Category Archives: Videos

Wellington Batucada plays WOMAD

comment

An unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime experience

Wellington Batucada group photo after our WOMAD gig - photo by Graham DwyerYou may recall a few months ago we hassled you incessantly to vote for us in the WOMAD Performer Competition. The prize was to perform at WOMAD 2015.

You may also recall that we won the competition (thank you SO MUCH for your votes!), and last Saturday we claimed our prize, and played for an hour on the Gables Stage at the WOMAD festival in New Plymouth.

Wow. What an amazing experience. When I got up that morning, all excited and full of anticipation, I told myself that this was very likely to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and a highlight of our drumming career – and that I should enjoy every single moment of it.

Continue reading

WOMAD busking gig, Wellington Night Market

comment

Vote for us – you know you want to…

Another day, another vote-gathering busking session in our quest to win the People’s Choice competition and play at WOMAD next year. Woop! Woop!

This time we entertained the lovely folks at the Wellington Night Market on a Friday evening, the front row wearing the W-O-M-A-D headpieces that Carin made (she’s so creative!).

Instead of playing I went around the audience with my clipboard, explaining why we were playing and what it was for, and gathering votes. I filled two or three pages with names and email addresses, all of which were duly entered onto the WOMAD website with confirmation emails sent to the voters themselves. The system is working! We’re doing well!

Full rendition of Ijexá – video by Phuong Nguyen

Donate to the CubaDupa Boosted campaign!

comment

Get involved as Wellington Batucada becomes part of Carnival at the top of Cuba Street

2009 Cuba Street Carnival

Creating a spectacle at the 2009 Cuba Street Carnival

MAKE A DONATION RIGHT NOW!!!

We are honoured to have been chosen as one of seven groups to spearhead the Wellington CubaDupa Boosted campaign. Each group will be featured as part of next year’s inaugural CubaDupa festival, being held in and around Cuba Street, 28th & 29th March 2015. The Boosted campaign aims to raise an additional $250,000 to match the Wellington City Council’s generous $250,000 funding, which will make CubaDupa the awesome event that we know it can be.

The Carnival Zone target on Boosted is to raise $10,000, which we hope will be equalled by a generous match donor. Wellington Batucada will also be putting in $10,000 of our own money.

Featuring Wellington Batucada and samba groups from across New Zealand; the Carnival Zone will fill the streets with music, dance and festivity throughout the weekend. Continue reading

Please vote for Wellington Batucada to perform at WOMAD 2015!

1

We want to play at WOMAD!

Wellington Batucada has entered the competition to perform as a roving band at WOMAD 2015. The band that gets the most votes, wins.

Check out our video:

If you think we would be good at WOMAD, how about giving us your vote?

To vote, click on the Batucada entry page on the WOMAD website and cast your vote. You’ll get an email asking you to confirm your vote (check your junk mail folder if you don’t).

Thanks so much! Every vote counts, because you can only vote once from any given email address.

If you have friends who might also consider supporting us, please pass this info on to them.

Wellington Batucada – we’d love to play for you (retrospective video)

comment

Check out our new video

I thought it might be a good idea for us to have a showreel for the band – so I made a video…. hope you like it!

I’ve used all kinds of Batucada footage, old and new – and selected some of our best photos as well. My aim was to put together a good representation of who we are, what we do – and how much fun it is to be a member of Wellington Batucada – using the random collection of video, audio and photographs currently in our archives. It’s been a fun project!

Wellington Batucada retrospective video – We’d love to play for you
Compiled and edited by Alison Green

Coburg Samba Festival, Germany 2014 (1)

comment

Part 1 – London

A Batucada adventure with Lisa, Christian, Nige, Debs, Dr Phil and AliG

London School of Samba's Orquidea Lima, onstage at the Coburg Samba Festival - photo by Nigel SloleyEvery summer the small Bavarian town of Coburg holds a rather large samba festival.

It began in 1992 with 20 samba groups performing, and two years later it had grown to 40 groups and 1,000 performers.

Now, 22 years later, 100 samba groups take part, with over 3,000 performers.

It’s now the biggest samba festival outside Brazil, and for three days in July Coburg’s rather modest population of 42,000 swells to an impressive 200,000.

Our adventure began with a random “wouldn’t it be nice” discussion after band practice one Sunday in February – and ended with 5 of us performing on stage with the London School of Samba (LSS) at this year’s Coburg Samba Festival.

This is how it went down… Continue reading

Samba, moonhoppers, zombies – and the Rugby Sevens!

comment

Sevens Wellington campaign shoot – Where Rugby Meets Awesome

The Batucada crew - Where Rugby Meets Awesome - photo by Nigel Sloley

The Batucada crew - Where Rugby Meets Awesome
Photo by Nigel Sloley

One sunny (and icy cold) day in August, Wellington Batucada was invited (in a hush hush secret squirrel kind of a way) to take part in the filming for Where Rugby meets Awesome – the theme behind this year’s Sevens Wellington ticketing campaign and event. Continue reading

2014 Soccer World Cup – opening game

comment

Brazil v Croatia

Soccer World Cup - Batucada and friends - photo by Karina ShawOur lovely friends at the Brazilian Embassy invited us to make some noise before and during the opening game of the 2014 Soccer World Cup. As the match was between host nation Brazil and Croatia, it was bound to be a bit of a spectacle, and we were very happy to oblige.

It was a crazy early morning start (and on a schoolday too!), but a bunch of hardy drummers and dancers gathered at Queen’s Wharf to dance and play for the fans, and then to watch the game on the big screen in Shed 6 (and provide suitable accompaniment to any exciting on-screen events). Continue reading