Baruch Entertainers are coming in full throttle for this year’s klopse season.
The team with their catchy slogan, Baruch in jou oeg, are working harder this season and have made the necessary adjustments they believe will take them to the next level.
There are some big changes to their team, one of them being the addition of the cultural troupe Tjommies from Hanover Park, who will be forming part of their choir which should bring even more strength and depth to the Baruch singpak.
Mr. Claude Jonas says the choir will be bigger, and the public and their supporters can once again look forward to “something out of this world”.
Over the past two years, Baruch has maintained the title as combine kings, winning both combines consecutively.
Jonas says the aim is to do a hattrick and make klops history on this particular item by becoming the first team to win both English and Afrikaans combine three years in a row.
CULTURE IS CORE: Mr. Claude Jonas. Photo: Supplied.
In my opinion, under their conductor/coach, the iconic Monwabisi Mbambani, this is very much achievable.
My only worry concerning the item is that they might stagnate in song choice, but Mr. Jonas assures the songs they are rendering are of “a super high quality”, which to me means the content will be fresh and new.
Another positive addition is the merging of Pelican Sylvanians from Wellington with Baruch Entertainers, who will be joining the team on the road marches including the Cape Town Street Parade, which means that they will be a much bigger, and visible, team oppie pad.
Jonas says the merging makes sense because the Wellington team have the same objectives as Baruch, which is to draw in and unite the community through the culture of klops.
Another big pleasant surprise is that Tashrique de Villiers has been appointed Baruch’s moppie singer for this coming season.
De Villiers, who is blessed with the Midas touch when it comes to moppies, has not lost an item since he started singing about four years ago.
He is the Messi of moppies right now and for Baruch to have him in their arsenal shows they are serious about coming out tops this season.
ImoV is still in the line-up to perform one of the moppies for the team. He is currently working in Greece, but will be back come carnival time.
It makes sense that Baruch’s theme this year is “Full Throttle”, because they are definitely going all out to come up with a strong team.
Jonas says they are obviously not happy with last season’s performance so they are going full throttle, and the needle will have to hit the right hand corner of the speedometer to ensure that they wow the supporters of the minstrel community.
The Baruch music school has also been a successful venture for the team because a lot of their students are now forming part of the klops band.
UNDEFEATED IN ITEM: Tashrique de Villiers. Photo: Supplied.
Many of the youngsters range from 14 to 16 years, with the top guys in the band like Kyle Daniels, Carlton Adams, and Laeeq Stewart remaining firm.
Jonas says: “Every single item we will play hard, and I’m hoping that it’s going to be a good competitive season.
“I am also hoping that teams will be supportive of each other and understand the hard work that each team put in.
“I admire all the teams from big to small, everyone is there for the culture and I think we should be supportive of each other and ensure that there is good sportsmanship.”
Jonas makes an admirable point when he says that there is a lot of bantering going on, but some of it is spiteful and uncalled for.
I know gwarra is a big part of the game, but I do agree with him that we should know our limits.
Jonas goes on to say: “I feel that if any members of any team want to join another team they should have that freedom of choice, but it seems in our fraternity some guys are getting upset about it; they’re calling it stealing members.
“This is a sport and at the end of the day, the trophy cannot become bigger than everything else, the culture remains the core.”
This is primarily the reason why Baruch Entertainers don’t get involved in social media debates and stay on their own platforms.
With that said Baruch Entertainers is a breath of fresh air, the new kid on the block whom we all admire and look to as the surprise package, the klops with the X-factor, so I am excited to see them push to win the carnival this year.
Join Baruch on 26 October as they produce Alistair Izobell’s comeback show Rebirth at GrandWest.
Tickets are available from Computicket and all the proceeds made off the show will go towards the Baruch School of Music and the numerous community projects they are involved with.
Lekker season vorentoe, Baruch, maak hulle moeg, en stiek uit Full Throttle.
dailyvoice@inl.co.za