FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / Thursday, February 26, 2004

Press Contact:
860.232.1006, info@realartways.org

REAL ART WAYS PRESENTS LEGENDARY ANGOLAN SINGER BONGA

Tuesday, March 30, 7:30pm

HARTFORD, CT — Angolan legend Bonga will perform live at Real Art Ways on Tuesday, March 30 at 7:30PM. Bonga performs in the style of semba, a relative of Brazilian samba, and has become a national hero for his melancholic songs of Africa's humiliation and colonization. He will sing in the intimate and acoustically superb Real Art Ways Theater. For more information on Bonga, call 860.232.1006.

Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door. Real Art Ways Members receive a $5 discount. Advanced tickets are recommended. For reservations, call 860.232.1006 x222.

"Bonga has a husky voice and incomparable feeling." — Le Monde

"Bonga, is a charismatic performer... (who has) fused different worlds to create a distinct product that keeps the party going." — Peter Watrous, NY Times

"In a gravelly voice that hovers over his band's keyboard, accordion, horns, percussion and guitar, Bonga still carries the plight of his people to audiences." — Boston Herald

Bonga, often referred to as the "Voice of Angola," is an essential voice in contemporary African music. He sings of identity, love and peace in his trademark heavy, percussive voice full of the passion and melancholy of his war-torn native land. His 2001 release O Melhor de Bonga (Lusafrica) is a compilation of his greatest tracks paying tribute to his rich and varied career. In 2004 Bonga released Kaxexe (Lusafrica), an acoustic masterpiece.

Yet despite the heavy subject matter of his lyrics, the rhtyhms of Bonga's music are irresistible... dancing, clapping and crowd participation are all encouraged.

"If [Bonga had] remained in his native Angola, Bonga might have become simply a heartthrob crooner, the Julio Iglesias of Africa," wrote Time Out New York. "But after the government's response to his anticolonial lyrics drove him into exile in Paris, his music spread underground, and he slowly gained the stature of a political and culture hero, which is reflected in his single-name cachet."

Real Art Ways is a 28-year-old alternative, multi-disciplinary arts organization that presents and supports contemporary artists and their work, facilitates the creation of new work, and creatively engages and informs audiences and communities.

real art ways: 56 arbor st, hartford ct 06106, 860.232.1006, www.realartways.org, email us