Those of us staying at Jeremy's were invited to a party hosted by world-famous musician Toumani Diabate.
He is a kora player from Mali, who travels the world performing.
He was a most gracious host and charming to talk to--very humble and down to earth.
We talked about Barack Obama, who has said that one of his favorite albums is one of Toumani's. Toumani said he was in the U.S. for the election and how powerful and special it was to be there for that.
Throughout my trip, I have been looking for signs of how people are feeling about our new president. Most people assume I am French, since most white people who visit Mali are French. But the people I have talked to about it are very positive and hopeful for us and for the impact it will have on the world.
Check out the picture of the shop in Bamako with a picture of Barack in it! (you can double click many of these pictures to see them larger)
A cool link for an introduction to the music of Mali:
http://content.carnegiehall.org/article/sound_insights/Mali/art_intro_mali.html Listen to some of Toumani's music here: www.myspace.com/toumanidiabate
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