Independence Day in Equatorial Guinea

Equatoguineans may not have much to celebrate on independence day: They've been free from colonialism since 1968, but the current ruler has been in power since 1979.

Malabo, capital of Equatorial Guinea (Flickr CC).

What’s to celebrate on independence day in the land of the current chairperson of the African Union? Not much, when reading what Guinean writer (in exile) Juan Tomás Ávila Laurel publishes on his blog. Or it should be the construction of those presidential villas, mitigated by them apparently being put to use during next year’s African Nations Cup. Let’s try it anyway.

Melitón Pablo Mangué tells us Guineans are dancing to Mbini’s “Misek Bi Nnem” and Antorcha De Zaragoza’s “Nza Ve Me Nnom” at the moment, although the videos haven’t surfaced on the net yet — let us know when you find them. Recent hits that do come with a video are: Fifi La Mirey’s ‘Angon Osok‘, Luis Mbomio’s shiny Faya Faya, among others.

Then there’s like “Bicomsua” by Tawola Mesam and Sandra Star and ‘Mi Cosa‘.

Yuma is throwing a party.

And some Equatoguinean Spanish hip hop to end this music break. (Spanish is one of the country’s two official languages – French being the other one). It is Verso Roto’s “Arte Sagrado.” (On hip hop:  Here‘s a good blog to follow up on what’s new in Equatorial Guinea hip hop.)

Further Reading

From Cape To Cairo

When two Africans—one from the south, the other from the north—set out to cross the continent, they raised the question: how easy is it for an African to move in their own land?

The road to Rafah

The ‘Sumud’ convoy from Tunis to Gaza is reviving the radical promise of pan-African solidarity and reclaiming an anticolonial tactic lost to history.

Sinners and ancestors

Ryan Coogler’s latest film is more than a vampire fable—it’s a bridge between Black American history and African audiences hungry for connection, investment, and storytelling rooted in shared struggle.