Traveling from Assinie, Côte d’Ivoire to Accra, Ghana was an adventure in and of itself, hitchhiking in the early morning, negotiating with an obstinate bush taxi driver, cramming ourselves into a mini-bus with 9 other people and all of our collective luggage. Quite the up close and personal way to get to know the local people!

It was full of adventure, reunions
 and some frightening moments.
At the end of the trip in Ivory Coast, we found what paradise looks like! The beaches of Assinie are one of the most beautiful places in the world! We were able to play beach soccer and surf a bit.

K’naan is a Canadian rapper from Somalia. His track, “Wavin’ Flag”, from his album “Troubadour”, was chosen as an official world cup anthem. Coca Cola, one of the corporate sponsors of the event, asked him to rewrite some lyrics of the song which they deemed to be not in keeping with their image. The offending lyrics goes as follows: “Somalia, a violent, poor people zone. People struggling, fighting to eat.”

The World Cup Opens with the host country South African playing against Mexico. The match ended 1 for South Africa,  1 for Mexico

Watch Tshabalala score the first goal of the game 10 minutes into the second half of the game.
Rafael Marquez scored Mexico’s only goal to earn a 1-1 draw.
France and Uruguay face each other in the other Group A game later Friday.
Watch South Africa pre-opening interviews here
“Football legend Pelé in South Africa”. Pelé launched Pelé Sports at a dirt pitch in Melrose Arch on Thursday.

The 2010 World Cup in South Africa is under way. The opening ceremony has taken place at Johannesburg’s 94,000-capacity Soccer City. Jean-Sébastien Brettes, Melissa Gundlach, and Nicholas Kuhn left for Africa to start “We’re Going to the World Cup!” followed by a small camera crew, making a pilgrimage down the continent from Morocco to South Africa.

NY African Film Festival
and
Human Rights Watch Film Festival
June 10-24, 2010

www.africanfilmny.org

FREE EVENTS:
Live Screening of World Cup Matches and Soccer Films at Paley Center for Media
June 11th – July 11th

Music * Dance * Picnic * Fair * Food & More
Claremont Park
July 18, 2010

Presented by African People Alliance, Inc. (APA)
Produced by AfrobeatRadio

NY African Film Festival 2010 Continues In May at BAMcinématek
17TH NEW YORK AFRICAN FILM FESTIVAL AT THE BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC
Join us in celebrating the conclusion of the 17th New York African Film Festival at BAM, in conjunction with DanceAfrica. Come out for good music, good dance, good food and of course GOOD FILMS!

BAM Presents DanceAfrica 2010: African Rhythms/American Echoes, under the artistic direction of Chuck Davis. Celebratory Memorial Day Weekend tradition includes the DanceAfrica Bazaar, African films, master classes, and an art exhibition.
May 22–31, 2010
Brooklyn Academy of Music

Skoto Gallery is pleased to present As Time Goes By, a solo exhibition by the American artist Mary Frank, including a selection of encaustics, works on paper and photographs from the period 1960-2010. The reception is Thursday, May 13th, 6-8pm and the artist will be present.