heidiannette47 is my favorite person to follow on Instagram. I smile every day when I see her perspective on flowers or a sunset here in Southern California. Heidi is also willing to travel virtually with me and when we plan a meal with Linda, Linda researches history and culture, Heidi finds movies and literature, and I cook. We have the perfect partnership to explore the unique rainforest birds, good food, poetry, art, and laid-back music of the 'léve-léve' Santomean groove.
Linda immediately liked the idea of chicken cooked with coffee when we saw it representing São Tomé and Príncipe, but she expressed concern about the white wine, so I replaced it with apple cider vinegar. I thought it might be weird, but no, it is good. There is a little tang from the vinegar tempered by the almost imperceptible coffee taste. Because this meal was just chicken and rice, with rice pudding for dessert, Heidi kindly made a salad which added variety and nutrition. The rice pudding with its coconut milk base and cinnamon flavor is delicious.
Here are the recipes and a celebrity chef video from São Tomé and Príncipe:
· Chicken with coffee: https://worldcuisinehr.com/en/chickenwithcoffee/
· Rice pudding: https://www.196flavors.com/sao-tome-and-principe-arroz-doce/
· Okra fish stew (we didn’t make it this time, but I might try it another time): https://mykosmokitchen.wordpress.com/2018/08/07/sao-tome-and-principe/
· Celebrity chef video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_PMriFl2nU
After dinner, we watched two films and Heidi sent me a summary of what we watched and others that are worth tracking down:
· My favorite of the videos we watched is part of a series on photographers working in the islands of Africa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx7uXEEAEKE
· We also watched Mionga Ki Obo (Sea and Jungle), a documentary on how people arrived on São Tomé and Príncipe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhdgXfO6cVU
· Little Fruit from the Equator is an African fairy tale, comedy, and road trip movie that we couldn’t find to watch, but the script is online: https://subslikescript.com/movie/Little_Fruit_from_the_Equator-412751
· On a separate occasion, I watched The Lost Wave: An African Surf Story on DVD from the Los Angeles County Library.
As Linda pointed out, the diverse music and dance in São Tomé and Príncipe draws both from the Portuguese and Angolan ancestors:
· Tchiloli is a 500 year old drama based on a medieval text from Europe that has been transformed into an African artform. Here is a clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I__q5QsD6xQ
· A symphony by José Vianna da Motta also represents the Portuguese side of the heritage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wj0OslHR60U
· The quick leg movements of Kuduro can be traced to Angola, but have been integrated into the Sao Tomean culture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guVn6w5i-fg
· Dancing Kizomba in São Tomé and Príncipe also innovates on a dance from Angola: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTgYo35lOGI
Here are just a few of many recent musicians:
· The music of Tonecas Prazeres demonstrates the Dexa beat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZyONRjwumY
· Two brothers make up Calema: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nhwI9npcv8&t=4s
· The band Africa Negra represents São Tomé and Príncipe worldwide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7HPYodVdoc&t=10s
Like the music, I thought the artists from São Tomé and Príncipe showed both their European and African heritage:
· A collection from Jose de Almada-Negreiros: https://www.wikiart.org/en/jose-de-almada-negreiros
· Old Surgeon and Healer by Pascoal Viegas Vilhete: https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/old-surgeon-and-healer-pascoal-viana-de-sousa-almeida-viegas-lopes-vilhete/fQFTdD4-9azllA?hl=en
· By the Hands of God by Pascoal Viegas Vilhete: https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/by-the-hands-of-god-pascoal-viana-de-sousa-almeida-viegas-lopes-vilhete/OgEex3lQRMm_VQ?hl=en
Women poets from these islands are particularly well represented online. I found:
· A talk by Olinda Beja: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLubTcmARCg
· Notes and a poem by Alda do Espírito Santo: http://www.bookshybooks.com/2017/02/100africanwomenwriters-3-alda-do.html
· The poem Afroinsularity by Conceição Lima: https://wordswithoutborders.org/read/article/2021-10/september-2021-poetry-contest-afroinsularity-conceicao-lima-shook/
· The poem Landscape by Maria Manuela Margarido: https://wordswithoutborders.org/read/article/2010-03/a-poem-from-a-very-small-place/
Three quick videos show why the birds on São Tomé and Príncipe are unique, what is being done to preserve them, and what birds are seen there:
· Why the birds are unique: https://www.calacademy.org/explore-science/biodiversity-hotspot-case-study-s%C3%A3o-tom%C3%A9
· Work being done to preserve them: https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2016/11/07/inside-africa-sao-tome-and-principe-biosphere-c.cnn
· What birds are there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMqehQcu2o4
This lovely video made by tourists to São Tomé and Príncipe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prH1MLJeBcA and the list of the best places to visit https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-best-places-visit-sao-tome-principe/#more-20852 inspire me! I would love to go! I look forward to that time when we can travel broadly again. In the meantime, I’m hoping we all survive, thrive, recognize our mutual humanity, learn to deal with our conflicts, and allow peace, health, and safety to flourish in São Tomé and Príncipe and throughout the world.
Photo credit: Jorge Sá Pinheiro https://unsplash.com/photos/Kw7t-19rEYE
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