Dela Botri, Pat Thomas to rock Francophonie Festival

Dela Botri of Hewale Sounds, French guitarist Bernard Viguiré, alongside percussionist Maxwell Abeyie and legendary singer Pat Thomas will on Saturday, March 14 perform at the Alliance Française as part of the 2015 edition of Francophonie festival.

Viguiré, who collaborated with Botri in 2014, which resulted in performances in the French capital, Paris, is expected to jam the concert, which would be a cool blend of highlife, jazz, contemporary and traditional Ghanaian music.

Dela Botri, who is also known as the ‘flute magician’, is the founder, leader and artistic director of Hewale Sounds and the ‘Gouda’ music group (former Hewale Youth).

Leading and directing Hewale Sounds, the group has performed for highly enthusiastic audiences in Togo, Benin, Nigeria, La Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Guinea, Mauritania, Jordan, Egypt, South Africa, Norway and the United States of America.

In Ghana, the group has enchanted audiences from all regions during their national tour and also at cultural institutions such as the Alliance Française, Goethe Institute, the British Council and residencies of ambassadors to Ghana from Congo, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Togo and the United States.

Hewale Sounds has had numerous performances for state programmes and high official visitors to Ghana. Most recently, Hewale Sounds performed for H.R.H. Prince Haakon of Norway during his visit to Accra in 2011.

Some of the activities lined up for the festival include an exhibition of extremely evocative artworks by three Togolese painters, Emmanuel Sogbadzi, Sokey Edorh, Camille Azankpo and Pierre Segoh, would open at the Alliance Française in Accra.

From Friday, March 20 to Saturday March 28, a film festival would take place with screenings in several venues all over the city of Accra. It is scheduled to premiere ‘Timbuktu’ by Abderrahmane Sissako, director and producer who was nominated at the Oscar film award in 2015.

On Saturday, March 21, the Alliance Française would host a Francophone cultural fair, which would showcase the diversity Francophone countries through literature, music, dance, fashion and food.

In the evening, Beninoise diva and former UNICEF Ambassador, Zeynab, would trill fans with her exclusive style. Discovered in 2002 with ‘Intori’, her first album, Zeynab has shaped Beninois and French-speaking music of Africa with her unique musical genre.

She efficiently succeeded in mixing the rhythms of his time (R&B) and the traditional tones of her country of adoption (Ivory Coast) and of her native Benin.

Embassy of France in Accra, Institut Francais (Ghana / Togo), Canadian High Commission in Accra, CFAO, ORSAM, Total, Societe General, Bank of Africa and others are sponsoring the festival.