The Vim Views & Versions - Blogs of a MIghTy African

I asked some friends to name their  top 5 songs  ever, from  Angola . My main alter-ego is called Roberto Mendes. One of these days, I would wrtie about him. He also contributed, thanks to all he has learnt around  Museke . I also asked  Google  Gemini (not through Google Sheets this time) & some other competitors of theirs). You know AI is is my friend these days right? I also contributed my top 5, while reminiscing this  list from 2009 . My first time in  Angola  was in 2016. Thinking about it is making me tear up. Not kidding . I was beside myself with joy when I had the chance to travel to Angola , thanks to Lourdes Fernandes . But prior to that, I had been listening to a lot of Angolan music, especially Kizomba . The first Angolan I met in my life was Isabel Correia and she was not an  MIT  student. We did not have some at ErmmmMIghty. She introduced me to Angolan music and eventually became a contributor for  Museke...

I started liking Kizomba on Thursdays after I regularly went for the Kizomba nights at Afrikiko in Accra, Ghana . Since I liked using social media (especially Twitter) and hashtags in general, I started to use #KizombaThursday as a hashtag more often. I was going to say religiously, but Kizomba is not a religion. Or wait, is it? People consistently dancing and listening to Kizomba on Thursday is something that can be termed as being done religiously? Okay. Across social media, particularly through these enthusiastic posts, Thursday nights in Accra has continued to be synonymous with the smooth, sensual rhythms of Kizomba dancing—a weekly tradition that did more than teach dance steps. It has engendered a community as well. Cultural Fusion on the Dance Floor Kizomba , originating from Angola , has found an unexpected home in Ghana through these Thursday nights, etc. Kizomba is a national heritage of Angola and means "party" in Kimbundu . This dance, its attendant classes/...

I first heard about Bruna through Big Brother Africa, the very first show in 2003. I think that is when I started loving Angola , and its women. I learnt that she was a musician then. As she fine , I continued tracking her music career, too. Turns out, she is really good at music as well. She is not related to Roberto Mendes . You know I love Kizomba a lot and I listen it to on Thursdays . Her music is one of many reasons. The other day, I was chatting with an Angolan friend on Whatsapp. Yes, she is a woman. She doesn't understand English well like many other Angolan friends of mine . Whatsapp started asking if they could translate what she was typing into English. And then it started offering to and translating my English into Portuguese. Shed a tear for Duolingo and Google Translate. Bruna lived in the US (Maryland areas) for many years. She can speak English . She was even cast in a movie by my friend Koby Maxwell called Paparazzi - Eye In The Dark . I am looking for the mo...

#KizombaThursday. Every Thursday for the last number of years, I always listen to Kizomba. It started from going to Kizomba dance nights at Afrikiko in Accra on Thursdays. I have always maintained I went for these because I loved the Kizomba genre . It's true. That love has become deeper. Kizomba music is basically my go-to to ensure I lift myself out of any bad mood. It works. Because I decided accordingly. The one whose voice I like to hear singing the most is Perola . Does it matter that I can't speak Portugese ? No. Do I need to understand the language of Kizomba music? Would be good. Would it change how I feel about the music if I understood the lyrics? I have to think about that one. Would a long stint in Angola help me learn to speak Portuguese? Yes. Would a long stint in Angola help me finally learn to dance to Kizomba? Sim. But I can do that by just going to more Kizomba dance lessons and parties in Ghana.  No. Anyway, to the music by Jandira Sassingui . Nao Custa Na...

Instead of going to Afrikiko to go and sharpen my poor Kizomba dancing skills, I am here at home 'working' and listening a playlist of Kizomba songs. That sounds like something I would do but not Roberto Saudades . When he is in the right environment, he can really get his Kizomba grooves on. Since I am not really Roberto, I have some learning to do. I basically want to be able to move like this on the dance floor. See the video below I became a huge fan of Kizomba music as I continued looking for music from Angola. I discovered musicians like Ary , Ralph Anselmo and Yola Araujo . I knew of Perola and Bruna Tatiana already. In fact, Bruna is my Facebook friend. Grande som ! Bruna had made a name for herself participating in Big Brother Africa and even coming to Ghana. How I wish she would come again, to Ghana? #Coded. Yeah. Perola had a couple of hot songs, disappeared for a bit and then reappeared with this classic - Presta Atencao . And then Ary came out with Vai Da...