The sounds of Mali in Rome

Last night I went to a concert at Parco della Musica with two Italian coworkers. The artist was Malian singer Oumou Sangaré. What a voice! She can really sing, and her physical presence is also powerful. She's quite tall and striking. Her band, too, was fantastic: a kora (African stringed instrument for which the body is a gourd), flute, drum (Western-style drum kit), djembe (African drum), bass, and two female backup singers/dancers. The dancers brought such joyful energy to the stage! It made me think of my African dance class in Ghana.

Photos were not allowed at the concert, otherwise I'd post one of the eye-catching group.

Sangaré sings about the rights of women and laments their lack of freedom, especially in her country. One of her songs deplores the practice of marrying off little girls, which apparently is not so uncommon in Mali.

In addition to being a talented singer, Sangaré is a spokesperson for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, which is headquartered here in Rome. In the space between songs, she talked about the fight against hunger and poverty. She spoke in French, which I think most of the audience could not understand, unfortunately. I had to translate for my Italian colleagues.

Sangaré and the band brought the audience to their feet with the catchy tune "Wele Wele Wintou" and even had us singing during the call-and-response refrain.

This was my 5th Malian music concert (after Baaba Maal at the late Kilimanjaro club in DC, Amadou et Mariam in Dakar, Habib Koité in Accra, and this past spring, Habib Koité and Dobet Gnahoré in DC). Malian music rocks! Its rhythms and melodies are uplifting -- they make you smile and dance.

Alas, Dan could not accompany us to the concert. He had to work. He was at the same music complex, but at a different concert, commemorating the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. He had to accompany the delegation of a certain high profile visitor from the US. I guess that was probably almost as fun as the Sangaré concert.