I love Seihor by Castro featuring D-Black just as much as the next person, and recently a friend in Adenta sent a slew of snaps of himself + his friends (after eight balls of banku and a bottle of vodka) going all the way in listening to it. Watching the snaps, and hearing the song made me miss dancing, made me miss Ghana, made me miss boys who could move their waist very fluidly in a non-sexual (but totally sexual) way.
But more importantly made me realize I was in Ghana during a very busy time. Between Ghana not getting past the group stage at the World Cup (and being defeated by the U.S., who they considered an easssssy opponent), Castro falling into the sea while trying to save his girlfriend then never being found and ultimately declared dead, and the petrol crisis (which is linked to their general economic crisis) my summer of 2014 in Ghana was "newsworthy". I only realize how crazy newsworthy  my summer was after the fact. While there, most major news was covered up and/or overshadowed by the temporal:
Ghana's loss to the U.S. at the World Cup was disguised by a long drive from Taifa to Osu at 12am, the tie with Germany disguised by the beautifully large crowd at the Accra Mall and meeting Idriss Elba at The Republic and drinking a lot of Axe of in the mall parking lot, the loss to Portugal disguised by the free bottles of Club I was rewarded with from merely being an American and "winning" the first match.Â
Castro's death ... didn't even "play out." Quite frankly, I thought it was preposterous. The morning I went in to my internship at the museum and Auntie Judy was crying when Odo Pa came on I stared in disbelief. How could a musician fall off a jet ski into the water to save his girlfriend and literally never turn up again (to this day, he still has not turned up and he fell in on July 6th)? A few days later I was with friends having pizza-Jen sat with a slice in her hand and her phone in the other reading new developments about Castro's disappearance via Twitter. My favorite rumor is/was that Castro has been taken in/down by Mami Wata. Some say he was kidnapped. Others that he was eaten by sharks. Notably, a number of people blamed his death/disappearnce on Kwesi Appiah ... stating that had the Black Stars (Ghana's Futbol team) advanced in the World Cup, Asamoah Gyan would not have been back in Ghana, and the entire jet ski incident could have been avoided completely. Now. This story was a total stretch to me. But, that's besides the point.
As for the petrol crisis ... I have nothing more to say other than the fact that I had the scariest cab ride in my life from Ridge to Osu as a direct result of the crisis. The cab I was in was filled with petrol mixed with water and the cab literally cut out/off every half mile. Ridge is not very far from Osu, but it probably took me an hour to get home this particular evening. If I really wanted to go in on the petrol crisis, and in turn the economic crisis, I'd have to start with corruption and bribing and exploitation and a slew of other factors that contribute to why capitalism is inherently racist. Which I'd rather not sit here and do.Â
Very long story short. Even though I can get a snap of friends in Adenta going in on Seihor, and even though I am quick to type "me tete" to a friend on WhatsApp ... at the time of Castro's death I took it in jest and writing through it low key is serving as an apology. RIP Castro, and every person who I ever laughed at in regards to his disappearance.Â
