Nightlife Offers Optimistic View of Africa

Midnight at the Hogon, when booming laughter and clanking bottles rise above the haunting rhythms of Toumani Diabate’s koro, is no time to look for African misery.

It might be the Green Bar in Kinshasa or the Tchova in Maputo or any of hundreds like it in every country south of the Sahara.

“This is what Africa is about,” Diabate said, setting aside his 21-string gourd lute. “We’re not all starving and dying.”

Africans on the whole have a lot of worries, he said, but they also share an ability to see the upside and forget their troubles among friends. At the Hogon, a mixed crowd managed that nicely.

Couples bumped, dipped and gyrated. Gold filigree identified the affluent--African yuppies who are doing well in business, or government officials who have found a way to supplement their salaries.

Working-class types, in soiled shirts and laceless shoes, shared a beer and made it last, but they seemed to have no less fun.

A Malian woman in black dress, red shoes and a Chiquita Banana headdress danced in personal oblivion. A barrel-chested European, naked to the waist, pranced across the floor like a bullfighter.

Aid workers were busy shaping themselves into intricate poses on the outdoor dance floor among Africans who did similar steps with much more grace.

Next to Diabate, a laid-back sideman hammered vibes balanced precariously on two beer cases. It was a private party, but the guy at the door welcomed in two strangers with friendly claps on the back.

Diabate is among a number of Africans who play often in the United States. Malian guitarist Ali Farka Toure recorded the popular album “Talking Timbuktu” with Ry Cooder. “Americans are starting to catch on to our music,” Diabate said. “Maybe that will help them understand us better.”

In Mozambique, saxophonist Ernest Dawkins of Chicago echoed the point. He came on a three-week cultural exchange and declared himself astonished at the spirit and energy. “Africa is not exactly what I expected,” he said on his last night in town. “I like it.”