Popular balls, chic atmosphere, pious gatherings, family celebrations… there was a bit of everything for this New Year’s Eve 2024 in Antananarivo. With an aftertaste of collective frustration.
Tananarive has been compartmentalizing itself lately during New Year’s Eve, this year’s was no exception to the rule. Analakely and further up, Antaninarenina remain the nerve centers at midnight, with the blasts of horns and cries of jubilation invading Independence Avenue. “ We are family here, the atmosphere will never change. There are almost all Malagasy people “, rejoices Lalaina Rasolojaona, a mother. Then there is the Antananarivo of masses. “ We are here every year, the children have grown up. Some stayed with us, others stayed to party at our house in our neighborhood “, says Faniry Tsiferana, a fifty-year-old who came to pray with his wife and children at a sect gathering in Mahamasina. The party took place in the streets, in the cottages and the state rooms of the capital and its outskirts. Small mention for the small rooms, a new deal in the landscape of New Year’s Eve in the city of a thousand. Having the means, wealthy families prefer to rent a place just capable of holding around forty people. Strollers are required and adults can enjoy vespers and feasts in a secure environment. The traditional New Year’s Eve at the Carlton Anosy with “Golden New Year” and the Colbert Antaninarenina hotel brought together regulars. The Tananarive of the rich, with entry tickets at 150,000 ariary minimum, still had fun. The organizers have the weather to thank. The Grand Hôtel Urban in the upscale Ambatonakanga district was one of the liveliest with Rim–Ka on stage. Just like the “Eusébia Birthday” at Jao’s Pub Ambohipo, the most party-loving district of Antananarivo has calmed down somewhat this year. In working-class neighborhoods, popular balls and fights punctuated certain gatherings. “ People bring out all their cumulative social frustrations from these years, poverty, high cost of living and all that. In a few days, the prices of rice, meat and products increased. Not to mention load shedding and unemployment. Obviously, it degenerates », Analyzes Hanta Randriamalala, a resident of the Ambohidroa district. With alcohol flowing freely and music blaring, these uninhibited places serve as the pulse of New Year’s Eve festivities and a barometer of the majority class.
Maminirina Rado