Jember dreams of becoming Indonesia's Rio de Janeiro

Jember dreams of becoming Indonesia's Rio de Janeiro

ID Nugroho, Correspondent, Jember, East Java

A rush of cold morning air shot into the room the moment Nadia
opened the door of her house on Jl. Fatahillah, Jember on Sunday
Aug. 7. Several bare-chested young men wearing shorts were in the
sitting room, sitting huddled on the shabby sofa, shivering with
cold and crossing their arms tightly across their chests to get
warm.

Several young girls were also there, the make-up on their
faces still unfinished.

"Oh, the journalist is here now. Please come in. Sorry, it's
still messy. We have to get ready for a program later this
morning," said 25-year-old Nadia.

One of the make-up girls, Nadia is the leader of a Spanish
group that will take part in the 4th Jember Fashion Carnival
(JFC) to be held in Jember on that Sunday. Nadia and her group of
dozens of girls have been seriously preparing themselves to
appear like Spanish lasses in the festival since they passed the
selection test. The girls went shopping to buy the fabric for
their costumes and some other accessories like colorful ropes and
tassels made of raffia. The closer they were to D-day, the busier
they became in preparing themselves for the big event.

"I have not slept a wink since Saturday night," Nadia told The
Jakarta Post while busily painting the body of one of her group
members.

JFC is a fashion carnival participated in by some 450
participants. It is unique not only because it sees more
participants than an ordinary fashion show but also because
unlike the usual fashion shows, the catwalk is the 3.6 kilometer-
long main street in downtown Jember. Not surprisingly, about
100,000 people were expected to line the street to watch the
carnival.

JFC Vice President Dynan Fariz said that the idea of
organizing the JFC came from the desire to make Jember
Indonesia's first tourist destination with fashion as its main
attraction. "In Brazil, you have the fashion festival in Rio de
Janeiro so in Indonesia you will have the Jember Fashion
Carnival," said Fariz.

The fashion carnival in Jember, also dubbed the City of
Tobacco, is unique in that it features the global fashion styles
and trends. This year's carnival was held under the "Anachronic,
Energetic, Chic Tonic, Mimetic and Striptic" theme.

"The costumes on show are divided into several groups:
Archipelago, Tsunami, Deconstruction, Grand Prix, Egypt, Spain,
England and the Caribbean," said Fariz.

Acting Jember regent, Sjahrazad Masdar, said a lot of
challenges had to be dealt with to turn Jember into Indonesia's
Rio de Janeiro.

"One of the challenges is the fact that Bali is still
Indonesia's prime tourist destination. Jember must strive to be
better than Bali in luring tourists," he told The Post.

The data compiled by Jember regental tourism office shows that
every year this city, which boasts five beaches, three waterfalls
and a vast expanse of plantations, sees only about 1,400 foreign
tourists and 332,000 domestic visitors.

"I believe that in future more foreign tourists will change
their plan of visiting Bali and come to Jember, instead," he
said.

JFC, he went on, will hopefully make Jember more popular among
foreign tourists. An observation made by The Post confirmed this.
Several foreigners were seen among the spectators witnessing this
year's JFC.

Dutch freelance photographer Lou Leunissen, for example, said
that he specially came to Jember for the JFC. "While in Bali, I
met some of those taking part in this year's JFC. I have come
here to see them again," he said.

Lou was charmed by the rich nuances of the fashion carnival.
Two memory cards of his digital camera were full of pictures of
the show.

"I have taken so many pictures I didn't realize the batteries
of my digital camera needed recharging. It is really a shame," he
said, while standing on the sidewalk witnessing the carnival.

Like Lou, domestic tourists witnessing this fashion carnival
were really absorbed by this unique mobile fashion show,
especially when the saw the tsunami theme, which dwelled on the
killer tidal wave that wrought devastation in Nanggroe Aceh
Darussalam. Several spectators, including some journalists, shed
tears when dozens of models were in action. JFC is extraordinary,
indeed.