Posts Tagged ‘Bobigny’

“Le Marché du Soleil” — An Afro-Caribbean Market by Samantha Gilliams

Monday, August 21st, 2017
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Outside of Bao
Photograph by Samantha Gilliams

Bao Marché “Le Marché du Soleil,” an Afro-Caribbean market located in Bobigny, just outside of Paris, sells ingredients for the preparation of African and Caribbean cuisine. Sona and Kossi Muluana, a Franco-Congolais brother–and-sister team living in the Île de France, opened the store in 2012. Because they know that African and Caribbean people living in the suburbs often have to travel into Paris and visit multiple locations to find the ingredients for authentic home-cooked cuisine, the Muluanas wanted to provide them with a one-stop shopping experience on the outskirts of the city.

Bao is situated in the Centre Commercial Bobigny, an indoor shopping center with clothing stores, restaurants, and other small markets. Even though Bobigny is a suburb of Paris, it is very simple to get to via line 5 on the metro.

Inside the Centre Commercial de Bobigny
Photograph by Samantha Gilliams

I found the area around the metro stop (the buildings, roads, etc.) to be a bit run down, and the shopping center to be quite vacant (perhaps because it is August, when most locals are away on vacation). However, upon entering the center, I could hear upbeat Caribbean music coming from one of the stores. The beats were coming from Bao!

When I entered, I received a kind smile from the cashier. I then began to take a look around. As I was unfamiliar with Afro-Caribbean cuisine, this experience was a moment of discovery for me.

Façade of Bao
Photograph by Samantha Gilliams

A variety of fresh, frozen, and canned tropical fruits, root vegetables, spices, halal meat, and fruit juices are for sale here. One foreign fruit I recognized was plantains ̶ big, banana-like fruits. Starchy and savory, they are a delicious side dish when cooked to caramelized perfection.

Fresh Tropical Fruits and Peanut Butters
Photographs by Samantha Gilliams

Numerous jars of peanut butter and peanut pastes on the shelves immediately caught my attention! American expats know quite well that peanut butter is not an easy food to find in Paris, so to see the wide assortment available at Bao left me in awe.

I was also interested in all of the different types of bouillons and arômes that lined one of the shelves. These are dehydrated vegetable and/or meat flavorings that come in the form of cubes or concentrated liquids. In many parts of the world, they are used as a base for soups and stews or to enhance flavor.

Bouillons and Arômes
Photograph by Samantha Gilliams

I was surprised to see such a wide array, so I decided to look into their use in Afro-Caribbean food. It turns out that they are also a common base in West African cuisine. In fact, these arômes are used to replace the homemade fermented, roasted, milled seeds and/or beans that were originally used in the traditional recipes (to learn more, check out: http://eatyourworld.com/blog/african_cooking_whats_with_the_maggi_cubes).

Bao is the third “foreign” (non-French) market that I’ve visited in the past several weeks (Tang Frères [Chinese] and Velan [Indian] are the other two). I found that all have the ingredients needed for the preparation of authentic dishes and the discovery of taste sensations from around the world, right in the tiny kitchen of my Paris apartment!

BAO
Address: Centre Commercial Bobigny
2, boulevard Maurice Thorez
93000 Bobigny
Phone: 01.41.50.15.29
http://www.bao-marche.com/

Samantha Gilliams is a rising senior at the American University of Paris. She is currently serving as a summer intern for the Wells International Foundation.

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A Sunday Promenade along the Ourcq Canal

Sunday, August 30th, 2015
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Last Sunday, we joined a walking tour organized by the Seine-Saint-Denis Office of Tourism to learn about the “street art” that lines the walls of the industrial zone of the Ourcq Canal. Led by our guide, Thom-Thom, we wended our way from the Bobigny – Pablo Picasso metro station at the end of line 5 through a park to arrive at the canal.

Walking through Park

A Walk through the Departmental Park
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

I was surprised to see how much greenery there is between the metro station and the canal. While we traversed the park, called Parc Départemental de la Bergère, I saw cyclists and joggers. And the people we saw on bicycles weren’t your ordinary Sunday-morning cyclists — they were wearing helmets and cycling shirts and shorts and were mounted on shiny, new velocipedes. The joggers, too, were dressed in sleek athletic wear.

Art across the Canal

Art across the Canal
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Once we got to the canal, Thom-Thom pointed across the water to indicate the wall along which the art was located. To me, it looked like the dreary graffiti that one sees on retaining walls along the tracks of any inter-city train that runs from Paris. Thom-Thom, however, spoke enthusiastically about it and made the following points:

* the people who paint the images do so as a means of leaving their personal stamp on the urban landscape
* the images are painted on decrepit walls of the industrial zone of the canal
* though the “tagging” is illegal, it is largely tolerated because of the location and because the owners of the tagged property do not file complaints with the local police.

Crossing Pedestrian Bridge to See the Art

Crossing Pedestrian Bridge to See the Art
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

We crossed a pedestrian bridge to reach the other side of the canal and proceeded to walk along the wall. Along the way, Thom-Thom talked about the various techniques that street artists use, essentially cans of spray paint, but also roller brushes and stencils. He also talked about the camaraderie that formed among the artists and how groups (called “crews”) would claim an area as “theirs.”

We passed by junkyard dogs who ferociously barked their disapproval of our presence. Happily, they were confined to their compounds by sturdy fences. I noted that one of the dogs barely opened his eyes and continued to lie lazily on the ground. He seemed content to let his companions do the barking. That’s the kind of work that I would want if I were a junkyard dog!

Bicyclists and Boaters on the Canal

Bicyclists and Boaters on the Canal
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Thom-Thom explained some of the finer points of street art. He pointed out that a group of artists called VSD (Vie Social Déplorable) painted its logo here. Many artists prefer using the color silver because it shows up better in the dark, especially in train tunnels.

Vie Social Déplorable

Vie Social Déplorable
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

A Street Artist's Self-portrait

A Street Artist’s Self-portrait
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Gothic Street Art

Gothic Street Art
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Thom-Thom called this cursive art “Gothic” style.

Woman with a  Six-shooter

Woman with a Six-shooter
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

This lovely lady looked rather menacing.

Leaving the Industrial Zone

Leaving the Industrial Zone
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Thom-Thom shared many insights about “tagger” culture and technique on this stretch of the walk. We then left the industrial zone, passing through a tunnel, to continue our promenade down the canal. We now have a new appreciation of street art, thanks to Thom-Thom and the Seine-Saint-Denis Office of Tourism!

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The Salle de Mariages of Bobigny

Saturday, December 17th, 2011
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Head of Mayor's Chair

Head of Mayor's Chair
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

Last Tuesday evening I attended a presentation of the Salle de Mariages, located in the town hall of the nearby city of Bobigny. Designed by artist Hervé Di Rosa in 2006, the zany room contains a collection of colorful heart-shaped chairs; a great, red, heart-shaped table; a throne-like chair surmounted by a giant, elongated face; a bronze sculpture of an African figure with four eyes; wall panels displaying multicolored graffiti and framed portraits; and curio cases displaying knick-knacks and figurines.

Heart-shaped Table

Heart-shaped Table
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

The room, undoubtedly unique in its kind, is used to perform civil marriages. Designed to express the spirit of inclusiveness that pervades the Bobigny city government and its citizens—a town with a diverse population of over 100 ethnicities—the symbolism of the décor of the room requires some explanation!

The hearts that lovers carve into trees inspired Di Rosa to design the heart-shaped seats for the room. Di Rosa created larger chairs for the bride and groom, complete with men’s and women’s shoes for the legs and backs decorated with smiling faces. The top of the bride’s chair is crowned with a wire heart, representing the French expression coup de coeur; the groom’s chair is topped by lightning bolts, representing the French expression coup de foudre. Both expressions translate into English as “lovestruck.”

Marianne de Foumban

Marianne de Foumban
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

The most remarkable work in the room is Di Rosa’s sculpture of La Marianne. The image of a woman’s face has been used to represent the spirit of the French Republic since the late 18th century. Although she has traditionally been depicted as a white woman, Di Rosa chose to represent Marianne as an African woman, engaging masters of the lost wax-casting technique in the town of Foumban, Cameroon to create the sculpture.

Di Rosa gave the African figure two sets of eyes—one set that gazes down upon the happy couple at the moment of their marriage, the other that looks off into the distance, symbolizing eternity—the ideal length of the couple’s union.

Seriegraphie pour les Mariés

Seriegraphie pour les Mariés
By William Wilson
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

Newlyweds will never forget their marriage in this room. After the ceremony, the bride and groom are presented a colorful signed and numbered serigraph to take home as a memento of their union.

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