rest in greatness Mr. DeSouza, you were indeed the moko jumbie king of the world.”

Traditional mas’ photographer Maria Nunes shared a few photos of the “indomitable” Dragon on her Facebook page, saying:

I first encountered Dragon in 2011 on the Brian Lara Promenade on Carnival Saturday morning while he was getting his army of young mokos ready for the junior parade. To meet Dragon was to immediately know he was a force to be reckoned with. He gave Keylemanjahro School of Arts & Culture his all. His impact on the growth of the Moko Jumbie art form in Trinidad and Tobago is too immense to be measured. His large scale revival of Moko Jumbies in the 90s was transformative, paving the way for all others to follow. He was a fierce warrior through and through, his Dragon fire coming from deep down inside a heart of love for the countless young people whom he took to higher heights, soaring over us all, blessing us in the way only Moko Jumbies can.

Thank you Glenn Desouza for your invaluable contribution to our cultural heritage. Walk tall over us all now.

Likewise, Stefan Falke, who photographed Dragon and his jumbies “over the course of some seven years (1997-2004) for a book project, remembered Dragon's main motivation being to keep children and young adults “away from a life in the streets while preserving the traditional art of the Moko Jumbie”:

My sincere condolences to his family, and all the wonderful Moko Jumbies who lost their amazing leader. RIP Dragon, I hope they have stilts where you are now.

The Facebook page Patriotic T&T, meanwhile, paid tribute to Dragon as “one of our longest upholders of the Moko Jumbie walking tradition in Trinidad and Tobago […] a master of the art and a dedicated mentor to many in the stilt walking world”:

[H]e created a space [where] young people learned the art of Mokoing […] keeping the rhythm and traditions of our culture alive for decades. To the Moko community, his family, and all who danced in his light, we send our deepest condolences. His legacy will walk tall forever. Rest in power, Dragon. Now you're higher than the tallest of us. 🕊️🔥/|

Diaspora artist Sonya Sanchez Arias, upon hearing the news of Dragon's passing, said, “Thank you for everything you gave to help spread our amazing Trinidad MOKO JUMBIE carnival culture. I can imagine you creating an entire band of MOKO angels – playing mas and protecting us from up above.”

Others remembered him as having “lived his life for the love of moko Jumbie, [teaching] hundreds into thousands,” a man who tried to “bring communities together,” and a man who “made a great impact on a lot of children's life through arts and culture.”

Dragon's vision for the moko jumbies was as big as their stilts were tall. Far from relegating them to the streets of the capital during the national festival, he was able to adapt their performances to many mediums. He collaborated with the Metamorphosis Dance Company on choreographer Nancy Herrera's piece “Mystic Forest,” for which the troupe credits him as “the driving force…a testament to his passion for the art of movement and the spirit of the Moko Jumbie tradition,” adding, “[He was] a visionary whose contributions to culture and the performing arts have left an indelible mark on our nation.” Dragon was also integral in facilitating a PBS crew to film a segment on the moko jumbies for the beloved children's television programme “Sesame Street.”

In 2023, Dragon was nominated for a national award. The following year, he was presented with the Hummingbird Medal (Gold) for his contributions to culture.

Cultural activist Rubadiri Victor explained why Dragon was so deserving of the award:

Dragon was the main architect in resurrecting the Moko Jumbie tradition and mainstreaming it, not only here in T&T, but in the world […] Keylemanjahro [put] thousands of people up on stilts, trained in the ancient art of Moko Jumbie stilt walking.

Moreover, he continued, Keylemanjahro proved itself as “one of the most successful Cultural and Civic Institutions [graduating] more than 4,000 students [from] the most marginalized sections of society,” in large part without corporate or public sector assistance. “Children came from ghettoes all over T&T to the ghetto of Cocorite to train in Dragon's yard,” Victor wrote. “Then children came from residential communities. Then people from all over the world […] Now a major national event is not complete unless it has a Moko Jumbie troupe. It is Dragon and Keylemanjahro who is responsible for this!”

As Hernandez realised when she interviewed him so many years ago, however, Dragon's contributions extended far beyond the arts:

This outfit provides much more than lessons in stilt walking […] They get family, emotional support, strenuous physical exercise, a chance to be creative every day, the possibility of a career, and discipline – indeed, here they have a sanctuary. […] The way the walkers let themselves fall into the handlers’ arms and trust they'd be caught tells a lot about what goes on in the yard at Keylemanjahro, and it has a lot to do with the vision and personality of its charismatic leader.

Dragon also gave the youngsters confidence and a sense of self-identity, as Hernandez’ T&T Review article noted:

They are awe-inspiring on their stilts, and it is up in the air that they show
their beauty, their talent and their pride, where no one but themselves can test them (except maybe Dragon), where no one can call them the usual names [that] they may sometimes be called based on the areas they live, their potential financial challenges, style of dress and perceived ethnic homogeneity.

I read somewhere that moko jumbies in Africa were spirits that guarded the villages […] It seems a good way to think about this place where a man named Dragon has taken so many children under his wing and taught them to fly.

In the wake of this immense loss to the moko jumbie community, several social media users lamented the fact that Dragon, who always advocated for moko jumbies being viewed as skilled professionals and compensated as such, and whose dream it was to accomplish the Guinness World Record for “the most moko jumbies in one spot,” never got to see the latter come to fruition.

Dragon had initially planned to attempt on Carnival Sunday this year, but because of “a number of issues,” including delayed funding and hectic Carnival performance schedules, the event was postponed to May.

In a private post quoted here with permission, Facebook user Deborah D'Andrade Lashley wondered, “With [Dragon] gone now, I wonder if his school will still try for that Guinness record, in his honour 🤔 I hope they will and achieve that (worldly recognition) for him, his school and his followers.”

As Dragon himself would have said, “[If] you want to be a Moko Jumbie […] bring your love ❤️ and come.”