I only got to catch one movie all weekend, the very disappointing comedy “Africa Paradis.”Taking place in 2033 after Europe has declined into poverty, colonialism and war while the recently created United States of Africa has become the center of global wealth, the movie follows the attempt of a French couple to illegally immigrate to Western Africa.It’s a wonderful premise, yet they blew it.The movie is low-budget, boring, and melodramatic.
I also only caught one session of the series of conferences on the history of slavery.Predictably, there were no Senegalese there, with more French people in the crowd than Africans born and still living in Africa.For inane reason most of the discussion ended up being about diversity training for teachers in France.Queen Mother Blakely brought up reparations and the response was underwhelming.
The concerts, however, didn’t disappoint.
The music was good and varied, even though the only representatives from the Diaspora were some Martinicans performing Martinican folkloric music and dance, and Netsayi, a black British “acoustic soul” singer who also sings in Shona.She gets credit for putting female instrumentalists on stage (a rare sight in Senegal, where the only women on stage are young, pretty “singers”) and for actually saying something in her songs.Still, it’s regrettable that there was only one non-Francophone artist.Then again she was sponsored by the British Embassy, and it’s not like the Brazilians or Cubans can afford to send someone or Senegal afford to bring them.Beyond that there were some tedious Mbalax bands, a gnawa band which made me really nostalgic for Morocco and the highlight of the weekend, the Senegalese hip hop, R&B, and dancehall trio Daara J.I had seen them perform on SummerStage in Central Park last year, and remembered how the crowd just wasn’t ready for them.This time though they came on at 3 AM on a Saturday playing before their core audience of young, working-class Dakarois men and they put on a great, high-energy show which woke everybody up.It made up for having to take the ferry at 4 AM and then having to waxale with cabdrivers while my teeth were chattering due to the cold.
