The Sound of Africa

In a dusty corner of a shantytown, a young African boy, dressed in ragged clothes, dances, sings, and plays a “blik kitaar” home made from an old Mobiloil can. Too poor to aford a real guitar, he’s fashioned one from scraps found at the local dump, the can still bearing the iconic Pegasus logo. As his fngers strum the strings (if not of nylon) are made from unraveled bycycle brake wire, the air fllls with a sound that is unmistakably African. The “blik kitaar” is mainly found in South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. The unique rhythm and sound produced from this home made guitar echoes the spirit and soul of Southern Africa itself. Behind him, a weathered corrugated iron fence stretches into the distance, with his modest home visible beyond.