Old Memories of Libreville🌴🌞/1

This picture was taken downstairs at the building appartments in Libreville where I stayed last year. On the back there is the front sea and we could go walking and breathing the breeze... I miss all that now. The sun, the sea, and the trees. The quiet moment that I like. We also have some beautiful hibiscus flowers (red, pink and yellow ones) my favorite ones. O well, today I felt inspired to share some old good and sweet memories of my beloved hometown again. It pains me to see everything falling apart. O God...I can do nothing about it...It is painful to be helpless and see everything falling apart. I think I love my country so much. Thanks to my parents who always told me how important it is to remember where you come from. I know Libreville doesn't look like it was before. It has unfortunately lost everything that we used to love. Ha! My sweet little ville...There is still a life there... There was a beautiful life there! There was a special life there. Love is all we need again in Libreville. This is a post of old memories of Libreville. Sorry! This post is Not edited. i have not enough time. I am lazy to write these days.

As i am listening to some retro zouk music this afternoon, I am suddenly taken back in times. I see myself young again . I see the surprise parties of young people that we used to have in town. We called it in French "Boom" Someone would invite you to a boom at his or her home with a card and it was usually a night party. Parents were not there usually they would leave the house to the young people to have fun on their own. The older siblings would join but also supervise the party. My lover (when I was a child) was my direct neighbor. He was from Cape Verde and he was so sweet! A nice gentleman lol!. Prior to him, I had my neighbor with who I was so close who liked me so so much. She was from the Mauritius. The sweetest girl ever! When she moved out to another area in town, I was so so sad. her parents needed a bigger place. She was a very good friend! I saw her once again but then later she left Gabon. That girl marked me so much with her love. We were going in the same school in town . I wonder where she is now? What she has become? We had good afternoons together. I discovered snacks from her island. Then after few months later, my lover went to my neighborhood. He moved in our area right next to my home and we became very close the first time we met. It was funny how he looked like a doll with his curly auburn hair. That was the first time I met someone from Cape Verde. It is a beautiful Portuguese island in west Africa not far from Senegal. His family and him were speaking often their Portuguese Creole. I wanted to learn the language because it was beautiful. His older sister braided my hair sometimes in their home on the afternoons. Sitting on the stairs we would all have fun conversations of young as a family. She was so beautiful as well but her hair was dark black! He liked to bring me flowers that he cut in his home or mine (smile) I loved it! Whenever I was coming back to school after resting, he would be sitting on the wall and call me with signs and I would go meet him. We could spend hours talking, playing and laughing until my older sister called me to come back to do my homeworks. He was like my best friend. One night he invited me to the boom that his older brother and sister were organizing. My parents were abroad (which was good lol!) and my mother's God daughter who was older than me took me there because she also knew his family. We jumped the wall by night (around 8 PM) and went to the party. Everybody was dancing. Except me and my dear lover because we were so shy and too young. But he took my hands and made me dance. In the Boom, young people would often play retro zouk music (in French creole) . I have a post on Carribean music in this blog. We danced some Gabonese songs and French ones too. From groups like Zouk Machine and Kassav (these groups were so famous in the French world at the times) My young aunt, my mother's young sister, liked to make me listen and dance to the rythm and music of Kassav. Kassav went to Libreville in the 80's for a great concert.

Eric Virgal, Guilou were also well known at the time with some trendy French songs like this one below. This song was so soothing as the saying goes "music soothes the soul". Lovers liked to dance it. We used to call it "Slow" at the time. When you danced Zouk music or slow, you held your dance partner very close...And you enjoy the song and the moment. Just like in the scene of the movie Bodyguard of Whitney Houston with Kevin Costner. There is a scene where they danced together slowly and she closed her eyes. This song of the French group Image" En Exil" was so trendy at the time in most of the boom.s in town.

I remember when I was in summer after my third high school year in the 90's, my cousins organized a nice boom with their friends and some of my other cousins as well. It was so fun. One of my cousins put me some make up and did my hair to appear more grown up and more feminine because I was kind of GARÇON MANQUÉ by my style. She gave me heels and I am telling you the way I was walking was so funny! But it was one of the best times of my life! We had every types of music played like Ultimate Kaos singing Casanova, The Cranberries singing Dreams, etc but they also put some old school songs of my country to relax the guests. We were young but love the old songs too. That one I loved it so much when they played it at my cousin's party. It is from Pierre Claver Akendengue "Ilowi" is so so beautiful! It is like living the very old Libreville of the 70's. We call it biguine. Beguine is a style of dance and it is kind of fun and romantic all at once. You would see people from Africa and French Carribean countries dance beguine. It was very popular in the 70's and the 80's. We danced that song with so much happiness and innocence that night! I always recall this beautiful moment. Yes, I grew up in a cultural melting pot.

So many good things guys! The old memories of my little hometown Libreville. Even if things were not perfect, we still had a life. We were living and enjoying our life in this little city. But in 2019 I was back home for few years and I had another experience of living in my own country. That new Libreville that I do not know...unfortunately. Still, I miss my time spent in my appartement in town center, watching at the sea and admiring the sunrise and the sunset from my bay windows. It was magical. It was wonderful and inspiring. I called it the magical hours!

I felt so inspired to write often. I think I wrote so many posts at the time I was back home. Since I left recently,I can't even write anymore I can only talk...yes, there are moments like that.

And If you were my friend or a beloved person close to my heart and I invited you to my hometown I would definitely send you a message with this beautiful song of Libreville at the end of my email. An old song of the 80's sung by Guilou. And when you catch your flight back to your home country leaving my little city Libreville, I would again send you that song to remember the best times spent with me in my hometown. Because everything is in the beauty of the soul, the heart and love. It was sweet to live in Libreville back in the days...Ok! Don't cry Laetitia, don't cry. This is Guilou "Libreville"

It felt good to live in Libreville in the 80's and 90's when I grew up...Yes, there were so many things that could upset you but still there was a reason to live. Libreville was a friendly city to anyone who was coming to stay. I remember in the 90's one of my cousins, was living in an appartement at the sea side. The complex building was named "Les Terrasses de l' Estuaire" those buildings were so nice and chic at the time. I liked to spend some days and afternoons there during Summer. My home was not far from there so i could often go there. She has some good friends. Among them was a former Miss Gabon (Beauty pageant winner in the 90's I think) she was a beautiful lady. (I need to pause this post a little bit... Too many stories all at once)

She would come some afternoon to my cousins'place and take us with her in her errands and visits. You would always discover interesting things in town with her. She was a business woman on her own. A good entrepreneur passionate about Arts in general. One day we went to the Intercontinental Hotel 'Okoume Palace" not far from the appartments. She took us to the hotel where we met a Haute Couture jewelry designer from Netherlands/Ivory Coast. He had so much talent. His jewelry were inspired by the African Queen Pokou (of Ivory Coast) at the time. I was so amazed when I saw the collection he showed to us in his hotel room. The designer worked for Fashion Haute Couture in Paris , New York City... My cousin and her friend ( the former Miss Gabon) were trying and commenting these beautiful pieces of Arts of necklaces. I was admiring his work. By the way I put the link of the designer here because he still creates today. https://www.instagram.com/inkrayable/ He was in Libreville for a fashion show that year in the 90's The designer is so talented. I never forgot his work. Me, my cousin and her friend who was Miss Gabon we had so much fun in the hall of the hotel that day. Chatting, laughing...Brief! Living our best life you know!

In Libreville, I also remember the good family times I had. One of my aunts on my father side, would invite us for lunch time at her place. My father who would pick me up sometimes at high school when he was in town, took me to her home. We spent good times with other family members. My aunt liked to gather us. I think she took this habit from her late father. I liked visiting her place because it was almost like a mini museum. You know how I love History. Her father was the first president of my country. He didn't live long but he had his impact at his time. I could see all his pictures and paints made by artists. Also some sculptures of him that were made when he was alive and she had all the collection in her living room. He raised my father since his young age. He did primary school to high school at his home. My father admired him so much. He was like his father to him. His brutal and sudden death had completely devastated him and the entire family. He learned his death when he was studying in America. We never understood what really happened...His disappearance still left indelible pain that never had clear answers. He still lives in us and in each family member with souvenirs and portraits. But we don't know...what happened. We could never talk about that. In Gabon, it is like we cannot talk about him really. But my father sometimes openly talked about him while he was doing his political activism. He was the reason why. My grand uncle loved my country so much and he passed it to his children and my father. Then, me too. It was like he had to disappear from people's memories. This is a painful chapter... My aunt is no more. She also passed away few years ago after battlng a cancer for years. She was so elegant and well educated.

Libreville, my little hometown. It was good living in the 80's. There was a desire to live and to create in the 80's and 90's. My cousins on my mother side with my siblings would always have gatherings. At the end of the school year, we have school fairs too. I would go to my siblings'school named "Gros Bouquet" with my cousins spend some hours there to have fun then, after that, our parents would take us to my cousins'school fairs too at their school "Les Charbonnages" I remember I played some games there and I won some prizes not knowing how. lol! I was just sucking my thumb while choosing answers and I kept winning. yep! an old little girl still sucking her thumb because I wanted to. Lol! I even won a rabbit with pink eyes but my mom said we could not take it to home. We had to leave that cute rabbit and was so sad. We had so much fun under the sun! There was a place in town named " Le bowling Store" where youth could go play bowling, roller skates and later go to the movie theater. It was the best times! Young people liked a place called Le cabaret des Artistes where youth of the town would do rap competition and perform some songs. The Saoti Club was a place where people would go play and learn sports lesson (Martial arts, swimming, tennis...) Some afternoon, my mother's best friend would take us to picnic at the beach, but also to some events organized by school at the Intercontinental Hotel to see live puppets show. She even took us to a circus that took place in the stadium in Libreville (it was the first time that I attended a circus) A little memory of a song 🎵 🎶 that was popular in the 80's

Some afternoons we were going to the French Cultural center and the American cultural Center to go learn and discover Arts but also read books. And when it was time for Summer we would pack our stuffs to fly abroad for our vacations. Most of these places are no more in Libreville. Can you believe it?! I am sad for the young gereneration in my country. Life has no excitment and inspiration. I am very sad for them. All this is done on purpose... Well, I guess I went too far in my memory lane. At least you have an idea of my small town. By the way do you know that the Dalai Lama went to Libreville in 1993? Yes! he went to Libreville then, went with a delegation to visit the Place where Dr Albert Schweitzer lived and rest in Lambarene. It was a great event with many officials and internationals. Lambarene is a little town in Gabon. That was the first time he put his feet in Africa. I don't know if he went back in the continent later again. Picture taken by: Rene Nething. I found it in a beautiful page of Gabon memories named Gabao Vintage.

This is the well known French singer, Serge Gainsbourg and his wife Bambou in Gabon for a movie he was making at the time. That movie was later presented at the Festival of Cannes. The movie name is "Equateur"

This a picture of one of the best high schools at the time in Libreville. Lycee National Leon Mba named after the first president of Gabon. I always wanted to study there. My older sister and brother studied there but their uniform was different. I enjoyed waiting for them at the sea front since it faces the beach. We were waiting for them to come out from classes in the cars. That picture is old maybe from the early 70's As you can see their uniform were very authentic to the country

Not far from there are the apartements "Les Terrasses de l'Estuaire" where I was spending times at my cousin's place. In the second picture you can see some international students standing on the sand of the sea but on their back a huge building. That was Intercontinental Hotel "Okoume Palace" standing. This hotel hosted so many good events. Michael Jackson was there to watch children's welcome performed for him. The hight school have changed a lot today. Their uniform later became navy blue with a white shirt. Most of the best intellectuals of my country came from that high school. I dreamed to study there.

Many events took place in that hotel "Okoume Palace" In 1993 there was the African/ Afro-American summit in Libreville. In the picture two well known guests Coretta Scott King (wife of the late Civil Rights movements MLK) next to her Islam Minister Farrakhan (picture source: Gabao Vintage page)

Many events took place in the city. Today it is no more... We had visits of many American, European and African well known public figures in the entertainment world, sport and politics. I always remember our panafrican radio AFRICA N1. I miss listening to this radio. We had the best shows like the Mysterious Adventures with the late Patrick Nguema Ndong, etc. I learned so much in African music from the whole continent because of Africa N1. The Panafrican and diaspora radio. We were making good movies at the time. Gabonese were creating so much! What happened to us? Things are so so different now. It is sad The 90's were shifting into another era of enough is enough but then "they" still controlled the people and what happened next? Little by little the downfall started then it went really fast. Why? I am the last gneration who saw the little good left. The city looked like nothing today... I told you so many stories about my hometown. Funny and sad stories. Inspiring stories as well. Yes, it was nice living in this little town... Spending family time. Spending time with some friends. I miss my beautiful city like it was before. I miss my little city. I see it again as if it was yesterday. Today Libreville is a sorry place... desolation. well...No comment. Ok! I think I shared a lot in this blog. It was really long! Too much nostalgia I think. I really try hard to write today. I do not write often anymore. I get lazy and get tired to write. I should close this post here. Thank you for reading. By the way I share here the cover of my last book "Destination Libreville" It is a guide for living in this city. It is in Amazon.com

I close with this beautiful song of Naika, a young lady from Gabon who sings "Elombe". An old song of a Gabonese artist by the name of Francois Ngwa. She is the new school who sings an old school song of the 90's. It is in one of the native languages of Gabon called Omyene. Naika is a so beautiful, feminine and talented young artist. Elombe is a song of a man who is sad and thinking about a lost lover...He is sad and ask question about this lost love that he had with a lady. He recalls the best moments together and now he knows he misses her. He misses her warmth her voice. He probably wonder who will take her place after all... or maybe not because he keeps thinking about her. Who knows what will happen to him? Naika takes us back to the old school love that was so pure and innocent. I love this song! It also takes me back with Naika's voice this time. She puts a smile on my voice whenever I hear her singing this song. And now what? Now I am closing this post tonight. I am going to sleep my head full of memories of my little sweet hometown. I miss everything. Yes, and me, I will always say this: "I love you Gabon forever. My forever love. The land of my heart." Enjoy! Naika "Elombe" and thank you for passing by...

My website: www.poshenvogue.com