The year in review-Angola

Angola

A STAR IS BORN
Prepared by the Public Information Office,
United Nations Office in Angola (UNOA)

In war-ravaged Angola, living conditions for the majority of the population are increasingly difficult. It is not an easy task for a young man to go from an impoverished environment to a music school in Europe. Nevertheless, with a combination of talent, courage and good fortune, Nelson Ebo was able to make it happen.

Ebo was born in Luanda 18 years ago. His musical talents brought him into contact with a human rights officer serving with the United Nations Office in Angola (UNOA), Alfonso Barragues.

A human rights officer is not usually a talent scout, but it sometimes happens. Barragues, in addition to a full day of regular duties, spends some of his spare time hosting a weekly classical music show on local radio.

He also helps organize the annual Human Rights Day song festival, which is sponsored by UNOA. This competition brings together talent from several Angolan provinces, and a winning song can become quite popular. The festival highlights Bob Marley's famous song "Get Up, Stand Up" - also the title of a human rights programme - and all over Luanda people can be seen wearing the promotional "Get Up, Stand Up" tee shirts.

Barragues first heard Nelson Ebo sing at a local club in Luanda and sparked the young singer's interest in classical music and opera. A few months later, in March 2001, Ebo so impressed the audience at the second Human Rights Day festival that he became the evening's most popular act. On the basis of his success, and with the help of friends at UNOA and the intervention of the Spanish embassy, it wasn't long before he was admitted to a well-known voice training school in Europe.

Today Ebo is in Madrid. His singing potential has drawn the attention of one of the great lyric singers of the world, Placido Domingo. The two met this year at the Madrid Royal Theater where the famous Spanish tenor was directing a gala concert.

Since June, Ebo has been studying lyrical singing with a scholarship that was granted to him by Carlos III University. To receive the scholarship, he had to compete for first place along with 40 other candidates, and he had to obtain a perfect "10" in the examination. The competition was made even keener by the fact that there were only five openings at the medium level in the specialty of singing. As the only African candidate to fill one of those coveted spots, Ebo will now continue his studies at the Madrid Conservatory, where the world will see, in the words of Placido Domingo, a bright "hope for Angola and universal lyric singing".

Nelson Ebo is living proof that, in spite of the harsh conditions young people face in Angola, they have a wealth of potential for greatness. If only peace can be obtained in this country, the world would find many more gems like Nelson Ebo.