------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
In low income neighborhoods, 84% do not own computers.
At Network for Good, help bridge the Digital Divide!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/c9hWNA/3MnJAA/n1hLAA/kgJolB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->
There are 13 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. Brazilian Pandeiro Master Carlinhos Pandeiro de Ouro at Noisy Toys,
Westchester: SAT 11 June 05
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
2. Memorial Day Weekend Brazilian Jam @ Sevilla Club Brazil, San Diego
area
From: "Brazilian Promotions" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
3. afro/jazz/world-fusion ensemble seeking percussionist
From: d ledesma <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
4. A Night of Africa w Niancho Sanneh & Niancho Eniyaley Dance Company,
Le Studio, Pasadena: SAT 11 Jun 05
From: "Niancho Sanneh" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
5. The Whore Lived Like a German
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
6. Share your vision at artists events, also special visionaries
retreat...
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
7. LEARN SALSA DANCE!
From: "Bashtet Studio" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
8. Reggae star MAJEK FASHEK:Live @ Tower Records & Belly Up!!
From: "Dale Hauskins" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
9. Great Beginner's Djembe Drumming Class!
From: "onebeat99" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
10. African films shine, lighting a tough road
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
11. UCLA's annual Jazz Reggae Festival, UCLA campus: SUN-MON 29-30 May 2005
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
12. ARTICLE: LIVING ON PENNIES / part 1 / When the push for survival is a
full-time job
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
13. Portion of artists Renaissance Circle briefing
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 1
Date: Thu, 26 May 2005 18:47:08 +0000
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Brazilian Pandeiro Master Carlinhos Pandeiro de Ouro at Noisy Toys,
Westchester: SAT 11 June 05
Brazilian Pandeiro Master at Noisy Toys!
Noisy Toys Drums & Percussion Presents Special Guest Carlinhos Pandeiro de
Ouro, at our "Second Saturday" event on June 11th!
Carlinhos Pandeiro de Ouro is known world wide as a master of the pandeiro.
The pandeiro is the national instrument of Brazil and the icon of samba music.
Carlinhos is originally from Rio de Janeiro and is known as the King of the
Carnival in Brazil! Don't miss this rare opportunity to meet Carlinhos and see
his amazing demonstration of Brazilian instruments Saturday, June 11th from
12:00 to 2:00 p.m. It's free!
Every second Saturday of the month this summer there will be something special
at Noisy Toys! You'll find a variety of guest percussionists and artists,
demonstrations, mini-jam sessions, door prizes and sale-priced items throughout
the store!
Noisy Toys Drums and Percussion is located at 8728 South Sepulveda Boulevard,
in Westchester, just five minutes from LAX. Plenty of free parking.
Contact Bill Talbot at (310) 670-9957 www.noisytoys.com
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 2
Date: Thu, 26 May 2005 19:13:59 +0000
From: "Brazilian Promotions" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Memorial Day Weekend Brazilian Jam @ Sevilla Club Brazil, San Diego
area
"SEVILLA CLUB BRAZIL SCHEDULE"
Sunday: "May 29, 2005: "Baile Funk"a Memorial Day Weekend Brazilian Jam"
featuring:
Banda Diaspora: Samba Reggae Drumming from Bahia http://members.cox.net/goro/
DJ Baiano: Carioca Funk / HIP HOP RIO / Samba House / Brazil Electrica
Special Guest DJ Alan Fereira
Sunday: June 5, 2005: SambaDa Formed in 1997 by native Brazilian Papiba
Godinho, SambaD� is an explosive musical group out of Santa Cruz, California
that is rapidly inspiring audiences with its unique mixture of Brazilian samba
and funky latin dance grooves. From the blissful rhythms of samba to hip-hop
riffs... http://www.sambada.com/bio.html
Sunday: June 19, 2005: DJ Alan Fereira from Sao Paulo: Brazilian Funk e HIP
HOP / Axe Music / Samba / Maracatu
Sunday: June 26, 2005: "A Night in Bahia": featuring the best in AX� MUSIC
Sevilla 555 4th Avenue / Gaslamp Quarter / For more info: 619.233.5979
1.888.SEVILLA www.cafesevilla.com
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 3
Date: Thu, 26 May 2005 01:10:32 +0000
From: d ledesma <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: afro/jazz/world-fusion ensemble seeking percussionist
afro/jazz/world-fusion ensemble seeking percussionist
My name is D.LeDesma. I am the music director for a newly formed
afro/jazz/world-fusion ensemble. I am presently looking for a young black
female percussionist to join my ensemble. We are currently developing a tour of
the states and Canada.If you know of anyone that might be interested please
have them contact me.Thank You.
Sincerely,
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
1-760-770-2906
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 4
Date: Fri, 20 May 2005 17:41:17 -0700
From: "Niancho Sanneh" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: A Night of Africa w Niancho Sanneh & Niancho Eniyaley Dance Company,
Le Studio, Pasadena: SAT 11 Jun 05
iancho.com
Niancho Eniyaley
West African Dance & Drum
Presents
The 2nd Annual
A Night of Africa
Saturday, June 11, 2005 6:00pm
Experience the African storytelling tradition through dance and drum.
After being motivated, kick off your shoes and learn African Dance with
Niancho. Dance and drum workshops begin at 1:00 pm on Sunday, June 12th
at Le Studio at 100 W Villa St in Pasadena 91100
Featuring..
Niancho Sanneh & Niancho Eniyaley Dance Company
PaWa Pasadena Art Works Academy
Sue B. Dance Company
Duarte Community Center
Pape Diouf Master of Tama & Sabar
And many more...
Elliot Middle School
If you can not read this email, please go to
www.niancho.com/performances.html Also see the website for a list of
classes and other programs provided by Niancho Eniyaley.
Peace & Love
Triola & Niancho Sanneh
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 5
Date: Sun, 22 May 2005 11:57:37 UTC
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: The Whore Lived Like a German
Full Article:
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,344374,00.html
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 6
Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 16:22:11 EDT
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Share your vision at artists events, also special visionaries
retreat...
SHARE YOUR VISION AT ARTISTS EVENTS AND RETREAT....
Hello, Artists Helping Artists (Aha!) is announcing several key artists
gatherings a major artist convergence / summit and a very special artists and
visionaries retreat in the majestic redwoods from Aug 19 to Aug 21, 2005
http://www.artistshelpingartists.org/art_retreats.htm
Each of these events and activitioes are OPEN TO ALL ARTISTS including
painters, writers, musicians, arts educators, grassroots visionaries and arts
lovers. Come join us and share your vision and work. Details are here:
1) SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2005, 10AM TO NOON IN PASADENA, CA -- ARTISTS ROUND
TABLE at Coffee Gallery Backstage 2029 N. Lake Ave. Altadena, CA 91001. THIS
EVENT FREE TO FIRST-TIME ARTISTS (Otherwise only $4). No potluck at this one.
NOTE: All attending painters may display up to three pieces of original work
during this event. No additional costs for that. Easels not necessary.
Performers
may perform but must request to do so when they RSVP.
2) SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2005, 2PM TO 5PM IN POMONA, CA -- CREATIVE SALON AND
POTLUCK CELEBRATION at Cal Poly Downtown Arts Center at 300 West Second Street,
Pomona, CA 91766. This event is only $5 PLUS what you bring to the potluck.
NOTE: All attending painters may display up to three pieces of original work
during this event. No additional costs for that. Easels not necessary.
Performers
may perform but must request to do so when they RSVP. (Enjoy the 2nd Saturday
Pomona Art Walk from 6 to 10pm after the potluck.)
3) SUNDAY, JUNE 12, 2005, 11AM TO 2PM IN FONTANA, CA -- CREATIVE SALON AND
POTLUCK CELEBRATION at Fontana Art Center at 8536 Sierra Ave, Fontana, CA. This
event is $5 for ALL artists (only $3 for Aha! Members or Fontana Art
Association Members) PLUS what you bring to the potluck. NOTE: All attending
painters
may display up to three pieces of original work during this event. No
additional costs for that. Easels not necessary. Performers may perform but
should
request to do so when they RSVP.
Please send RSVP to Jasmine at [EMAIL PROTECTED] OR JUST SHOW UP AT ANY OF
THESE EVENTS. Full info on thsese salons and potlucks are found at
http://www.artistshelpingartists.org/roundtables.htm
More info on the Call to Arts! Summit V -- California Artists Conference,
Exhibition and Festival on June 25 and June 26 at
http://www.calltoarts.artistshelpingartists.org Get your FREE PASS TO the
workshops and all aspects to the
summit at that web site
For the special Aha! artists and visionaries retreat on 87 acres of redwood
forest, cozy cabins and a host of inspirational excursions and visionary
sessions go to http://www.artistshelpingartists.org/art_retreats.htm
Sincerely,
Jasmine B.
Artists Helping Artists (Aha!)
http://www.artistshelpingartists.org
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 7
Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 17:01:10 -0700
From: "Bashtet Studio" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: LEARN SALSA DANCE!
LEARN TO SALSA DANCE!
A special 6-week Workshop.....
Taught by Benita Conway
No previous dance experience needed! Low impact - dance barefoot!
Learn the steps of Salsa Dance in a "line dancing" format.....No partner is
needed.
Starting THURS. JUNE 9, 2005
6 Thursdays, 7:00 - 8:00pm...........Dates: June 9, 16, 23, 30; July 7, 14 -
'05 -
Fee: $79 (for all 6 classes); $68 (for 5 classes); or $60 (4 classes)
Space is limited.... please call to reserve your space/ pre-register -
Ph (213) 680-9642
Class Description:
Steps are broken down into fun and easy-to-follow routines.....in a line
dancing format, so you don't need a partner.
Learn the footwork, hip movements, arm & body positions of Salsa while
listening to Latin ryhthms. This dynamic class gives you the excitement of
being on the dance floor while you build your stamina, relieve stress, &
benefit your mind, body & spirit! You'll be smiling, laughing and having fun
which is also a tremendous immune system builder. This workshop is also an
excellent foundation if you want to further your dance training later on with
partner Salsa Dancing.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Please call us if you have any questions! :-) (213) 680-9642
Bashtet Movement Arts Studio
Ph# (213) 680-YOGA
www.bashtet.com
201 S. Santa Fe Ave., Suite 200
Los Angeles, CA. 90012
**Dial #004 at the callbox.
***********************
Located in downtown LA on Santa Fe Ave. between 2nd & 3rd St.- 1/4 mile east of
Alameda. Near Sci-Arc, Cafe Metropol & R23 restaurant in the Arts District;
next to Little Tokyo. Light green loft building - entrance at middle of block.
Street parking is free along both sides of Santa Fe, 2nd, & 3rd St. -
***********************
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 8
Date: Wed, 25 May 2005 02:40:17 -0000
From: "Dale Hauskins" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Reggae star MAJEK FASHEK:Live @ Tower Records & Belly Up!!
Reggae legend MAJEK FASHEK:Tour dates+new CD!
African Reggae legend MAJEK FASHEK:LIVE!
MAJEK FASHEK & The Prisoners of Conscience:Live! JUNE 2 @
http://www.bellyup.com Solana Beach(San Diego)!9:00PM -------
-----
--------------------------------------------------
TOWER RECORDS
La Jolla, CA 92037 - Free!
A special IN STORE appearance & autographs (and LIVE performance!)
with
African Reggae legend MAJEK FASHEK. Tower Records Villa La Jolla Dr.
Info.(858)452-2566 ------------------------------ JUNE 11 @The
Harmony
Festival
http://www.harmonyfestival.com (with Spearhead,Dave Mason,Yes's Jon
Anderson & more!) Santa Rosa Ca.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
August, 20 2005 at "Reggae on the Rocks " Red Rocks Amphitheatre
415 Bear Creek Ave., Morrison, CO 80465
"Reggae on the Rocks XX" with African Reggae legend MAJEK
FASHEK & "The Prisoners of Conscience".Featuring Culture,Israel
Vibration, Yellowman and Many Other Artists! Red Rocks Amphitheatre a
world-renowned outdoor amphitheatre, located in the foothills near
Morrison, Colorado, hosts top musical events throughout the summer
season. ... RED ROCKS AMPHITHEATER http://www.redrocksonline.com
(OFFICAL WORLD WIDE RELEASE May 31!!!)
Putumayo/Island-Mango/Tuff Gong/CBS/Interscope/Sony recording artist
MAJEK FASHEK brand new RELEASE ENTITLED "Little Patience"
FEATURES 11 ALL NEW original songs by the legendary
African Nigerian Reggae King in a beautifully packaged CD.
Web Site:
http://www.majekfashek.com
Coral Music Group
1 Pearl Street, Redondo Beach(Los Angeles), Ca 90277
Phone (310)318-1313 Fax (310)318-5606
Booking:Coral Music Group
Charles D'Agostino -President [EMAIL PROTECTED] (310)937-
9779 (310)489-4920
Terry Rose -Vice President/Road Manager (310)344-1419
**LOOK OUT for MAJEK FASHEK & "The Prisoners of Conscience" band
touring
in 2005 in a town near you!**
http://www.majekfashek.com http://www.myspace.com/dalehauskins
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 9
Date: Tue, 24 May 2005 02:32:31 -0000
From: "onebeat99" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Great Beginner's Djembe Drumming Class!
- Do you love African and World drum rhythms and want to learn how
to bang them out yourself?
- Have you always wanted to learn to how drum but don't know
where to begin?
Then you have to check out Alex Spurkel's Universal Drumming
class You don't need any drumming experience and they even
supply the drums!
***********************************
You know you have the rhythm in you
... It's Time To Let It Out!
***********************************
The BENEFITS of drumming include:
- lots of FUN!
- relax & relieve stress
- unity and community
- you can express that musical, creative side of yourself
- drumming is actually a healthy fitness activity!
HERE'S WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:
- Easy drumming rhythms you can use anywhere at any time!
- Simple beats from Africa, the Middle-East, Latin America!
- How to play your part in a group drumming circle
- Exercises to strengthen your timing, technique, and speed
- How to play fills and variations
- and MUCH MORE!
========
BONUS: **
========
Your personal instructor is renowned World Percussionist & Teacher
Alex Spurkel (Sony, Naked Rhythm, Electric Skychurch, Zen
Dancing)
====================
Here are the details
====================
WHAT:
Universal Drumming Class
WHEN:
7:30pm – 8:45pm on 5 consecutive Wednesday nights. June 1-29, 2005
WHERE:
Bang-A-Drum in Los Angeles
1255 S. La Brea, south of Olympic across from Burger King
**** NO drum or experience required!! ****
Drums available courtesy of Bang-A-Drum (http://www.bangadrum.com )
REGISTRATION:
$60 for 5-class session
(single class drop-ins are $15 and limited to space availability.)
MORE INFO at http://www.universaldrumming.com
RSVP:
Please RSVP if you plan to attend!
Class sizes are LIMITED so that everyone gets individual attention.
Call or E-mail TODAY to reserve your spot
CONTACT ALEX:
By E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
or Phone: 323-356-6435
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 10
Date: Thu, 26 May 2005 21:28:12 +0000
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: African films shine, lighting a tough road
http://www.latimes.com/business/custom/admark/la-wk-africafilm26may26,1,7838212.story
African films shine, lighting a tough road
The continent has produced award winners, but its market has a way to go.
By Rebecca Harrison
Reuters
May 26, 2005
If Michael Mahomba wants to take his girlfriend to the movies, he must spend an
hour in a minibus taxi in this South African shanty town and a day's wages on
tickets.
"That's why I don't go that often," says Mahomba, 21, standing in a community
hall not far from his corrugated iron shack in Khayelitsha, a teeming township
outside Cape Town.
A string of films made in or about Africa, such as "Yesterday" and "Hotel
Rwanda," plus a handful of high-profile awards, have thrown the spotlight on
the world's poorest continent and sparked talk of a movie renaissance.
But a tiny fraction of Africans visit movie theaters, and experts say Hollywood
glamour is pointless if the industry fails to build a local audience by taking
distinctly African films to people like Mahomba in townships, slums and
villages.
"We need to make films that speak to black people, not some nebulous
international audience," said Mark Dornford-May, director of the award-winning
South African film "U-Carmen eKhayelitsha." "And we need to find alternatives
to shopping mall cinemas in smart suburbs."
Living up to his maxim, Dornford-May held the premiere of "U-Carmen" � a
remake of Georges Bizet's 19th century opera set in a tough South African
township and translated into the African tongue-clicking language Xhosa � at
a community center in Khayelitsha. Then it was screened in townships across the
country at less than a third of the price of a normal movie ticket.
In South Africa, the continent's economic powerhouse that is driving its
much-vaunted movie revival, the sprawling black townships on the edge of the
big cities have virtually no theaters.
Transport links to the posher suburbs, whose vast shopping malls are home to
almost all the country's movie theaters, are poor, and despite a recent price
war among theater chains, tickets are still costly by local standards.
Just out of film school, Ryan Thwaits, 25, was tired of tiny, mostly white,
audiences and decided to create his own movie theaters by converting township
shacks. At his pilot project in Khayelitsha, he lured 11,000 people a month to
watch Hollywood action and romantic comedy mixed with local films, offering two
shows a day at $1.55 each.
"The community loved it," said Thwaits, who now hopes to roll out 10 more shack
cinemas in the townships surrounding Cape Town by the end of the year. "It's
not that people in the townships don't like cinema, it's just that they can't
get there."
But despite some impressive efforts to nurture local audiences, Africa still
presents a Catch-22 for filmmakers.
"Yes, you've got to take the product to the people, but you can't tackle
distribution if you don't have content. It's like saying you've got great pubs
with no beer," said Garth Holmes, head of South Africa's top film and drama
school, AFDA.
Africa has recently produced some noteworthy films: "Yesterday," an
Oscar-nominated feature about a woman fighting HIV/AIDS in rural South Africa,
"The Hero," a winner at the Sundance festival about an Angolan war veteran, and
"U-Carmen eKhayelitsha," which took the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival
this year.
And that is likely to continue, at least in South Africa, where a feature on
Nelson Mandela by one of the country's top filmmakers is in preproduction and
the producers of "U-Carmen" are winding up a modern-day take on the life of
Christ, billed as the first black Jesus film.
But experts say there needs to be greater emphasis on making the kinds of films
more likely to develop a mass market.
"In Africa we have the tendency not to look at film as commercial but more on a
social and political level," Holmes said. "If we want to have an African film
industry, we need to commodify it."
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 11
Date: Thu, 26 May 2005 22:17:31 +0000
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: UCLA's annual Jazz Reggae Festival, UCLA campus: SUN-MON 29-30 May 2005
http://www.studentgroups.ucla.edu/JazzReggae/
A two-day, outdoor festival featuring music, food and culture. Welcome to the
site of UCLA's annual Jazz Reggae Festival, now in its 19th year. This two-day
festival features top rated artists playing the hottest jazz and reggae in
Southern California. Attracting over 30 thousand fans each year, this event has
helped to make the UCLA Jazz Reggae Festival a premiere westcoast concert
venue.
The festival will take place on Memorial Day weekend, May 29th & 30th 2005.
Jazz Day will take place Sunday, May 29th & Reggae day will take place Monday,
May 30th. The shows will start from 12:00pm to 7:00pm on both days (gates will
open at 11am!). Sun, 05.29.05
Performers:
India Arie
Roy Hargrove's RH Factor
Dwele
Unwrapped All-Stars featuring Dennis Nelson
Sheree Brown
UCLA Jazz Ensemble
Emcee - Garth Trindad
(Line-up is subject to change)
Mon, 05.30.05
Performers:
Anthony B
Rupee
I-Wayne
Red Rat
Noriega & Valerie
Detour Posse
Mr. Mutton
special guest: Elan
(Line-up is subject to change)
Welcome to the 19th Annual UCLA Jazz Reggae Festival website! - Your online
resource for festival information. The music playing is "Find A Way" by Dwele,
one of the many top performers coming on Jazz Day. Click the links in the lower
frame for music by other performers
A two-day, outdoor festival featuring music, food and culture. Welcome to the
site of UCLA's annual Jazz Reggae Festival, now in its 19th year. This two-day
festival features top rated artists playing the hottest jazz and reggae in
Southern California. Attracting over 30 thousand fans each year, this event has
helped to make the UCLA Jazz Reggae Festival a premiere westcoast concert
venue.
The festival will take place on Memorial Day weekend, May 29th & 30th 2005.
Jazz Day will take place Sunday, May 29th & Reggae day will take place Monday,
May 30th. The shows will start from 12:00pm to 7:00pm on both days (gates will
open at 11am!).
Flyer
General Information
Thanks to The W Hotel, we are pleased to offer an accomodation VIP package.
Because of field regulations, we cannot allow glass bottles, large coolers,
alcoholic beverages, BBQ's, tents, umbrellas, or pets in to the festival.
Please do not bring these items to the festival.
Free admission to children under the age of 5.
The UCLA JazzReggae Festival is no longer accepting artist submissions for the
2005 Festival. To submit an artist for the 2006 Festival please submit all
materials after August 31, 2005. Any submissions received prior to this date
will not be considered.
When:
Memorial Day Weekend - May 29 & 30, 2005
Jazz Day will take place Sunday, May 29th.
Reggae day will take place Monday, May 30th
On Both days:
Shows 12:00pm - 7:00pm
Where:
Intramural Field - UCLA Campus
Tickets:
Tickets are availible now at ticketmaster or at UCLA's Central Ticket Office -
Cash Only. UCLA CTO is open from 9am to 5pm, Monday through Friday. Two-day
pass $20, buy tickets here:
<http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0B003A8EF381BA57?artistid=870795&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=5>
UCLA Students- Tickets Free for ALL UCLA students w/Bruin Card.
Rules:
Children under the age of 5 are free.
Glass bottles, large coolers, alcoholic beverages, BBQ's, tents, umbrellas, &
pets are not allowed. Sun, 05.29.05
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 12
Date: Thu, 26 May 2005 21:47:43 +0000
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: ARTICLE: LIVING ON PENNIES / part 1 / When the push for survival is a
full-time job
http://www.latimes.com/news/specials/world/la-fg-work11jul11,0,7153984.story
LIVING ON PENNIES / PART 1
When the push for survival is a full-time job
What is it like to live on less than a dollar a day? Hundreds of millions in
sub-Saharan Africa know. Their work is an endless cycle of bartering, hawking
and scrounging to get by until tomorrow.
By Davan Maharaj
Times Staff Writer
July 11, 2004
GOMA, Congo � Every day is a fight for pennies.
At sunrise, Adolphe Mulinowa is out hauling 10-gallon cans of sand at a
construction site. It takes him an hour to earn 5 cents. Then he hustles to a
roadside with a few plastic bottles of pink gasoline, which he hawks alongside
dozens of other street vendors.
"Patron! Boss man! Gas! Gas! Gas!" Mulinowa barks as a battered Peugeot
shudders past, kicking a spray of loose rocks at his face.
The car does not stop. Mulinowa, a short man in his mid-30s with sad, reddened
eyes, squats down again beside his bottles. It is a scene repeated many times
in the four hours it takes to sell them. Mulinowa pockets an additional 40
cents. Then, as the sun goes down, he heads to his evening job hawking used
shoes and live chickens. A few more pennies.
After a 12-hour day, he returns home to his wife and six children with his
earnings: about 70 cents and a bag of cornmeal swinging from his hand.
"We beat the belly pains today," he says in a tired mumble. "Tomorrow, more
hard work."
Up and down the teeming streets of Goma, there is no real work as it is known
in the West. There is only what everyone here calls se debrouiller � French
for getting by, or eking a living out of nothing.
Decades of war and disease, followed by a volcanic eruption that entombed
nearly half the city beneath a rough crust of lava, have reduced work to a
mishmash of odd jobs and scheming. Civil servants survive on bribes. A lawyer
moonlights by making pastries. A single mother of four turns to prostitution in
her living room, decorated with pictures of Jesus and Mary.
They are among the poorest people on Earth, surviving on less than a dollar a
day.
In the United States, an individual who makes less than $9,310 a year is
considered poor. The World Bank sets its poverty line at $730 a year � $2 a
day. Half of sub-Saharan Africa's 600 million people live on about 65 cents a
day � less than what an American might spend on a cup of coffee.
It is never enough. In Goma, near the heart of Africa, an average family of
seven spends about $63 a month, two-thirds of it on food. With every dollar,
they make a choice among competing needs � food, rent, clothes, school and
medicine.
Sometimes it is a matter of life and death.
Two years ago, Mulinowa's little boy, Dieudonne, or "God's gift," came down
with a fever, cold sweats and shakes. Mulinowa knew that it was malaria.
He took the 3-year-old to a muganga � Swahili for traditional healer � who
sprinkled him with water, squeezed the pulp from some herbs into his mouth and
sent him home. Two days later, the boy was dead. Mulinowa knows that with 20
cents for medicine to fight the fever and chills, he might have saved his son's
life. But he didn't have the money.
Neither did the families of three other children in the neighborhood who died
about the same time.
"I do not want this to happen to my Annissette," Mulinowa says of his
2-year-old daughter. "That's why we work from dawn to dusk."
In some ways, the Mulinowas are better off than many Congolese. The family's
wooden house, resting on an old lava flow, has a tin roof and some wooden
furniture. The walls recently were whitewashed with paint from an aid agency.
Their neighbors live in mud huts or houses fashioned from rusting galvanized
sheets.
In a town of debrouillards, Mulinowa has learned to exploit tiny advantages. He
has figured out that, because Goma has dozens of gasoline vendors, his chances
are better two miles away at the Rwanda-Congo border. There, drivers have to
slow down and are more likely to notice him.
His family also improves its odds by spreading out during the day, hoping that
at least one member will earn enough to buy food.
If Mulinowa doesn't sell enough gas, shoes or chickens, then perhaps his son,
18-year-old Ivan, will have better luck making deliveries with his homemade
wooden scooter, called a chukudu. For a few cents per trip, Ivan ferries goods
through a bazaar of vendors hawking their wares, grilling lake fish on smoky
coals and blasting the guitar rhythms of soukous stars such as Kanda Bongo Man.
Sometimes the merchants also give him small bags of flour or vegetables.
If Mulinowa and his son fail, then daughter Bernadette, 15, might be able to
bring in some money selling used clothes, canned sardines or other goods for
neighborhood merchants.
The fallback is Mulinowa's wife, Faith, who struggles to feed her family of
eight when a 50-pound sack of manioc flour costs $24; a sack of beans, $17; and
a dozen salted fish, $7. Occasionally she receives produce from relatives in
outlying villages that she can sell for extra money.
"When you work hard, good things happen to you," Faith Mulinowa says. "That's
why we make it."
*
Goma, on the eastern edge of Congo, is controlled by rebels fighting the
central government hundreds of miles away in Kinshasa, the capital. One aid
group estimates that at least 3.3 million people have died in the country's
violence and chaos since 1998.
But even a society living on the edge needs civil servants. Men with government
seals, such as Pancrace Rwiyereka, a grandfatherly former schoolteacher who
runs Goma's Division of Work, engage in their own version of se debrouiller.
They don't bring home an actual salary, but the majority still show up for work
every day. A government job gives them the opportunity to demand money from
businesses and members of the public. Their official jobs are a charade.
"Bribes are the answer," said a mid-level government employee in the finance
department. "Why do you think we would never give up our jobs or strike to get
our salaries?"
Authorities require entrepreneurs importing goods to obtain stamps from at
least six agencies: the main customs office, an immigration office, a health
agency, a separate health office that certifies goods for consumption, the
governor's tax revenue office and a provincial office that collects money from
truckers for nonexistent road rehabilitation.
Bureaucrats typically sell the stamps to the businesses at a reduced rate and
then pocket the money. If a supervising officer discovers that the appropriate
taxes haven't been paid, he too is paid off.
Bribes in Goma range from about $5 for a birth certificate to about $100 for an
import license. But workers have to share the take with colleagues and
superiors. So on many days they go home with less than $1. The system ensures
that a single bribe will feed several families for a day.
Civil servants say they are merely finding a way to get paid for their
services. That's the way it is here: Ordinary people always have had to
scramble to survive. The only ones who have ever gotten rich are the leaders
and those with connections.
In the 19th century, King Leopold of Belgium treated the Congo colony as his
personal possession. And the late dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, who took power in
1965 � five years after Congo won independence from Belgium � plundered an
estimated $8 billion from the treasury during his three-decade rule. In a
famous speech, he openly acknowledged the role of corruption.
"Everything is for sale, everything is bought in our country," he said. "And in
this trade, holding any slice of public power constitutes a veritable exchange
instrument, convertible into illicit acquisition of money or other goods."
Or, in the words of a government accountant: "Everyone has to look out for
themselves. If you fail, you die."
So each workday, 61-year-old Rwiyereka dons a brown jacket over a secondhand
Izod shirt, grabs his briefcase and heads for a sparse office at the Division
of Work. The beige walls have been stained by tropical rains that pound through
the leaky tin ceiling.
Rwiyereka has jammed his desk next to a window so he can catch a narrow shaft
of sunlight. Several months ago, looters stripped the electrical cables from
the building.
>From the window, he sees lush jungle and fertile, black land that once made
>this area the breadbasket of Central Africa. The hills are rich in fine
>hardwoods and minerals, including coltan, which is used to make computer chips
>in Asia and cellular phones in Finland.
Despite this natural wealth, some Goma residents believe that the gods have
cast them into hell. When it rains, lava still cooling after the eruption of
Mt. Nyiragongo in January 2002 emits clouds of steam that envelope the city.
The pungent smell of sulfur sometimes wafts in through Rwiyereka's window.
Often, the bowels of the volcano rumble, forcing methane gas to bubble up in
nearby Lake Kivu.
At his desk, Rwiyereka points to two stacks of letters from workers. He says
that those who want him to investigate grievances have to bring in their own
paper so his unpaid secretary can pound out an official response on his manual
typewriter.
Rwiyereka chuckles when a visitor asks whether he and the 27 staffers in his
office take bribes.
"I try to tell them that is not allowed," he says. "But they have mouths to
feed. They and I know that having a job that doesn't pay is better than having
no job at all."
*
There was a time when people thought that there was a way out. In a country
where the vast majority of the people are illiterate, a college education would
put one among the elite.
But Diane Kavuo has learned the hard way that even with a diploma, she needs se
debrouiller.
Her father, who owned a small trucking business, poured most of the family's
earnings into educating the brightest of his 11 children. It seemed like a
ticket out of endless need.
Kavuo, like many people in Goma, speaks five languages � English and French,
and three African languages: Swahili, Lingala and Kinande. She also has a law
degree. But the chaos of Congo's civil war shattered her plan, and today the
28-year-old lawyer helps the family by selling fritters in the market.
Months go by without Kavuo earning a penny in fees from her legal cases, most
of which involve unpaid loans of perhaps $100. Sometimes, lawyers groups pay
her way to attend human rights conferences across Africa, where she highlights
the plight of child soldiers and of women who have been raped by militiamen.
Kavuo spends her per diem money on handbags, lotions and cosmetics, which she
brings back to Goma and gives to hawkers to sell. She uses her profit to buy
sugar, flour and baking powder for the fritters.
A $50 investment returns $65. Almost half the fritters are given away to street
children. But in Goma, the $15 profit can sustain a large family for several
days.
Kavuo says she dreams of a day when Congo is a stable and prosperous country.
"Light is going to come," she says. "It's been dark too long."
Until then, another Goma resident, 37-year-old Mama Rose, also will have to
struggle to feed her four young children.
Four years ago, militiamen robbed and killed her husband. Like Adolphe
Mulinowa, he did odd jobs. But he had been his family's sole breadwinner.
For several months, Mama Rose worked menial jobs and tried hawking goods on the
street. But she found herself relying mainly on neighborhood men who befriended
her and brought her small baskets of food.
For that, they expected � and received � some intimacy.
Many women in Goma rely on such relationships to feed their families. But Mama
Rose had another idea. Why pretend that she was befriending the men for their
company? Why not admit to herself that it had become a job and start charging
money?
"Every truth is not good to say," says Mama Rose, her radiant smile exposing
her capped gold tooth. "But let us face it. In Goma, everything has a price.
And I don't want to sell myself short."
In some months, Mama Rose earns less than $25, mainly in her small living room
decked out with pictures of Jesus and Mary. Stuffed toys lie on her single
wood-framed bed.
In a good month, when she works the better-off U.N. soldiers who are monitoring
the conflict in Congo, she can earn up to $75.
Mama Rose has persuaded other prostitutes to organize. They recently confronted
the regional governor, who had declared that 80% of Goma's sex workers were
infected with HIV or had AIDS.
Mama Rose acknowledges that AIDS is a big problem, but denies that the
infection rate is that high. Yet many of her friends have died of the disease,
leaving their young children to fend for themselves and starting a new
generation on the cycle of poverty.
"We're not bad people," she says, dusting some breadcrumbs from images of the
Virgin Mary printed on her dress. "This is how we have to live. This is how we
put some food in our stomachs."
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 13
Date: Thu, 26 May 2005 16:26:42 EDT
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Portion of artists Renaissance Circle briefing
Hello to all! Below is a portion of the Renaissance Circle Briefing #32 from
Glenn Horton, Founder of Artists Helping Artists (Aha!) with updates to Aha!
artists and members. He asked that I share these artist activities and
opportunities with artists and others interested in creative community and
building
new enclaves of visionaries.
Hope you enjoy some of the updates and announcements and partake in any way
you can.
Jasmine B.
Artists Helping Artists (Aha!)
EXCERPT FROM AHA! RENAISSANCE CIRCLE BRIEFING #32
Our recent Beauty in the Redwoods Retreat on 87 acres of stunning wilderness
was truly awesome. We walked and talked in the majesty of the redwoods and
touched and viewed some of the largest trees in the world! We even made an
impromtu ocean excursion to a specatular cove north of Santa Cruz with
magnificent
sand dunes and huge rock formations surrounding the cove. And then each evening
we immersed ourselves in truly invigorating presentations, visonary sessions
and, on the final night a wonderful showcase that was capped with Carmelita
Pittman's performance that altered the aesthetic minds of about 40 individuals
present in the hall. One for one, artists from throughout California and
indeed many artists from creative outposts across the country shared in a very
unique arts and environmental, and indeed, spiritual energy.
ANOTHER MAJESTIC RETREAT ANNOUNCED!
Following this great occasion we are announcing another retreat from Friday
Aug 19 to Sunday Aug 21, 2005. We are calling it Beauty in the Redwoods - 2. I
know quite a number of you wished to make the retreat and could not, but you
will NOT want to miss this one. Details on the new retreat are found at
http://www.artistshelpingartists.org/art_retreats.htm Schedule you
participation now
so you ensure you are part of a unique and powerful group, not just of
artists, but of truly visionary spirits. You may not fully understand that
until you
come and immerse yourself in the retreat itself. You will invigorate your
imagination and vision! Each person will be part of a smaller intimate
"majestic
group" and then, of course, also part of larger Aha! retreat community.
5TH AHA! SUMMIT / CONVERGENCE / CELEBRATION APPROACHING
Our 5th Call to Arts! Summit, Conference and Exhibition is occuring Sat June
25th and Sunday June 26th. Check out the incredible arts, music and marketing
workshops occuring and some of those who are speaking there including: Bobby
Borg, Jeannie Novak, Martin Iasaacson, Jeannie Deva (our conference
coordinator), Spike Ward, Susan Darley, Billy Mitchell, Harriet Schock, Byran
Farrish,
John Paul Thorton. One for one these are some of the top educators and
lectureres in Southern California!
Also, don't miss the Call to Arts! Acoustic Showcase featuring individual
showcases from each of the following organizations: LA SongNet, Artists Helping
Artists (Aha!), Just Plain Folks, Songsalive! and Artists for a Better World.
Some of those on the Aha! Showcase portion include winners from our national
juried song competition including Liquid Blue, Byron Wells, John Walsh, Trish
Lester and Joan Enguita (our showcase coordinator). In addition to many arts,
music and cultural exhibits there will be an international visionary juried
arts
exhibition featuring top visual and digital artists of imagination,
aesthetics, adventure and creative spirit. More details on all of this summit,
celebration and convergence are at
http://www.calltoarts.artistshelpingartists.org
FREE EXHIBIT SPACE FOR CERTAIN AHA! MEMBERS
Note that any Creative Vision or Renaissance Members of Aha! (and also all
workshop facilitators) are being offered FREE EXHIBIT SPACE at this summit. You
will simply provide 6 or 8 foot table, table cloth and chairs and you must of
course bring people to man your booth between 11am and 6pm. If you wish to
accept your FREE EXHIBIT SPACE at the summit you please email me as soon as you
can so I can get you on the list. If you are not yet a Creative Vision Member
or Renaissance Member and yet sign up as such before June 1 you can receive the
free exhibit space at the June summit.
LOCAL AHA! ROUND TABLES
Finally, come and connect at local Aha! Round Table events coming up in these
areas: San Jose with potluck n Sun June 5, 5pm to 8pm at A Work of Heart
Studio; Pasadena with round table only on Sat June 11, 10am to Noon at Coffee
Gallery Backstage; Pomona with potluck on Sat June 11, 2pm to 5pm at Cal Poly
Downtown Arts Center; Fontana with potluck on Sun June 12, 11am to 2pm at
Fontana
Arts Center; Santa Clarita with round table only on Weds June 15, 7:30 to
9:30pm at Barnes and Noble; and Oakland / Alameda with potluck on Sunday July
10,
Noon to 3pm at Frank Bette Arts Center. Full details on all local events at
http://www.artistshelpingartists.org/roundtables.htm
View our main Aha! Web Site at http://www.artistshelpingartists.org
Beauty in the Redwoods visionaries and artists retreat on 87 acres of redwood
forest August 19 - August 21, 2005:
http://www.artistshelpingartists.org/art_retreats.htm
Call to Arts! Summit V, California Artists Conference, Exhibition and
Festival in Pomona, CA, June 25 and 26, 2005:
http://www.calltoarts.artistshelpingartists.org
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
kick off your shoes and come dance to the beat of the African music and Drum &
Dance communities all around Southern California!
http://africanbeat.com
ON the RADIO:
> DJ Nnamdi's Afrodicia KPFK 90.7FM, Sat 2-4p, or listen online: Afrodicia.com.
> Big Red's GrooveTime KXLU 88.9FM, Sat 6-8p
> Simeon Pillich 's GlobalVillage KPFK 90.7FM, Tues 10a-1p
> Yatrika Shah-Rais's GlobalVillage KPFK 90.7FM, Wed 10a-1p
> John Schneider's GlobalVillage KPFK 90.7FM, Thurs 10a-1p
> Sergio Mielnichenko's GlobalVillage KPFK 90.7FM, Fri 10a-1p
> Eric Kohler's CaribbeanJazz KLON 88.1FM, Fri 11p-1am
> Chuck Foster's ReggaeCentral KPFK 90.7FM, Sun 3-6p
> Makeda's Reggae Makossa 91.1FM, SUN 8-10p
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/africanbeat/
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
------------------------------------------------------------------------
