Tanamur marks Jakarta's anniversary in its own way

Tanamur marks Jakarta's anniversary in its own way

JAKARTA (JP): Tanamur, the oldest discotheque in the country,
celebrated the capital's 473rd anniversary with transvestites
wearing overmodified Betawi costumes and seemingly never-ending
house music, giving the term 'cross-cultured' an extra twist.

Decorated with ondel-ondel puppet paintings and other Betawi
(native Jakartan) ornaments, the 30-year-old discotheque in the
Tanah Abang area of Central Jakarta rocked from midnight on
Wednesday until the wee hours of Thursday. The party was an
effort to provide its guests with an impressive spectacle to
celebrate Jakarta's anniversary which fell on Thursday.

Manager Boy Faruk refused to admit that the special occasion
was held simply to follow other entertainment centers in Jakarta,
which also presented special Betawi-related programs.

"We hold this program every year and as you know, this place
is the oldest," Boy told The Jakarta Post.

The discotheque will celebrate its 30th anniversary in
December.

Two hours before the program started, which was around
midnight, many scantily clad girls were already dancing to the
typical non-stop disco music, consisting mainly of looped drum
samples.

"They are 'free-lancers'," a hostess, Dini, 27, said.

"Those are girls whom you can take out. But not me, I have a
contract here," she said adding that she did nothing more than
accompanying guests to dance and drink.

As guests kept coming, some transvestites who were to perform
a Betawi fashion show were rehearsing steps and smiles near a bar
on the balcony.

One of the transvestites, Daniel Hasan, was busy helping one
of his fellow performers to add more of a Betawi touch to his
costumes.

"We are free to make our own interpretations of a Betawi dress
as long as it goes with a veil," Daniel said.

He then offered to pose for the Post. With oversized hair
ornaments, he looked more like the title character of Australian
movie Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, a transvestite road movie.

"It takes a lot of guts to perform such an act, that's why we
didn't hire real women," Boy, the 28-year-old manager said.

Minutes before midnight, hundreds of assorted guests,
including expatriates, were joyfully moving their bodies to the
beat of the music.

One expatriate admitted coming to the discotheque to see the
special program.

"I noticed some unique ornaments. They're pretty nice," he
said.

Some men and women who seemed to have come from a less
fortunate economic background, alienated themselves and giggled
at the acts of the other guests on the dance floor.

"That's the difference we offer in Tanamur, we don't
discriminate between our guests. Whether they come with sandal
jepit (cheap slippers) or they are buck rich, we'll serve them
just the same," Boy, who claimed to be a Manchester University
graduate, said.

The entrance fee to the special program was Rp 30,000 a
person, while beverages were priced between Rp 17,000 and Rp
35,000.

Some of the young local girls mentioned earlier by Dini were
already seen hanging around in the corners with some expatriates,
while their colleagues were still moving around, probably hoping
to meet someone who was interested in them.

The main program opened with a semi-erotic dance number by
some beautiful young girls who performed their act on the
balcony.

Minutes later two Caucasian boys climbed up on to the balcony
and performed their own spectacle.

They started taking off their shirts and pants while the
audience below screamed for them to show it all.

They were about to take off their boxer shorts when a security
guard came upstairs and told them to put their pants back on,
which they did reluctantly.

Fifteen minutes later Daniel and his associates came
downstairs for the Betawi fashion show.

When they could not find a space to perform their practiced
steps, they just mingled with other guests and dance to the disco
music.

The program lasted for about three hours.

A few minutes later, guests were leaving the discotheque. Some
of the men who'd arrived earlier without female company were
escorting their newly met girls out of the building.

Daniel, however, kept sitting on the balcony, making puffballs
and occasionally moving his body to the tune of the seemingly
endless music.(08)