Mbilia Bel's own musical rendition of the universal theme of La Beauté D'une Femme -- The Beauty of a Woman -- is a truly lovely thing to witness with the attentive ear, and eye; a wonderful thing to experience. For 11:31 minutes we're engrossed in her exposition of this never-ending 'matter'. We dare not blink, though it happens despite our ardent effort.
La Beauté is a pearl of a song. It's an extended feast of soulful, mellow rhumba hosted by the acclaimed Cleopatre of our time. We of the Great Lakes and Rivers and snow caps, and an unconquerable and incomparable forest cover. What a melodious treat! What a harmony of sight and sound, of passion and color, of voice and beat -- of a calmness and collectedness and persistence of spirit!
Without intending it, I think, Mbilia traces her own life's journey of disappointment and angst and triumph. We know a bit of that story, but only a bit. The song's tone, of voice and instrument, is both nostalgic -- very nostalgic -- and forward leaning. Undeterred by the past. She and her mates allow themselves here, despite and because of everything they've seen in many journeys, a moment of feline strut and restrained cheer and all the associated body texts. They, survivors and veterans of a perennial and so often unspoken 'war', have earned all of it.
Click here to watch the video
NOTE: This song had 120,424 views on YouTube at the time this post was published.
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