JECOKE
NPPA BEST OF PHOTOJOURNALISM 2nd PLACE, CATEGORY THE ART OF ENTERTAINMENT 2012
In 1951, the Jecoke began by performing sketches for the miners. Inspired by the workers song from southern Africa, the group of actors quickly turned into a music band. But they will keep the humor that gave them an immediate popular support. In the Congo, where the weight of History lies heavily on the shoulders of the population, to pacify the minds is a virtue which is worth some gold. Today, the liberating magic still operates. While the elders sing and play, free-and-easy elegant young men, half dancers, half acrobats, shiver their legs like Elvis on a dance called Kalinchelilincheli.
![Tresor Kaluw et Joël Luya, dancers of the Jecoke, are performing during a public show organised in the suburbs of Lubumbashi.](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/0e953db0-7db6-4d5e-9216-16858583ddd1/6f101174-9b02-4531-9bd8-c374b469480e_rw_1920.jpg?h=873661ff2cbdd35aeda126a51d0b4f3f)
Tresor Kaluw et Joël Luya, dancers of the Jecoke, are performing during a public show organised in the suburbs of Lubumbashi.
![The Jecoke, (from left to right : Tresor Kaluw, Fostin Lukwesa, Maty Mambu, Manix Kavunda, Andy Monga) are performing in front of « Lubumbashi factory », characterized by its chimney and the hip slag, symbols of the city of Lubumbashi.](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/0e953db0-7db6-4d5e-9216-16858583ddd1/6d6ceb14-1ea5-4af1-98c8-a800e49bde60_rw_1920.jpg?h=4cfe6bdce1208345aa3eb33c5dab7696)
The Jecoke, (from left to right : Tresor Kaluw, Fostin Lukwesa, Maty Mambu, Manix Kavunda, Andy Monga) are performing in front of « Lubumbashi factory », characterized by its chimney and the hip slag, symbols of the city of Lubumbashi.
![Jean-Pierre Kangand, guitarist of the Jecoke.](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/0e953db0-7db6-4d5e-9216-16858583ddd1/d873081c-3a5e-4379-aa2d-0ea28a0931a5_rw_1920.jpg?h=d661b6a815a3ca4943d48de3e79eed2d)
Jean-Pierre Kangand, guitarist of the Jecoke.
![Bokasa Débotsh, guitarist of the Jecoke, is practicing at home, at typical worker's house in the Gécamines district of Lubumbashi.](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/0e953db0-7db6-4d5e-9216-16858583ddd1/2cb3763e-bb2d-4d5a-9c9f-9096c7c5b62c_rw_1920.jpg?h=11aa60912502f43f3ad04f26037c9c7a)