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Fua Dia Congo
Fua Dia Congo, founded in 1977, is guided by a Kikongo proverb, Wa Dia Fua Yika Dio, meaning “What you inherit, you must add value to.” For forty years the organization has been resolute in its dedication to preserving and presenting the music, dance, cultural arts of the Kongo Kingdom (the peoples of the Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola and parts of Gabon) as well as the Central African Republic. Its founder, Malonga Casquelourd, left a pioneering legacy of artistic excellence for the African and African Diaspora arts community in the Bay Area. The organization now under the directorship of his progeny includes teaching dance and music, 10-day intensive workshops in California and Hawaii, a week of arts activism to raise global awareness surrounding the humanitarian crisis in the Congo, and MalongFest which celebrates the pioneering legacy of the master artist and cultural ambassador through a community celebration.
As a grantee of ACTA’s Living Cultures Grants Program in 2016, Fua Dia Congo will receive funding to suppor the the multi-day, multidisciplinary arts festival, MalongaFest, which will take place in Oakland and East Palo Alto in November. Dance, drum, and song workshops with master artists and guest culture bearers will be featured.
In 2012, ACTA’s Development Program supported a consultancy between Fua Dia Congo and nonprofit management expert Omowale Satterwhite of Applied Management Organizational Services. Through the consultancy, Fua Dia Congo reestablished its nonprofit status.