World Festival of Black Arts - FESMAN (Festival Mondial des Arts Nègres)
Photos: Omar Sosa, courtesy of Otá Records (www.melodia.com)
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| Country and Region | Senegal — Dakar |
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| Type of Festival | Music |
| Location of Festival | Dakar, Dakar, Senegal |
| Festival Contact Information | Festival Mondial des Arts Nègres
Avenue des Ambassadeurs – Fann Résidence |
| Festival Description | The annual Festival of World Black Arts takes place in Dakar, Senegal with a significant theme each year for the largest gathering of eminent Black people from the continent and the Diaspora. The programming features vast ranging forms and expressions of art, music, dance, literature, poetry, drama and cinematography. The modern African cultural beacon, shines a powerful light over the world’s creative landscape. For a month, all dimensions of contemporary Black culture will express themselves in unison, without any restraint. The arts will be celebrated: poetry, sculpture, painting, music festival, cinema, theatre plays, fashion shows, African architecture and design exhibit, and dance performances. Renowned artists will compete for the FESMAN 2009 price, which will be awarded for the most innovative artistic expressions. |
| Festival Dates | December 10 - 31, 2010 |
| Festival Links | http://www.blackworldfestival.com/ |
Festival Story:
The first Festival was hosted by President Leopold Sedar Senghor, in Dakar in April 1966, on the theme: “Significance of Black Art in the Life of People and for the People”, and was marked by a very large attendance of eminent personalities from all over the world. The second Festival, also a very successful event, took place in Nigeria, from 15 January to 12 February 1977, on the theme: “Black Civilization and Education”.
Festival Events:
Artist feature 2010:
- Omar Sosa Afreecanos Quartet
Performance — Tuesday, December 21, 2010
- Omar Sosa is a musician extraordinaire — composer, arranger, pianist, percussionist, improvisatore, communicator. His Afro-Cuban based mix of jazz and world music is broadly expressive - full of power and passion, subtlety and grace. Omar draws from each culture he touches the energy and storytelling of hip-hop, the free-spirited experimentation of jazz, the heartfelt emotion of an Afro-Ecuadorian choir, the sensuality of popular Cuban music, the hypnotic trance of Gnawa ritual. The result is a modern, urban music with a Latin jazz heart. Born and raised in Camaguey, Cuba, Omar Sosa studied percussion for many years at the prestigious Escuela Nacional de Musica in Havana. When he couldn’t find his first-choice instrument the marimba he began to focus on the piano, finishing his formal studies in 1984 at the Instituto Superior de Arte, also in Havana. In the late ‘80’s, having studied everything from Afro-Cuban folkloric traditions to European classical music, he began working with two Cuban pop singers - first Vicente Feliu, then Xiomara Laugart and helped jump-start a Cuban hip-hop scene in the early ‘90’s through his collaboration with Cuban rapper Ofill. For more information visit http://omarsosa.com/, or for complete concert information, please visit http://www.melodia.com.
Other Sources:
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- Facebook
http://fr-fr.facebook.com/BlackWorldFest - Twitter
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http://www.myspace.com/events/View/8638498/Black-World-Festival—Festival-des-Arts-Negres
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