If your sweetheart is naturally black and beautiful,
Black and beautiful like Yonta
Yonta the naive
Yonta the suave
Yonta the brave
Please give thanks to the Almighty God who made her so.
She is hot chocolate and good for the heart.
Tell her not to bleach, tone or skin wash her natural endowment given to her by our maker and owner of our life.
I love my own black and beautiful woman.
I thank God for the black woman after my heart.
Photo Credit: From the film THE BLUE EYES OF YONTA /UDJU AZUL DI YONTA by Flora Gomes, Guinea-Bissau, 1992; 90m
Yonta is a beautiful young woman growing up in the city of Bissau a generation after her nation has gained independence. She develops a secret crush on Vicente, a good friend of her parents and a hero of their country's struggle. Meanwhile, Yonta herself has a secret admirer, a shy young man name Zé who sends her love letters copied from a Scandinavian book (hence, her "beautiful blue eyes"). Gomes' film is a lovely, delicate work about youthful illusions--both personal and national--that powerfully demonstrates the director's talent for eliciting wonderfully nuanced performances from his actors.
