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I began the day a bit behind the ball due to sleeping in after a truly decadent evening at the B.goods mobile bakery launch party. The sample treats were delicious AND relatively healthy, and the awesome Northern Brazilian music of Forro in the Dark had us almost dancing off all those cookies!
So I missed my group (Dende do Recife)’s first roda in the Market (downtown market area of Ottawa). Then I had a bit of a repeat of my unsuccessful Friday evening attempts to find Capoeira. One of the things I was actually looking forward to with my return to Canada was that I thought some things would be so much easier. So it was quite funny to not be able to track down my capoeirista friends due to delayed emails, websites not being updated, crappy customer service at Fido so my cell wasn’t working, those greedy Bell payphones eating up all my change, etc. But fortunately by Canada Day on Sunday, 1 July, my cell was cooperating so I only spent an hour or so trying to find my Capoeira group. And during the search I stumbled upon people playing poi to the tune of a djembe
drummer! So I got to play a bit on route to finding the capoeirstas. We did a roda by the fountain at Sussex & York, and I nearly cried I was so happy to get to play again! It had been 5 months since I’d been able to play in a roda. There are no Capoeira groups in Tanzania, and although I tried to keep training, its very hard without a Capoeira community. Its just not a solo art.
Then onward to a friend’s BBQ. This is when I managed to put on my Kanga Canada Day attire. What better way to celebrate Canada’s birth than to wear the flag? And a flag is just like a kanga, the 6 by 3 feet brightly patterned cotton cloths women in Eastern Africa wear and use for all sorts of things, like transporting kids. I miss Tanzania, so Voila! Afro-Canadian fusion: I wore two flags like a two-piece kanga outfit. Next year, I’ll do a different version!
Then I went to catch my friends competing in a B-boy/girl face-off. But it was bike and skateboard aerial stunts on offer, not break dancing. I missed the breaking because the performance time was changed, and spent yet more time wandering around the mayhem in the Market. As I attempted to find the B-boy/girl crew, I actually used the sms texting skills gleaned in Tanzania to track them down. I also sent my first successful international sms to a friend in TZ. Sabra & the b-crew were found in the same place I had found the Capoeristas earlier: CoCo's, a friendly Mexican restaurant on Dalhousie with a roof-top patio. And an awesome dance floor inside. From here on, my Canada Day strategy was to just follow Sabra around. Before leaving at 7pm or so, it was decided the empty dance floor definitely needed some attention. So we all went and danced to kickin' latin music, C had a face-off with an ample & elegant Mexican lady, and I played some poi. A hip-shakin' fun time was had by all.
Then off to Samir's, a friend of Sabra's, for his annual awesome Canada Day house music party complete with roof-top view of the fireworks. Our meandering route through the Market was during the transition period when the revellers are getting drunker, the little kids are starting to go home, and the ridiculousness just keeps getting better. I wonder what foreigners would make of this vibrant, chaotic, amicable, & silly mass block-party.
Samir's party did not disapoint: great music, delicous fiood, fun people, lots of dancing. We stepped out for a bit to brave the streets again to find more of Sabra's friends. Instead found some spoken word artists and more b-boys&girls, and so I got to watch an impromptu breaking & freestyle jam, one of those beautiful moments that just comes together when you go with the flow. Then back to the party in time to go up to the roof and watch the fireworks. They were beautiful, and the club next door happened to provide a fitting musical score!
I headed home relatively early since I had to go all the way out to Kanata (30 min bus ride to park & ride, 10 min drive from there). The walk to the bus brought me yet again through the weird & wonderful crowds. There were three young black girls dancing some sort of traditional dance, forming the epicentre of a huge crowd of admiring dancers, dancing to the music pouring out of the Mercury Lounge. I was happy to hear "Farewell to Nova Scotia" sung live at the Highlander, and when I paused to listen, was grabbed by a drunken jig dancer in a red cape. We sort of jigged/waltzed. At one point he was precariously hopping on the border of the water fountain, but soon came back down for more jigging with many relatively successful spins. I even survived being dipped to finish the song. He gave me a peck on the cheek (well, really my ear) and I was off. The bus was hilarious, with a very off-key but enthusiatic rendition of "Oh, Canada", and other favourites. When I got to the car, I reverted to blaring my Tanzanian friends bongoflava music.
All in all, a wonderful Canada Day!
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hk
non-member comment
uko juu
u look cool girl that canadian kango fit u tetly umependeza sana