Jaksa Fair lures thousands of visitors
Jaksa Fair lures thousands of visitors
By Lenah Susianty
JAKARTA (JP): The Jaksa Fair, the first ever street festival
to feature the history of Jl. Jaksa and Betawi culture, lured
thousands of visitors to Central Jakarta over the weekend.
The festival was closed yesterday with a performance by the
Lenong Rumpi group which presented an episode entitled Pilih-
pilih mantu (choosing son-in-law).
The presence of artists staring in Lenong Rumpi, a modernized
Betawi Lenong which gained fame as a regular weekly aired on
RCTI, gave a glamourous touch to the three day folk festival.
Most natives of Jakarta or Betawi people attending the
festival, especially residents of Jl. Jaksa and Kebon Sirih area,
Central Jakarta, relished in the presence of their favorite stars
who they said raised the magnitude of traditional lenong into a
modern drama.
Tarida Gloria, a comedian-cum-actress, who visited the
festival and Lenong Rumpi artist Harry de Fretest were among the
stars on the first and second night. But prominent business
figures, such as Dewi Motik who attended the opening ceremony,
were almost ignored by visitors, who were mostly Betawi people.
Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave,
dancer-cum-choreographer Sardono, students and backpackers were
among the thousands of visitors who packed Jl. Jaksa on Friday
evening.
"The Minister came here informally, not as the minister but as
a Jakarta resident," said Renaldo Tomasouw, the treasurer of the
organizing committee which consisted of officials of the City
Tourism Office and Jl. Jaksa Tourism Industry Organizers.
Traffic on Jl. Kebon Sirih and other roads adjacent to the
festival was smooth on the first day of the festival although Jl.
Jaksa was totally closed.
The three day festival, opened by Jakarta Deputy Governor for
Economic and Development affairs TB M. Rais on Friday evening,
presented Betawi culture, such as gambang kromong music, sahibul
hikayat traditional story-telling and ngarojeng dance, and
various Betawi foods including the famous kerak telor, laksa,
soto bebanci and sekoteng.
There were also stands selling postcards, traditional
Kalimantan handicrafts, food, paintings, and other services,
including a PT Indosat stand which offered international home
country direct calls and domestic calls.
An information center was established by the organizing
committee to enlighten visitors on Betawi culture and the events
at the fair.
Harry de Fretes also made use the festival by opening a
restaurant named Boim Cafe whose menu consisted of bizarre names
like Sop buntut pujaan hati (Sweetheart cocktail soup), Es mambo
banjir (Flood ice cream) and pisang goreng impian Barcelona
(Barcelona dream fried banana).
Commenting on his turnover, Harry said that he had sold more
than he had expected.
Praise
Nathanael Lawalata, the man who pioneered the development of
budget accommodation on Jl. Jaksa, dressed in a Betawi
traditional outfit, told the Post that he admired the spirit of
youths who organized the fair.
"This is good because they are young and hard workers. And, I
did not expect so many people to come," he said.
"This is really nice," said a Dutch tourist taking a
photograph of a man dressed in a Betawi costume.
Ukke Kosasih, the program coordinator, recently said that they
plan to make the fair an annual event.
"But, maybe next time, we will also highlight other cultures
which have influenced Betawi culture, such as Chinese, Arab and
Portuguese," she said.
The street festival was held to promote tourism in the area
and also to revive the endangered Betawi culture.