Somali poet, Ahmed Magare reads fervently at Rich Mix. Pic by F Macha
I was part of a beautiful day on Easter Sunday.
Rich Mix is definitely among hottest clubs in
London at the moment. Strategically situated. Not just in Hackney but
Shoreditch.
Many years ago Shoreditch would have been related to mostly, bars, alcohol
and clubbing. I recall going to a place with an odd name. Club 333. You paid a
few pounds and climbed up the stairs to a very rocking hall. Not only was the
floor tilting, the music was insane. Everything to make you dance. Woow.
Rumba aka Salsa aka Merenge; Samba aka Bossa Nova
aka Brazilian music; Funk and Soul and Hip Hop; Afro beat , Ndombolo, Mbaqanga, Arabic music, English songs,
bellowing singers, captivating rhythms, screeching sax and horns...simply
insatiable music.
As an African, 333, jetted me back to the 1970s and 80s when we
used to dress (to the nines) to go bump, sway, yoyo to Kool and The Gang, Chic, Dianna Ross
and you know what? Disco music. Except in 2004 (or something like that) you got
every grooving style on earth.
Folks!
I AM TALKING ABOUT DANCING!
Not
jumping or starring at mobile phones- to text someone your selfie-in a dance
club. Sweating.
333 was
part of Shoreditch’s lungs, livers and legs. God Please Embrace Us!
Another spot was the (then) very famous Cargo. Bands
from every corner of mother planet and whoa... ahh.
Yes ....here I saw the Maasai rap group, Xplastaz,
peppering the 2003 scene. Rap in Swahili
and Maasai. I wonder where Xplastaz are up as we read this. I know their
manager, Mr Jumanne, is currently married to a Tanzanian woman. Listen. Jumanne
is actually Dutch. Last year he released a CD compilation of the legendary Afro
fusion Sunburst band from (again) the 1970s. What is my point? Shoreditch, East
London, meant those “steaming” night venues.
The little that I remember.
However...
We are talking about, Easter Sunday, 2017.
No beers. No Marijuana. No bouncers glaring
suspiciously at the crowd and semi drunk (or very tipsy) revellers hunting this
and that. Rich Mix @ Noon. You walk in and there are mothers with babies.
Prams, for Jambos sake.
Paintings, arts and crafts for sale. Tracy and Kinsi Abdullah, leader
and co- organiser of the Free Family Fun, busy texting or speaking or hugging
an artist, some guest, er.... someone.
In you walk with your many drums and Nature
Nailah, the Yoga instructor helps you with the, whoops, donkey activity.
Somewhere along the line, a man with cameras. Daryl Dyer. Portuguese lady with a camera. Globe trotter Ines
Valle. So is... Joseph Adamson aka JJ of “Africans in London TV” (AIL.TV). Half
Kenyan, mini Ugandan. With cameras. Cameraaaaaas!
The work of Sara Pittaluga, simply stunning. Pic by F Macha
This is a Numbi Arts event. NUMBI is “a global
conversation, locally,” says its site.
There are unusual artists. Elderly Somali lady.
Or Italian caricature phenomenon Sara Pittaluga. Creating smiles through her
Instant Coffee art.
Plus poets. Naimo Aska. Brilliant.
Then......
Aisha Mohammed cries (for real) as she recites
her intense piece. Aisha and Daryl Dyer also do interviews. Apart from your
drumming and those gleeful kids, youths, men and women bashing Djembes, Congas
and percussions, Kinsi Abdullah, does a story. Later introduces poetry evening.
This is not forgetting sessions of Yoga,
and an exhibition of short films by East Africans and participation from
various corners of the earth.
You do
your poem about William Shakespeare and Swahili.
Then.....
Someone else and someone else and...Ssssshhh.....
at the end is Mr Ahmed Magare. Never
heard of him. Zealous Ahmed did grin much while drumming earlier.... wait. Another golden Somali poet, Elmi Ali,
introduces Magare and his book. Swahili
speaking Almi reads his incredible poem GAGGING ORDER ORANGE SODA:
“My father was a titan,
My mother lady time
I was taught to rhyme.”
Magare is a Somali painter and poet. Somalia?
Somalis are everywhere in East Africa. I grew with Somalis in Arusha. Somalis
in Uganda, Kenya, everywhere. Somali is part of East African DNA. Lately.
Lately. Recent years....nonetheless.
Internationally speaking the word Somalia has coughed
negative perceptions. But individuals like the elderly lady exhibiting arts and
crafts, erase that. We haven’t mentioned Sir Mo Farah, yet. Kinsi and artists, and Rich Mix plus Ahmed
Magare bring us Spring Joy. Catch lines from brother Magare’s poems. A RETREAT CLOSE TO PERFECTION
“I was here
With the story tellers of a nation
Crippled, crushed and complicated”
Or another beautiful imagery.
“Milk is peace poured peacefully from a vessel
Sign it with love...”
Ahmed
Magare paints too: “The core focus of my practise is heritage, identity and
culture. I explore challenging avenues to depict personal journeys as an urban
nomad, a traveller and storyteller.”
Yup. His recent book WHEN HEROES HIDE BEHIND
CERTAIN ROPES (Create Independent Publisher, 2017) is available online.
Good news. Good news.
Published in Informer East Africa, May 2017
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