PAN M 360 at Nuits d’Afrique 2024 – Athenea, A Woman of Many Roots

“I was born in Cuba, but I’m actually a quarter Ethiopian, a quarter Haitian, a quarter Chilean and a quarter Spanish,” she tells us in the middle of her show. Indeed, the Lady in Red from head to toe (I’m not exaggerating, even her hair was red) charmed us during her outdoor performance at the Festival Nuits d’Afrique.

Arriving with an array of musicians on stage, including her husband Ricardo on keyboards, the band’s musical director, and an excellent pianist, she blew us away from the moment she took to the stage. She is accompanied by a percussionist, a drummer, a saxophonist, two trumpeters and a guitarist. She decided to open with a cover of Gloria Estefan’s Mi Tierra, but followed this up with one of her own compositions. And it’s here that we discover her talents as a percussionist and dancer, as well as playing the maracas.

“The next one is a composition of mine, Amarga Gloria, and it’s about the contradiction that exists with immigration. We think all our problems will be solved, but we’re going to run into other problems here.”

She alternates between salsa and cumbia, and sometimes changes rhythm in the same song, which adds richness and depth to the track. She has a great stage presence, taking up space and revealing herself completely, interacting with her audience. And there’s no denying her talent for staging dramatic finales! But hey, you had to play the game!

She surprised us with her cover of Papaoutai, which she interpreted very well and allowed us to discover that she sings in French. My favorite was her Spanish rendition of the Jacksons’ Blame It On The Boogie, which I really enjoyed. She finished with a few classics from the salsa repertoire, before getting us all up and dancing, and allowing each of her musicians to do their solo.