Jamming with our samba-loving mates from around NZ

Due to the recent tragic events in Christchurch, CubaDupa was moved offstreet this year.

This meant, sadly, that all of the street performances planned by Wellington Batucada and our samba whanau from around the country could not go ahead. So instead, we decided to host a massive Samba Jam on the Saturday at our rehearsal space – the Cook Island Hall in Newtown.

Wellington Batucada host a samba jam party at the Cook Island Hall for all our samba-loving friends and bands from around the country. Video by Tom S Etuata.

It turned out to be a completely brilliant day. We’re usually all so frantically busy performing at CubaDupa, we never get a chance to see as many of each other’s shows as we would like. This year was a fantastic opportunity to perform for each other, and to actually have time to really appreciate the awesomeness of the Aotearoa samba whanau.

Featuring Samba Ao Vento (Palmerston North), Sambatron (Hamilton), Tauranga Samba (Tauranga), Bay Batucada (Napier/Hastings), Nelson Ambassadors (Nelson), and Wellington Batucada (Wellington). With a bonus glimpse of Wellington Batucada’s Opera House stage performance the following day.

Many thanks and much respect to the CubaDupa organisers for bringing CubaDupa together and rearranging everything in such a short amount of time. Arohanui. #TheyAreUs.

In light of the tragic event in Christchurch, our aroha, sincere thoughts and prayers go out to our Muslim sisters and brothers at this time. They are us and we are them. It’s our diverse communities that enrich and enlighten our lives and although it’s a dark time right now, we want to shine a light of aroha and peace to everyone that’s been affected. Kia Kaha Christchurch. Kia Kaha Aotearoa.❤️
Wellington Batucada