Members of the public look at one of the performers take part in the Carnival

Members of the public look at one of the performers take part in the annual Cape Town Minstrels Carnival, on January 4, 2014 in Cape Town. This event, which is deeply rooted in Cape Malay culture, gathers more than 13,000 performers in about 70 groups of musicians, dancers and other troupe members in brightly coloured outfits and ornately painted faces, who parade through the city, playing Ghoema music (comic songs often accompanied by brass, or banjo). This carnival is ususally held on the 2nd of January every year, which is called, the "Second New Year", and dates back to the time of slaves in the Cape Colony, when the slaves were given, the day after New Year off, which they spent, in part, singing and dancing.