In the darkest years after World War II, the persecution of the black population in South Africa reached unprecedented levels of violence. It is those who rebel against the infamous apartheid regime who pay the price, and it takes a lot of courage to fight the white
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A cold November in 1968, snow and despair, and a song. Singing it, to vindicate democracy, is a charming and proud twenty-something, wearing boots and hair as they are worn in London, and eyes made up in the heavy black of revolt. In the cultural ferment that
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The chubby cheeks, the round, high forehead, the thick eyebrows painted black. Her neck, wrists and hands encircled by gleaming gold chains. The sound of her name evokes the scorching sun over there, beyond the sea that surrounds her islands. Cesária Évora. Her being, in all its
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She performs in a black dress, the shawl over her shoulders, mourning in her heart. The head bent backwards, the tragic face of a Greek mask. The motions of the body, an aura that exudes charisma and commands respect. Gloomy, fatalistic lyrics, sung in an intense, passionate
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True songs that speak of suffering, of family dramas, can only be written by those who live a tormented existence. Little girls, forced into early adulthood, when they become butterflies they cry out, and are the voice against misery, hunger, abuse, exploitation, the humiliation of women. Some
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If you are unfamiliar with the tragic events of post-war Argentina and the last fifty years of civil and cultural history of the Latin American country that is the home of the tango, you can help by immersing yourself in the songs of Mercedes Sosa. Spokesperson for
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If you want to fight to change the world, you have to use unconventional weapons, such as music and poetry. So did Violeta Parra, pencil and guitar, at war with life that spares no one, but punishes some more than others. The life of a woman, who
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Some seemingly unpleasant moments of childhood, once adults, can be revisited and reworked – this is probably what happened to little Sona: on boring family evenings, her wise grandmother asks her to sit with the elders and listen. The music starts, the women sing, the children chirp
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‘I am a terrorist without bombs and I have only one weapon, my music’[1]. This is sung by Rim Banna, who for decades represented the spirit of revenge of the women of Palestine. Died of cancer at just over 50 years of age, she is one of
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