Amid a heavy downpour on Saturday afternoon, Fatahillah Square in West Jakarta was more colorful and livelier than usual, packed with hundreds of visitors enjoying the annual Festival Tempo Doeloe Kota Tua.

Various decorations were put up around the area, such as ondel-ondel (traditional giant Betawi effigies) and mock Chinese-style homes made of Styrofoam.

Singers wearing traditional Betawi clothing also enlivened the festival, singing old Betawi tunes that some visitors danced to. Traditional dancers also showed off their moves on the stage.

The event began with a humorous yet touching musical drama about a Betawi public figure, Imam Syafi'€™i, who famously defeated the notorious thugs of Senen, Central Jakarta, and later became a defense minister during Sukarno'€™s era. The musical drama was performed by cultural group Samba Sunda.

Other performances included mimes from vocational high school SMK 13 in West Jakarta, wushu presented by the Tangerang Wushu Community and children'€™s pencak silat (Indonesian traditional martial arts) by the Rawa Belong Silat Cingkrik community.

West Jakarta Culture and Tourism Agency performances and exhibitions unit head Wawan Hermawan said the festival aimed to show and preserve culture amid urbanization in Jakarta and promote the Kota Tua (Old Town) area in West Jakarta.

'€œThis festival is an annual event where we exhibit Betawi and Chinese culture. With this festival, we hope to preserve these cultures and inform our visitors,'€ Wawan said at the event on Saturday.

He added that various communities were invited to perform, such as the popular Humanoids Community of Taman Fatahillah (Kombat), who were dressed in various costumes.

Wawan said most performers were from schools and neighborhoods in West Jakarta. '€œWe also want to facilitate West Jakarta'€™s creative communities so they have a place where they can show off their talent,'€ he said.

Moreover, Wawan said that famed Betawi comedians Bolot, Burhan and Malih would perform a traditional Betawi comedy and that there were also stands selling various traditional food and clothing.

According to him, the city administration'€™s mobile library was also available for visitors who wanted to read.

'€œWe hope visitors not only enjoy but also learn from the festival,'€ Wawan said.

The festival will be held until Sunday evening, when bands will perform a tribute to popular Indonesian rockers, Koes Plus.

One visitor, Dewi Murtiati, said she had come all the way from Bekasi, West Java, to enjoy the festival.

'€œThe traditional music and dance performances were beautiful. Although it'€™s raining, I'€™m glad I came even though my house is quite far,'€ said the 32-year-old.

Another visitor, Adinda Widiastuti, was equally effusive.

'€œThe event is great and the performances are very interesting. I didn'€™t realize there were so many talented communities in the city,'€ she said.

Popular

Palm oil expansion in Papua raises eyebrow

Democracy’s slippery slope

Outrage as govt blocks foreign disaster aid to Sumatra