WELLINGTON, NZ — CubaDupa, New Zealand’s most diverse and creative street festival, has released its final line up and daily schedule for the festival which will be held on the weekend of March 27-28, 2021
The final line-up brings the festival to a massive 19+ hours of curated entertainment across 46 stages and creative zones, delivering 500+ performances and 20 parades with over 1750 artists. A comprehensive daily schedule has been released on the CubaDupa website for audiences to begin planning now.
The newest addition to the beloved festival is Ngā Toi o Te Aro in Te Aro Park. The park will be transformed to showcase Māori artists, te reo and tikanga Māori. Ngā Toi o Te Aro stage, programmed by CubaDupa Ngā Toi Māori Director, Noel Woods (Te Āti Awa/Ngāti Porou/Ngāruahine), will showcase 32 acts and 18 hours of programming across the 2 days with the majority of performances in te reo Māori.
Ngā Toi Māori Director, Noel Woods, says “Kia rongohia te reo, kia kōrerohia te reo, kia kitea te reo, kia Māori te reo. Let the Māori language and culture be heard, in conversation, and seen worldwide so that it becomes normalised. I am so excited with this great opportunity to showcase our language and culture at one of Aotearoa’s largest street festivals”
A whakatau will signal the start of CubaDupa, led by Te Āti Awa iwi members through taonga pūoro, taiaha, karanga, haka and karakia. Ngā Toi o Te Aro stage will be streamed worldwide on radio and social media platforms with a collaboration between Āti Awa Toa FM and Te Ūpoko o te Ika Radio.
Festival Director, Gerry Paul says “2021 has seen CubaDupa take an exciting step forward by creating a space at the festival dedicated to Kaupapa Māori. In consultation with Te Wharewaka o Pōneke Trust, the Creative Capital Arts Trust (producers of CubaDupa & NZ Fringe) have created a specific role and appointed Noel Woods as our Ngā Toi Māori Director, to develop a Kaupapa Māori programme and showcase Māori arts practitioners at the festival”.
Joining the music line up is an array of award winners and champions of te reo Māori. Leading the charge is Pere Wihongi, a winner at the 2020 Aotearoa Music Awards for best Māori Artist of the year with his group Maimoa.
Waiata Māori Music award winners, Amba Holly will grace the stage with her soulful sound, alongside multi-award winner Kristen te Rito, bringing her up-beat Māori urban vibes to the park. Majic, Maaka Fiso and NLC complete the list of award winners featured at the festival with performances not to be missed.
Wai is a whānau affair and perform 100% in Te Reo Māori using the language’s natural percussive flow and using poi with synths and drums, creating a sound that is soulful, funky and not like anything you’ve ever heard before.
Six-time New Zealand Beatbox Champion and World Record Holder for the longest individual Beatboxing Marathon, King Homeboy will blow audiences away, and Wellington’s very own NZ DMC champion DJ Gooda will bring it home with his kiwi-style hip-hop DJ sets.
Wānanga will also be held in the park throughout the weekend, including Wānanga Taonga Pūoro where audiences can learn to make their own kōauau and porotiti. Te Rito Maioha, a local weaving collective will lead the Wānanga Rāranga where audiences can learn to weave a putiputi and make their own poi. There will also be Wānanga Taiaha showcasing Māori Martial Arts.
Kapa haka will feature strongly with the recent Wellington Regional Kapa Haka Champions Te Ahi a Tahurangi and previous winners Ngā Taonga Mai Tawhiti who both are representing our region at Te Matatini 2022.
CubaDupa is held on the weekend of March 27-28, throughout the Cuba Street Precinct in Wellington. For latest details of artists, daily schedules, vendors and stages visit www.cubadupa.co.nz.
