In addition to Johara, who translates into Portuguese and at this point is the mainstay of the project, we also have Albert, the Swahili interpreter, with us during this training session. He is translating the script and today, for the first time, he reads a part to us.

I want to see the reaction of the Mozambicans, their faces, and above all see if they recognise the story they have been rehearsing and rehearsing again until they collapse.

I sit beside Ana Bela, who follows the words in the Portuguese script with her finger.

The scene: Albert speaking in Swahili, Ana Bela making me follow the script in Portuguese, and Mario Pirovano making comments in Italian.

Babel!

And if you want to know what Swahili is like, I can tell you that it’s all “awininani abidibi adissi wikinahaminini iwinini”. Incomprehensible.

Mario doesn’t want me to publish it, but I took a photo while they were going over the words in Swahili, and you should see his perplexed face!

* * *

Happy birthday, Adelino! Today it’s the birthday of Adelino (junior), the famous rapper from Palma whose stage name is Mr. Kedo. So we give him a gift of two Italian rap CDs, one is J-Ax, and please forgive me if I don’t even name the other…

Obviously we sing. Us, “Happy birthday” in Italian, them “Happy birthday” in Portuguese, then we look at each other. We don’t have any more songs for birthdays, but they do, and they begin, 4 songs in a row to celebrate Adelino’s birthday, everyone clapping and playing with their voices.

Then Mr. Kedo sings a rap, written by him, that tells about him.

And they say that a genetic predisposition for art doesn’t exist!

10 pm. I roam around the corridors where the Mozambicans’ rooms are. I had pleaded with them all to read the script aloud before going to sleep and yes, they’re doing it!

11 pm. They’re still reading. I think they are all together in the same room and have prepared a kind of set because I hear things moving, chairs, beds…

11.30 pm. The set is dismantled. Tam, pitum, sgrsshhh….