Carnival Zone

We want to create a themed zone with music, dance and carnival arts in Upper Cuba st. Costumes, street dressings, puppets and a stage set will bring Cuba st alive with colour celebrating the street and the people who make up the creative pulse of our capital.

The carnival zone will set the scene for themed performances by Wellington Batucada and samba groups from all over New Zealand as they did in the night parades of the former Cuba St Carnival as well as other roving bands and entertainers.

Our inspiration comes from Brazilian carnival, Nottinghill Carnival, South American and European festivals and events that celebrate the cities and people who live there. What makes our vision unique is that we want to make our own kiwi version of carnival that involves the public and helps to make our city a fun and vibrant place to live.

Public workshops

We will run a series of workshops leading up to Cubadupa that invite the general public to make costumes, masks and dressings to wear at Cubadupa. We will hold dance workshops so that everyone has the opportunity to get involved and make this Cubadupa an event that is sustainable, original and unique.

What will my donation go towards?

Your valuable contribution to this campaign will go towards the purchasing of materials for costumes and street dressings, equipment hire and travel expenses for out of town performers.

About Wellington Batucada

Wellington Batucada is a community-based percussion group which brings the flamboyant world of samba from Brazil to Wellington. Batucada is a Brazilian word used to describe the syncopated, African-influenced samba music played by a large percussion group (bateria) as part of a street parade or carnival.

Originally formed by Darryn Sigley and Steve Templer in November 2001 to perform in the Cuba Street Carnival, Wellington Batucada endeavors to replicate the authentic samba sound playing a variety of Brazilian rhythms including samba batucada, partido alto, samba reggae, samba funk, and baion. We have been blessed through visits by several superb Brazilian and non-Brazilian samba teachers who laid the foundations for our music.

We are an all-inclusive group - anyone can join regardless of experience or ability, and we provide authentic Brazilian instruments for those who do not have their own.

Currently Wellington Batucada has around 100 members, with 40-50 members regularly coming to our weekly rehearsals. We are in demand to play at many parades, festivals and events, including the Cuba Street Carnival, Wellington Rugby Sevens, Newtown Fair, Wellington and Johnsonville Christmas parades, and in 2011 the Rugby World Cup Festival of Carnivale.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdEUPc3U6tY#t=23

Help us do the CubaDupa!

CubaDupa will be a world-class street festival, which builds on the spirit and talent of Wellington and draws on the best New Zealand street festivals.  It will be held annually in Wellington, premiering Saturday 28 - Sunday 29 March 2015.

The new Cuba Street festival, CubaDupa, is a celebration of the creative heart of Wellington.  The Cuba street precinct will become a vibrant pedestrianised playground of music, dance, arts and street food.

In creating a totally unique and family friendly urban environment and entertainment programme Drew James, the Artistic Director of CubaDupa has identified seven diverse projects that will deliver an extraordinary experience for audiences and participants.

These are Urban Rhapsodies aerial opera, Mass Cuba Street Orchestra, The Beop band of the future, Carnival Zone with Wellington Batucada, Cuba Surveyors historical street theatre, Java Dance's Sneak Peek in shop windows, and CubaKaleidoscope by the Tarrant Dance Studio. All of these projects will be commissioned with the help of Boosted donations and performed free for audiences on the streets.