Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Festival au Desert (Mali)

JAN 8,9,10th 2009
You should visit... This is a good time... Buy your plane ticket now...
HISTORY
Created in Jannuary 2001, the "festival au désert" is held every year in Essakane, two hours from Timbouctou in Mali.

This Festival seeks its origin in the big traditional Touareg festivities, as Takoubelt in Kidal and Temakannit in Tombouctou, which represented for long time a place for decision making and exchange of information among the different communities. At the beginning, there were songs and touareg dances, poetries, camel rides, games, etc.

Today, the Festival is opened to the external world and welcomes artists from other Malian regions, other African countries, but also from Europe and from the whole world.

During three days, around 30 artistic groups are invited from all around the world to present their art.

Due to the attention of the media and to the huge logistic effort that it is mobilizing, the Festival is now included among the Big Modern Festivals, though it maintains its traditional cultural aspects.

MAIN
http://www.festival-au-desert.org/
LISTEN
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/soundcheck/episodes/2007/07/03/segments/81493
ARTICLE
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/07/malifestival200707

Monday, May 19, 2008

Is it a Hurricane? No, it's just "the Rain."

So it has rained a few times now. Today being one - and it's not just rain that comes, it's wind- and plenty of it. There is lightening and thunder too but wow that wind - it's like a hurricane! A part of my roof has actually blown off, a small part and not in my bedroom so it's ok - and it's supposedly getting fixed tomorrow.

I got a cold because I was still sleeping outside but that wind! It just about knocked me off the bed - well, the makeshift bed as mine had bed bugs (may-be scabies) - man, it was awful - but I got rid of them by pouring boiling water over my bed, washing the creases, leaving it in the sun, washing the sheets with treated stuff, and spraying the house with strong repellent. The procedure was rough and involved plenty of bites, sleeping on a row of chairs with a towel sheet- and cursing. But now how I appreciate my lovely bed and soft sheets! It makes me think about the wonders of whipped cream.