PRESS: Colorado Parent - February 2004

Like an ambassador from a faraway contingent, Bongo Love conveys culture, storytelling and music to children across Colorado's Front Range. His workshops in schools and community centers provide a refreshing break to the hustle and bustle of typical American children's lives, immersing them in the traditional sounds Bnogo learned while growing up in Zimbabwe. It doesn't take much, however, for Colorado kids to become accustomed to the gracious sounds and rhythms of this faraway land: While shaking his hips animatedly, Love croons "So, so, so, so," and before long a roomful of gleeful kids is, too.

Many of the sounds and stories Love shares in his still-rather-thick, though endearing African accent were passed down from his mother, a bush doctor and traditional spiritual leader. While celebrating the harvest, praying for rain or honoring an ancestor, Love and his 11 brothers and sisters learned to play drums and use their voices while their mother led the ceremony.

The lifestyle Love portrays through song and story is a slower, simpler one than what most Americans are accustomed to. Though Africa comprises more than 50,000 tribes and languages, Love explains, "It is laid back and beautiful. There isn't a lot of TV or toys - we make our own."

Another difference Love has noted since settling in Boulder about a year and a half ago: "The families are bigger and the children in Africa play together all the time, while it seems children here see their friends only at school or when they have a play date. The more money people have, the more it seems they become isolated."

Sitting in a drum circle, trying their hand at one of the half dozen drums Love has carted in from his truck, kids get a taste of community, African-style. Using call-and-answer songs and repetitive sounds, phrases and movements, Love exposes his audience to a number of African dialects (he knows 10), and tells stories such as one about how squirrels got their bushy tails.

Love's grandfather started calling him "Bongo" due to his passion for the drums as a young boy and the name stuck. (It's unquestionably easier to say than his given name, Pasipaomatandaukapisaanotsva.) In Africa, Love ("My brother called me 'Bongo Love' because I always wanted to sing love songs," he explains) continued to play with friends and in bands before coming to the United States to try to make a name for himself as a sculptor (some samples of his work are on display at the Boulder Gallery on the Pearl Street Mall). The music workshops evolved as a natural offshoot of the artist's curriculum vitae.

"In Africa, we watch each others' children every day, so I have been around children every day of my life." says the thirty-something musician, which helps explain his youthful countenance and ease with audiences of all ages. With the help o fhis partner adn publicist Bethie (who uses only a first name), Love started performing for school groups in early 2002. His part-reggae, part-jazz band, Zula Zula, has also performed for older audiences at venues across the state. The artist has produced a CD featuring many of his songs, and is currently working on a CD of children's songs.

"It is the happiness, the shining and the innocence of children that I like the most," says Love, whose workshops have proven to be a symbiotic learning experience: "Children will explain things to Bongo that he doesn't understand or cannot pronounce correctly," explains Bethie. "We've had many parents and teaching say that the students seemed to carry more caring and understanding and cooperative behaviors to others after our workshops." Kids aren't the only ones to benefit from the workshops, however: Adults audiences, such as corporate groups seeking "unity" in the workforce, have also enjoyed Love's presentations.

Along with their other efforts, Love and Bethie found the nonprofit Kudzidza Foundation, which provides school supplies and other needed items for children in Zimbabwe. In addition to seeking sponsorships from schools and other organizations, the pair donates a portion of every workshop and CD sale to the foundation. "In Zimbabwe, there are 7 million people who are under starvation," says Love. "So I try to explain that there are people in the world who need more than you might feel you need."

Despite such serious issues, Love maintains a no-worries, no-hurries attitude. It's an attitude that is catching on with audiences of all ages across Colorado: "Music relieves the stress of the mind," he says. "Even when music is sad, it is healing because it is the heartbeat. It is the music from the heart."

For more information about Bongo Love's workshops or the Kudzidza Foundation, call 303-543-9364 or visit zulazula.com

Guen Sublette is calendar editor for Colorado Parent and a mother of two.