>>
Site Map
>>
News
Dreadlocks and Ducatis
#1595 - 13--chill--Dreadlocks and Ducatis--2010-07-05 23:50:34
#
Guitar on lap and unfazed by the morning’s stream of journalists,
five-time Grammy Award winner Ziggy Marley, doesn’t immediately strike
one as an adventure biker, taking in South Africa on a Ducati
Multistrada 1200 motorcycle.
But perceptions often belie reality, something Ziggy and brothers
Robbie and Rohan are discovering on their World Cup road trip.
The Marley brothers are in South Africa, along with director/producer
David Alexanian (who filmed Ewan McGregor’s motorcycle trips across
the world in the series Long Way
Round and Long Way Down)
to work on a documentary entitled Marley
Africa Roadtrip.
It is Robbie Marley who is the real star on the bike, working as a
stunt rider on several major productions, but both Ziggy and
entrepreneur and philanthropist Rohan have discovered the joy of the
open road and the wind in their hair – or dreadlocks in this case.
The show promises to “provide viewers with an intriguing look into a
legendary musical family”, although the brothers see it more as an
opportunity to shine a different light on the world’s view of Africa.
“It is all about South Africa, because South Africa is a leader in
Africa and we want to high-light that,” says Ziggy.
Although Africa’s first World Cup provided an ideal backdrop for
the documentary, it is not going to be the entire focus of the
documentary.
“The World Cup is only the plate on which we are going to serve the
dish; it is not the dish,” says Ziggy.
“We have to prepare the dish that we want to serve. We want to use
the opportunity that Africa has now to continue moving Africa forward,”
he continues.
The trip also marks 30 years since Bob Marley travelled to Southern
Africa to perform a landmark concert celebrating unity and freedom.
Ziggy was with him on that trip and it is something that he reflects
on regularly.
“That was my introduction into Africa and the culture and the
struggle that Africa went through and continues to go through, and that
plays a big part in why I am here today and why we want to continue
playing our part in the upliftment of Africa,” he says.
Since arriving in South Africa, the brothers have found themselves
warmly welcomed whether they were recognised or not and, besides the
sudden drop in temperature, their journey has been a positive,
eye-opening experience, with all three siblings commenting on the
country’s beauty, modernity, de-velopment and friendliness.
“I wouldn’t say we have had any challenges yet. It has just been
lovely for us, just to see Africa, how advanced SA is compared to a lot
of places in the world, and wonderful to see development,” says Rohan.
The only real challenge they have faced this far hasn’t come from
being in the country itself, but from the negative hype back home.
“For us it was more the stories we had heard before we came to SA,
‘the violence’ this and that, so the challenge was not to get caught up
or overcome by the negative hype that some people were trying to put
across,” says Robbie.
- --comments-->0--381--13
