A trip to Africa from home
During a flight from the city of lakes In the United States, Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie witnessed a television spot in which an organization offered **charity work in “India, Africa and other countries of the world”. **
However, despite being confused at times as a single entity, Africa is divided into 54 countries united by color and rhythm but also woven by its own, unique personality.
Overshadowed by foreign influences that for centuries tried to overshadow the very essence of the black giant, today Africa, thanks in part to globalization has allowed the remnants of its true history to sneak into the world. Or at least offer another vision beyond the one established by their oppressors.
Marrakesh
A mosaic of contrasts to which to be able to join during these days without moving from the sofa through new allies. From the spicy streets of Marrakech to the Ndebele colors from South Africa, we flew on a magic carpet to the continent of the future in the World Africa Day.
THE CONTINENT THAT IS READ
“I am a son of the road, a caravan is my homeland and my life is the most unexpected journey”. With these words, lion the african , Andalusian diplomat born in the XV century, started through the north of Africa a magical journey that would be immortalized by Franco-Lebanese writer Amin Maalouf in the book of the same name.
The spirit of León is what evokes our ability to fly through reading and sneak into those places that only capture the pages: in the alleys of Morocco, its sorcerers and hammans, souks and saints, remembered from Paris by the author Abdella Taia in My Morocco; the Sahara desert where he arrived The little Prince fleeing from a planet engulfed by baobabs; or the mysteries of the pyramids that whisper in the Cairo Trilogy by Naguib Mahfuz, the first Arabic-language writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
beach in mozambique
If we continue towards East Africa, the aroma of myrrh and vanilla, Ethiopian coffee and spices arriving at its ports from India will reach us. But also, that of the guerrilla sulfur that surrounds the bus from Mozambique in which the old Tuahir and the little Muidinga met at the beginning of sleepwalking land, by Mia Kouto.
Stories to link with the long toilet paper roll on which Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o wrote the true story (and silenced) of the country of him in decolonize the mind , flagship essay by one of Kenya's most illustrious writers.
Arriving in South Africa, the penguin beaches and colorful villages ooze nostalgia for works like better today than tomorrow, by Nadine Gordimer story that analyzes the racial background of the most cosmopolitan country in Africa. **
And ascend, driven by the voices of the Namib desert and jump on the heads of the okavango hippos until reaching Senegal, where the letter is displayed in which Mariama Ba described to a friend **the cruelties of living in a harem. **
Latent realities that contrast with that fictional town who spoke for an entire continent in Everything falls apart, by Chinua Achebe. Because it is there, in Nigeria, where all the roots of African literature intertwine : of the one that resists and the one that, like slaves and dreamers, spread to the world.
namib desert
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie It is the best example of this bridge between two continents such as Africa and America. Especially thanks to works like Americanh, name by which Nigerians who went to the United States are known to return confused by the blessings (and obstacles) of a globalized world.
AFRICA THROUGH THE SCREEN
Literature is always the best ally to travel, especially in times of #Stay at home , although we can also start new adventures through the best virtual tours. Shall we go on safari? The agency &Beyond arrange personalized luxury tours to private reserves Ngala and Djuma, in South Africa, where giraffes, elephants and bison they roam freely.
If in your case you want to go in search of that rainbow at the end of Victoria Falls, the AirPano website provides virtual tours to this and other places in Africa: a Sahara rocked by the Milky Way, the melting colors of the Ethiopian Dallol (considered the hottest place on the planet), or the clouds of flamingos covering Lake Bogoria, in Kenya, among many other traveling delights.
For different views, that of photographers like Peter Beard or Jacqui Kenny, a traveler who after being diagnosed with agoraphobia she started a project from Google Street View through many places in the world, including a mother Africa brimming with **barren streets and everyday scenes. **
The legendary bridge from the air
Although if you have trouble sleeping on days of anxiety, nothing better than stargazing from the namibian desert through documentaries like Samsara, or browse Netflix until we come across Our planet and movies like **The boy who tamed the wind or Mokalik. **
Finally, you can also discover the "other Africa" through its art: from the art galleries of Johannesburg or Nigeria to which to travel with Google Arts & Culture, going through an urban art converted, in turn, into a perfect ally to transmit the COVID-19 prevention measures in the most vulnerable populations of the continent.
AFRICA FITS IN YOUR HOUSE
When it comes to traveling from home (almost) anything goes, with plenty of tools to move traditions and plans from the African continent to your own living room. For example, practicing African dances, one of the many activities proposed by associations such as Africa House; start on the timpani of the djembe or, of course, resort to the kitchen.
The African continent unfolds a secret world of recipes that are somewhat undervalued in our menus and whose properties are highly recommended.
what does he know kama wa nazi, an exquisite combination of prawns cooked in coconut sauce typical of sub-Saharan Africa? Better a rich efo riro nigerian based on sweet potato and vegetables? A Mozambican matapa with its leaves yucca, garlic and crab? With Manu Dibango or Fela Kuti's afrobeat in the background, of course.
RESPONSIBILITY AND UNITY
But especially, traveling to another country also invites responsibility. To the need to cooperate in difficult times in which not everyone can afford to open their eyes from a sofa when they live in trees under forty degrees . The COVID-19 in Africa will reach its highest peak in June, and the work of many organizations **is vital to curb the curve. **
In recent days, numerous NGOs have launched different initiatives to curb the consequences of the pandemic in Africa, while there are many parallel projects ** that work for a better and more sustainable future for Africa. **
Although sometimes, everything starts from your own neighborhood. These days, restaurants like El Mandela, in Madrid, or the Ethiopian addis adeba, in Barcelona, They offer home orders in order to transfer to your home the best flavors of Africa.
For your dances and smiles in adversity. For the giraffes that interrupt your sunsets and the lions that roar without knowing their status as kings. For your volcanoes and cities, jungles and mangroves. For art and unity. For all your countries, happy day, Africa!
For your dances and smiles, for art and unity: happy day, Africa!