Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2007/03/24
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]John, Beautiful and informative set. And colourful. Cheers Jayanand On 3/25/07, John Mason <profmason@yahoo.com> wrote: > > I spent most of the last three months in Cape Town. > It was the carnival season, and my longest stay in > South Africa since I lived there in '89 and '90. > > Taking advantage of the circumstances, I accepted my > friend Zane Ibrahim's invitation to join the > Pennsylvania Crooning Minstrels, one of several dozen > minstrel troupes that are the heart and soul of the > carnival. > > Carnival is deeply rooted in Cape Town's working class > communities. Minstrel troupes have been around for > over 100 years--the Pennsylvanians date back to the > '30s--and the tradition of marching through the city > around Christmas and the New Year goes back to the > days of slavery in the early 19th century. > > The most spectacular part of the carnival is die > Tweede Nuwe Jaar--the Second New Year, January > 2nd--when the troupes march through the center of the > city, effectively taking it over. > > < > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Mason/CapeMinstrels/03FlagAndCoke.jpg.html > > > > <http://tinyurl.com/yuxef8> > > < > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Mason/CapeMinstrels/01ClownUpClose.jpg.html > > > > <http://tinyurl.com/2e7dn9> > > < > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Mason/CapeMinstrels/04BandAndCoke.jpg.html > > > > <http://tinyurl.com/2437nt> > > For each troupe, a day of marching or competing begins > at the klopskamer--the clubhouse--where members > assemble to march through the neighborhood, before > boarding buses that will take them downtown: > > <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Mason/CapeMinstrels/06Clown.jpg.html> > > <http://tinyurl.com/2gorvx> > > < > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Mason/CapeMinstrels/09OrangeHouse.jpg.html > > > > <http://tinyurl.com/2yv3n8> > > < > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Mason/CapeMinstrels/11ManUmbrellaBus.jpg.html > > > > <http://tinyurl.com/yqe8wj> > > An important part of the carnival are the competitions > in various local stadiums, where the troupes bands, > choirs, and marching are judged: > > < > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Mason/CapeMinstrels/17FlagsAthloneStadium.jpg.html > > > > <http://tinyurl.com/3cf7eh> > > < > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Mason/CapeMinstrels/18DancingBoyGreenPoint.jpg.html > > > > <http://tinyurl.com/2otrg2> > > < > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Mason/CapeMinstrels/19TarikInGreenPoint.jpg.html > > > > <http://tinyurl.com/2jun9h> > > < > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Mason/CapeMinstrels/20BandInStadium.jpg.html > > > > <http://tinyurl.com/35ysal> > > < > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Mason/CapeMinstrels/21ChoirSingsGreenPoint.jpg.html > > > > <http://tinyurl.com/3yoeh9> > > None of this comes easily. Rehearsals start in > October and continue until the end of the competitions > in late February: > > < > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Mason/CapeMinstrels/22CoachAndSingers.jpg.html > > > > <http://tinyurl.com/24vjby> > > <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Mason/CapeMinstrels/24Singers02.jpg.html > > > > <http://tinyurl.com/27gfk8> > > < > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Mason/CapeMinstrels/25BariSaxRehearsal.jpg.html > > > > <http://tinyurl.com/yr5w7s> > > For the members, participation in the troupes (which > is very often passed down from father to son and > mother to daughter) is a mixture of fun and > tomfoolery... > > < > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Mason/CapeMinstrels/14aDancingGirls.jpg.html > > > > <http://tinyurl.com/ytv57r> > > <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Mason/CapeMinstrels/10RedFace.jpg.html> > > <http://tinyurl.com/2y4ou7> > > ...and great seriousness: > > < > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Mason/CapeMinstrels/16TamborineInSunset.jpg.html > > > > <http://tinyurl.com/yqg5wk> > > By happy coincidence, we are this year's > championship-winning troupe: > > < > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Mason/CapeMinstrels/27ChampionOfChampions.jpg.html > > > > <http://tinyurl.com/2534pt> > > And, when I say "we," I mean it: > > < > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Mason/CapeMinstrels/28EkIsNKlops.jpg.html > > > > <http://tinyurl.com/2hyylq> > > See more here: > > <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Mason/CapeMinstrels/> > > --John > > John Mason > Charlottesville, Virginia > > DEMOCRACY OF SPEED, a Photo Documentary Project: > http://www.virginia.edu/history/DocSpeed/ > > Additional Documentary Projects, here: > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Mason/ > > > > > ____________________________________________________________________________________ > Be a PS3 game guru. > Get your game face on with the latest PS3 news and previews at Yahoo! > Games. > http://videogames.yahoo.com/platform?platform=120121 > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >