Some Childhood Memories Of The Song "Zangalewa" In Africa & In Colombia, South America Prior To Shakira Singing "Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)

juniorka2, Jan. 28, 2011

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part III of a three part pancocojams series on the Cameroonian song "Zangalewa".

This post showcases a video of Kenyan comic Zangalewa entertainers. Comments about these entertainers are given in the Addendum to this post.

This post also presents a compilation of selected comments from various YouTube discussion threads about commenters' memories about the original "Zangalewa" song. I'm interested in comments about memories of "Zangalewa" prior to Shakira's 2010 performance of the song that she calls "Waka Waka" (This Time For Africa"). I'm particularly interested in comments that include demographic information (a nation name) and comments that also include the decade that these memories are associated with.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/02/the-cameroons-1986-zangalewa-song-and.html for Part I of this pancocojams series. That post showcase a video of the original 1986 "Zangelewa" song and video of the 2010 "Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)" song. 

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/02/what-1986-cameroonian-song-zangalewa.html for Part II of this pancocojams series. This post showcases a clip of the original Zangalewa video and documents online comments that summarize the Zangalewa song and provide English translations for some of that song's lyrics.  That pancocojams post also presents some information about the songs "Zangalewa" and "Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)".

The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, aesthetic, and historical purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are associated with this video.

Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.

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SOME CHILDHOOD MEMORIES OF THE SONG "ZANGALEWA" IN AFRICA AND IN SOUTH AMERICA (BEFORE SHAKIRA'S "WAKA WAKA" SONG)

These comments are from various discussion threads of YouTube videos of the song "Zangalewa". The discussion threads for these selected comments are presented in no particular order . The discussion thread and their comments that are compiled in this post are numbered for referencing purposes only.  

Excerpt #1

From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p47zwuOVXNQ&ab_channel=juniorka2 "Zangalewa (Zamina mina....) Waka waka", juniorka2, Jan 28, 2011

1. Jeff Barrett, 2014
"shakira made this song famous because  in the near 80's african music was very popular in the colombian caribean coast where she is from, in that part of colombia by the time of the colony arrived many african slaves and since then they have stayed here they're now colombians but they still have that thing that makes them africans... and thats the reason why a radio station in cartagena started to broadcast popular african music it was really hard to get that type of music at first  but they did it and people loved it even people who were not african descendants so that's when she came up with the idea... in this part of colombia there are many lebanese people turkies, arabics, spaniards, and of course indigenous people too who really own this land."

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Reply
2. Noel Disey, 2017
"I'm from Bogotá and I remember this original version was popular on the radio, nearly 90's"

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Reply
3.  Emma Ibn-talal Ikhwan, 2020
"Well, she made it famous for non Africans. This song has been around since the 60s and probably before. It was african marching chant as they do their early morning street march"

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4. Beven T Tsimba, 2016

"This takes way back.. Used to put pillows and imitate the guys.. This is just my childhood jam.. Will always love it.."

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5. Orlando jose Cespedes, 2016
"Zangalewa 1986 se iso popular en Cartagena  en los año 70"
.snip-
Google translate from Spanish to English: 
"Zangalewa 1986 became popular in Cartagena in the 70's"

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6. mzingaye mkwananzi, 2017
"Wow...! *2 Firstly Zangalewa brings back a flash back of my childhood back in the 90s. I resided in Victoria Falls were we had the privilege of watching Zambian broadcaster ZNBC were I first saw this song.

Secondly I am surprised by the fact that Shakira made this her song and didn't even give credit to these guys. But on that token she has to be applauded as a musician for taking a 30yr old song and making it a worldwide anthem."

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7. Senge Syndysolidard, 2019
"Aww I remember my primary school days. Am emotional right now😅😅😅 we sang this while marching especially during 11 Februaries n was an epic moments...I love my country 🇨🇲😍😍"
-snip-
Here's an excerpt of an article that explains the significance of Feb. 11 in Cameroon:
From https://www.officeholidays.com/holidays/cameroon/youth-day#:~:text=History%20of%20Youth%20Day&text=The%20date%20of%20February%2011th,Cameroons%20chose%20integration%20into%20Nigeria.
"Youth Day is a national holiday in the Republic of Cameroon on February 11th each year.

 The celebration of the holiday is intended to increase awareness and recognition of the significant role played by youth in the country.

 ...The date of February 11th was chosen to commemorate the referendum that took place on that day in 1961 which saw the southern part of British Cameroons decide in favour of joining newly independent Cameroon. The northern part of British Cameroons chose integration into Nigeria.

Youth Day has been a public holiday since 1966.

This holiday is celebrated with enthusiasm and vigour across the nation with planning meetings taking place beforehand for the numerous parades and sports events that mark the day."...

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8. Uwem Ekpo, 2019
"The  music has been around since the 70,s because I remember us singing it in the school or chartered lorry after winning hig h school soccer match. Any support from Etinan  Institute from Umoh Etukudo era?"
-snip-
Etinan Institute is a school in Nigeria.that was established in 1915. https://www.facebook.com/EtinanInstitute/

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9. Jeff Abu, 2019
"Wow! This video brought back childhood memories. I use to sing and act along whilst watching this on TV back in the early nineties. 😁"

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Reply
10. Jeff Abu, 2019
"🇳🇬"
-snip-
"NG" is the country code for Nigeria.

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11. Ibrahin Ezequiel Martins Ibrahin, 2019
"I remember watching this song on tv. good times. From Angola!"

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12. Emma Ibn-talal Ikhwan, 2020
"There is an even older version in the late 60s and early 70s that we sang in primary schools in Nigeria

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13. 4. Fa., 2021
""One ❤️ Africa 
This was our childhood anthem in Ethiopia. God bless our continent 💚💛❤"

*️*
14. Dagim Tekle, 2021
"Ethiopian 🇪🇹  i remember this song when its african union and its in adiss ababa this song was in our tv 24/7 ❣"

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15. bawe shelah, 2021
"my childwood song and this reminds me of my primary school and the fact that my dad was in the army. proudly Cameroonian"

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16. Kelvin Anderson, 2021
"We enjoyed this song as a kid in Nigeria. Thanks for the information. I never knew it was originally from my neighbouring country Cameroon 🇨🇲. One love"

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17. siri man, 2021
"this song is the marching song of african soldiers ( engages volontaires) in the second world war it mixed of bunch of african dialects 3 of those songs became famous I think the last army to sing it was the army of cameroon everyone by now devolopped thier own marching song"

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18. Levis Lopez, 2021
"La musica africana es adoptada en colombia desde los 70s para nosotros los colombianos es normal escuchar esta musica en barranquilla cartagena y toda colombia"
-snip-
Google translate from Spanish to English
"African music has been adopted in Colombia since the 70s, for us Colombians it is normal to listen to this music in Barranquilla, Cartagena and throughout Colombia."

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19. Nahashon Irungu, 2021
"Used to go for movies as boys in a kibanda. The guy would play this song as we waited for other customers to arrive. Happy days those ones."
-snip-
Here's information about the Swahili word "kibanda" from https://en.bab.la/dictionary/swahili-english/kibanda: "cabin, hut, shack, stall". I think that the commenter meant that the movies were shown in a small building.

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20.  john omolaye, 2021
"Wow! Thanks for uploading. I remember my childhood days ooo. This songs played on NTA Nigerian television. I do dance with my dad"

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21. muzaki vicky, 2021
"💃💃💃💃😅😅😅❤🌹⚽️⚽️⚽️ I loved this song school time football this was theme song and its a must win 🏆for my school I till love it 😀 2021 Uganda 🇺🇬"

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22. Cjay 111, 2021
"From Kenya, use to hear this song growing up, watched it in our black TVs."
-snip-
"Black TVs" probably means television where the programs are only shown in black & white (no colors).  

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23. Stefan kwaku, 2022
"Proud to be African; Still Vibing to this beautiful masterpiece from Ghana 🇬🇭, This was a Childhood hit🔥🔥"

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Excerpt #2
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ih3z5eS1PI "Version Coupe du Monde 2010 /  "Zangalewa : Version Coupe du Monde 2010 / 2010 World Cup video edit", published by GroupeZangalewa, Sept. 7, 2011
1.lescamerpasvénales, 2015
"Zangalewa et les Golden Sounds du Cameroun nous faisaient déjà rire au pays avec leurs déguisements dans les années 80 , avant la REPRISE de Shakira : la preuve !"
-snip-
Google translate from French to English:
 "Zangalewa and the Golden Sounds of Cameroon were already making us laugh in the country with their disguises in the 80s, before Shakira's COVER: the proof!"

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2. SMC Escobar Gonzalez, 2017
"Canción de 1987  de Camerún para el mundo"
-snip-
Google translate from Spanish to English:
"1987 song from Cameroon to the world"

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Reply
3. Maria Paz Martínez, 2021
"La canción ya la cantaban los soldados de Camerun en la segunda guerra mundial, en el 87 la grabaron las dominicanas Las Chicas Del Can. Si te referís a esta versión es de principio de los 80"
-snip-
Google translate from Spanish to English

**
4. yvonne mupasu, 2020
"Reminds m of my child hood frm Zimbabwe ...Afrobit"

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5. simeon Essoh, 2021
"Je suis ivoirien. J'étais encore un gamin. C'était au milieu des années 70; cette chanson était utilisée pour animer les activités du scootisme et C.V - A.V."
-snip-
Google translate from French to English:
"I am Ivorian. I was still a kid. It was in the mid-70s; this song was used to animate the activities of scootism and C.V - A.V."
-snip-
“Scootism” probably refers to the Boy Scouts.  I don't know what C.V.- A.V means.

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Excerpt #3
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avMfR0astQc&ab_channel=NothingLikeVinyl    "Golden Sounds - Zangalewa (music from Cameroon)", Nothing like vinyl, June 28, 2019
Summary: "Golden Sounds was a makossa band from Cameroon, creator of this song that was a huge hit in Africa in 1986. Two years later, the song also became a smash hit in Colombia, where it was associated to a music style called "terapia" ("theraphy"). The song itself was known in this country with the name of "El Militar" ("The Military"). Here you can hear the original, full-length version of this song, which many years later was used by Colombian singer Shakira as the basis for the recording that became the officlal song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament that took place in South Africa.

Original Colombian pressing from 1988."

Selected comments:
1. mvolo alain, 2021
"As a former scout leader we used to sing it during the parade on  Cameroon national day in Douala and Buea other versions after 1986 are fake and overuse."

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2. mvolo alain, 2021
"This original  full verion from.Cameroon  recorded in 1986 from "" Garde presidentielle  escadron musique  Ekounou- Yaounde)"

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Excerpt #4
From 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACFXs5IInQ4&ab_channel=EYEGAMBIA  "The African 'Waka Waka' many don't know about." published by EYEGAMBIA, July 6, 2020

Alexinara, 2021
"I grew with my grandparents who used to play this song almost on daily basis. As a young cameroonian pupil  back then, we will sing and march along to this song to our classrooms. Then came shakira, and then we lost our song. I still love the original more than shakiras though"

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Excerpt #5
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ih3z5eS1PI "Version Coupe du Monde 2010 / 2010 World Cup video edit" published, GroupeZangalewa, Sept. 7, 2011
Eunice Saiti, 2021
"l grew up listening to this song and enjoyed every bit of it in 1980s, Love from Malawi ❤"

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ADDENDUM: COMMENTS ABOUT KENYAN ZANGALEWA ENTERTAINERS
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p47zwuOVXNQ&t=113s&ab_channel=juniorka2

1. James Luchera, 2017

"The song is from Cameroon but the dancers are Kenyan dancing and comedy group called the Zangalewas."

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2. adewale1971, 2018
"Kenyans ability to jam to this Cameroon song shows the connectiveness of Africa ; east , west , north and south ..we are all one. One day we will be the world  super power as the Real USA ( United States of Africa)!!!!!!!!

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3. John Njogu Ndegwa, 2019 
"These DANCERS brought the whole difference meaning of Dramatized  music in Kenya, in the eighties. Thank you ZANGALEWA TROOP."

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4. Ian Aruasa, 2021
"Events in Kenya felt incomplete without people acting as zangalewa"

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5. SynQ Electric, 2021
“If you are Kenyan and you are here, tell me, are these the same guys who used to Perform many shows here in Kenya in the past or were there copycats because in my childhood years i used to watch them perform a lot”

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6. Teresa Gladys Nalikka, 2021
"Dikula 🤣🤣🤣 that's what we used to call men who dressed up like these guys with big stomachs and white beard paint in Uganda growing up. My granny would scare us that if we didnt behave well the men would eat us🤣🤣🤣. ❤❤❤ this song

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This concludes Part III of this three part pancocojams series.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visiting comments are welcome.

The Cameroon's 1986 "Zangalewa" Song And Shakira's 2010 "Waka Waka- This Time For Africa" Song (information and videos)

Hugo Robin de Celis
-snip-
The Cameroonian lyrics for this song are included in this video's summary.
-snip-
Statistics as of February 2, 2022 at 8:54 AM ET
total # of views-1,088,389
total # of likes - 25K
total # of dislikes -This feature is no longer working.
total # of comments -2,048 

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #2:  

Shakira - Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) (The Official 2010 FIFA World Cup™ Song)

Shakira, June 4, 2010
-snip-
The lyrics for this song are included in this video's summary.
-snip-

Statistics as of February 2, 2022 at 8:56 AM ET

total # of views - 3,046,497,095
total # of likes - 16M
total # of dislikes- This feature is no longer working.
total # of comments- 1,182, 860

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part I of a three part pancocojams series on the Cameroonian song "Zangalewa".

This post showcase a video of the original 1986 "Zangelewa" song and video of the 2010 "Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)" song. 

This pancocojams post also presents some information about the songs "Zangalewa" and "Waka Waka (This Time For Africa".

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/02/what-1986-cameroonian-song-zangalewa.html for Part II of this pancocojams series. That post showcases a clip of the original Zangalewa video and documents some online comments that provide English translations for some of that song's lyrics.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/02/some-childhood-memories-of-song.html for Part III of this pancocojams series. That post showcases a video of Kenyan comic Zangalewa entertainers. That post also presents a compilation of comments from various YouTube discussion threads about commenters' memories about the original "Zangalewa song" or covers and reinactments of that song prior to Shakira's 2010 performance of the song that she calls "Waka Waka" (This Time For Africa)". 

The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are associated with these videos. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE ORIGINAL ZANGALEWA SONG

Excerpt #1

The original article that is quoted below includes a YouTube video and two illustrations. However, a YouTube video that was embedded in that article is no longer available (as of Feb. 2, 2022).

From https://afropop.org/articles/anatomy-of-a-song-zangalewa-from-african-protest-into-multiplatinum-pop

dj henri, November 5, 2020

Anatomy of A Song: “Zangalewa” From African Protest into Multiplatinum Pop 

“Think “I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin-to-Die Rag” by Country Joe McDonald in 1967--a broad satire unleashed at America’s Vietnam War. Transpose that to Cameroon, and a satire aimed at the Eurocentric legacy in independent Africa: “Zangalewa.” Performed by Cameroon’s Golden Sounds in 1986, the song became an anthem across Africa, crossed the pond to Latin America, and ended up with its core message inverted in Shakira’s multiplatinum hit “Waka Waka: This Time for Africa.”

The Golden Sounds (Jean Paul Zé Bella, Dooh Belley, Luc Eyebe and Emile Kojidie), oddly enough, were active members in Cameroon’s presidential guard. The song’s lasting success stems largely from its very infectious military-march rhythms. The lyrics, due to the multilingual nature (up to 600 languages) of Cameroon, skip around between French, Douala, Pidgin English, Fang and perhaps Ewondo. Of course, there are “left, right, left right” marches, but then the song is really about the grievances of the ordinary recruit: lousy pay, bad food, punishing training, etc. And they also really lay into the brass: their fat and abusive drill instructors who scarf down a yummy assortment of sugary beignets while threatening to shave recruits’ heads and send them to prison.

Music video caught on quickly in Africa in the ‘80s. The full meaning of “Zangalewa” was actually realized in the remarkable video, which superimposes the band lip-syncing the song over Cameroonian military parades, apparently using bluescreen. The band members are wearing uniforms stuffed with pillows to create comedically large bellies and behinds, with “big belly” repeated in the lyrics. At one point a band member whirls around and appears to be hectoring a vast formation of soldiers assembled down below him.

The satiric look takes three very significant steps further: the band members are wearing pith helmets, brandishing bâtons swagger, or swagger sticks, and are in half whiteface. Bâtons are totally obsolete. They come from ancient times, Napoleon thought they were essential, and they resurfaced as hot items for Generalfeldmarchallen in the Third Reich. Swagger sticks, too. They were largely abandoned after World War I, and only egomaniacs like Patton used them after that.

The pith helmet you see on “Zangalewa”’s record label was headgear the colonial powers issued to their soldiers in the “hot tropics.” Neither swagger sticks nor pith helmets have anything to do with Cameroon’s military. So, along with the whiteface, “Zangalewa” becomes a protest against Cameroon holding onto too many pernicious colonial practices. Swagger sticks, pith helmets, and especially whiteface, strongly signal collaboration. After a nation is subjugated by a foreign power, that’s really the worst crime you can commit.

[….]

The infectious beats of “Zangalewa” were covered across Africa, from South Africa, to Nigeria, to Cote’d’Ivoire, to Ghana, to Senegal (Momar Gaye and Zaman’s being the best. Marchable, and also very danceable. Across the Atlantic, it would be heard in Suriname, the Dominican Republic, and especially Colombia.

Blacks in Cartagena, Colombia responded enthusiastically to African styles including soukous and highlife in the 1980s, developing their own champeta style. “Zangalewa” was a natural there, recorded by Los Condes. But Latin American covers of “Zangalewa” were retitled “El Negro No Puede,” with lyrics about a Black man who cannot sleep, presumably impeded by nonstop partying. No soldiers in videos for these covers, either – just women writhing in lingerie, ubiquitous in early MTV days.

[…]

No smaller controversy erupted earlier when FIFA announced superstar Shakira, backed by the South African multiracial fusion band Freshlyground, would perform the latest cover of “Zangalewa,” entitled “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa).” The song is beloved across Africa, so why isn’t an African artist performing it? Shakira is half Lebanese, her name means “grateful” in Arabic, and she uses Arabic scales--but that was not close enough. Like the “telephone game” in which children in a circle whisper something into the ear of the child sitting next to them, the original historical perspective and satiric thrust of “Zangalewa”’s lyrics and video were long gone in a blur of lingerie by the time Shakira got to the song. Her lyrics do not question authority in the military. Quite the opposite. From “You're a good soldier” to “You're on the front line,” they nakedly equate soccer performance with an unquestioned and unquestionable military duty.

Despite mixed reviews, “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” inevitably went multiplatinum, the second success for the diva since her “Hips Don’t Lie,” and its video, with Shakira in skimpy, fringy, “African” dancewear, also topped the charts. Surviving members of Golden Sounds in Cameroon did not receive a penny from this, but they did not sue Shakira for plagiarism; one bandmember had admitted the chorus came from Cameroonian “sharpshooters who had created a slang for better communication between them during the Second World War.” A rumor circulated that the lyricist behind “El Negro No Puede” was suing Shakira, but he later denied it.

dj.henri is a New York City DJ who has performed at the Apollo Theater, B.B. King’s, Symphony Space, and elsewhere. He is also the creator of radioafricaonline.com  "

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Excerpt #2

From https://www.2oceansvibe.com/2021/04/14/that-time-shakira-stole-waka-waka-and-settled-out-of-court-videos/ "That Time Shakira Stole ‘Waka Waka’ And Settled Out Of Court "

14 Apr 2021 by Jasmine Stone
"There’s a solid chance that I can turn around an average day by watching Siphiwe Tshabalala’s magical left foot rocket home the opening goal of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Throw in some K’Naan, with ‘Wavin’ Flag‘, and a few chords from Shakira’s ‘Waka Waka’, and I’m transported back to those magical days.

Just a minor detail to point out, though – calling it Shakira’s song isn’t exactly on the money, given that ‘Waka Waka’ is an almost identical copycat of ‘Zangalewa’, a song by The Golden Sounds, a Cameroonian group comprising mostly military members.

The song is inspired by a popular training and rallying cry used by soldiers, policemen, and others in parts of Africa.

I was alerted to this via a TikTok video that did the rounds on Twitter, which has since been deleted, but here are the basics.

 ‘Zangalewa’ was released in 1986, and was also popular in Shakira’s native country, Colombia.

 Golden Sounds would later change its name to Zangalewa.

 According to Bakwa Magazine, the group was alerted to Shakira’s song, originally titled ‘Zaminamina’, and the striking similarities ahead of the World Cup:

In an interview with Cameroon Tribune, which ran a special report on the controversy,  Ze Bella, the leader of the defunct group declared that while they were proud that a “world music icon” had remixed their song as the World Cup anthem, they nonetheless expected to be properly credited and adequately compensated….

Faced with the barrage of worldwide negative publicity Sony and Shakira (probably with the prodding of FIFA which did not want anything that could mar the World Cup) quickly settled.

They agreed to credit Zangalewa and began working out details for a financial compensation.

The song was renamed ‘Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)’, with FIFA making the announcement that it was the tournament’s official song on May 5.

When doing so, FIFA stressed that “the song was written by Shakira, the world-famous singer from Latin America…The chorus is similar to that of a popular Cameroon song made famous by Golden Voices in particular.”

[...] 

That May 5 announcement was far from the final word on the matter:

On May 11, some members of Zangalewa held a press conference in Douala, Cameroon, to inform the media that negotiations were well underway with Sony and Shakira who had agreed to an out of court settlement and that Sony mauling over the possibility of including the single on Shakira’s next album scheduled to be released at the end of the year.

Didier Edo, the group’s manager conceded that it had not been easy to negotiate with Shakira’s manager, Sony Music, and all other interested parties.

A classic ‘out of court’ settlement, so that everyone can quickly move on.

In a 2010 interview, reports Refinery29, Shakira admitted that ‘Waka Waka’ was based on Golden Sound’s song:

“I decided to bring a little bit of my culture too which is attached to Africa with an umbilical cord…I was raised listening to music that was heavily influenced by African music.”

There’s heavily influenced, and then there’s a settlement which involves FIFA crediting Golden Sounds with the chorus.

The origin of the song wasn’t its only controversial element as the tournament loomed large:

The choice to have her perform was met with protest. It was the first year that the World Cup was ever held in Africa, with South Africa serving as host.

The South African artist’s union called for a boycott of the opening concert where Shakira performed, and after much outrage and conversations with FIFA officials, several African artists, including FreshlyGround, were added to the concert’s lineup.

Shakira addressed the controversy in an interview, saying, “I thought that in that way we could create a song that’s more emblematic of what the World Cup spirit is — that spirit of tolerance, integration, and that melting pot that South Africa is right now.”

Bingo – I can’t believe we went this long without hearing the phrase ‘melting pot’.

I don’t mean to ruin your 2010 World Cup recollections, and you can still show off your hip swaying skills whilst listening to ‘Waka Waka’ as you please, but remember to give a little credit to the song’s Cameroonian roots when you do.”…

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This concludes Part I of this three part pancocojams series.

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Visitor comments are welcome.