ON THIS BLOG'S FIRST BIRTHDAY...

...All I feel like and have to offer you is:

DANCEZ!
DANCEZ!
DANCEZ!

BOUJEZ!
BOUJEZ !
BOUJEZ!


[Mama by Wizards of The Desert - Khoisan Aristocracy]

SAUTEZ!
SAUTEZ!
SAUTEZ!

{a ti fankula, y'all!!!}

{QUEM NAO DANCAR MAE DELE E' MBIKA!!!}

"JO SOARES: UM GORDO MUITO IMBECIL"

O titulo nao e' meu! E' deste blog, onde tambem se diz isto:

"Hoje, por coincidência, a segunda entrevista foi com Marcelo Paixão, que falou sobre “multiculturalismo e a situação do negro no Brasil“. Algo que somente piorou a situação, um remendo pior que o soneto, algo arranjado. A impressão que se tem, é que pegaram o primeiro “entendido” do assunto para botar panos quentes sobre as atrocidades que se falou e culpar, na verdade, a sociedade sobre os preconceitos de nossa cultura.Com frases do tipo “eu não opero por uma ótica relativista absoluta” e vários “a nível de“, “aportes“, “qüestões” (sic) Marcelo Paixão falou muito em tolerância, diálogo e compreensão. Jô, teceu vários elogios à eloqüência do entrevistado e sua facilidade de falar, ao que atribui um dom natural. Provas de que foi algo arranjado? Dos dois livros escritos pelo Marcelo, nenhum deles era lançamento. Ao fim da entrevista, Soares errou o nome da faculdade em que ele leciona - era UFRJ e ele falou em UERJ. Para finalizar, somente uma pessoa puxou o aahhh, típico de finais de entrevistas interessantes.
Sr. José Eugênio Soares, pede para sair! Pede para sair!"

Mas ha' quem tenha feito uma 'leitura' diferente, e.g.: "o Prof. Marcelo Paixão da UFRJ, e coordenador do observatório Afro-Brasileiro foi entrevistado pelo Jô. Vale a pena assistir ao vídeo, pois, além de ser uma verdadeira aula sobre a questão do preconceito, mostra o quão o Jô está alienado sobre estas questões (se mostrou um verdadeiro babaca). É cômico ver a cara do Jô sem saber o que questionar ou comentar sobre as exposições do Prof., de tão atrapalhado e embasbacado, ele até quebrou seus óculos. Este foi um verdadeiro "cala-a-boca" no gordinho. Vale a pena assistir e divulgar." Comentario daqui, onde tambem se fica a saber que o Jo ja' apresentou ontem uma "desculpa esfarrapada"... 'a Lusa.

Entretanto, a Embaixada de Angola no Brasil parece ter-se decidido a dizer qualquer coisa... 'a Lusa (aqui).

[Clique na imagem para aceder ao video]

PROGRAMA DO JO SOARES: ABAIXO ASSINADO DE PROTESTO!

LEIA E SUBSCREVA O ABAIXO-ASSINADO AQUI

Leia post inicial "Etnografia de Curral ou Bestialidade Culturral" e comentarios AQUI

[Click na imagem para aceder ao video]

EDIFICIO PORTUGUES NA FINAL DO STIRLING PRIZE 2007

O Channel 4 (canal Inglês) irá brevemente transmitir o RIBA Stirling Prize 2007 (concurso que visa destacar e premiar obras de referência em termos de arquitectura moderna). Actualmente, o CHannel 4 tem a decorrer uma "votação" no seu site para encontrar o edifício que mais agrada ao público. Pela primeira vez, uma obra portuguesa aparece em destaque nesta votação – a Casa da Música.

[Mais detalhes aqui]

America's Cup Building

Casa da Musica

Dresden Station Redevelopment

Museum of Modern Literature

Savill Building


Young Vic Theatre

SUNDAY COVER & POETRY (VI)

[GET ROYAL SERVICE HERE]

{Poem: Double Wedding, 1615..., by Jane Yeh. Jane is a Lecturer in Creative Writing at Kingston University. Her debut collection, Marabou (Carcanet, 2005), was shortlisted for The Whitbread Poetry Prize and The Forward Poetry Prize For Best First Collection. in Life Lines 2/Poets for Oxfam/Edited by Todd Swift, 2007}

AFRICAN DIASPORA FILM FESTIVAL IN NEW YORK

The program for the 15th Annual African Diaspora Film Festival, which will take place in New York on November 23-December 9, 2007, has a special "Portugal and Africa Program," which includes old and new films about Lusophone African topics. The program lists many other interesting films, including some from Brazil.


_Cape Verde, My Love_ (2007, NY premiere), fiction - A film that takes a critical look at the lives of women in Cape Verde. Ana Ramos Lisboa, the director, will also participate on panels on Dec. 7 and 8..

_Escape from Luanda_ (2007, US premiere), documentary - profiles three students at the Music School in Luanda, culminating with their end of year concert.

_Nelio's Story_ (1997), fiction - the story of an orphan boy whose magical powers make him the leader of homeless boys in Maputo, based on Henning Mankell story.

_A River / Um Rio_ (2005, US premiere), fiction - based on a Mia Couto novel, about members of an extended family who gather to bury their patriarch, each person representing different aspects of recent Mozambican history.

_Tatana_ (2005), short fiction (12 minutes) - a grandmother appears after her death to help her grandson accept fate and death.

_Skin / Pele_ (2005, US premiere), fiction - set in 1970s Lisbon, about a mixed race young woman sorting out her identity.

For further information about venues and dates, as well as longer summaries of the film stories, see http://www.nyadff.org/.

(By Kathleen Sheldon - H-Net)

NOW THEY'RE CRYING FOR THE "SPECIAL ONE"...

Sinceramente, ando muito triste e condoida pelos meus ‘anfitrioes’ Ingleses…
Bolas, uma pessoa bem que torce por eles, mas… e’ mentira! Sao batidos no Rugby, sabotados na Formula 1, surrados no Cricket… haja do’...
Mas isso de nao ganharem nada de geito no Futebol, para quem o ‘inventou’… e’ mesmo demais!

Ontem la’ foram estrondosamente derrotados em casa pela Croacia (3-2), apesar de os jogadores terem jogado sob a perspectiva de receberem um premio extra de 250 mil libras caso conseguissem apenas empatar para que a Inglaterra se qualificasse para o Euro 2008… Enfim, uma dor de alma. Anyway, antes ainda de o jogo ter terminado, ja’ se ouviam na radio adeptos a pedir a cabeca do McClaren e a dizer: “bring in Mourinho!”

Meanwhile, McClaren, que ontem ao final do jogo dizia que nao se iria demitir, foi hoje demitido, (sacked!) pela FA da Inglaterra, enquanto o popular “The Sun” trazia como manchete estes dizeres: “Useless, pathetic, insipid, spineless, desperate, rubbish and all those other words we are not allowed to print in the nation’s favourite newspaper. England are the joke of European football.”

Pois que venha “the special one” a ver se ao menos se alivia um pouco de tanta dor!
E’ que isto de ‘anfitrioes’ frustrados as vezes da’ em ‘hospedes’ feitos “bodes expiatorios”…

BIRTHDAY BOY

SUNDAY COVER & POETRY (V)

>>>GET CONTENT HERE>>>



{Poem: Actually, by John Mole. John is a poet and an accomplished jazz clarinettist. He is currently the Poetry Society's Poet in Residence to the City of London. He is the author of Counting the Chimes: New and Selected Poems 1975-2003, from Peterloo. in Life Lines 2/Poets for Oxfam/Edited by Todd Swift, 2007}

"AFRICAN INTELLECTUALS IN THE BELLY OF THE BEAST"

As an African in the Diaspora, are you part of “The Comprador Intelligentsia”, a “Postcolonial Critic”, or a “Progressive Exile”? Or neither of these, or a bit of each?These are probably the questions you will be left with upon reading this article (or perhaps you’ve already read it and made up your mind…) by Francis N. Njubi, Ph.D, a Kenyan Assistant Professor of Africana Studies at San Diego State University.

Professor Njubi presents an in-depth historical analysis of the African Diaspora’s experience through the last century, emphasising such key issues as “The Meaning of Africa” and “The Fact of Blackness”. As an all-encompassing approach to the most pressing challenges facing the African Diaspora, it does not shy away from some of the most controversial issues affecting its communities, including the always controversial debates on race, racism and identity, or the occasional conflicts opposing African-Americans to African Migrants, or non-Southafrican Africans to nationals in South Africa. It also touches on issues raised in some of my previous posts, namely “Africa: What Price A Brain?” and “In a Statelessness State of Mind”.

In spite of not subscribing to all of its arguments, I found the paper to make for compelling reading, even now five years after its publishing.

Here are a few excerpts from it:

'African Intellectuals in the Belly of the Beast:Migration, Identity and the Politics of Exile'

by: Francis N. Njubi, San Diego State University

February 2002

© Francis N. Njubi

When W.E.B. Du Bois wrote of the "double consciousness"of Africans in America he was reflecting on the complex identities of the "talented tenth", the educated minority of a minority like himself who felt the alienation acutely because of their awareness that their qualifications meant little in a racist society. Thus, Du Bois argued that Black intellectuals are gifted with a "second sight", a "third eye" that allows them to gauge the white and the black while seeking to transcend this duality by creating a "better and truer self".

Though written in reference to the African-American intellectual, this duality, this sense of "twoness", is even more acute for African exiles today because they have fewer social and cultural ties to the West than Afro-Europeans and African-Americans. The exiles are much closer to the African "soul" DuBois refers to and are less prepared for the pervasive racism and second-class status that they have to overcome in the West. This duality is intensified by the sense of alienation and guilt engendered by the widespread demonization of exiles as selfish and ungrateful wretches who, as soon as they get their degrees, escape to greener pastures instead of using their education to uplift the poverty stricken societies that educated them at great expense.

This paper examines the "double consciousness" of Black African intellectual migrants in the West. It argues that the migrant is forced to come to terms with Africanity for the first time and that the resolution of this identity crisis is a political act which produces three "types" of migrant intellectuals: the comprador intelligentsia, the postcolonial critic and the progressive exile.

(…)

To complicate matters further, the migrants must also endure alienation from their countries of origin. Academic exiles are likely to be victims of government repression even before leaving their home countries. Many are pushed out of their countries after political disturbances at university campuses. Others are exiled because their political perspectives do not correspond with the dominant ideological dispensation of the time. Yet, these same forces that kept them from achieving their full potential at home demonize them for leaving instead of contributing to national development. These tensions between intellectuals and politicians have boiled over frequently in the postcolonial world, most recently in a shouting match between Ghana's President Jerry Rawlings and eminent Kenyan scholar Ali Mazrui during a conference in Davos, Switzerland in June 1999 (Mwagiru, 1999).

(…)

South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki has also joined the debate by urging educated Africans to relocate to South Africa and neighboring African countries instead of migrating to the West. Yet this option too, is complicated. Many educated Africans do spend some time in neighboring countries before migrating to the West. As stated earlier, Ali Mazrui was expelled from Uganda for his outspokenness. More recent cases have shown that turf battles between the migrants and local scholars make it difficult for the former to thrive in other African countries.

Professor Mamdani is a highly respected African political scientist who has taught at universities in East Africa and the United States for over twenty years. Yet, when he accepted a position as the director of the University of Cape Town's Center For African Studies in 1997, he found it impossible to overcome his image as an outsider in academic turf battles (Thornton, 1998). In spite of his high sounding position as Director of the Center for African Studies and his distinguished record in teaching and publications in the field, his syllabus for an introductory course in African Studies was rejected by an entrenched group of white "Africanists" (Mamdani, 1998, pp. 3-7). When he protested, he was suspended from teaching the course.

In the highly publicized debate that followed it became clear that the problem was one of perspective: Eurocentric versus Africa-centric.

(…)

The Meaning of Africa

Africanity is foisted upon the migrants the moment they arrive in the West. On the continent, most people in the rural areas live under ethnic categories like Kikuyu, Ibo, Hausa and Acholi. Some educated, middle-class and/or urban dwellers may see themselves as members of a nation like South Africa, Kenya or Tanzania. In some countries like South Africa, which has recently emerged from the crucible of apartheid, national consciousness is still strong. For most, however, "national" consciousness emerges only occasionally during Independence Day celebrations, international soccer matches or at election time.

"African" consciousness, however, is a rarity. It is in exile that the Nigerian-Ibo, South African-Zulu, Kenyan-Kikuyu person suddenly and unequivocally becomes an "African".

(…)

Yet, the condition of Africanity both marginalizes and expands Isegawa's horizons at the same time. He is no longer an Acholi or an Ugandan but an African. A member of that mythical race created by the White imagination as a foil and a justification for the holocaust of slavery and colonial exploitation. He is not only responsible for Somalia, Congo and Sierra Leone, but also tied inexplicably to the inner city gang-banger, street hustler and drug addict. In the likely encounter with the police profiler, skin color will trump national origin every time. Color also trumps education, erudition and accomplishment. None of these mean anything in a late night encounter with the police. In the New World, he is no longer an Acholi or even an Ugandan. He is an African, or more accurately, a Black man, thus automatically a suspect and a target for any White racist policeman, waitress, teacher or taxi-driver.

The Fact of Blackness

It would be a mistake, however, to leave the impression that "the fact of Blackness," creates a collective race consciousness, a natural unity among the African migrants and the native Black populations of Europe and America. This race consciousness is a rarity often limited to the politicized Pan-Africanist community. Most African descended peoples continue to see each other, and themselves, "through the eyes of others" as Du Bois put it.

(…)

Thus the migrant African intellectuals, who probably left neighboring African countries because they were unable to overcome their images as outsiders, find that they face the same problem in the United States. In this case the tension is between Diasporic- Blacks and Africans who are forced to compete for the few jobs set aside for Black scholars (African, African-American and West Indian) in the American academy. The problem, therefore, is the segregation of most Black scholars in historically Black universities and African and African-American studies departments. The fact that 49 percent of African immigrants have college degrees while only 14 percent of African Americans graduate from college adds a class dimension to the problem. The Bureau of Census reports, for instance, that the median household income of African immigrants is $30,907 compared to $19,533 for Black Americans (Bureau of Census, 1997).

(…)

Thus migrant African scholars must negotiate new identities that can no longer depend on the security of nationality and ethnicity but are not exactly Afro-European or African-American either. This dilemma of being --not exactly African but not Afro-European or African-American-- is the peculiar challenge of migrant African scholars. The resolution of this identity crisis is a political act that manifests itself in the lives and work of academics, producing three "types" of migrant intellectuals --the comprador intelligentsia, the postcolonial critics and the progressive exiles. This paper examines each of these categories and argues that we can best understand the crisis by drawing on W.E.B. Du Bois's theory of "double consciousness."

The Comprador Intelligentsia

One result of the civil rights movement was to open up employment opportunities to Black people in major universities, corporations and international organizations. African migrant scholars today are well positioned to take advantage of these opportunities by virtue of their education and contacts on the continent. This has produced a new class of migrant intellectual: The comprador intelligentsia. Members of the comprador class use their national origins, color and education to serve as spokesmen and intellectual henchmen for organizations such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

(…)

This strategy depends upon a cadre of Black government functionaries "who, though they are Black, pursue the interests of the Federal government at the table of the Black community"(p. 168). The new "pro-business black coalition ... has been to lead from the weak position of handing over the essential elements of the African agenda to major financial interests and thus, while Africa burns, playing second fiddle to those interests" (p. 169). This unabashedly corporatist institution has attracted high-profile African and African-American scholars and intellectuals. It has transformed Pan-Africanist solidarity into a quest for profit and recruited Black intellectuals and politicians as scouts and interpreters for rapacious corporations.

The Postcolonial Critic

Much like the compradors, the postcolonial critics take advantage of their color, nationality and location in the West to become expert interpreters of the African experience for Western audiences. They also play the role of the middlemen by serving as conduits of Eurocentric thought for African consumption through the adaptation of the latest trend in Euro-American perspectives to "explain" the African experience. This adaptation of Euro-American thought to the African experience has ranged from liberalism to various types of Marxism, to modernization, developmentalism and dependency/world systems theories.

(…)

Appiah's position is not unique. It is merely a re-statement of the doublespeak of the American neoconservatives who conjured up the term "reverse racism" to attack those who fought against White supremacy. This so-called "color blind" ideology has reversed the gains made during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and is actually commonsense among White Americans. It informs policymakers from the White House to the Supreme Court and has been used to justify the retreat from egalitarianism. As Howard Winant put it: “Today the theory of race has been utterly transformed. The socially constructed status of the concept of race, which I have labeled the racial formation process, is widely recognized (Omi and Winant 1986), so much so that it is now often conservatives who argue that race is an illusion."

(…)

In Dusk of Dawn (1940), for instance, Du Bois rejected the notion that "race" had any scientific basis. "It is easy to see that scientific definition of race is impossible", Du Bois stated. Yet he went on to argue that although race does not exist biologically, racism as an ideology does and has had a terrible impact on people of African and Jewish descent during the era of capitalism: “(...) But one thing is sure and that is that these ancestors of mine and their descendants have had a common history; have suffered a common disaster and have one long memory. The actual ties of heritage between the individuals of this group vary but the physical bond is least and the badge of color relatively unimportant save as a badge; the real essence of this kinship is the social heritage of slavery; the discrimination and insult; It is this unity that draws me to Africa.” (DuBois, 1940, 137-138)

Paul Tiyambe Zeleza (1997) argues that Appiah "protests too much" and fails to take into account the dialectical nature of racial oppression. As Zeleza puts it: "Racial discourses and theories are socially constructed ... but repudiating race theory does not make it disappear in politics. Race matters... because it functions as a marker and an anchor to establish and repudiate identity, status and position... Races exist because racism exists" (Zeleza, 1997,503).

The Progressive Exile

In "The Allegory of the Cave" Kenyan scholar-in-exile Ngugi wa Thiong'o discusses the role of exiles in African liberation (Ngugi, 1998). (...) Ngugi's allegory of the cave captures the migrant scholars' political dilemma in stark terms, making it clear that they have a choice of either serving the neocolonial system as witting or unwitting agents or using the knowledge they have gained from their sojourn in the West to liberate their fellows. The progressive exiles resolve the crisis of double consciousness by learning from the experience of exile while maintaining their identity as Africans.

Thus we see the politics of exile determining the perspective and location of African scholars across the ideological spectrum. Kwame Anthony Appiah, a descendant of the Ashante ruling class, who was schooled at Oxford University chooses to associate himself with the conservative, accommodationist strand of Black Studies while Ngugi wa Thiong'o, a descendant of Kenyan peasants, associates himself with the progressive strand of Black Studies.

The fact that they chose to work in the same garden despite their ideological differences demonstrates the power of Africanity in determining the politics of exile, even among the most talented of the talented tenth.

It is this power of Africanity, this "fact of blackness" as Fanon put it, that compelled African exiles and members of the African Diaspora to join Black people on the continent in the successful struggle to liberate South Africa from the jaws of Apartheid.

The theories and activities of exiles and revolutionaries like Julius Nyerere, Amilcar Cabral, Agostino Neto, Nelson Mandela and Eduardo Mondlane heavily influenced African-American activists (Walters, 1995; 59-65). (...) These global solidarity movements demonstrate that a united front of people of African descent as imagined by pioneering Pan-Africanists like Du Bois and Nkrumah is still possible, even critical, in the New World Order of global markets and corporate domination.

{Read Full Article Here}

AFRICA: ENCOURAGING PROSPECTS

The World Bank has just released its 2007 Africa Development Indicators (ADI) Report, which appears to be the most encouraging for the continent’s prospects over the last decade. The report is based on more than a thousand indicators covering economic, human and private-sector development, governance, environment, and aid. According to the Bank, “many African economies appear to be growing at the fast and steady rates needed to put a dent in the region’s high poverty rate and attract global investment.”
“Over the past decade, Africa has recorded an average growth rate of 5.4 percent which is at par with the rest of the world,” said Obiageli Ezekwesili, World Bank Vice President for the Africa Region. “The ability to support, sustain, and in fact diversify the sources of these growth indicators would be critical not only to Africa’s capacity to meet the MDGs [Millennium Development Goals on poverty, health and other issues], but also to becoming an exciting investment destination for global capital."
While ADI 2007 reported significant long-term gains for Sub-Saharan economies, it warned that the region remains volatile – a condition that has dampened investment. A revenue bonanza linked to skyrocketing oil prices has helped Africa’s seven biggest oil economies, which are home to 27.7 percent of the continent’s population. Rising prices of precious metals and other commodities have also benefited many other resource-rich African countries. But a group of 18 resource-poor countries – home to 35.6 percent of Africa’s population – have done as well as some oil-rich countries, if not better, sustaining growth of more than 4 percent over the last decade. Only politically turbulent Zimbabwe among Africa’s 17 slowest-growing economies posted negative growth.
The slowest-growing economies – home to 36.7 percent of the region’s population – are getting more fundamentals right, ADI 2007 found. These include better macro-economic management, greater investments in human resource development, and improvements in institutions and in the performance of the public sector. Past pessimism about Africa’s ability to grow and compete with the rest of the world “does not arise from the failures of Africa enterprise and workers. Rather, it arises from the fact that the continent faces an infrastructure gap and a level of indirect costs that are anywhere from two to three times as high as those in competing economies in Asia”, said the Bank’s Chief Economist John Page.
The indirect costs of exporting from Africa (18 to 35 percnt of total costs) are exorbitant compared to exporting from China (8 percent of total costs). Despite these obstacles, African exports expanded by over 11 percentage points on average between 2003 and 2006, according to ADI 2007. Finding an appropriate balance between investments in human capital and investments in physical capital will help sustain steady progress towards the MDGs and closing Africa’s infrastructure needs, the report said. The infrastructure gap is estimated at $22 billion a year or 5 percent of the region’s GDP. Besides infrastructure, accelerating and sustaining growth requires improving Africa’s investment climate, spurring innovation, and building institutional capacity to govern well, the report states.

[Find more details HERE]

AN INTRODUCTION TO CAPOEIRA ANGOLA (II)

THE MUSIC

“Where I come from we say that rhythm is the soul of life because the whole universe revolves around rhythm, and when we get out of rhythm, that is when we get into trouble…” - Babatunde Olatunji

For Capoeira Angola, unlike many games or martial arts, music is essential to play; without it the game is unimaginable. In this the art resembles many cultural manifestations of African origin, dependent on the intimate relation between music, movement, play, and spirituality. The music of Capoeira Angola is so important in part because it helps to integrate the body and mind of the capoeirista, and also because it contributes to the playful character of the game. Not only the speed, quality and intensity of the music determine the timing and movement of the players; the aesthetic demand that a player move in relation to the rhythm also prevents the art from becoming simplistic or purely aggressive. A good player must learn to balance the aesthetic and athletic, the artistic and combative aspects of the art simultaneously. Powered by the fusion of rhythms summoned by the musicians, moving to what is simultaneously a rhythm of dance and war, the capoeirista can often find unrecognized resources in her or himself or have experiences which can only be described as spiritual.

To say that the art is profound does not imply that it is not playful. On the contrary, it is exactly the blend of intimacy and respect, humour and gravity, which can make the roda (the ring in which Capoeira Angola is played) a place where the everyday and the spiritual can come together. For this reason, the roda is entered with joy and laughter, but also with profound reverence. It is music that, in so many cultures of Africa and the African diaspora, brings together the natural and supernatural, providing a common language through which gods and humans can communicate. The instruments and music of the roda are a link to religious traditions, not just musical accompaniment for the game.

Music also assures a relationship between the players and the audience. Through the music, the leader of the orchestra can help preserve the correct relationship between the players, prevent the contest from spinning out of control, and simultaneously add energy to the interplay. Sometimes this is done overtly in the lyrics of the songs – the singers may cajole, criticize, mock, praise, or challenge the players. Always, however, it is the unbreakable link between the music and the movement of the players – rhythm – that creates and maintains the roda.

THE ORCHESTRA

The instruments now used in Capoeira Angola, although mainly of African origin, were not wedded intimately to capoeira before the art’s arrival in Brazil. The traditional orchestra of a roda of Capoeira Angola consists of three berimbaus of different pitches, two pandeiros (tambourines), one agogô (double bell), a reco-reco (a notched bamboo scraper), and an atabaque (tall drum). The orchestra forms one side of the roda of Capoeira Angola, all the musicians arranged in a line.

The most important instrument in the orchestra, the musical heart of Capoeira Angola, is the berimbau, a musical bow with a single string. The instrument is constructed of a verga, a wooden bow preferably of beriba wood; arame, a steel string pulled from the sidewall of a car tire and strung on the verga; and a cabaça or hollowed gourd tied on the bow as a resonance chamber. The entire instrument is hung from the little finger, and a dobrão, a large copper coin, is held in the same hand to change the pitch of the string. To produce sound the string is struck with a thin piece of wood, held in the other hand, called a baqueta. A small wicker rattle, the caxixi, held in the same hand as the baqueta, makes the instrument complete, providing accompaniment to the alternating tones struck on the bow.

The three berimbaus in the orchestra are tuned to different pitches. The berimbau gunga (often referred to simply as the gunga), with the largest cabaça and deepest tone, holds the principal rhythm in a way similar to a bass guitar. It is the instrument which anchors the orchestra rhythmically and spatially, designating the place from which the players will enter the roda to begin playing. The berimbau médio also helps to maintain the rhythm, playing a rhythm which inverts that played on the gunga. The berimbau viola, with the smallest cabaça and highest pitch, performs improvised ornamentations or variations on the basic rhythm.

The gunga is usually in the hands of the mestre who is directing the roda. The choice of rhythm, or toque, made by the mestre will determine the character of the game and players recognize these basic rhythms in spite of variations improvised by the musicians. Reco-reco, agogô, pandeiro, berimbaus (gunga, médio, and viola), pandeiro, and atabaque, in this order from left to right, are in the position to start the roda of Capoeira Angola. The instruments must be in the hands of able musicians, as a strong, inspiring rhythm is absolutely necessary for the players to fully demonstrate their artistic ability in the roda.

TRADITIONAL RHYTHMS (Toques)

Whole books could be written about the different rhythms applied in the Capoeira Angola roda. Names and styles tend to vary between capoeira academics. Here we are presenting the most traditional toques.

The tempo, or speed, of a toque is determined by the musicians, especially the musicians playing the gunga. In general, the tempo of the music will increase as the game continues and the musicians urge the players to play harder. The tempo, however, is not the most important element that distinguishes one toque from another.

A toque is a pattern of notes played on the berimbau. The player uses the dobrao to alter the length of the string and produce one of three different tones: a low tone with the chord open, a high tone with the dobrao against the string, and a buzzing tone in which the dobrao is used to dampen the string’s vibration. The basic toque Angola, for example, is two quick strikes against a dampened string, followed by a low note, a high note, and a one-count rest. It might be spoken “tch-tch dong ding (rest).” The basic pattern for each toque can be heard clearly at the beginning of each example, as the gunga plays alone to set the toque and the starting tempo for the entire ensemble.
A musician playing the berimbau must be able to vary the cycle, improvising other rhythmic phrases that do not break the integrity of the toque. An excellent musician will respond to the other instruments, creating complex patterns and unexpected relations between them, and will, at the same time, respond to the game, even going so far as to convey to a player who is extremely sensitive to the music when and how to move.

When the musician playing the gunga either decides to change the toque or wants to get the players’ attention, he or she will signal by striking a steady stream of open notes on the berimbau. The players should respond instantly to this, recognizing that the toque is changing and their game similarly should change, or returning to the “foot of the berimbau” to end the game or receive instructions.

Angola

Angola is the traditional rhythm which begins the roda.

São Bento Grande

São Bento Pequeno

São Bento Pequeno and São Bento Grande are slightly faster than the toque Angola and are played later in the roda, when the game becomes more intense.

Iúna

Iúna is a rhythm created by Mestre Bimba to be used for games between advanced students.

Santa Maria

Cavalaria (Aviso)

Cavalaria is traditionally played to warn of a raid by the mounted cavalry or police, who often attempted to catch capoeiristas and supress various Afro-Brazilian cultural expressions which were believed to threaten authority. The rhythm imitates the hoof beats of the approaching horses.

Jogo de Dentro

Jogo de Dentro is one of the fastest and most beautiful rhythms in Capoeira Angola. During this toque, capoeiristas attempt to demonstrate their best game, playing as low to the ground and as close to each other as possible.

{You can listen to the music HERE}

SOBRE AS RELACOES BRASIL-ANGOLA

Extractos de um artigo ("Angola e Brasil Teem Pressa") a proposito da recente visita do Presidente Lula a Angola, publicado na edicao de Setembro deste ano da revista angolana “Figuras & Negocios” [Texto: Fabricio de Castro (do Brasil); Fotos: Antonio Cruz Abr]

No inicio de Novembro de 2003, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva visitou Angola pela primeira vez como Presidentedo Brasil. (…) Quase quatro anos depois, agora no seu segundo mandato, Lula volta a Angola. (…) Embora o tempo tenha passado desde o primeiro encontro, quando Lula pisar o solo angolano encontrara’ um pais ainda em reconstrucao. Nao faltarao assuntos para os encontros.
Os anos sem guerra nao foram suficientes para Angola resolver os seus problemas de infra-estrutura. Ainda falta, por exemplo, agua canalizada e esgoto para boa parte da populacao, e a industria angolana esforca-se para conquistar o seu espaco no mundo globalizado. (…) O Brasil de Lula tambem nao mudou na velocidade desejada. O presidente brasileiro conseguiu, nesses quatro anos, melhorar praticamente todos os indicadores da economia e manter a inflacao controlada. No entanto, o pais ainda esta’ distante do desenvolvimento. A Agua canalizada e o saneamento basico, por exemplo, ainda sao problemas para boa parte da populacao – assim como ocorre em Angola.


Guardadas as devidas proporcoes, Brasil e Angola sao paises que lutam para superar a pobreza. Para os angolanos, os brasileiros parecem mais ricos e desenvolvidos – basta ver a beleza estampada nas novelas da Globo ou da Record. Mas a realidade mostra que dos dois lados do oceano, os desafios sao imensos. Quando estiverem reunidos em Luanda, Lula e Eduardo dos Santos, poderao discutir acordos de cooperacao e – quem sabe? – reflectir sobre a realidade de cada pais. Talvez encontrem, juntos, uma explicacao para o facto de Angola ter sido considerado o 34-o pais mais corrupto do mundo em 2007, de acordo com a Transparencia Internacional. E o Brasil ter ficado na tambem nada honrosa 109-a posicao, entre 180 paises analisados.
Lula e Eduardo dos Santos, tambem, poderao tentar entender por que motivo e’ tao dificil fazer negocios nos dois paises. Num levantamento divulgado recentemente pelo Banco Mundial, o Brasil ficou na 122-a posicao no ranking de facilidade para fazer negocios. Angola, por sua vez, ficou na 167-a posicao, a frente apenas de outros 11 paises. (…) O Brasil, assim como Angola, tem dificuldades em areas como infra-estrutura, saude, transportes e educacao. A diferenca e’ que o Brasil esta’, de certo modo, alguns passos a frente de Angola. O Estado brasileiro, mesmo que apresente deficiencias, e’ democratico. Os seus representantes sao eleitos pelo voto directo e o pais e’ governado por uma Constituicao formal.


Angola, que em muitos aspectos se espelha com o Brasil, ainda luta para tornar a sua vida politica mais dinamica. Recentemente, o governo angolano chegou a sondar o arquitecto brasileiro Oscar Niemeyer para a construcao de uma nova capital para o pais. Niemeyer, ao lado do arquitecto Lucio Costa, foi o responsavel pela construcao de Brasilia, inaugurada em 1960.
Nao se sabe ao certo quando Angola tera’ uma nova capital – e se esta e’ uma prioridade verdadeira para o pais. Mas o proximo encontro em Luanda sera’ uma boa oportunidade para Eduardo dos Santos discutir com Lula um assunto que e’ caro ao presidente brasileiro: o da diminuicao da pobreza e das desigualdades. Tanto Angola quanto o Brasil ainda precisam de resolver as suas deficiencias. E os brasileiros e angolanos teem pressa.

GRAZING IN STRAWBERRY FIELDS

Miriam Makeba recorded “Strawberries” in 1961 on an Harry Belfonte-produced album called “The Many Voices Of Miriam Makeba.” The two of them sent me through music school in New York and created a first break for me when they had their contractor Al Brown come and get me out of class at Manhattan School of Music to come and play on four tracks on the album. Jazz D.J. Symphony Sid played this track every night on his WEVD radio program “Jumping With Symphony Sid” and this got me my first recognition and praise from American listeners and the music industry. My muted trumpet wailed hauntingly behind Makeba’s melancholy cries, even reaching musicians like Don Laka down in South Africa so much so that in 1997, when he was to produce our “Black To The Future” album, he insisted that we do it. I will never forget the sweet little girls from Mmabana Centre in Mafikeng who came to sing it with us, they made a beautifully innocent and sweet song out of it. Thank you little girls, thank you Ms Makeba, thank you Mr Belafonte, thank you my dear brother Don Laka. (Hugh Masekela, 2000)

Strawberries (Hugh Masekela)

“I remain an ardent admirer of Ms Makeba’s compositions, she is probably the most prolific writer to come out of Southern Africa.” (Hugh Masekela, 2000)

Strawberries (Miriam Makeba - 2003)

SUNDAY COVER & POETRY (IV)

(…)
Talking about gender issues she laments: “Young men should learn to be more gentile with women. They must not be like their older brothers, some of whom kiss and tell.” This reference is clearly directed at Hugh Masekela’s revelations about their marriage in New York City in the early 1960’s. She then recalls the words of her late ex-husband, Black Panther leader, Stokely Carmichael (aka Kwame Toure), whose speeches included: “We have to respect every woman, even a woman who is one day old. Why? Because some day she will grow up to be somebody’s mother.” And she adds words of disappointment: “One thing I’m not proud of was to marry Hugh Masekela.”
(…)
And Makeba also urges young South Africans to be more curious about their continent that has done so much for our liberation: “We have to stop it (xenophobia) and know that Africa belongs to us and we belong to Africa. And together we should walk and walk tall.”

¡GET MORE CONTENT HERE!

{Poem: What Is Exotic?, by Sujata Bhatt. Sujata is an India-born poet and translator. She received her MFA from the Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa and now lives in Germany. She has published seven collections of poems with Carcanet Press. in Life Lines 2/Poets for Oxfam/Edited by Todd Swift, 2007}

A STATE OF INDEPENDENCE...

It's 32 years today since Angola formally became independent from Portugal.

[A REPORT FROM THE TIME: HERE]

[A HISTORIA DO PIO' QUE ICOU A BANDEIRA DA R.P.A. A 11/11/75: AQUI]

ATE' VOCE JA' NAO ES NADA!...

E’ lancado hoje em Luanda o livro entitulado “Até você já não és nada!...”, do Sociologo Angolano Paulo de Carvalho, pela Editorial Kilombelombe (Luanda, 2007). Aqui fica a sua apresentacao pelo autor:

Neste livro, apresento o conteúdo das entrevistas feitas junto de pessoas portadoras de deficiência motora e sensorial na cidade de Luanda, no âmbito da preparação da minha tese de doutoramento em Sociologia.Tal como o leitor poderá constatar, as entrevistas contêm elementos ligados aos problemas sociais que boa parte da população angolana contemporânea enfrenta. Inserem também elementos sobre a forma como a história recente de Angola interferiu na forma de existência de um bom número de cidadãos angolanos.

Apresentam a habitual “face oculta” dos problemas de carácter psicológico e sociológico que o cidadão comum enfrenta no dia-a-dia, para garante da subsistência própria e dos seus dependentes. Apresentam ainda a forma mais ou menos subtil como um grupo seriamente marginalizado engendra estratégias de sobrevivência, normalmente abaixo do mínimo socialmente aceitável. Por outro lado, referem também a forma como, de um dia para o outro, se pode operar uma mudança radical na forma de encarar a vida, por razões alheias à vontade própria.

Ao ler as entrevistas, o leitor penetrará no submundo da marginalidade, numa cidade onde a marginalização social é endémica. O leitor tomará consciência da forma como se opera a discriminação dos marginalizados sociais e da forma como estes interagem com os demais, para garantia da sobrevivência. Verificará ainda de que forma as instituições do Estado são avaliadas, fundamentalmente devido ao esquecimento a que são votados os portadores de deficiência física – muitos deles, com deficiência adquirida devido a terem tomado parte de confrontos armados pela salvaguarda da integridade territorial, em nome desse mesmo Estado.


Com este livro, o leitor da cidade de Luanda (e de outras cidades de média dimensão de Angola) passa a ter elementos acerca de um mundo normalmente desconhecido, onde se chega ao extremo de alguns antigos oficiais das Forças Armadas se verem forçados a pôr de lado o “orgulho de oficial”, para se vergarem à mendicidade e aos riscos que daí advêm par a sua integridade psicológica. A decisão de publicação das entrevistas deve-se ao facto de elas conterem elementos que podem ter utilidade para investigadores e estudantes de vários domínios do saber, com particular destaque para a antropologia, linguística, psicologia (não apenas social) e sociologia.

Espero que este livro venha a contribuir para a sensibilização da sociedade angolana para o drama vivido pelos portadores de deficiência física – que, tal como descrevo em Exclusão Social em Angola. O caso dos deficientes físicos de Luanda [Edições Kilombelombe, Luanda, 2007] – são dos grupos mais atingidos pela situação de exclusão social em Luanda (e em Angola).

O autor

PARTILHA

Entrega

Afundo os meus navios
Olhando o quanto sou fogueira de velas muitas.
Marca na testa é sinal de deusa Musa.
Limpo o chão da casa dos meus súditos,
Colho as ervas finas do dia,
Ancoro repolhos no molho branco,
E digo não, quando quero.
Ademais, quem disse que eu presto?
Protesto demais pra uma coisa fêmea,
Memória me diz:
Lugar de mulher é no silêncio,
Tormentas, é homem quem sofre.
Estou em cada comboio de gente que busca alento em lugar,
Arreio, em comarcas, o meu assombro
Dessa lida de malas abarrotadas de pedras.
Minha mãe nem sabe da mesma sina.
Vontade sinto de cortar caminhos
Por onde passa esse rio vermelho.
Cansei-me, há muito, de ser,
Só trago continuísmos de lesmas.
Recuso-me a dormir calada,
Alada, voaria até o sol para derreter-me as asas.

Rita Santana

(Poema gentilmente 'cedido' por Maria Muadie')

OUTBLOGGING @ AFRICANPATH (VIII)

A COMMENT ON ISSA SHIVJI’S CRITIQUE OF MO IBRAHIM’S PRIZE

(Read Article Here)

SUNDAY COVER & POETRY (III)

For some content and really useful advice for women and everybody (Breast Self-Exam; Prevenção do Cancro Ovariano; Practical Measures Against Racism) click here.



{Poem: A Song To Heal, by Jean 'Binta' Breeze. Jean was born in Jamaica in 1957. Her poetry collections include the books Ryddim Ravings (1988) and The Arrival of Brighteye and Other Poems (2000). Several recordings of her work are available, including Hearsay (1994) and Riding on de Riddym (1996). Her latest book is The Fifth Figure (2006). in Life Lines 2/Poets for Oxfam/Edited by Todd Swift, 2007}

ETNOGRAFIA DE KURRAL, OU BESTIALIDADE KULTURRAL

"Ruy Morais e Castro e Jô comentam vida sexual de parte das mulheres angolanas"

Acabo de receber esta mensagem atraves de uma rede internacional de academicos especialistas em Africa:

"The video comes from one of the most famous Brazilian TV show (aired on June 18, 2007). One would expect rigid quality control of the invitees. Regretably, not in this case. What we see is the promotion of a book written by a Portuguese telling his "ethnographic reporting" of Angolan women - a reporting ridden with racist comments, lack of cultural sensitivity and even deep misunderstanding of the social phenomena in question. Nonetheless, it is treated as if the poor Portuguese man's book is a great contribution to anthropology of Angolan rural society. It is amazing that this sort of cultural distortion is still given privileged attention in the media."

Confesso que teria preferido nao o 'publicitar' aqui, mas pela relacao que essa questao tem com algumas das discussoes em que me tenho visto frequentemente envolvida numa certa "lusosfera", pareceu-me oportuno faze-lo. Evidentemente, o indignado autor do comentario acima nao sabe ate' que ponto, apesar das gargalhadas de fundo durante o show, este tipo de "etnografia" e' levado a serio, e ate' premiado (!), por alguns sectores no mundo lusofono...

O tipo de "cultural sensitivity" a que ele se refere e' tao familiar a alguns dos ditos "especialistas" nas varias culturas Africanas das ex-colonias Portuguesas, como as bestiais "interpretacoes etnograficas" da sexualidade das mulheres Angolanas apresentadas no dito show... trata-se apenas da "sabia" conviccao de que as Mulheres assim retratadas pelos seus "peritos olhares" lhes disseram, atraves de um qualquer "protocolo", que "a minha cultura e' a tua cultura", portanto "e porque ate' sabes mais sobre ela do que eu propria, vai mostra-la, explica-la, 'intelectualiza-la' aos olhos do mundo, porque eu nao sou capaz de o fazer, nao tenho voz, nao sou sujeito da minha propria cultura, sou um mero objecto... teu objecto"!

[Click na imagem para aceder ao video]

ANGOLA: 2007 "NATIONAL PRIZE FOR CULTURE & THE ARTS"

The Angolan “National Prize for Culture and the Arts” is awarded each year in the fields of Visual Arts, Music, Dance, Cinema and Audiovisuals, Literature, Theater and Research in the Human and Social Sciences. Created in 2000 by the Ministry of Culture, the award, whose monetary value is USD 35 thousand, aims at promoting artistic creativity and quality and scientific research in the country as well as to celebrate the national cultural and linguistic diversity.

According to the public and only daily angolan newspaper, Jornal de Angola, during this year’s announcement, Culture Minister Boaventura Cardoso said “this prize, like any other, always generates contestation or heated discussions. However, what is important to retain is that its objective is to award those who were considered the best in their respective fields by each year’s juri.”

This year’s awardees, announced a few days ago, were:

Cinema and Audiovisuals: The TPA (Public Television) show “Conversas de Quintal”
Dance: Group “Bismas das Acacias”, from the Benguela province
Literature: Poet Ana Paula Tavares for “Manual para Amantes Desesperados”
Music: Singer and composer Elias Dya Kimuezo for his lifelong work
Visual Arts: Painter and sculptor Rui de Matos (posthumously)
Research in the Human and Social Sciences: Antonio Costa for his investigation on the relationship between the Portuguese and Bantu languages
Theater: Group “Horizonte Njinga Mbande”

Personally, while congratulating the winners, I look forward to a time when privately-sponsored awards of this kind will come along to promote an even greater quality and diversity (specially political) in each of the currently considered, and possibly other, categories.

DE PAULO LARA, UM TESTEMUNHO PARA A HISTORIA: CHE E ANGOLA

E’ com enorme prazer que tenho a honra de publicar aqui hoje, em primeira mao, um documento unico e exclusivo: as memorias de Paulo Lara sobre o encontro de Che Guevara com Agostinho Neto, Lucio Lara e outros dirigentes do MPLA, que marcou, em 1965, o inicio das relacoes entre Cuba e Angola. Trata-se de um testemunho pessoal, relatado com a sensibilidade e profundidade analitica proprias de quem, tendo observado, vivido e sentido momentos impares da Historia de Angola, de Africa e do Mundo, nao deixa, contudo, que ao seu olhar sobre eles falte objectividade e sentido critico.
Nao menos importante, este documento, contendo fotografias ineditas, constitui tambem um crucial instrumento corrector de alguns estabelecidos relatos historicos que pecarao por vicio de imprecisao e/ou distorcao dos factos em causa. Enfim, sem mais delongas de minha parte, aqui ficam as suas proprias palavras:


Há 40 anos desapareceu uma figura que se tornou lendária no mundo inteiro. Na linguagem agora em voga, poderíamos até dizer “globalizada”. Mas, para os angolanos, não se trata simplesmente desta figura que vemos passar colada aos carros, em algumas bandeiras ou nas tatuagens agora na moda em alguns jovens. Trata-se sobretudo daquele que protagonizou as primeiras relações oficiais entre o Estado Cubano e um Movimento de Libertação Angolano. Tendo sido, com muitos outros, um mero assistente do encontro em Brazzaville, a pedido de alguns amigos, decidi-me a fazer este pequeno relato testemunhando alguns momentos da visita de Ché Guevara à delegação do MPLA naquela cidade, num dos primeiros dias do mês de Janeiro de 1965.


Ao invés de visões sensacionalistas, ideológicas ou imaginativas que têm caracterizado algumas referências feitas ao revolucionário cubano-argentino, procurou-se relatar aqui um momento histórico que ligou aquela figura ao continente africano, e mais particularmente a Angola. Figura extremamente polémica no seio do movimento revolucionário mundial em meados do século passado, Ché Guevara não deixou de ser aquele que estabeleceu as relações diplomáticas de Cuba com vários actores internacionais africanos (e não só), sendo estes, Estados ou Movimentos de Libertação.


Para um melhor entendimento daquele período, e para estimular o interesse à leitura e o estudo da nossa história e não só, incluímos a visão de dois protagonistas e de um historiador. O de Jorge Risquet, que foi o primeiro responsável do destacamento cubano que seguiu para o Congo Brazzaville donde sairiam alguns instrutores para treinar os angolanos, e que posteriormente viria a ser o chefe da missão cubana na República Popular de Angola, que resumidamente explica os principais contactos feitos por Ché no Congo. O do historiador americano Piero Gleijeses que teve acesso a diferentes fontes abertas e ainda confidenciais sobre as relações de Cuba com o continente africano, que se refere ao possível conteúdo do encontro tido, bem como a uma polémica visita realizada a uma base guerrilheira do MPLA por Jorge Serguera, primeiro embaixador cubano na Argélia e que acompanhou Guevara durante parte do seu recorrido africano, cujo relatório teria levado a uma avaliação incorrecta de Cuba sobre as verdadeiras capacidades do movimento nacionalista. Inserimos aqui um contributo nosso baseado em alguns documentos e entrevistas em torno desta visita.


O extracto do relatório de Ché Guevara, elaborado depois da sua retirada das matas congolesas da região dos Grandes Lagos, permite apreciar a ideia geopolítica que tinha para aquela parte do continente africano.
Com base nos dados actualmente existentes, incluímos uma cronologia de contactos havidos entre angolanos e cubanos, no quadro da luta nacionalista, antes do encontro oficial de Brazzaville. A efectivação de um provável encontro entre Ché Guevara e Savimbi durante o seu famoso périplo africano tem sido motivo de referência por alguns historiadores. Achamos oportuno inserir uma análise de Jorge Risquet em que demonstra a grande improbabilidade do mesmo se ter realizado.

Paulo Lara
Luanda 8 de Outubro de 2007

© COPYRIGHT PAULO LARA E CENTRO DE DOCUMENTAÇÃO TCHIWEKA. TODOS OS DIREITOS RESERVADOS.

(Obrigada Paulo)


{Continue a ler aqui: Parte I e Parte II}