C M Y K A12
DAILY 03-11-10 MD SU A12 CMYK
A12 From Page One
S KLMNO THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2010
Sapeurs escape dreary everyday life by striking a pose
Europe
Asia
congo from A1 post-modern kilt by Miyake, “the “Glasses — Gabbana! Shirt —
Africa
twin of the president of the repub- Cavalli! This is very expensive!”
in this human life on Earth,” be- lic, and of Papa Wemba. I’m a phi- shouted Matondo, whose nom de
Atlantic
Ocean
gan the sapeur known as Papa losopher of sape.” guerre is “The Chinese from Chi-
CONGO
Griffe. “It gives a person value.” He sat in a white plastic chair na.”
Stories about the movement’s outside the bar, near a smog- Kindingo, who has a slight lisp
origins vary, but the word “sa- sickened palm tree and an open and calls himself “Mzee,” an hon-
peur” comes from the French sewer. As the sun set, his col- orific usually reserved for the el- frivolous. But in the poorest en-
slang for clothes. Many trace the leagues, who had just come from derly, noted that his kilt is “sold in claves of the capital, sapeurs are
quasi-religious cult to a rebellion filming a commercial, struck the- three shops in all the world — Par- often treated like rock stars.
against the repression of Mobutu, atrical poses. Guy Matondo is, England and Japan.” As Kindingo strutted through
who banned Western dress in fa- whacked the heel of his shoe with There are wealthy sapeurs — his neighborhood across town,
vor of a dreary, Maoist-style num- a golf club to show the quality of singers with money and diamond children popped out from behind
ber called the abacost. In the late the sole. Firenze Luzolo, 26, dealers — and many have girl- barbed-wired gates. “Mzee!” they
1970s, famed rumba singers such flashed the white label of his friends who bemoan their spend- yelled. “Master! There he is!”
as Papa Wemba developed a fol- worn, black Y-3 suit, which ap- ing habits. But most are like this Walking along the dirt road in
lowing by challenging those peared authentic. group, who at the end of their his kilt, Kindingo came upon an
edicts with a flair for haute-cou- “We know,” Luzolo said, refer- strutting borrowed money for bus old, beaten-down wooden cart.
ture spectacle that rivaled Cher. ring to their sense of style. “We rides to their homes across Kin- “Move this chariot!” he com-
This was partly a marketing are knowers.” shasa, a capital so neglected it ap- manded, then slipped behind the
ploy. But as the country sank Being a sapeur often involves pears to have been bombed and iron gates of the house where he
deeper into ruin and war, being a competitions among fashion left to decay, its ruins smothered lives with his father.
sapeur became a grandiose es- gangs that adopt names such as in weeds. Kindingo bounded through a
cape, a way of transforming bro- “The English” and “1000 Years’ Luzolo is an engineering stu- barren living room, where a large
ken-down sidewalks into so many War,” and on this day Luzolo and dent who sells DVDs for a living Michael Jackson poster hung on
floodlighted runways, and a job- others were preparing for a fash- and resides behind crumbling the wall, and into his room, a clos-
less 18-year-old into a persona of ion smackdown with rivals from storefronts with wishful names et-size space that appeared to
MIGUEL JUÁREZ FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
his own choosing. the neighboring capital of Brazza- like Boutique Oasis and Casa- double as a kitchen. He looked in
Sapeurs such as Yannick Kindingo take nicknames — his is Mzee — “I am,” began Yannick Kind- ville, across the river in Congo Re- blanca. His two-room apartment a suitcase for a Jackson outfit,
and strike dramatic poses in the streets to show off designer clothing. ingo, who wore what looked like a public. has no running water or power, which he did not find, clarifying
and he sleeps on a floor mat. But a that the clothes were “not sent by
black Dolce & Gabbana suit hangs him, but they’re in the same style.”
on the cracked walls of Luzolo’s Kindingo pulled out his favor-
bedroom. ite outfit, a pair of black palazzo
His relatives in Paris and Brus- pants with a bustier top, and put
sels send him clothes, he said. them on without a shirt. “I just
Otherwise, he rummages for out- wear it like this,” he said, walking
fits at roadside markets, or bor- back outside.
WHA
T
MAKES
Y
O
U
S
M
I
L
E
?
rows from other sapeurs, a busi- Speaking of his future, Kind-
ness known as “mining.” ingo said that someday he’d like
Luzolo opened a suitcase and to model in Europe, or teach at a
pulled out a long, black Yohji Ya- place he called “The University
mamoto trench coat with various for the Development of Sape.”
zippers and buckles. “This is bru- “Presently, it’s not created
tal,” he said, brightening. “This is physically,” he added. “But when
the thing that I will fight with.” we sapes meet, we talk about it.”
He tossed it on, swirled and Then he spoke about his life.
posed, explaining that when he He has no job prospects. His fa-
wears such clothes, another per- ther earns a pension of $20 a
sona takes over. month. “Life is difficult,” Kind-
“It’s like a spirit that comes in ingo said. “Life is bad. Eating is a
me,” he said. “I have no shame. I problem. But when you dress,
feel there is no one above me.” people admire you. It gives you
Especially outside Kinshasa, honor.”
many Congolese view sapeurs as mccrummens@washpost.com
Debate has put court
in unfamiliar spotlight
court from A1 The White House struck back
quickly — not at Roberts’s point,
ical gain. but at the decision. “What is trou-
“There has been too much bling is that this decision opened
alarmist rhetoric that has been the floodgates for corporations
flying around since this decision,” and special interests to pour mon-
Sessions said, advising his col- ey into elections — drowning out
leagues not to “misrepresent the the voices of average Americans,”
nature of the decision or impugn White House press secretary Rob-
the integrity of the justices.” ert Gibbs said in a statement.
The court ruled 5 to 4 in Janu- “The president has long been
ary that corporations and unions committed to reducing the undue
have a First Amendment right to influence of special interests and
use their general treasuries and their lobbyists over government.
profits to spend freely on political That is why he spoke out to con-
ads for and against specific candi- demn the decision.”
dates. The court overturned its
own precedents and federal law in
‘People disagree’
the decision, which was hailed by White House officials said the
conservatives and a few liberals as debate helps underscore differ-
a victory for free political speech, ences between the president and
and was denounced by Obama, the conservative court and puts
who said in his State of the Union into relief what will be at stake
address that it would lead to elec- when there is another opening on
tions being “bankrolled by Amer- the bench. There is speculation
ica’s most powerful interests.” that Justice John Paul Stevens,
Obama’s blunt criticism, while who turns 90 next month, will re-
six black-robed justices sat at the tire at the end of this term.
front of the House chamber, set At a time
off a round of public debate about when the ad-
whether he was both wrong and ministration
STOP BY OUR SMILE
rude, or whether Justice Samuel is struggling
A. Alito Jr. violated judicial cus- to prove that
tom by silently mouthing “not it can work
true” while the president was across politi-
speaking. cal lines on a
Presidential historians said health-care
that while other presidents have overhaul and
criticized Supreme Court deci- John Roberts other matters,
LOUNGE AND TELL US
sions or called upon Congress to Obama offi-
remedy them, Obama’s was the cials insisted they were not seek-
most pointed and direct criticism ing a partisan fight with the court.
in a State of the Union address Yet they acknowledged that a de-
since President Franklin D. bate over campaign finance fed
Roosevelt took on the court for into Obama’s central campaign
blocking his programs. promise of transparency and re-
form. “This is really about the
An issue of ‘decorum’
president’s change agenda,” a
SATURDAY, 2–5PM, TYSONS CORNER ON 1
Round 2 began Tuesday, when White House official said.
Roberts spoke at the University of “This is the functioning of de-
Alabama law school. He did not mocracy at its highest,” the official
mention Citizens United in his said. “People disagree, they dis-
speech and declined to answer a cuss, they debate.”
SUNDAY, 2–5PM, CHEVY CHASE ON 1
question about criticism of the Administration officials did not
ruling. question whether Roberts’s com-
But when asked whether the ments were appropriate, noting
State of the Union address was that he had replied to a question.
the “proper venue” in which to But the fracas is the kind the
“chide” the Supreme Court, Rob- justices usually like to avoid. Jus-
Get your pic snapped. Find fashionable surprises. Take away cool treats. See you there!
erts did not hesitate. tice Clarence Thomas told a Flori-
“First of all, anybody can crit- da law school audience last
icize the Supreme Court without month that the controversy re-
any qualm,” he said, adding that inforced his decision to skip the
“some people, I think, have an ob- State of the Union address. “One
ligation to criticize what we do, of the consequences is now the
given their office, if they think court becomes part of the con-
we’ve done something wrong.” versation, if you want to call it
He continued: “On the other that,” he said. “. . . It’s just an
hand, there is the issue of the set- example of why I don’t go.”
ting, the circumstances and the Roberts, who has attended the
decorum. The image of having the event since joining the court in
members of one branch of govern- 2005, indicated at the Alabama
ment standing up, literally sur- event that he may now agree with
rounding the Supreme Court, Thomas.
cheering and hollering while the “To the extent the State of the
court — according to the require- Union has degenerated into a po-
SMILE, IT’S SPRING AT BLOOMINGDALES.COM LIKE NO OTHER STORE IN THE WORLD
ments of protocol — has to sit litical pep rally, I’m not sure why
there expressionless, I think is we’re there,” he said.
very troubling.” barnesbob@washpost.com
C M Y K A12
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