TwitterFacebookInstagram

Culture

Music, book and film reviews from the last 3 months

Plants & Herbs. Harpagophytum procumbens. A desert plant with medicinal properties.

It belongs to the Pedaliaceae plant family and is commonly called Devil’s claw, grapple plant, or wood spider. It is a rare, highly valuable plant that is only widely spread in the Kalahari Desert of Southern Africa, especially in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique. Harpagophytum procumbens is a perennial ground herb that…

Read more

Cambodia. The water of the Mekong and the monsoons.

Contact with nature is omnipresent in the culture and the local population. The country still has a predominantly rural identity, although development and its consequences are changing the direct relationship with nature. Cultural notes. In the cities of Cambodia and, in particular, in the capital Phnom Penh, which is becoming a true modern megalopolis, the…

Read more

Mexico. The Land and the People. A Common Destiny.

Peasant communities of indigenous origin see the land not as a commodity to be consumed and exploited. But a living being integrated into their history and their identity. This is how the earth takes on a face with which to establish a relationship as a living being, as a neighbour, an ally and a witness…

Read more

Music. Cape Verde. The Cimboa Soldier.

Pascoal was a soldier for 30 years and now leads the “Ano Nobo” quartet, with which he also carries on a tradition that is disappearing. We talked with him. After the military missions came the musical missions. Born in 1960, Domingos da Resurreição Andrade da Silva Fernandes, aka simply as Pascoal, his family nickname, was…

Read more

African art and sense of beauty.

When you look at some African art, you may wonder whether what you see is fine art or something else. African scarification is part of African art, which is mainly iconographic. In traditional African art, colours are not only used for aesthetic purposes. They have deep meanings. African art is functional, community-orientated, depersonalised, and contextualized.…

Read more

African Cinema. Looking to the future.

Moving from specialised sections to the international scene. The great variety that exists in the different African filmographies. A look at Senegalese cinematography. We talk about it with Senegalese Fatou Kiné Sène, former president of the African Federation of Film Critics. Kiné Sène’s interest in cinema began in her childhood. “Every Wednesday, films were shown…

Read more

Bolivia. The Ayoreos. The Wedding, Celebration full of cultural symbols.

The Ayoreos are an ethnic group that live in the eastern part of Bolivia. They number about 4,000 and live distributed in 29 communities. The name “Ayoreo” means “true men”. It refers to their way of life as hunters and gatherers. A glance at their wedding celebration. The celebration of marriage is not as rigidly…

Read more

Music. Iran. Overcoming barriers.

It is not easy to make music in Iran today. And yet, in a country where social, religious and political tensions intersect with women’s and new generations’ anxiety for renewal, music also carries a crucial weight to convey ideas, demands, desires for freedom and brotherhood. In recent years, the music scene of what was once…

Read more

Uganda. Ngabi Clan the King’s Massage Therapists and Herd’s men.

Buganda Kingdom is found in Central Uganda and it’s the largest and oldest traditional kingdom in Uganda today. This kingdom is made up of 52 clans that make up the tribe of the Baganda People. Each clan has roles and duties in the Kabaka’s Place. We look at the Ngabi clan. The Ngabi (Antelope) Clan…

Read more

Sudan. Art against war.

Marked by decades of political instability and conflict, Sudanese artists narrate the complex reality of their country through works that reflect their identity, originality and resilience. Riahiem Shadad is an art curator. He owned an art gallery in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, called Downtown Gallery, where nine artists from his country were represented. However,…

Read more

Herbs & Plants. Combretum molle. A source of medicinal mumuye gum.

It has been used in traditional medicine since time immemorial for the treatment of a wide range of diseases. Indeed, almost every part of this plant (roots, leaves, seeds, twigs, and stem bark) has been used in African traditional medicine for the treatment of  various ailments  and diseases. Combretum molle is commonly referred to as…

Read more

Music. Apple Music’s list no African artists.

Apple Music’s latest list of the 100 greatest albums of all time has excluded any contributions from Africa. The musical richness of the continent continues has been ignored. The exclusion of African music from Apple Music’s recent list of the 100 best albums of all time is disconcerting but at the same time not a…

Read more

Advocacy

Myanmar. Paul Sein Twa. Preserving Ancestral Territory.

“What we would like to achieve when we talk about peace. Peace means self-determination. Peace means biological conservation. Peace means revitalization of our culture and…

Read more

Baobab

Inca. The Island of the Sun.

At that time Viracocha, the creator God, looked down upon the earth. He saw it was bare, shrouded in impenetrable darkness, for daylight did not yet…

Read more

Youth & Mission

Celebrating African youth.

“Young Africans are playing an active role in bringing social change in the continent. They are contributing daily to the benefit of their communities and nations…

Read more