2/13/14: ZANZIBAR: SAUTI ZA BUSARA DAY 1

 2/13/14: ZANZIBAR: BUSARA DAY 1

Here are photos from the Vaudeville act, Capoera, traditional masked dancing and an umbrella dance at a park by the water before they created a parade to begin Busara:

Capoera Group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was beginning to look a bit like the Oregon Country Faire with the mix of costumed crazies rousing the audience. A bunch of Europeans had instruments, fire dancing stuff, a stilt walker who spun a bicycle wheel on his head, you name it.  One African group had men slicked up with black  charcoal and Vaseline plus a group in voodoo-like garb.  They started off the festivities at the Old Fort, after which the music began.

 

 

We are sitting in this bandstand in the back of the amphitheater up high with plastic chairs, and, acoustically it is good to be as far as possible away from the blaring sound system. The venue, the Old Fort, which was built on the foundation laid by the Portuguese hundreds of years ago, is small enough to feel intimate. All 4 nights we have sat in the front row with a couple from Australia saving seats for each other.  After the Festival, they have booked a balloon ride in the Serengeti as part of their safari. He has a sheep ranch and we got quite friendly with one another. They are staying in a nearby hotel with a restaurant on the top floor (quite common here) from which they can see down into the Old Fort. They're up in our age bracket and also chose to pay a bit more and get seats. Everyone else will be standing for most of the concert. 

Opening Act of Busara Day 1

 

 

               Baladna Tarab from Zanzibar 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first night the music was pretty good.  Each band plays for 45 minutes with a 15 minute break for set up except a longer break at Muslim prayer times. The breaks began stretching out and the concert was soon running 2-3 hours behind schedule as it would every night except the last one.

It started raining around 11 pm, and many people just left.  Others, including us, stood under shelters - tarps - thinking the rain might stop.  No way!  The rain increased into a storm, with winds and torrential downpour.  After an hour we finally walked out into the street to get drenched as we made our way back to the hotel.

We both slept very well and everything dried by morning.