Christian Bakalanga

Christian was born in Kinshasa, Congo, in a family of seven children and started to play music at the age of ten as a percussionist in a choir. A few years later he learned to play guitar and started to work with different musical groups and artists in the Congo. In 2004 he moved to South Africa where he had the privilege to collaborate with different musical projects such as Hot Water, Freshly Ground, Moreira Changouca, Simphiwe Dhana. Christian now plays lead guitar and sings backup vocals in Afro-Fiesta alongside Playing For Change Band members Jason Tamba and Mermans Mosengo.

How we met:

Francois Viguie, Playing For Change Team Member and musician, met Christian through Jason and Mermans while in search of a sound engineer to record children on a song for the UN Millennium Goals Campaign. With Mark and the PFC crew traveling elsewhere at the time, Francois was in need of someone who could help record and guide the students at the Playing For Change Foundation’s Imvula Music School (formerly Ntonga Music School). Christian was a perfect match!