In the late year-end show in the “Gaulic village” Burgerhut, humor and politics go together seamlessly

Suddenly, Lillian Simmons starts banging on the table with her long, bony fingers. As if this were the most natural thing in the world, she then begins a rap song: “Join the rap for the guys in the postal service, 'cause the problems there haven't been solved yet and a lot of money is being spent on streaming.”

Simons is already over seventy years old and is known in Borgerhout and the surrounding area as MC Lily. She has built a loyal audience in recent years through her socially engaged rap songs. “Rap keeps my mind young,” she says.

This weekend Simons is one of the guests at the end-of-year show Late Borgerhoutse at the Rataplan Arts Centre, organized by the man who now sits across from her in café 't Werkhuys: Geert Beullens, half-beard, half-roar. “Everyone can do something at Burgerhout,” Pullins says. “So there's a lot of talent.”

Beullens has been teaching Dutch to non-native speakers and presenting himself as the “fictitious mayor of Antwerp” for several years. With this parody of Mayor Bart De Wever (N-VA), he actually received 191 preferential votes in the previous election. Disguised as Peter Paul Rubens, he also organizes Rubens' tours through the city of Scheldt and is a regular guest at The Tuesday Club, a madcap play by writer and performer Vitalsky.

And this weekend, he takes a look at current events in the area where he and Lillian Simmons live. Musical accompaniment comes from Stoffel Verlackt, Nele Paelinck and Fanfare 't Akkord. Mashuretsky's leading men give their best, and actor Johann Petit also contributes, as do writer-writer Amir Bashrouri and his friend Samir Tayf. “Samir can balance anything weighing less than 200 kilograms on his chin,” says Bullins. “He discovered it one time when he was bored studying detention and he's going to come and prove it to us with a racing bike.”

Mobility is therefore an important theme in Borgerhout, as the always busy Turnhoutsebaan runs through the area like an artery. Boylens: “There are also some popular cycling clubs in the area, which are linked to cafes like Lion Bar or Mombasa.”

The latter bar's founder, Bob Campenaerts, uncle of professional cyclist Victor Campenaerts, died unexpectedly last year and Bullins is sure to be talked about at his end-of-year show. During a bike trip through Rwanda, he recently scattered some of Campinarts' ashes on a mountain overlooking a lake near Volcanoes National Park where Dian Fossey had watched gorillas for years.

Gaul village

Pullins was born in the Congo and has lived in Antwerp for over thirty years, the last five of which were in Borgerhout. Simmons, a PVDA member, grew up here and worked in Haiti in the 1980s. “When I was 12 years old, the first immigrants started arriving,” she says. “My mother would give them sweets and know them all by name: Al-Rashid, Mohammed… ‘They are people just like you and me,’ she would always say. After that, people started talking about Borgerico and after Black Sunday the Flames Bloc suddenly became the biggest party. But after Thirty years on, the tables have turned completely around and we have a completely left-wing coalition. I wrote a rap song about that, called “Diversity.”

Beullens: “Borgerhout is sometimes called the 'Gaelic village'. The last area where the N-VA has not yet come to power. I don't see this changing immediately in the next election, although I'm told there is a difference in voting behavior between Borgerhout, It is part of the Burgerhout within Singel, and the Burgerhills, the part surrounding Bockenberg Park, a reference to Beverly Hills.

Simons: “Anyway, we want more green spaces. We are the most densely populated region, but we have the least green space. I also made a rap about it. Damn, I should have packed my rap folder.

Meanwhile, Jacques Brel sings about love at Café t Werkhuys. Beullens and Simons gradually have to leave. Continue studying their demo lyrics and who knows – write a new hip-hop song. “I always get inspiration from the bike,” Simons says. “So it might be possible.”