That infernal racket on Second last night? Here's the inside story.
Drummers from Roosevelt High School's marching band, clad in cooks' whites, set out from Txori, the Basque wine bar, for a noisy tour of Belltown. Not to scare off the crackheads, but because January 20th is the date of the Fiesta da Donostia. Half a world away, the town of San Sebastian, built on lowlands leading to the Bay of Biscay, celebrates its delivery, centuries ago, from a French military siege with round-the-clock drumming.
Imagine the scene: Napoleon's armies surrounding the city in the predawn darkness heard alarming noises: the clamor of thousands of drums. A tamborrada! Unnerved, the pusillanimous French retreat. Inside the walls, the true identity of the drummers is revealed: the city's cooks. banging on pots and pans with wooden spoons.
Which explains why Roosevelt seniors Justin Bales, Matt Pearson and Chris Taber (on cymbals) returned for the third year of the procession, joined by newcomers Morgan Vassiljev and Joe Lambright. They're all in the concert band, marching band and Rough Riders pep orchestra.
The co-founder of Txori, Joseba Jimenez de Jimenez, is a San Sebastian native who felt the tug of geography, even though his next restaurant will be in Singapore. His partner (and former wife) Carolin Messier continues the tradition regardless. And GM Joey Serquinia's son Django, a second-grader, served as the event's mascot. Good family fun, right?
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