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kilele: From left to right : Tresor Kaluw and Joël Luya from the band “Jecoke” who have entertained miners in Democratic Republic of Congo since 1951 “Created in 1951, in the working class district of “La Kenya” in Elisabethville (Lubumbashi since the independence), the Jeunes Comiques du Katanga – Jecoke – began by performing sketches for the miners after their day’s work was done. Inspired by the workers’ songs and the music from southern Africa, this group of actors quickly transformed into a band, keeping their humor and lightness that gave them an immediate popular fanbase. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, in particular, where the weight of history lies heavily on the shoulders of the population, the ability to pacify minds is a virtue well worth its weight in gold. Today, the liberating magic still works. With their black Stetsons on their heads and their blue frock-coats flowing in the wind, the choir made up of dashing fifty-year-old men swing Swahili with folk guitar melodies and creates a particularly infectious quivering rhythm. Their voices, smoothed with an irresistible nostalgia, accompany a wriggling choreography which has the ability to bewitch. While the elders sing and play, free-and-easy elegant young men, half dancers, half acrobats, swivel their hips like Elvis in a dance called Kalinchelilincheli.” More here Photo by Gwenn Dubourthoumieu

kilele:

From left to right : Tresor Kaluw and Joël Luya from the band “Jecoke” who have entertained miners in Democratic Republic of Congo since 1951

“Created in 1951, in the working class district of “La Kenya” in Elisabethville (Lubumbashi since the independence), the Jeunes Comiques du Katanga – Jecoke – began by performing sketches for the miners after their day’s work was done. Inspired by the workers’ songs and the music from southern Africa, this group of actors quickly transformed into a band, keeping their humor and lightness that gave them an immediate popular fanbase. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, in particular, where the weight of history lies heavily on the shoulders of the population, the ability to pacify minds is a virtue well worth its weight in gold. Today, the liberating magic still works. With their black Stetsons on their heads and their blue frock-coats flowing in the wind, the choir made up of dashing fifty-year-old men swing Swahili with folk guitar melodies and creates a particularly infectious quivering rhythm. Their voices, smoothed with an irresistible nostalgia, accompany a wriggling choreography which has the ability to bewitch. While the elders sing and play, free-and-easy elegant young men, half dancers, half acrobats, swivel their hips like Elvis in a dance called Kalinchelilincheli.” More here

Photo by Gwenn Dubourthoumieu

(via theafricatheynevershowyou)

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    this. I love stories
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