A listening session to discover the largely unknown story of Super Mama Djombo, an iconic band from Guinea-Bissau, and the journey of its lead singer, Malan Mané.
One day, filmmaker and musician Jérémi Nureni Banafunzi came across a vinyl record titled *Festival* by the Guinea-Bissau band Super Mama Djombo. Behind these twelve musicians singing in Portuguese-influenced Creole—whose sound evokes that of Cape Verde—he discovered a largely unknown story.
Part of this legend, however, still lives on in France in the person of Malan Mané, the band’s singer, forgotten by his country and now living in the Paris suburbs, far from the fame he enjoyed 35 years earlier. In Guinea-Bissau, many even believe he has passed away. Yet his voice continues to accompany the great moments of national life: he is the one who sings “Sol Maior Para Comandante,” which has become the country’s second national anthem.
In 2021, Malan Mané takes the microphone once again to recount his journey into exile, the epic tale of Super Mama Djombo, and the history of postcolonial Guinea-Bissau—and, through it, the stories of thousands of other exiles.
Though he is usually reserved in his public appearances, Malan Mané—an iconic figure for an entire generation—will honor us with his presence at MansA for this listening session. He will be accompanied by director Jérémi Nureni Banafunzi.
A multimedia artist specializing in image and sound, Jérémi Nureni Banafunzi directs fiction and documentary programs. He produces his audio works exclusively for ARTE Radio, where he made his radio debut. An avid traveler, he is particularly interested in issues of identity and cultural diversity. Music plays an important role in both his life and his work: he is also a singer in the band Bim Bam Orchestra.
In the 1960s, Malan Mané joined the band Super Mama Djombo, which was formed in Guinea-Bissau and gained prominence throughout West Africa beginning in 1970. In exile in France since 1990, he emerged from obscurity in 2014 thanks to the publication of Sylvain Prudhomme’s novel *Les Grands*. He then returned to music, gave a concert in Guinea-Bissau in 2019, and reunited on stage with several musicians from the group at the Africolor festival in 2021.
