World Cup Buzz

WHAT’S THAT BUZZ? Wondering why all those World Cup soccer matches sound like they’re being played amidst a swarm of bees? That’s from the incessant blowing of a plastic trumpet up to three feet long called the vuvuzela (pronounced voo-voo-ZAY-luh). Over the last 15 years, the vuvuzela has become to soccer in South Africa what the samba drum is in Brazil. According to the N.Y. Times, the sound of the vuvuzela is supposed to “herald the country’s piercing emergence from the forced racial hush of apartheid.” For others, it’s enough to turn the sound down on the TV. “This is our culture,” said Lucas Radebe, the captain of South Africa’s World Cup team in 1998 and 2002. “This is how we create our national rhythm and dance.” For more, see below. (6/14a)