Music, book and film reviews from the last 3 months
The Warao indigenous people inhabit the states of Bolívar, Monagas, Sucre and Delta Amacuro in the eastern part of Venezuela. The majority of them lives on the banks of the Orinoco River in the Delta Amacuro. This tribe, which is currently estimated to number about 50000, is the second-largest indigenous group in Venezuela, after the…
Read moreThe South African musician and composer was active both in music and in politics. At the cost of exile. Together with Hugh Masekela, a reference point for jazz enthusiasts. He died on 23 January, the same day on which, in 2018, Hugh Masekela passed away. The South African trombonist Jonas Gwangwa was just eighteen months…
Read moreA martial art that combines dance, self-defence and music, with its roots in ritual Bantu dances. In Brazil, it is the symbol of the fight against racism and social exclusion. It is not just a way of fighting but an expression of cultural identity, in particular that of the African-Brazilians. Dancing, singing, oral culture and…
Read moreA museum project has been launched this year under the care of architect David Adjaye who wishes to give value to the cultural heritage of the ancient kingdom of Benin (XII-XIX centuries), of which Edo was the capital. Besides the bronze items and historical remains, there will also be room for contemporary artworks. The British…
Read moreThe Ghanaian band Santrofi demonstrates that Highlife music is still a rich and vital force. Artistically speaking, Highlife is the music of modern Ghana; a mix of pop and jazz not without ethnic influences imported from Nigeria in the first decades of the nineteen hundreds and exported to the world after the end of the…
Read moreIn his last Encyclical, “Fratelli Tutti”, (“Brothers [and Sisters] All”), Pope Francis is calling for a new world society, characterised by fraternity and social friendship. Africa has much to contribute to the shaping of the future of humanity. The African sense of fraternity begins with motherhood. In most African societies, all grown up women are…
Read moreThe pandemic forced it to close just a week after it was officially opened and did not allow it to reopen until last August. The people’s district of Abobo hosts the first Ivorian museum of contemporary art. The democratisation of art was taken into consideration when the famous Ivorian architect Issa Diabaté was charged with…
Read moreThe Gospel track devised by South Africa DJ Master KG has spread on YouTube due to its rhythm, the voice of Nomcebo Zikode and the accompanying choreography. A sort of collective and shared response to the pandemic. Last year was marked by the Covid-19 tragedy, but it was also the year of the ‘viral’ phenomenon’…
Read moreCous cous, a popular emblematic dish of North Africa, has been placed on the list of intangible cultural heritage by Unesco, at the joint request of Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia. It was something quite rare in the history of the Maghreb countries when Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia, in March 2019, together presented the…
Read moreThe importance of medicinal plants in primary health care systems to treat and manage various disease conditions cannot be underestimated. Warburgia salutaris (G.Bertol.) Chiov (Family Canellaceae); whose common name is ‘pepperbark tree’, is one of the highly commercialized medicinal plant trees. It has been documented in many folkloric and ethnobotanical studies conducted in east, central…
Read moreThe discovery by Egyptian archaeologists of more than a hundred sealed sarcophagi in the necropolis of the Ancient Kingdom of Memphis (2700-2192 B.C.) will allow researchers to gain information about daily life in this place. There are places whose sacred nature remains alive over the course of centuries or even millennia. This applies especially to…
Read moreThe Sami have always lived in the far north of the continent. Historically oppressed and assimilated, they are today fighting to keep their culture and traditions. All despite advancing modernisation. The Sami are an indigenous people numbering around 75,000. They are divided by the borders of four countries – Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia –…
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Determined to protect his homeland from mining, Batmunkh Luvsandash’s activism resulted in the creation of a 66,000-acre protected area in Dornogovi province in April 2022,…
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Once upon a time, there was a girl of enchanting beauty. Her name was Nyanjira. She had soft, smooth skin and a very sweet smile that…
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During his pontificate, Pope Francis has placed young people at the centre of his pastoral attention, recognising them as key players in building a better future.…
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