The King of Raï

Khaled Hadj Brahim, better known as Khaled, is a raï singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist born in Sidi-El-Houari in Oran Province of Algeria. He began recording in his early teens under the name Cheb Khaled (Arabic for "Young man Khaled") and has become probably the most internationally famous Algerian singers. His popularity has earned him the unofficial title "King of Raï". Read more at Wikipedia.

Here are my two favourite Khaled songs: Didi, which never ceases to catapult me into high spirits and Aicha which I regard as one of the most romantic songs ever written (by the amazing Jean-Jacques Goldman).

(For better audio, try the version of Didi here).

Picture from Cheb Khaled's Official Website.

La Victoire sur les Sachets

An interesting short film by Sarkis, La Victoire sur les Sachets shows how plastic trash (20 tons of it) as used effectively in Africa to manufacture 2000 Djembés (musical instruments).

View this movie at cultureunplugged.com

Synopsis from Culture Unplugged: Ingenuity is at work in an African community where plastic bags are transformed from garbage into musical instruments. The film, created and produced by ART for The World is born under the auspices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and supported by the European Commission, French Government and SESC, Sao Paulo, Brasil, is a long feature composed by 22 short movies by filmmakers and artists from all over the world. Each short (documentary, fiction, drama, comedy, etc) is based on one of the major themes highlighted in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: culture, development, dignity and justice, environment, gender and participation.

C comme Corneille

Cornelius Nyungura (Corneille) was born in Germany to Rwandan parents but spent most of his childhood in Rwanda. However, his life changed after the genocide in 1994. His father, Émile Nyungura, was a leader of the political party (PSD); as a result, his parents and some of his relatives were killed in the massacre. Corneille fled to Germany, where some of his parents' friends took him in. He is now a Canadian Citizen and sings in French and English.
Source: Wikipedia

My favourite Corneille songs so far, Avec Classe:

Official Website.

Casela Bird Park

In May 2005, I visited the Casela Bird and Nature Park. Casela is a mini-zoo with a fantastic collection of birds (and plenty of other animals including tigers, zebras, javan deer, etc.). The aviaries are well maintained and have many exotic birds including some of my favourites - the Toucan, the Makaw and the Bleeding Heart Pigeon. If you come to Mauritius, you must meet the famous "Pink Pigeon". Luckily, they've saved this one from extinction (and a lot of the hard work was done by Gerald Durrel and his team). I saw many amazing photo opportunities but the I had a really hard time taking pictures because of the cages! :(

The Casela Park entrance ticket costs Rs.150 but they have a superb safari ride through the mountains for just Rs.30. I spotted these beauties while we were heading towards the mountains.

At Casela, I had the privilege of meeting Lori, the cockatoo. She is 30 years old. She can talk, dance and whistle a variety of tunes. She loves meeting new people. I had read about her and was eager to meet her.

At the petting zoo Lori was in her cage and as soon as I saw her I said "Hello" at least 10 times and she wouldn't reply. I kept wondering why until the sweet lady who takes care of her (and who took this picture) said "Oh, Lori speaks only French"!! She responded to my first "Bonjour" and happily climbed onto my arm to have a nice conversation with me and whistle some tunes for me. She was fascinated with my camera. I took a picture of her and showed it to her and she was amazed with it - she kept touching it with her beak. She also liked my bag and had a nice time walking all over it. So adorable!

Inch'allah

Our colleagues in Mauritius were extremely hospitable and helped us truly enjoy and experience the island. Among other things, they made many recommendations, taught us Creole phrases and shared music with us. I was particularly interested in the French numbers and this one is by far my favourite one they shared with me:



MC Solaar is the stage name of Claude M'Barali (born March 5, 1969), a francophone hip hop and rap artist. Claude M'Barali was born in Dakar, Senegal to parents of Chadian origin. When he was six months old his parents immigrated to France. He is famous for his wordplay... his official website is called SolaarSystem!!

Inch'allah is one of the catchiest songs I've ever heard and I love the frequent reference to the Maghreban robe, the Djellaba.

Madagascar

Giant Baobabs (Adansonia Grandidieri), Toliara, Madagascar

Some interesting facts about the beautiful island of Madagascar:

• The Republic of Madagascar (previously Malagasy Republic, French: République malgache), is the fourth-largest island in the world, after Greenland, New Guinea and Borneo.

• An island roughly the size of Texas or France, Madagascar is home to more than 250,000 (5% of the world's plant and animal) species of which 80% are found nowhere else on the globe (including six baobab species).

• The Merina is the largest ethnic group in Madagascar. Boasting a population of 3 million, which equals to about one-quarter of the country's population, they speak a Malayo-Polynesian language and are concentrated in the central highlands.
  

• Ancestors of the Merina, the Austronesians, migrated from the Malay archipelago (Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Malaysia) around the beginning of the common era. Today, the Austronesian features of the Merina are still quite visible. Read about the Bloody Mary of Madagascar.

• Madagascar was recently suspended from the SADC since Andry Rajoelina made himself head of state in place of the democratically elected President Marc Ravalomanana.

• The Malagasy language is of Malayo-Polynesian origin and is generally spoken throughout the island. Madagascar is a francophone country, and French is spoken among the educated population of this former French colony. English, although still rare, is becoming more widely spoken.
  

Sources: Wiki, WildMadagascar (see the interesting timeline); Great Posters of Africa from AllPosters.com

Francophone Africa

Map highlighting Francophone Africa

██ Pays normalement considérés francophones / Countries usually considered as Francophone Africa

██ Pays parfois considérés francophones / Countries sometimes considered as Francophone Africa

This map from Wikipedia indicates the countries in Africa in which French is spoken. If you're a French-speaking traveller, Africa is obviously a great continent to visit!

From the Wiki page on African French, French is spoken by an estimated 115 million African people spread across 31 francophone African countries.

Amadou et Mariam

When I (first) discovered Amadou and Mariam on the list of performers at All Points West, I couldn't help but feel disappointed that I had missed them by an hour. This talented musical duo consists of Mariam Doumbia and Amadou Bagayoko, a blind couple who met at a school for the blind in Mali and got together because of their common interest in music.



The first A&M number I heard was "Je pense à toi", which is my favourite. I also love "Dimanche à Bamako". Their album with the same name is produced by Manu Chao. Check them out on Myspace and NPR.

Goodbye Solo

Souleymane Sy Savane (Solo) and Red West in GoodBye Solo

Goodbye Solo is a film about a Senegalese cab driver (Solo) who encounters an aged man determined to commit suicide. Solo is also determined - to dissuade him. He tries hard to befriend and help him. Solo is a gentleman, a kind and loving person who embraces life and its hardships. As an immigrant working hard to make ends meet for his blossoming family, Solo's view of life is radically different and he struggles to understand William (Red West)'s decision.

Through the film, Solo talks fondly of life in Senegal, often breaking into (and muttering to himself in) French. Directed beautifully by Ramin Bahrani, the film is subtle, yet thought provoking and deeply moving.

Africain à Paris

Last week, I spoke about Tukuleur being inspired by Toto’s Africa. Well, here’s another case of inspiration. If you like Sting’s Englishman in New York, you’ll also like Tiken Jah Fakoly’s “Africain à Paris” (Lyrics here). A lot of Africans emigrate to France, which is not surprising considering that French is spoken in a very large part of Africa. From Wiki: According to the 2007 report by the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, an estimated 115 million African people spread across 31 francophone African countries can speak French either as a first or second language.

You must also watch the video of “Non à l'excision”, a beautiful song which supports the fight against the brutal act of excision which is still in practice in many countries of Africa. Read more about it here.

Tiken Jah Fakoly is originally from Côte d'Ivoire.

Mama Afrika

Toto’s Africa is undoubtedly a beautiful song (lyrics here). Apparently, Oumar Sall of Tukuleur thought so too. Here is his version (lyrics here), a beautiful piece:

I learnt from Wikipedia that Oumar, who was brought up in France, was amazed by the beauty of Senegal when he finally went back to learn more about his African roots. Oumar studied African Languages at the University of INALCO in Paris and now performs in a variety of languages including Fulani, Wolof, Mandingue, Soninke, French, English and Spanish! There are more than more than 1,000 indigenous African languages including several spoken by tens of millions.