Jogja highlights: Random 2

JOGJA HIGHLIGHTS

Dangdut!
When I was in Jogja in 2003 dangdut was all the rage. It was described to me as the "country music" of Indonesia because it originated among the working class. At that time the rage literally was over Inul, the most famous dangdut singer because she accompanied her performances with a raunchy grinding move and that was perceived by Indonesia's religious leaders as pornography. I went to a performance during that trip with my friends Arie and Nadiah. It was a somewhat surreal experience because sure enough it was pretty risque given the culture. Beautiful scantily clad girls would belt out arabic influenced pop ballads while grinding their bodies together with each other or the men onstage and sticking their asses out at the crowd. The audience was filled with hundreds of men (Nadiah and I were the only women), dancing together and holding hands.

Flash forward 6 years: dangdut is still in full swing with nightly performances at the Pariwisata. Eliza and I went with a group of our Jogja friends to enjoy the spectacle. While it's still mostly men, there are a few more women now.