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ETHIOPIAN SERENADERS
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ETHIOPIAN SERENADERS
ETHIOPIAN SERENADERS, dressed as American darkies, perform in the streets of London with banjo, violin, tambourine and castanets. Date: circa 1860
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Media ID 20153891
© Bubblepunk
1860 Banjo Castanets Dressed Entertainer Ethiopian Musician Musicians Perform Performance Performer Performers Tambourine Violin Serenaders
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EDITORS COMMENTS
This photograph, titled "Ethiopian Serenaders," depicts a lively group of entertainers performing in the bustling streets of London during the mid-19th century, around 1860. Dressed in exaggerated caricatures of African American attire, the serenaders play a variety of instruments, including a banjo, violin, tambourine, and castanets. Their expressive faces and animated body language suggest that they are fully engaged in their performance, bringing joy and entertainment to the crowds that have gathered around them. The Ethiopian Serenaders were part of a popular trend during this period, where minstrel shows featuring blackface performers were a common form of entertainment in Europe and America. These shows, which originated in the United States, were based on the stereotypical portrayal of African Americans as happy-go-lucky, simple-minded, and musically gifted. Despite the controversial origins of the minstrel tradition, the Ethiopian Serenaders and other similar acts provided an important outlet for the expression of music and culture that had originated in Africa. The banjo, for example, was a instrument that had been brought to the Americas by enslaved Africans and had become a symbol of African American musical heritage. The photograph offers a glimpse into the past, providing a window into the rich cultural exchange that took place between Europe and the Americas during the 19th century. It also serves as a reminder of the complex and often problematic ways in which cultural traditions have been adapted and appropriated throughout history.
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