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Outlook

Factual: Life Stories

True stories of ordinary people and the extraordinary events that have shaped their lives

True stories of ordinary people and the extraordinary events that have shaped their lives.

Outlook: Angelique Kidjo: African Diva

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14/05/2013

Angelique Kidjo: African Diva

BBC World Service - Outlook, Angelique Kidjo: African Diva

The diva educating women in Africa; Guatemalan lawyer who witnessed his family's killing

The Benin singer Angelique Kidjo on why she's educating the women of Africa; the Guatemalan lawyer who witnessed the massacre of his family; and getting close to grizzly bears.

The Grammy award-winning singer and songwriter Angelique Kidjo was once called "Africa's Premier Diva".  She's known for mixing different styles, incorporating funk, salsa, jazz and rumba alongside traditional West African music. Angelique was born in Benin - and now lives in New York. Alongside her singing career, she's also a philanthropist. Her Batonga foundation  supports girls in Africa to continue their education. 

The former Guatemalan leader Efrain Rioss Montt has been sentenced to eighty years in prison for genocide and crimes against humanity. One of the lawyers involved in preparing the case is Edwin Canil, who comes from a Mayan background. When he was just six years old he witnessed almost all of his own family being killed by Guatemalan soldiers. 

What's it like to come face to face with a 1200 pound grizzly bear? Matthew Bannister meets two men who know. Between them Buck Wilde and Chris Morgan have spent over forty years studying bears. On their latest expedition, they went to the Alaskan wilderness where they spent five months getting really close to a number of grizzly bears.  They were working with a crew of 25 to shoot extraordinary footage for a film on the BBC and the Discovery Channel.  


POD: On Outlook Matthew Bannister speaks to the great African singer Angelique Kidjo about her musical childhood in Benin, conquering stage fright and educating Africa's women. As Guatemala's former leader is sentenced to 80 years in prison for crimes against humanity, we meet Edwin Canil, a lawyer who witnessed the massacre of his own family. And we're in Alaska with Buck Wilde and Chris Morgan, two men who've devoted their lives to studying grizzly bears. 

Picture: Singer Angelique Kidjo

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