Cubadupa captured a sense of challenging joy

Wellingtonians are so used to negative media narratives that celebrating their city looks like a radical act. In this context, the theme of ‘Community Joy’ of Cubba made perfect sense, write Joel Macmanus and Lyric Waiwiri-Smith.

This year’s Cubba theme was “Community Joy”. At first glance, it is a roll of eyes; Less theme than the general vibration of a street fair. On the floor, however, in the midst of chaos and color, Bianca Bailey’s vision made sense.

Saturday was hot, heavy and highly intoxicating. Bunting floated in the light breeze on a crowd decorated in sparkles and sunglasses. Slow movement lines serpenty for Swan Lane and Glover Park for craft beer and rhythmic funk. At the Laundry Party X Wellington Seamarket Yard, the ravers climbed into tables and danced with insistent intensity.

Cubadupa is always cheerful. It is an excellent community collaboration project, a huge free festival that consistently makes a better show than many of the paid events in this country. A few years, joy is mixed with acceptance in the face of hatred, or pride of a collective response to a virus, or simply the relaxation of loose cutting. This year, community joy seemed an act of challenge, a city defending itself through dance.

Wellington survived a 12 -month vibration caused by public sector layoffs and an economic crisis. It was another beat for a city that has been through two earthquakes, a pandemic and 12 years of media narratives about how your city is dying. Lately, however, it seems that there has been a change. Wellington always comes to life in March, when college students return and gamblers leave to enjoy the sun of the summer. This year, especially-Houve an almost constant series of great songs, comedy and sporting events in recent weeks.

Wellingtonians are tired of manual torsion and self-flagellation. They are tired of apologizing for enjoying the city they chose to live in. In the cubep, the crowd was determined to remember – and the pessimists – that Wellington is fun.

No one has defined the sense of challenge than the Central Deputy of Wellington, Tamatha Paul, who held a DJ with one of the highest exports of electronic music by Aotearoa, Messie, on the porch of hunters and collectors. After making critical comments to police tactics, she spent a week being ridiculed by a torrent of Rageslop-E opinion columns, however, when she opened the set with the ‘police sound’ of KRS-One, the hundreds of people gathered in front of Cuba.

She had some initial problems with sound levels (“Increase!” The crowd cried several times), but when the music finally increased, the same happened. Paul accompanied Vince Staples’ ‘Norf Norf’ (“I’m never anything but the police”) and ‘not many’ from Scribe. When she dedicated Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like’, Winston Peters and Christopher Luxon, the noise of the crowd could have convinced you if you were performing at the top of the OP store very expensive.

King Homeboy appeared on the porch next to her for free -style NWA ‘Fuck Tha Police’ and plays merchandise in the crowd. To wrap everything, Paul promised the public that he “never silent”. While she played her final music – anger against ‘killing in the name of’ – the crowd returned the feeling, shouting “fuck, I won’t do what you tell me!” in the night air.

Paul was not the only local politician to take action. During Groove Council’s jazz dance in Glover Park, Mayor Tory Whanau and counselors Ben McNulty, Geordie Rogers, Nikau Wī Neera and Yadana saw a frantic meeting of the mock council on stage.

Young participants, various and alternatives of Cupadadupa are a crowd for the city’s left -handed politicians, who clearly appreciated the friendly reception. It was a well -being -a government of a government that they think they and The local media they believe have become actively hostile. Does it suggest an interesting contrast in the next local elections – as the right opposition embraces doomerism, can the left left find a way to celebrate the city without covering up its problems?

Politics is just a small part of the double, but the theme of challenging positivity has touched everywhere. Cubadupa (and its previous iteration, the Carnival of Rua Cuba) is a festival with a stop story. It has been canceled and reborn several times and survives only with the collaboration of 31 financial and delivery partners and hundreds of volunteers. The energy needed to remove it is only possible through hope, ambition and a challenging sense of joy.