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Culture

Music, book and film reviews from the last 3 months

Herbs & Plants. Microglossa pyrifolia. A Botanical Treasure of Traditional Healing Across Africa.

A versatile plant renowned for its medicinal properties has been traditionally utilized across Africa for centuries. Microglossa pyrifolia, commonly known as the shrubby and climbing plant, exhibits distinctive characteristics. Its stem is adorned with a delicate covering of fine glandular pubescence, adding to its aesthetic allure and tactile appeal. The leaves, alternately arranged along the…

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Ethiopia. The coffee ceremony.

In the African country where coffee originated, women perform a magical ritual. The preparation of the popular drink resembles a religious liturgy marked by solemn gestures that have been passed down for centuries with the smoke of incense, prayers to the spirits and prophecies of the future. In Ethiopia, the homeland of coffee, each family…

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Music. Cape Verde. A dance lasting half a century.

Musician, writer and politician Mário Lúcio celebrates the 50 years of the independence of the archipelago with his seventh work ‘Independance’. A non-random Frenchism, which tells of Pan-Africanism, struggles and the joy of freedom. In January 1960, in Brussels, when the date of independence of the Belgian Congo, June 30, was set at the negotiating…

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The Hippo. King of the Rivers.

Despite its apparent tranquillity and its soft and jovial appearance, it is an animal with an irascible, unpredictable and aggressive character. The most dangerous and deadly in Africa. But you have to know it to appreciate it. Legendary origins. The hippopotamus is one of the most dangerous, yet interesting, animals on the entire African continent.…

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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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Advocacy

Jani Silva. To protect the community and the land.

The Colombian environmental and peace activist has played a key role in establishing a protected area in the Amazon, providing small farmers with access to…

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Baobab

How The Stars Were Born.

One day, two friends named Ebopp and Mbaw went off in search of a good site to establish a farm with fine fields of grain and…

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Youth & Mission

Young People at COPO 30. “We want to be heard.”

Young people will play an important role at COP30 in Belém, Brazil. This will give young people a greater voice in climate action and policy-making at…

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