Life on Earth

“You got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em…” in Rwanda and beyond.

I was only in Rwanda for two weeks, so I’ll forgive myself for not seeing the broader context, but myself, and my travel companions from Cooperative Coffees and SERRV International, did notice a particular fondness by our Rwandan drivers for American Country Music–namely the “Gambler” by Kenny Rogers. In fact, as we pulled into the Kigali Airport for our departure, our driver was delighted to hear that we were jamming, literally, to that old standby.

On April 7th, NPR’s Gwen Thompkins, explored this phenomenon.

Her piece on country music in Africa is titled, “Country Music in a Far Country” and gets to the heart of the story that alluded me.

(Above) A man shows off his shiny new boots at a public bus stop in Kigali, Rwanda.

A group of teenagers listen to music while they take a morning swim in Lake Kivu in Rwanda’s Western District. These inexpensive radios are seen all over Rwanda.

“Country Music in a Far Country“

Also, one of my traveling partners BLOGed about the same story, read it at Lucia Has Something To Say