The pontoon at Mémorial ACTe served as the arrivals stage for the Route du Rhum 2022, attracting many different kinds of boats at the end of the year. Among them, one boat with an anachronistic design caught our eye… Labora.
Clearly from a bygone age, its polished wood gleaming, the 75’ Labora with its classic seven-sail rigging always attracts attention. Built in 1939, this magnificent traditional Danish Hajkutter is now owned by sailor and adventurer Dave Perdew, member of the Liberty International Sailing Club.
This eye-catching vessel was seen in Martinique in January 2022 by L’Artocarpe, an international platform for arts residencies created in 2009 with the goal of promoting contemporary art in Guadeloupe. Joëlle Ferly, founder of L’Artocarpe, was immediately seduced by the concept and envisioned organizing an arts residency embraced by the tropical trade winds.
To bring this unusual idea to life, she chose two musician-percussionists originally from Carriacou in the Grenadines, who set sail from Tyrell Bay with the crew on November 1, 2022.
Shaka Zulu & Santa, en pleine répétition au large de Tyrell Bay (Grenadines). © L’Artocarpe
Thus Shaka Zulu and Santa, two talented Big Drum musicians, covered 250 nautical miles to arrive in Guadeloupe, in order to share and promote their art—the traditional, ritual music native to their small island of just 12 square miles.
In the Grenadines archipelago, Big Drum continues to echo the specific history and genealogy of these Caribbean islands.
L’équipage bien entouré sur le quai des arrivées de la Route du Rhum au MACTe. / Crédits Photo : © L’Artocarpe
Invited by Memorial ACTe, their arrival in Guadeloupe in the middle of the Route du Rhum allowed the general public to discover the former fishing vessel as well as the work of the drummers during guided tours and special workshops. The percussionists were also able to trade techniques with Ka masters from Guadeloupe including Yves Thôle, Klod Kiavué, Krédito, and create a “lyannaj”—DJ’ing & Big Drum—with the organizers of the Guadeloupe Electronik Groove, an association dedicated to the fusion of electronic and traditional music.
Crédits Photo : © L’Artocarpe
L’Artocarpe’s activities extend to close to 30 countries and islands through such prestigious institutions as the Havana Biennial in Cuba, La Fondation Clément in Martinique, Pérèz Art Museum in Miami, and the FESMAN arts festival in Dakar, Senegal… the visit to Guadeloupe confirms their ambition to serve artists in their career development on an international level. That is the dream of these Caribbean Culture Boys.
Auteur : Mathias Flodrops
MORE INFORMATION
https://www.lartocarpe.org
To sail aboard Labora: +45 42 47 99 55
