Marrabenta Solos: Mozambican Show, Eritrean Audience, African Scenario

The month of May holds a special place in the heart of Eritreans, as  it  is  the  month  that  brought about  liberation  after  decades  of war.  And  every  year,  as  this  glorious  month  comes  around,  the nation as whole embarks on a celebration  spree  that  spans  over  a 10-day period.

The  shows  at  Bahti  Meskerem square  and  the  halls  of  Cinema Roma  and  Asmara  Theater  this year  featured  diverse  performances by Eritrean artists in all national languages as well as guest appearances from different African countries.

The  shows  at  Bahti  Meskerem square  and  the  halls  of  Cinema Roma  and  Asmara  Theater  this year  featured  diverse  performances by Eritrean artists in all national languages as well as guest appearances from different African countries. a  one-hour  solo  at  Cinema  Roma last  Wednesday,  Panaibra  presented  a  beautiful  performance that  “deconstructs  the  cultural representations of a ‘pure’ African body.”

Accompanied by a guitarist, Panaibra  dances  and  speaks  about today’s African body: a post-colonial, plural body that has absorbed the  ideals  of  nationalism,  modernity, socialism and freedom of expression. His own body…

This  complex  history  is  carried in the marrabenta, a musical form born in the 1950s from a mix of lo -cal and European influences.

Panaibra’s  research  is  based  on the  history  of  former  Portuguese colony Mozambique and the country’s  social  and  political  situation.  His  accompanying  musician played live “marrabenta” music an urban style typical of Mozambique usually  associated  by  the  Portuguese with revolutionary ideals.

The show kept the audience enthralled for the entire length, with a  roaring  applause  and  a  standing ovation  to  the  performer  at  the end.

I  had  the  opportunity  to  ex -change  a  few  word  with  Panaibra in  an  exclusive  dinner  party  after the show. He said that the message he  tried  to  get  across  though  his routine  was,  in  essence,  the  African scenario today.

“Most  African  nations  have been  victims  of  colonization  and have  been  forced  to  live  by  ways imposed  on  them  by  colonizers,” he said, explaining that as Africans we  should  be  able  to  look  inside our  hearts  and  listen  to  our  inner voices.

Talking  about  the  origins  of  themarrabenta, he spoke how the mu-sic  genre,  which  became  popular in  the  1960s  during  the  colonial period,  maintained  its  popularity. Before the popularity of marraben-ta,  Portuguese  musicians  in  Mozambique  played  fado,  a  type  of traditional  Portuguese  folk  music. These  musicians  introduced  the traditional  orchestration  and  other influences of fado, such as the use of  guitars,  mandolins,  drum  sets, and other conventional Western in -struments,  to  Mozambique  where local  musicians  combined  these influences and  African rhythms   to create an entirely new genre.

Dance  rhythms  are  a  primary feature  of  traditional African  music.  In  trying  to  duplicate  these traditional sounds on new western instruments,  Mozambican  musicians created a new style of dance music as well.

Today, Marrabenta reflects glob -al influences, including   rhythm & blues,  reggae,  and   blues.  This  has led to the emergence of a number of  sub-genres  within  Marrabenta, including   pandza,  which  is  a  mix of  reggae  and  Marrabenta  and is  currently  very  popular  among the  Mozambican  youth.  Marrabenta has also spread to other parts of Africa and the world.

“In the few days I’ve been here in  Asmara,  I’ve  come  to  realize that  all  of  us  as Africans  identify culturally  with  Marrabenta…” were his words as we parted company.

Panaibra  was  born  in  Maputo and  studied  theatre,  music  and dance.  He  received  additional training in contemporary dance in Lisbon and Lewiston in Maine. He embarked on his own artistic projects in 1993, setting up Culture Arte in  1998,  and  working  on  projects that  include  creations,  showcases and  training  to  encourage  the  development of local dance. He also works  with  artists  in  southern Africa  and  Europe  as  well  as  collaborating  with  artists  from  other disciplines.  His  work  has  been performed in Africa, Europe, USA and Latin America.

The  founder  of  Mozambique’s first contemporary dance company, Panaibra  Gabriel  Canada  is  one  of the artists working towards developing  autonomous  choreographic creation in Africa.

The show was presented to Eritrean audience courtesy of the Alliance Française of Asmara, in connection  with  the  23 rd  anniversary of Eritrean Independence.