Jacques Loubelo

Jacques Loubelo is one of the fathers of Congolese music. He is a celebrity here: I listened to him live during a festival at the French Cultural Centre, and the day after I met him in person to dinner at an Italian friend’s house.
Jacques is a spry and wise 70 years old man. The lines that furrow his face, his sparse white hair, his slender body form his shape. His large hands shaped on the guitar buttons, his white and squared nails, his small and quick eyes that scan rather than observe who is in front of them, perhaps in search of a sign or a signal, the clean voice that in the songs becomes subtle, almost faint, to reach the deepest chords, all this reveals his soul, show his artistic vein.
Jacques composed songs that everyone here knows, perhaps the most famous is "Congo," that has become a sort of popular hymn. "Congo" indicates a path: it calls for solidarity, work for one another, love and mutual respect. Jacques sings using local languages and therefore occasionally interrupts the songs to explain what they mean. He can not put aside his disappointment at the current state of things, yet he still seems to hope that things can change. Jacques has gone through a lot of things and probably has seen even more: one of his songs, he explains, was used for a film by Walt Disney. Then he starts talking about politics, and his posture changes. He sets the guitar on the table, he begins to gesticulate, he is trying to tell with body language, with rapid movements of his arms, neck and legs, what words don’t arrive to say, perhaps for self-censorship, or perhaps because certain things of the Congo are not understandable by foreigners. He confide us that often he has the feeling that people do not really listen to him. They go to see his concerts, but he wonders if his message really gets the goal. The feeling that once you leave the hall, once the show is over, in the minds of those who have heard nothing remains. Common feeling among artists, loneliness due to the inability of ordinary people to provide real understanding. Fear of being misunderstood or to result incomprehensible to their audience. Probably a fear that is part of the trade.
Then he tells us about that time when he received by the former President of the Republic of Congo. He had prepared a question to ask him, but the emotion of the moment made him forget. Spurred by the President to ask him a question, Jacques asked him instinctively and without any specific reason what he would have liked to do after his term. The answer, upset and dry, was that certainly he was not going to leave his charge before time. The day after, Jacques was subjected to interrogation by police, who wanted to know how he could afford to ask such a question to the President, and of whom he was acting as spokesperson. Jacques shows his frustration and disappointment, adding that foreigners may not understand certain dynamics and certain events that happen in Congo; the best we can do is give them an interpretation. I feel the same feeling thinking about my country. Perhaps, at least in this, Italy and Congo are not so different.