Sayon Camara or Taramakhè is a

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

n singer. She was chosen in 2003 as the first African

UNESCO Artist for Peace UNESCO Artists for Peace are international celebrity advocates for the United Nations agency UNESCO. This category of advocate is intended to heighten public awareness in addition to the categories UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and UNESCO Champion for ...

Life

Camara was born in

Faranah Faranah ( N’ko: ߝߙߊߣߊ߫߫) is a town and sub-prefecture in central Guinea, lying by the River Niger. As of 2014 it had a population of 78,108 people. The town is mainly inhabited by the Malinke people. History Sékou Touré was born i ...

. Her

Malinke Maninka (also known as Malinke), or more precisely Eastern Maninka, is the name of several closely related languages and dialects of the southeastern Manding subgroup of the Mande language family (itself, possibly linked to the Niger–Congo ...

music is said to be "in line with the Mandingo art of the great griots". She and other musicians (including her husband) recorded her first album in

Cote D'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...

at a studio in

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population ...

. The 1998 album, ''Dinguiraye'', established her reputation in Guinea and she earned the nickname "Taramakhè (town agitator)" because of her extravagant concerts. The following year she sang at UNESCO headquarters as part of the

Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize The Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize was established in 1990 by UNESCO: :"to honour living individuals and active public or private bodies or institutions that have made a significant contribution to promoting, seeking, safeguarding or maint ...

ceremony when the

Community of Sant'Egidio The Community of Sant'Egidio () is a lay Catholic association dedicated to social service, founded in 1968 under the leadership of Andrea Riccardi. The group grew and in 1973 was given a home at the former Carmelite monastery and church of ...

were awarded the prize. In 2002 her second album, "Saramaya" was again recorded in Abidjan and she also returned to UNESCO headquarters and the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize ceremony when

President of East Timor The president of Timor-Leste, officially the President of the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste (; ) is the head of state of the Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. The executive powers of the president are limited; however, the P ...

Xanana Gusmão José Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmão (; born 20 June 1946) is an East Timorese politician. He has served as the 6th prime minister of East Timor since 2023, previously serving in that position from 2007 to 2015. A former rebel, he also served as E ...

was awarded the prize. At the party to celebrate her album Saramaya she was given two cars and a house by her fans. She was chosen as a

in 2003. She was the first African to be given this role.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Camara, Sayon Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People from Faranah Guinean women singers