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Culture

Music, book and film reviews from the last 3 months

Kenya. The superpower of satire.

With his illustrations, he strikes harder than any editorial. After living for years in Nairobi, the Tanzanian artist shares a passion that was born early and a reality that never ceases to “inspire.” Gado, the pseudonym of Godfrey Mwampembwa, was born in 1969 in Tanzania, but has lived in Nairobi for many years. He is…

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Bolivia. The Andean potato.

Andean communities have a special process for freezing and drying potatoes. We take a look. The terms ch’uño or tunta come from the Quechua and Aymara languages, spoken in the Andes, Peru and Bolivia. Both terms mean “frozen and dried potatoes”, used for their conservation in the Andes. Of course, both products have different production…

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Morocco. The charm of a Square.

The timeless magic of Jemaa el-Fnaa, the beating heart and treasure chest of secrets of the city of Marrakech. For a thousand years, the famous square of Marrakech has been transformed into an open-air stage, where dancers, storytellers, musicians, snake charmers, fakirs and fortune tellers perform. Some places release magic just by mentioning them. Jemaa…

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Madagascar. Soatanana. The “City of Goodness”.

The Churches of the Awakening were born in the Pentecostal sphere, they have experienced a boom since the 1990s, but on the Red Island, there is an ancient one that remains close to the spirit of its origins. In the central highlands of Madagascar, not far from Fianarantsoa, the capital of the Haute Matsiatra region,…

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Papaya. Orange-coloured richness.

Sweet, rich in properties, and relatively easy to grow. A fruit from Latin America that has found a new home in Africa. Very adaptable. Its consumption is also an indicator of good health. Papaya is one of the most cultivated and consumed exotic fruits in the world. It grows on characteristic single-stem plants between three…

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Music. Salif Kaita. Sounds in a Room.

So Kono, “in the room”, the latest effort by 75-year-old Salif Keita. Nine acoustic songs to take stock of a career that has seen much of local music and a unique singer who doesn’t disdain politics and the new course of the military. It’s hard to stop composing and singing new songs, especially when you’re…

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The Giraffe. The Queen of the Savannah.

Lessons, strategies, and curiosities. What we know about the giraffe, the tallest animal in the world… with a big heart. It is an icon of Africa, known for its long neck, its unmistakable spotted coat, and its elegant bearing. But the giraffe is an animal with other exceptional characteristics that never cease to amaze. Too…

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Kenya. Pökot, the Parpara Ceremony.

The Pökot are a Nilotic people. They live in Western Kenya, in the West Pokot and Baringo districts, and Uganda, in the Karamoja region. We look at the Parpara ceremony, a rite that every Pokot woman must perform before giving birth to her first child. It is a long rite that lasts all night. It…

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Music. Desert Blues.

Inspired by his Tuareg origins. Bombino is considered one of the best living blues guitarists. We met him in Madrid during one of his tours. “The best place to create and listen to music is in the desert. It is there that you live a unique experience. You have the feeling that when you hold…

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Bolivia. Santa Vera Cruz Tatala, the feast of fertility.

The feast of Santa Vera Cruz marks the end of the harvest and the beginning of a new life cycle. It is considered the fertility feast for the regeneration of human and animal life. According to oral narratives, the festival was anciently celebrated on a stone bearing the sign of a cross, a symbol of…

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Arts. Symbols of resistance.

Video makers, sculptors, painters and creative Sudanese have taken part in the civil society protests of recent years, but after the outbreak of the conflict they had to leave. In Nairobi they have enriched an active and supportive community of artists. We met some of them at the Kuona Artists Collective. Yassir Ali Mohammed is…

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Egypt. The end of the City of the Dead.

With an investment of billions of euros, the new administrative capital of Egypt is one of the main projects of President Al Sisi. Its development will lead to the disappearance of the City of the Dead, an emblem of Cairo. An uncomfortable silence. You can’t hear the noise of cars stirring up dust or the…

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Advocacy

Mari Luz Canaquiri Murayari. A Steward of the Marañón…

The river is sacred to the Kukama people, who believe that their ancestors reside on the river floor.  They are ready to protect the Marañón…

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Baobab

A Wise Grandmother.

Like the other farmers, Taro also grew rice, wheat, and vegetables, living in peace and contentment. However, things never remain the same. One time, there was no rainfall,…

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Youth & Mission

Comboni Youth Jubilee. To live is to hope.

From 24 to 27 July, hundreds of young people from the Comboni youth movements across Europe will gather in Milan, Verona, and Florence, Italy, in preparation…

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