FREEWHEELING NIGHTS IN BUJUMBURA

Freewheeling Nights

Gabriel Vockel
Taking advantage of Bujumbura's fragile peace, revelers at night spots like the Havana Club start late.
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By CHRISTOPHER VOURLIAS
Published: May 2, 2010
AS rumors of a failed coup attempt swirled in the muggy evening air of Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi, no one seemed inclined to let them dampen the mood.
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Burundi, Africa

This was salsa night at Le Kasuku (10 Avenue de l’Industrie; 257-22-223-731), an eclectic French- and Belgian-inspired restaurant and club. And if the day’s cares in this war-weary nation seemed a bit too much to bear, you wouldn’t have known it from the hips that swiveled across the dance floor. (Kasuku will be moving in June, though it hasn’t yet announced its future location.)
An incongruous scene? Perhaps, but a Burundian one all the same. Throughout the civil war that waxed and waned in this tiny central African republic for more than 15 years, a spirit of defiance seemed to infuse daily life. “During the war you never knew what the next day would bring,” said a young woman holding a cocktail at Kasuku. “Our generation was not afraid like our parents’ generation. We had to live.”
In postwar Burundi you can feel that spirit, though peace remains fragile. Tensions are high ahead of local and presidential elections, which begin this month, and security in the countryside is often tenuous. But since the last of the rebel groups hung up its arms in 2008, international observers are guardedly optimistic that Burundi might finally be on the road to a lasting peace.
It’s welcome news for Bujumbura, a freewheeling city of palm trees and colonial-era Art Deco buildings thrust against the shores of Lake Tanganyika. Before “the crisis,” as the civil war is known here, the city was famed for an irrepressible joie de vivre that seems only to have been fine-tuned by the conflict. Today Congolese, Rwandans and aid workers from across the region are flocking to the city’s nightclubs, dancing till dawn and nursing their hangovers on the area’s fine lakeside beaches.
At Bora Bora (Chaussée d’Uvira; 257-29-551-811; boraborabujumbura.com), which opened in 2008 in a stylish beach shack on the city’s outskirts, well-heeled locals, United Nations staff members and foreign aid workers mix over a soundtrack of down-tempo house and reggae. It’s the place to be seen on Sunday afternoons, when you’ll have to fight for a seat on one of the pastel day beds. Better to grab a lounger and enjoy the views from the pool.
At dusk, revelers start hitting the row of bars and restaurants along Avenue de la Plage. Kiboko Grill, in the upscale Ubuntu Residence hotel (Avenue de la Plage; 257-22-244-067), is a tranquil spot, with landscaped lawns, a swimming pool and a gaggle of cranes frolicking among the flowering succulents.
At Maquis (Avenue de l’Université; 257-22-251-171), an American-style bar and grill on the outskirts of the bustling Bwiza district, juicy steaks and brochettes are served in an attractive outdoor setting beneath the boughs of a towering strangler fig tree. For a more boho vibe, swing by the Centre Culturel Français (9 Chaussée Prince Rwagasore; 257-22-222-351), where art exhibitions, poetry slams and live performances attract an artsy crowd.
Don’t bother arriving before midnight at the Havana Club (20 Boulevard Uprona; havanaclubujumbura.com; 257-29-520-943), a heaving nightclub and lounge in one of the many colorful Art Decos dotting the city. Nights in Bujumbura are long and start late, so you may even see the sun rise.
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