A Tribute to Caribbean Music

Music From Caribbean!

    As you can see I favor Music a lot! Music is my main hobby if I can say it this way. I Cannot stay a day without listening to music. I think music is a good therapy especially when you are stressed. I even watched some TV documentaries and read some testimonies where people actually explain the benefits of music and how listening to music improved medical conditions. In fact, I like to discover music from other countries. Usually artists use music as a mean of communication or to express their feelings or to show their cultures. Sometimes I found myself listen to songs in other languages and I do not even understand the lyrics but the fact that music is connected to soul makes me want to listen to them more and more. I feel like being cradled in another world with the waves of the sounds. Just by looking pictures of these islands, ones will think they are in paradise. (The pictures are not mine)

I put some links of where I picked these pictures below

 I was thinking about writing a post about music of French Caribbean many times ago but I thought  will also include the Portuguese creole 'songs as well. Because I grew up with this type of music since my early age till now, I felt like I should share and say something about it. Just picture a nice afternoon in a nice island, you are sitting on the beach and enjoy the smell of the ocean or you can simply be in your bathtub full of foam and bubbles. You have some scented candles around, you feel relaxed and comfortable. Then, you listen to songs in French or Portuguese creole. I am so proud and happy to be open to other cultures and that is what my "Carnet de Voyage" is all about. My Carnet de Voyage takes you to another world and another place where you simply enjoy life.

La Compagnie Creole "Vive le Douanier Rousseau"

Music from Caribbean is really special but first I have to explain that the lyrics are mainly talking about Love in general. It can be a broken heart or a hope of love or a love that is unbreakable. (however it can be lyrics about happiness and delightful life like the songs that of this group "La Compagnie Creole" that I post) La Compagnie Creole was a famous group when I grew up. Their style was really  (beguine) biguine! Zouk music is usually for people who know what it is to be in love and ..."romantic!" If you are not romantic, well, it will be difficult for you to enjoy this music but still I believe that It does not hurt to try to listen  to it sometimes.

Guadeloupe Island

additional music

The French Caribbean for instance are composed of islands like Martinique, Guadeloupe, Marie Galante, Guyana, Reunion, St Pierre et Miquelon, La Desirade, Les Iles St Martin and many others. Usually the music from some of the places there is called "Zouk" the dance is called "La Biguine". They speak Antillean Creole or if you want it is simply a French creole. (If I am wrong for some of the information please feel free to drop a comment below in the box and I will see how to update it. I will really appreciate it but I know most of it is right!

Two young ladies in traditional clothes (Martinique) I love this picture!

La Compagnie Creole "Ba Moin en ti Bo"

 O! By the way. Just a sweet memory about that song "Ba Moin En Ti Bo" that I want to share with you. It reminds me of the times at the primary school we would have that song playing and most of the Compagnie Creole's songs during the school's fairs and carnivals. The kids would be really dressed up (or some costumes) from home and the nice tropical sun, the birds singing in the blue sky, the palm and coconut trees...The ocean coast was not that far so the atmosphere was really good! It felt so good to live! Everybody was happy so kids would be running everywhere and we would have some cakes, candies I mean everything!!! Teachers were really nice to us when such events took place. Usually we had different games around but once the party was finished my nice dress was completely stained because of all the goodies !!!

"Awww !! Thank you La Compagnie Creole for these good times under the tropics! You were one of the best group ever!"

Nice dance!

 Most of African people like music from the Caribbean because there is a strong African rhythm influence and connection. We all know the dark part of the human History when many young African people were forcibly deported (slavery) from the continent to go to America. There, another culture was created and it is this originality in the sounds of that music which make us like it. Here in my post I will also share some Kizomba songs. Ok! people tend to confuse Kizomba and Zouk. I can say it is not really different in terms of lyrics which quite often is a tribute to Love and relationships however, the rhythm is different. Kizomba is a mixture of Angolese traditional music and Portuguese music (Remember that Angola, Green Cap, Sao Tome, Mozambique are countries and Islands in Africa which were colonized by Portugal). You can feel the mixture of the cultures in it. This music is a type of Zouk I will simply say.

 La Compagnie Creole "Bon Baiser de Fort de France" (Kiss from Fort de France)

I remember that this song"Kiss from Fort of France" we used to sing it in class at school and at home during Xmas times. This song reminds me of so much good memories. Maybe some of you  would think that this culture or songs are a little bit strange etc. Which I perfectly understand but they meant the world to us and we loved everything about it! Many times since my young age, I dreamt about going there and spend good vacations.

That song has completely changed my understanding of celebrating Xmas forever. When I was young it was difficult to think Xmas without snow, chimneys everything like in the western culture because that was what we saw in books at school and on TV. It was frustrating because I could not see the snow falling in my country because no snow can fall in tropical countries. I could not see Santa like in the books. But after listening to that beautiful song "Bon Baiser de Fort de France" (Kiss From Fort of France)  I realized that Xmas can also be fun under the tropics with the sun and our trees. We could decorate our native trees and that was original too ! Santa could just walk home to home and that was ok! I realized that it was ok to have doors opened everyday. It's even more fun because we could go playing out as much as we wanted without having to worry to catch cold. No need to be covered too much!

Thank you La Compagnie Creole!

The artists that I chose are mainly from Guadeloupe islands, Martinique islands, Haiti, Reunion islands, Green Cap (cabo verde) and Angola (in Africa)...I picked and mixed some of the retro zouk (some old ones) with some recent ones. You will notice some little differences in the vibrations and rhythms. When listening to Caribbean music I feel myself carried away in the tropical delights and I want you to experience the same thing. Take a time to listen to the videos below that I picked from www.youtube.com, the songs are my selection of the singers or songs that I like to listen especially when I need to relax. They are well known songs. Unfortunately I won't be able to translate the lyrics but enjoy the music! If you have some comments thank you to post them below I will gladly read them and reply.
Now Enjoy the tropical delights!!

Guilou Lafage: "Libreville" this song is a tribute to Libreville capital city of Gabon

Guilou :"Vin O Swe La"

Zouk Machine "Pissime Zouke"

Zouk Machine "Sove Lanmou" (To Save Love)

Zouk Machine "Maldon"

the Famous group Kassav

Jocelyne Beroard "Siwo"

Tanya St Val "Boogie"

Eric Virgal "Pa fe mwa la pen" (Don't hurt me)

Eric Virgal ft Orlane "Notre Histoire" (Our story)

Perle Lama "Emmene Moi" (Take me)

 Eric Virgal ft Orlane  "Viv Epiw" (Living married)

Perle Lama "Aime Moi Plus Fort"

Talina "je Jure" (I Swear)

Orlane "Quelqu'un Comme Toi" (Somebody Like You"

Leila Chicot

Princesse Lover

Double Effet "Mwen lovely"

Sonia Dersion;"Natirel"

Jocelyn Labylle ft T Vice " I want to see you"

Alan cave "Se pa pou dat"

Jocelyn Labylle "Quand tu Veux" (Whenever you want)

Jocelyn Labylle is my favorite! I like her so much!

Jocelyn Labylle "Ma petite Lumiere" (Ma little light of mine)

Tina "Reviens Moi" (Come back to me)

Teeyah ft Miguelito "Mon bebe" (My Baby)

Teeyah; "Oui je peux"

and many others...Some Kizomba songs now:

"Ai Amor"

Johnny Lima "Always in my Heart"

Mariza "Terra Franca"

 web links where pictures were taken:

http://www.happytellus.com
http://cafe.themarker.com
http://hqworld.net/gallery/data/media/154/cascade__basse-terre_island__guadeloupe.jpg
http://www.panierdesiles.com/I-Grande-188-les-jeunes-filles-en-costume-traditionnel.net.jpg

Les Patacolors! J'adore!

                            Les Patacolors! J'adore!

   For those who always wonder why do I have this strange nickname "Patacolor"? This post is a way to reply to them. I was inspired by the title and the story of this children's book to create my nickname. Yes, "Les Patacolors J'adore!" ( in English translated as: "The Patacolors, I love!" I still have that child spirit part in me and I do not think there is something wrong in it. People can be different and it does not mean that they are not ok because they do not think or do things like everybody.The book was written in the 80's by French authors: Fanny Joly, Claude and Denise Millet. It is from the collection "J'aime Lire" that I can translate in English as "I like reading".The idea came to me when I was a child after reading that book. I became member of a group of kids of different cultures who wanted to create a good harmony and environment in the area where we were living...Well, it's a long story. s you can tell It is simply kids' story but if you know me you will find out that I like creativity. I mean everything different than what people like or do.I believe that sometimes you can do things different in order to be happy.

The book's cover

 Back to my book; "Les Patacolors! J'adore" the first time I read it, I was impressed by the story and the name. I could read it again and again. When asked what will be my nickname in the group, it naturally came to me: "Call me Patacolor". " Les Patacolors J'adore" is the story of a boy named Adrien Pigeon who had a strong passion for TV commercials. He could do any competition to show to his classmates that he was good at it. In the story, he wanted to be known for his talent. He had the opportunity to play a role of a Native American for a TV commercials,who likes to eat the patacolors. The idea was to promote this product on TV. I remember that the color of the pasta was really colorful but Adrien had hard time faking the part that he likes eating the Patacolors in front of the camera because they did not have a great taste at all. In the story, at the end he even got sick because he forced himself to eat the Patacolors for the TV commercials. It was a success but Adrien ended up being sick for few weeks after the whole experience. The story was funny and interesting!
For me choosing the word "Patacolor" represents the colorful part (Not the taste just the color) because I like color and creativity. It might doesn't make any sense for some of you but....look! that's me. The fact that I grew up with people of different cultures and countries is another reason. The last one that I think about is because I believe that life should be colorful and it's important to live happy and be happy. Now I think I reply to the question: "Why does your nickname is Patacolor?" ...Well now you know! The book is sold in amazon.fr if you want to read it.

Any comments? I will be glad to read them Thank you!!

Memories of South Africa

South Africa

South Africa's flag

   South Africa as the name says it's a country in the south part of Africa. I have so much good memories of this country. I lived there for few years, I enjoyed my life there and I intend to go back there for tourism. The people were nice. If I have to describe South Africa I would simply say that this country is like an Eden on earth. Because of the diversity of cultures, the languages and races the country is called "the Rainbow Nation". Also, because of the magnificent landscapes and the good natural resources, I truly believe that God has blessed this land. Of course the dark part of its History is the Apartheid but things have changed since the 90's after Mandela was released from jail and became the first Black president. We do not also forget that similarly in the same country, Mahatma Gandhi struggled for his people's rights.

South Africa's map

 As you can see on the map the coastline of South Africa is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean. First I didn't know exactly why people created these different names for the oceans but later I realized that they are definitely different by the color and the movement of their waves. When visiting the Cap of Good Hope down the country ones will actually clearly see the difference and it is amazing how different they look! On the north side of South Africa, are the countries: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and a little kingdom named "Swaziland"
The country has its own currency named the South African Rand. 0.092 US Dollar equal to 1 South African Rand.

South African Rand

        I remember in my early History classes at my high school, the teacher used to say South Africa is a "melting pot" because of the variety of the ethnicities (multiracial) and the diversity of the languages and culture. The first time that I read their National Anthem I was impressed by the fact that there were different languages included in the paragraphs. I was like wow!
I was a child when I first learned about this country. The memories that I had were about the Apartheid, the Soweto uprising and Mandela on TV every afternoon. Later, on my second year in high school, I read a book from a South African author named Peter Abrahams. The book's title was "Mine Boy" written in 1946. I read it in French version which is translated as: "Rouge est le Sang des Noirs"

"Mine Boy" Peter Abrahams. That is exactly how the cover of the book that I read looks like

The story happened in Johannesburg ( which I went to live years later) I think because Johannesburg was a city of mine. Reading from the History and from the book, Black people extracted gold in that area but it was not a pleasant life to them. Peter Abrahams took me to their lives inside Apartheid and it was so much melancholy, sadness and I felt like it was a real type of imprisoned lives for this people. I even learned some terms used by the people from there. For instance, the word like "Colored" which later I found out to be real when I went to the country itself. Actually "Colored" are a group of mixed people in South Africa. They even call themselves "Colored" interesting right?!.

City of Johannesburg

  The first time I went to South Africa in 2003, I had a different view (that was normal because the Apartheid was abolished around 1990) even if I felt like some "things" were still there. However, I will simply say I fell in love with this country right away. Johannesburg is different than Pretoria which is the political city or simply the Capital city. Capetown is the "pearl" of South Africa this place is magnificent and surreal. At Johannesburg, I recently learned that they have improved again the public transportation system since they organized the World cup of soccer last year which was a great event in the African continent. If you want to go around and visit the city you will have to buy the tags or ticket pass at the offices at Gandhi Square that sell them. Gandhi Square is the terminal of most of the buses. You will find some places around to eat, relax or buy special items but you will also meet Gandhi (I mean his statue because I got emotional when I first saw it. I was touched to see him because seeing this statue took me back to the History of this country)

Gandhi Square

The statue of Gandhi  (at Gandhi Square) I think this statue was made when he was this young lawyer who decided to fight for the freedom of his people 

If you like shopping you will not be disappointed at all. For instance, there are so many malls  I recommend the Cresta Mall because of its architecture. Furthermore, I recommend Sandton Mall (Or Mandela Square) there, you will find trendy shops and all types of boutiques such as local and international brands. Haute Couture like Dior, Chanel, Gucci and many others, as well as some luxuries such as De Beers etc. The good local brands are Woolworth, Truworth (the clothes are good qualities) Edgars, Foschini and also for you ladies there is hummm..."La Senza!" for lingerie and many others.

Nelson Madela'statue..(well I do not see that the statue looks like him but..)

Sandton Mall/ Mandela Square) The big statue in the middle there

 On Sundays I would be going to a church named Rhema Church. I enjoyed every services. The church is huge and there were so many good activities. If you want to know more about the church and what they do here is the link: http://rhema.co.za/

 If you love organic food, natural fruit juices, if you like authentic things and you are a lover of natural landscapes arranged in a finest way, I recommend you to go to South Africa. You will not regret your trip there. You can visit cities like Pretoria, Capetown, Durban... well, there are so many touristic places to go like Cape of Good Hope, Sun City, Kruger Park if you like safari and many others. Visit South Africa you won't be disappointed! I mean, I do not know where and how to start but I will simply put some websites at the end of this post and some pictures that I found in google.com (I will try to share as much as I can but I precise that They are not mine for most of them). It really worth it! I hope you like the pictures.

City of Durban

Sun City

Sun City is a really extraordinary place to go for tourism. There, I found myself in another world. It is such a creative and imaginative place it looks so surreal to be walking there. I admired the work of the artists and engineers who built this special city. In Sun City, the beach is an artificial one and the waves are the result of a mechanic system that made me amazed every time that I was seeing their movements. In Sun City you will think like being an actor in an Hollywood movie scene. I will really recommend this place to visit during a touristic trip in South Africa.

Me on the bridge and sitting at the artificial beach. Memories of Sun city!

 If you like culture and tradition

Ndebele woman. How nice is this house. The women themselves paint the houses

Sun City (artificial beach)

Zebras (magnificent sunset)



Sun City

The country is organizing so interesting things for instance last year South Africa hosted the World Cup of Soccer which was special because for the first time in Africa we had such an important event where the countries of the world were invited

Cape Of Good Hope. You can see the difference in colors between the two oceans

Capetown

 Sun City is also named the Lost City. Many famous movies and video clips were filmed there.  Movie such as "Coming to America" with Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, John Amos... I think Michael Jackson made the video of his song "Remember the Time" with Eddie Murphy, Magic Johnson, Iman.
Also many celebrities like to spend their vacations there.
I thought that I could also share with you some of my pieces of memories of South Africa. 

I bought the book on Nelson Mandela's quotes. They inspire me whenever them

You can see a little bit of me on the right side of pic I was at the beach of Sun City

Me on the top of the pic at Sun City trip and down with my classmates of University of Johannesburg

I would like to say that musicians in South Africa are so talented. I mean, this people are so original in their music like everywhere in Africa. I like the music and I will post some of the videos as well. You will have a little idea about their music. I hope you like my post dedicated to South Africa. I always knew I would do something like that and I am glad I did it at last because I was so busy these past months. This time I was so inspired tonight and I decided to write something and I am glad I did it at last. Actually that is the point of my "Carnet de Voyage" which is a voyage to countries, a voyage of life, a voyage of History and events as well. I hope you like it and do not forget to check the websites about tourism in South Africa and if you have some comments, memories about South Africa, you can drop them below in the box. I will appreciate it and I will be glad to read them.
Check out my South African songs selection. You will see there are my favorites singers enjoy!

Johnny Clegg "Asimbonanga"

 Mafikizolo: " Khona"

Mafikizolo " I will Meet you at the River"

Mafikizolo

Brenda Fassie "Soon and very soon"

Brenda Fassie

Singer: Mandoza

Mandoza ft Danny K "Friday"

Jamali "Love me for Me"

 My favorite group Jamali

Jamali: "Butterflies"

Miriam Makeba

 Miriam Makeba "Pata Pata"

Miriam Makeba : "Sing me a Song"

Soweto Gospel Choir; "The Lion Sleep Tonight"

Soweto Gospel Choir: "Khumbaya"

Soweto Gospel Choir: "

Soweto Gospel Choir: " Amazing Grace"

now last and not the least Soweto Gospel Choir singing the South African National anthem

Here are the link of some websites about tourism in South Africa: (slide slowly the mouse below there are five links)

http://www.jacadatravel.com/luxury-safaris/south-africa?gclid=COKa5rnl97sCFUtp7AodPgwAfQ

http://www.londolozi.com/en/destination/south-africa/?gclid=CI6Osabl97sCFQbl7AodAWYAPQ

http://www.tourism.gov.za/Pages/Home.aspx

http://www.capetown.travel/

http://www.southafrica.net/country/us/en/

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (1918-2013)

    I just wanted to write a simple tribute to Nelson Mandela also known as "Madiba". Simple because there will not be enough words to say how I feel about the man that I admire so much. To me, Mandela was this star in the sky, a man born to be a leader. As I am writing this post, I feel deep sadness because the African continent has lost once again a great man. Mandela was among the few great figures that we "Africans" had in the continent. Those great men such as Thomas Sankara, Patrice Lumumba, Kwame Krumah, Steve Biko, Winnie Mandela...who stood up for their people instead of oppressing them like many well known dictators in Africa. Those dictators who had and still have no sense of love and compassion for their people. They think that everything belong to them. No, I am not talking about those kind of men but I talk about those who gave their lives for peace and freedom for their people and Madiba is among them. He never gave up for freedom. He was simply a man of peace.
     I always remember this scene of the "Lion King"(of Disney) when Simba and Mufasa were laying on the grass and they were both looking up to the stars in the dark sky. Then, Simba was kind of asking to his dad "Mufasa" the meaning of all these stars in the sky and Mufasa to reply to him that they were all the great lions dead and watching over them. It is a tradition that most African people can easily understand and that is a little bit how I feel about Mandela. He is this star in the sky among many others who were great leaders. He is physically gone but he still remains in our heart. Like David Diop ( an African poet) used to say "The Dead are Not Dead" (translated from French).
        Mandela has served 27 years in prison of Robben Island because he believed in a better future for his people.His life and his struggles for freedom was such an inspiration that it created the "Soweto Uprising" where many high school students died for the sake of a brighter tomorrow. We can never forget this dark part of the African History.The Apartheid was such an horrible system that put Black people of South Africa down. Today I believe this "Long Walk for Freedom" is not over yet. It is one step at a time. There is still a lot to do but at least some changes have been done since the 90's. I pray that peace and love remain in this beautiful and blessed country.
      I do not know what is going to be the South Africa after him but I just hope that peace will still remain among the people. As Mandela used to say: "If people can teach their children to hate then, we can teach them to Love". Forgiveness and Love were the two things that he emphasized a lot in his speeches. If Mandela did not forgive the pain and traumatism of the Apartheid, I do not think that South Africa would have been this country that we all admire today. I do not say that he is God, I simply admire the qualities of a leader that he had and what he had achieved. I truly believe that some people are simply born to be leaders. Things that I learned from him are: First, when you believe in something you have to fight for it. You must get up, stand up even if it takes time just never give up. Second, hatred takes you nowhere but forgiveness and love are two important qualities. 
    Rest in peace Madiba, your story and your life will never be erased of our memories. The African continent is still mourning you. Africa misses you so much. It is never easy to say "Farewell" I always remember the day when he went to visit my country after he was released from jail...It was so emotional the city was crowded and we could hear his name called everywhere. People were running to touch him as he was standing and greeting us in his car. Yes, I think I have kind of witnessed History...You can never forget this moment it deeply engraved in your heart. Our country spent some months to prepare his visit in my land. Even though I was very young I knew who Mandela was already. I used to see him on TV every afternoon because they were showing us what he was doing to fight for freedom in his country. On that same TV channel I saw old pictures of the Apartheid and the Soweto Uprising. These pictures will always be in our memory.
I cannot forget these words that he used to say: "Freedom is an idea for which I am prepared to die" We need many men and women who think like that in Africa.
"Long Walk to Freedom" movie trailer

PS: If you have not watched the movie "Long walk To Freedom" you may try to do it. It is about the story of Nelson Mandela and the Apartheid system. The actors are great  (leading role actor playing Nelson Mandela is Idriss Elba) they did a wonderful job even imitating the accent, walking like Mandela. This movie brought me so much emotion and it made me just want to thank people like Nelson Mandela to fight for his people's right and freedom. No one is perfect but at least he did what he could. How many of us can stand nowadays for such causes many of us are afraid even to tell the truth in public. so I am grateful to see men like him who showed examples. Thank you Mandela we need more men like you.
 I hope they will have a Golden Globe and an Oscar this year for this movie...

A little memory of this song of Johnny Clegg a great South African singer who sang a tribute to Nelson Mandela and those who, with him, fought against the Apartheid for freedom. I hope you will like the song. We used to listen to Johnny Clegg singing on TV he was well known for his support for freedom.
(Any comments? feel free to drop them in the box below I will be glad to read them thank you)

Song: "Asimbonanga" of Johnny Clegg (I think you will like that one too. I did the first time I watched it) Asimbonanga is an old song that we used to hear in the late 80's if I remember. That's when I started knowing Johnny Clegg as an artist from South Africa. We were too young to understand the meaning of the lyrics we knew it was about Mandela and we were just singing it.

memories of the children of Soweto singing for freedom in deep sadness

from the movie (Sarafina) The movie received many Awards internationally. We remember Whoopi Goldberg playing the role of a teacher and Leleti Khumalo a well known South African actress