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Fans of keroncong target global recognition
Keroncong musicians and fans say they plan to propose their favorite music to be registered as a piece of world cultural heritage in UNESCO, due to its historical and local origin during the Portuguese colonial period
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eroncong musicians andfans say they plan to propose their favorite music to be registered as a pieceof world cultural heritage in UNESCO, due to its historical and local originduring the Portuguese colonial period.
'Batik has already been registered as world cultural heritage, as well as the national commemoration of Batik Day. We should also do the same with keroncong,' Diponegoro IV Military Command chief Maj. Gen. Sunindyo, an avid fan of keroncong, said at a fans meeting in Semarang, Central Java on Saturday.
Sunindyo said he and his colleagues had conducted an event called '1,000 Keroncong Songs', which involved 100 keroncong groups on three consecutive days to celebrate the Indonesian Military (TNI) Day on Oct. 5 last year.
Marco Manardi, head of the fans' gathering committee, acknowledged that Sunindyo was one of keroncong's biggest fans. Sunindyo had helped him promote the music through the event after proposing it in 1993.
'We're also holding this fans meeting, which is attended by 164 participants from 17 provinces, as well as 21 from Malaysia,' he added.
Andre Juan Michels, a leader of the Jakarta-based Keroncong Tugu group, said keroncong originated in Indonesia, even though its instruments came from the Western world, such as the violin, cello, guitar and kavakonga or ukulele.
'The way keroncong musicians play is purely Indonesian in origin. I also have a brother who visited Portugal but he did not find any keroncong music there,' Andre, who has Portuguese ancestry, said.
Music expert Dwiono Herwantoro echoed Andre's opinion by saying that the non-existence of keroncong in Timor Leste, a former Portuguese-colony, proved the music had Indonesian roots. (gda/dic)
