Manu Dibango: ambassador of culture and the Francophonie

A statement drafted by his family on his facebook page announced the death of artist Manu Dibango on Tuesday, March 24, 2020, as a result of a covid-19 infection. He was 86 years old. The famous saxophonist, composer of the worldwide hitSoul Makossa ( 1972) had become, over the years of a long artistic career, an ambassador of culture throughout the world and a builder of bridges between the West and Africa.

DOUALA, PARIS, LE MONDE

Born in Douala, Cameroon, in 1933, Manu Dibango arrived in France in 1949 and settled with a host family in Saint-Calais, Sarthe. In the early 1950s, he took up music. While attending a summer camp in Saint-Hilaire du Harcouët,he met Cameroonian musician Francis Bebey, who introduced him to saxophone and jazz. Having failed his A-levels, and now obliged to support himself by his own means, he embarked on a musical career that would lastmusical career that would take him from Paris to New York, via Brussels, Leopoldville and Abidjan, to play alongside some of the world's biggest music stars. In 1972, the song he composed,Soul Makossa, became a worldwide hit, establishing his reputation and helping to promote African music internationally.

AN AMBASSADOR FOR AFRICAN CULTURE AND THE FRENCH-SPEAKING WORLD

These experiences have enriched his music, and these encounters have helped make him an encyclopedia of music from Africa and beyond. For 20 years, he shared his knowledge and distilled his anecdotes with generosity and enthusiasm every Sunday on Radio Africa n°1.

"We are bridge-builders between the West and Africa".

A talented composer and patron of many artists,Manu Dibango was also a committed artist. Commandeur des arts et des lettres, Unesco Artist for Peace, Grand Témoin de la Francophonie at the Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2026,he embodied a link between the world's cultures.

France Alumni salutes the memory of a great artist, promoter of the French language and cultural bridge-builder.

Emmanuel Dautant / CC BY-SA