Music in Maputo

Mozambique is a bizarre place. A mix of Portuguese, African, and Arabic influences, it's far from the homogenous setting in Lesotho, even far from the black and white of South Africa. In Maputo, the capital, everyone seems to speak Portuguese (and very little English)--Spanish from elementary school, don't fail me now! It's strange hearing black African school kids speaking a European romance language as they're walking down the city streets. A stark difference from the US of A, there's a strong Socialist history and pride after their long, violent revolution that ended not so long ago. Most of the major city streets in Maputo are named after Socialist leaders--Avenida Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, and Ho Chi Minh, even popular leaders that the US decided didn't fit their agenda and most likely "took care of"--Salvador Allende and Patrice Lumumba. Lucky for me Mozambique doesn't seem to hold grudges.

Last night Chris Conz (my partner in crime for the next 2 weeks) and I went to a bar to see some live music. It was Saturday night and probably our last chance to experience nightlife in Mozambique. We arrived at Gil Vicenthe pretty early at 10pm, the live music didn't start until 11pm, and it was to be a "jam session." I was a little disappointed that it wasn't a specific artist, but Chris Conz had faith that it would be good. When the first band finally started at 11:30, I was thrilled to hear the catchy Afro-Latin fusion I had read about before coming to Moz. Throughout most of Southern Africa, various forms of kwaito are most popular (a mix of hip-hop and traditional African music), but this was definitely different. A simple trio, guitar, bass and drums, the band started with some Afro-fusion beats, then a man got up on stage and sang some cover songs with the band. I have never seen a jam session or "open-mic night" flow so smoothly. Various musicians came and went, but the music never stopped. My favorite guy, they were all men, was indubitably the African version of Tizoc Estrada on lead guitar. Eyes closed and guitar high on his torso, he moved his fingers so fast over the guitar strings my eyes couldn't keep up. My favorite songs were the Afro-Latin rhythms with Portuguese lyrics. The drum solo wasn't bad either, and the dude on the djembe drum was classic. Gotta love the djembe beats.

The 2-day trip to Maputo was no easy task. Chris Conz and I took a mini-bus to Johannesburg from Maseru, Lesotho. I was a little nervous because I had a giant rolly suitcase with me, in addition to my hiking backpack and shopping bag of food. I am storing the large suitcase in JB while I travel through Mozambique. CC and I had to walk with my big rolly suitcase from the drop-off point on Noord Street in a dangerous area of the Jo'burg taxi rank to the airport taxi on a street corner about a block away. Talk about a walking target in the Jo'burg taxi rank--a young white girl obviously bound for the international airport with a giant, awkward suitcase. Thank God Chris Conz was there--not only did he know the way, but he shlepped my suitcase too. We gave a young guy a few rand to walk with us even though Chris knew the way, and we made it safe and sound. We got picked up at the airport and headed to our Jo'burg Hostel. The Jo'burg Taxi Rank is always stressful so I was thrilled to be at our hostel, safe and sound with all my belongings. Thanks again to Chris Conz for helping me. :)

The next morning we were up at 5:30am to catch our bus to Maputo. Back to the Johannesburg Taxi Rank (the last time for me) led by a guy from our hostel who lives in JB. We took a roundabout way to the bus station via public transport that took a long time, and barely made our bus. 7 hours later we were at the South Africa/Mozambique border. A group of European soccer fans, CC, and I held up the bus waiting for our visas (South Africans don't need a visa to enter Moz). Lucky for Chris and I, there was a large group who needed visas or the bus would have left us. Another hour we arrived in Maputo, got off at Ave. Karl Marx and walked 20 minutes at dusk to our hostel. We were exhausted and hungry. We ate dinner at a near-by restaurant and went to sleep early.

Yesterday we went to the craft market and municipal market where I spent the most cash in one day than any other day in Africa. CC and I made a delicious shrimp stir-fry for dinner with all of our fresh food from the market before going out to see live music at Gil Vicenthe. Today art museums, tomorrow the bustling fish market...