Music, book and film reviews from the last 3 months
It is a small to medium semi-deciduous to deciduous tree up to 20m in height with a dense rounded crown. The plant is traditionally used in tropical Africa to treat a wide range of human diseases. The bark on young branches is grey-brown and smooth while on older branches, the stems are dark brown and…
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In A Mouth Full of Salt, Sudanese writer Reem Gaafar traces the country’s recent history from a female perspective, shedding light on decades of suffering and abuse. Rather than news stories, it is often novels that enter into the historical perspectives that help us understand societies better. The tragedies and weaknesses of these societies. This…
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With his latest work the Ivorian artist, who has lived in Mali for years also for political reasons, gives new voice to 13 flagships of his career. A path that took him to the top of the continental reggae scene. Emerging in the 1960s, reggae was welcomed promptly and with great enthusiasm throughout Africa. But…
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The tents of the desert inhabitants are a concentration of technologies, the use of materials and design particularly suited to the environment – which is why they have varied typologies – and to the way of life of those who are always ready to get back on the road “The first tea is as bitter…
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It is an erect, branching, soft, slightly aromatic, annual herb with shallow fibrous roots. The plant has a goat-like smell and hence the common name “goat weed”. The genus name Ageratum is derived from the Greek words ‘a geras’, meaning non-aging, referring to the longevity of the whole plant. Ageratum conyzoides (Family Asteraceae) is a…
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A dreamy and very sweet sound which immediately evokes Asian panoramas and tranquillity. Music that fascinates and excites. All this emerges from the performances and recordings of a great artist, Ngartini Huang. Indonesia is a land about which very little is known here in the West, despite having more than 275 million inhabitants spread across…
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When southern spring blooms, the streets of Harare and Pretoria are tinged with purple and lilac. In Zimbabwe and South Africa, during the spring season, which in the southern hemisphere begins in September, the large cities are coloured by the flowering of thousands of jacaranda trees (imported from South America at the end of the…
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In many African cultures, one cannot call directly the name of a person whose rank is higher than one’s own. Father, mother, uncle, aunt, sister and brother… is all you will hear in some families. Moreover, in Africa, names are not given casually. They are given solemnly in a naming ceremony. There are sometimes cases…
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If you take a walk at sunset along the northeastern beach of Puerto Rico at the end of July, you can hear the sound of drums giving the welcome to nightfall. Groups of black people get together in front of their houses or under coconut trees ready to dance to the rhythm of the drums.…
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Her sixth album, Mawja, returns to traditional sounds, reconnecting the Western Saharan artist with the stories and rhythms of her family. And to the struggle of the women and people of this land of conflict. Aziza Brahim was born in 1976 in the Hammada of Tindouf, a Sahara Desert plateau in western Algeria nicknamed “the…
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When the flocks of the carmine bee-eater arrive in the Zambezi Valley, at the height of the dry season, the bush is tinged with the red colour of its feathers, brushing the arid colours of the winter landscape with renewed brilliance. It is already the middle of September, and the dry season is coming to…
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In traditional Africa, dance is more than entertainment. It is a celebration of life. This is why, watching Africans dance can give a clue of both their core values and main economic activities. It even gives insight into the geography of their land and the history of their tribe. Cattle keepers dance jumping. These are…
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“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…
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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…
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“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…
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