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Russia-Jamaica08.02.2005
The 60th anniversary of the founder of the reggae style Bob Marley became a global event Yesterday Bob Marley would have turned 60. This Jamaican musician, who died of cancer in 1981, had long been an idol of millions. His name is associated not only with reggae music, but also with the fight for the freedom of African slaves brought to Jamaica, as well as Rastafarianism - the most cheerful and young religion in the world. Africa decided to celebrate the musician's anniversary by suing Europe for the slave trade, while in Moscow Marley was remembered peacefully: with songs, dances and marijuana smoke. For the first time, the main celebrations in honor of Bob Marley took place not in Jamaica, but in the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. The series of events there is held annually under the motto Africa, Unite! ("Africa, unite!") - this is the title of one of his songs. The Marley Festival opened with a concert by the singer's 80-year-old mother Sendella Marley Booker. Yesterday, a grand charity gala concert was held there, at which the most popular reggae bands performed, and three of the musician's children were among the spectators. In addition, Rastafarians and local residents were entertained by a film festival, photo exhibitions, a presentation of the book by Bob's widow Rita Marley No Woman, No Cry: My Life with Bob Marley (the musician's most popular song), a seminar and banquets. A few weeks before the anniversary, news agencies spread sensational news that on the eve of his 60th birthday, the body of the great Bob would be exhumed and reburied in the homeland of his ancestors, Ethiopia. Allegedly, this was stated by his widow. However, later Rita herself denied this information, stating that she was misunderstood. The musician's wife has repeatedly said that she would be glad to bury her husband's body in Ethiopia, the homeland of his father, but so far there is no talk of this. One of the main pilgrimage centers in Addis Ababa has become the Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity, where the ashes of the Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie rest, whom Marley's followers - Rastafarians - consider their god. The fact is that the new religion was born on the basis of Ethiopian Orthodoxy. In addition, Marley's current birthday has also become the most political. On the eve of the anniversary, the leadership of the African Union announced its intention to file a lawsuit against Western countries demanding reparations for the damage caused by the slave trade. In addition to reggae, marijuana is also part of the Rastafarian culture, which only the lazy disdain in Jamaica. It is possible that this "forbidden fruit" became the main driving force in the spread of reggae in the West in the 70s and 80s. But if Western society has already recovered from this problem, or at least it has ceased to be acute for it, then in Russia, where Boris Grebenshchikov brought reggae in the 80s, the world seems to be converging on "grass" only now. And both for the "new music lovers" themselves, who are increasingly attracted to this subculture not by the music, but by the opportunity to roll a joint, and for the authorities, who are already ready to consider Rastafarianism as a network of drug dens. An incident that happened recently in Voronezh is indicative. The regional public chamber first announced its participation in the celebration of Bob Marley's anniversary, but immediately retracted its words, since "it was misled." It is symptomatic that some Russian news agencies are posting news about preparations for the anniversary not in the "Music" section, but in the "Drug addiction, drug trafficking and the fight against them" topic. Despite the "hostile whirlwinds" that are hovering over reggae fans in Russia, Moscow has not remained on the sidelines, holding three festivals on its sites. The capital is celebrating Marley's birthday for the seventeenth time. Reggae bands from different Russian cities gathered at the Gorbunov Palace of Culture for the five-hour festival, and spectators in green-yellow-red hats waved the flags of Jamaica and Ethiopia every now and then (in the middle of the latter, by the way, the outlines of the coveted "grass" could be discerned). The musicians feel in their guts the interest in them from the authorities, some of whom are inclined to consider such symbols as drug propaganda ("Novye Izvestia" has reported on this more than once). Perhaps that is why, at the end of her festival performance in Moscow, the vocalist of the Yekaterinburg group Alai Oli said that the musicians would definitely go towards the metro together with the spectators "to avoid incidents." The main achievement of the capital's concert promoters was the visit of a native Jamaican, a member of the legendary Massive Attack group Horace Andy and the French group The Home Ground Band. Andy is the same age as Bob Marley. Muscovites remember him for his colorful gray beard, cries of "Are you ready?" and a great passion for communicating with the public. The visit of Andy, who decided to celebrate his 60th birthday not in his native Jamaica, not in Ethiopia and not even in Europe, indicates that interest in reggae in Russia is currently at a very high level. In addition to him, the English guru Mad Professor visited Russia. It cannot be said that against the background of local groups, the foreign guests surprised the public with something special, but as headliners they gave the holiday the necessary flavor. The most popular in "Gorbushka" was the well-known composition "Jamaica", which was performed by many participants in different variations - as an instrumental composition, with the Russian version of the lyrics and in the original. But Russia is not Jamaica, we had a real cold snap, which knocked down many musicians. Some of the bands even performed in a reduced line-up. As it turned out, the sunny guys from Yekaterinburg were "frozen" on the train on the way to Moscow, and so they sang as best they could. And it wasn't hot in "Gorbushka" itself: even the well-fed security guards donned fur hats and warm jackets by the end of the festival. The optimism of the Rastafarians could only be envied. The leader of the famous group "Karibasy" called Bob Marley "the grandfather of the past, present and future." "A good alternative to Santa Claus," someone from the audience said in response. "New News"
Yosef
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