June 7, 2005
By Ndaba Dlamini
IT'S lunchtime on Saturday and the main drag down Rockey and Raleigh streets in Yeoville is buzzing. The cacophony resonating along the pavements is a mixture of a dozen different languages, revving motor engines and a confusing blend of music from all over Africa.
People say Yeoville is the new Sophiatown, the cultural melting pot of Johannesburg where the Rastafarian, the gay, the Nigerian, the Ethiopian and a host of other cultures occupy a dynamic but harmonious niche.
Bob Eveleigh, the entertainment editor of the Port Elizabeth newspaper, The Herald, observed that Yeoville once had the "colourful, bohemian energy and eclecticism reminiscent of New York's East Village, Amsterdam and London's Camden Town".
The suburb, one of Johannesburg's oldest, was once an elite district populated by the city's rich and famous. Yet it is recognised as one of the first of Jozi's residential areas where different racial groups integrated.
In the late 80s Yeoville was "a bastion of apartheid defiance and a melting pot where creative people of all races, backgrounds, lifestyles, classes and creeds cross-pollinated", Eveleigh wrote.
Today Yeoville is a receptive sponge for the downtrodden, the hopeful and the affluent from all over the world - all vying for a piece of the Yeoville of the past, despite the evident decline of the buildings, the beggars crouching around street corners, the unsavoury elements in gloomy alleyways.
But at the weekend, Yeoville rocks.
Kutlwano Bar and Restaurant
A stroll down Raleigh Street to Grafton Street from busy Harrow Road is deceiving. Besides the blaring of hooters as taxis shoulder their way between buses and cars into Rockey Street, this part of the high street is relatively quiet.
Past Grafton Street, the vibe from Kutlwano Bar and Restaurant, popularly known as KwaGumede, permeates the atmosphere - welcome to Yeoville.
Outside Kutlwano's two cars, one on either side of the street, compete for the airwaves, with music blaring from powerful car stereo systems. A group of young men lounge against the vehicles, sipping beer and gazing at passersby through bleary eyes.
Klutwano's is cool. A thatched lean-to complements the African cuisine served by bustling waitresses. Pap and morogo sets you back R18 a plate, and the beer doesn't come cheap either. Yet the place is already full and a few regulars, already tipsy and garrulous, dance to Oliver Mtukudzi's music at the far side of the bar.
A few paces from Kutlwano's is Village Kin-Malebo, a popular venue for those yearning for Congolese music and food. The South African and the Democratic Republic of Congo flags fly side-by-side in an open space where a band is strumming rumba tunes, getting ready to rock the crowd seated under green umbrellas.
Village Kin-Malebo
A few people wait in anticipation outside the Village, hoping for a free dose of Congolese kwasakwasa. Entrance is free but getting a front seat is expensive: all patrons have to buy beer and/or food.
In Yeoville, nothing comes without strings attached.
Tired of Congolese entertainment? Step over to Ekhaya Pub and Restaurant. Ekhaya specialises in South African cuisine. The food is excellent, with pap and vleis, mogodu (tripe) and iskop (ox head) on the menu. Jazz lovers opt for Ekhaya and most don't seem disappointed as they tap and nod their heads to the beat of Sipho Gumede.
Ekhaya's patronage is mostly mature - and well-off. Top of the range cars are parked outside and well-fed men and women can be spotted on the veranda, staring nonchalantly at the lounging, fashionably dressed young crowd across the street at one of Yeoville's most popular watering holes, Time Square.
Time Square, gaily painted blue, orange and yellow, has two bars in one - Time Square and The Londoner Pub and Restaurant. An open-air square, dotted with chairs and umbrellas, divides the two.
The Londoner
There is intense competition for customers between the two bars, but The Londoner seems to be winning the battle this Saturday afternoon.
One patron, with a clean-shaven head, says the answer is "simple economics". The Londoner sells ngudu's (quarts) and Time Square doesn't. "I get more for my money than buying the little dumpies I can gulp in a second."
Beer is not the only attraction at Time Square, though: enterprising folk patrol the streets and patrons can get their cars washed while swigging down their favourite lager. A "quickie" car wash is R20 and a full valet is R50.
In need of a loose (a single cigarette)? There is no need for you to walk to the corner shop a block away and shell out for a whole box. A plethora of street vendors enthusiastically peddle their wares a bottle's-throw from the two pubs.
The inevitable itinerant vendor, with a load of caps, gloves and DVDs, shoves his way from table to table. He is completely ignored by one table, given a tongue-lashing at the next, strikes gold at the third, where a gentleman buys a pair of gloves for his tipsy-looking lady, who clings to his arm appreciatively.
The east side of Time Square seems to be on fire. It's the smoking section, where a din can be heard coming from Hunter Street, a block away. A suspicious blend of smoke emanates from the raucous pool players, stinging the nostrils of the pedestrians jumping the traffic lights at Fortesque Road.
Recreation Centre
It is now almost 6pm and Rockey/Raleigh Street has become one continuous stream of people. The intersection of Fortesque Road and Raleigh Street is choked with the young and the old, the sober and the drunk, and the nondescript.
Skid marks on the tar reveal the scars of a "spin", probably performed the previous night by a driver showing off his skills to an impressed crowd.
The Yeoville Recreation Centre is also a hive of activity. A drama group is practising and melodious voices, accompanied by a heavy thumping beat, can be heard above the hustle and bustle of the street. Developments are taking place here: a new computer centre is taking shape, part of a R4,5-million upgrade of Rockey/Raleigh Street by the Johannesburg Development Agency.
Opposite, a jukebox from the "kiddies entertainment centre" blares the latest from Skwatta Kamp and a group of young boys gyrate to the beat, playing video games, oblivious to the rapidly falling darkness outside.
The fruit and vegetable vendor who runs his stall in front of the centre, is famous along the street. He chats incessantly to customers.
Across Kenmere Road, under a shade of tired-looking palm trees is The Still Coach Bar and Restaurant. Alcoholic beverages and food can't be divorced in Yeoville. "A guzzler cannot take his drink on an empty stomach because beer should rest comfortably on good food in the stomach," is a common saying round these parts.
The Still Coach
The Still Coach, a railway coach turned into a bar and restaurant, is a familiar sight. Its name is all wrong, however. Inside it is anything but still on this Saturday evening.
A tantalising aroma wafts from the steamed-up windows. The heavy bouncer manning the entrance into the coach clutches an intimidating looking truncheon, staring suspiciously at each passing individual.
Piercing whistles draw attention to two men dressed in trench coats that have seen better days. They dart into the road and frantically wave a bottle-green Cabriolet into a vacant parking spot outside Shoprite. The touts look after the car while the driver rushes into the store for cigarettes. The charge? "Any change".
Finding parking at this hour is a struggle, with cars double-parked along the street. A police siren screams once and the street clears long enough for the police vehicle to disappear into Bedford Road.
Two middle-aged women sit huddled on the ground, leaning against one of the palm trees and munching bread. Occasionally, they hold their hands out to the passing crowd asking for handouts, taking turns to sip an opaque liquid from a plastic container. Most people ignore them.
Hawkers
The pavements are also clogged with wares of every description, making walking a difficult business. Street vendors stand next to their wares - tomatoes, onions, potatoes, belts, skirts, sewing needles - touting endlessly for business.
Across from Shoprite four ATMs, half-hidden in the shadows at the corner of Cavendish and Rockey streets, stand empty. They are not out of order, simply unused at this hour, given the threat of prowling thieves and muggers, lurking unseen among the throngs of revellers.
Around Cavendish Street is the part of the suburb many say makes Yeoville the entertainment hot-spot of Joburg: the popular La Congolaise Restaurant and Bar, Rockafellas night club, Richman Poorman pub, The Zone and the notorious House of Tandoor are all located within arm's reach of each other.
House of Tandoor
The din is deafening. Two men dance kwasakwasa to two laughing girls outside La Congolaise and a group of young people quarrel outside Rockafellas. It's almost 8pm and too early to try the nightclub. A popular kwaito star is advertised to start performing at 11pm.
The House of Tandoor is a gaily painted, Rastafarian-style construction where patrons can sit in the open air on the rooftop. Reggae vibes peter down to the street below where women stand, smoking, waiting for something to happen.
It's Yeoville, it's Saturday night. They won't have to wait long.
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