Culture

Equatorial Guinea has a rich and varied culture. The migrations from the 18th century have influenced the country, creating cultural diversity in the field of languages, food, art, music. The country is a former Spanish colony and remains mostly influenced by Europe.

The food of Equatorial Guinea is known for its variety and is heavily influenced by traditional African food, as well as European traditions. Rural areas base their dishes primarily on meat and fish, with more urban areas offering Spanish-influenced restaurants serving paella and potato omelets.
With the growth of the hotel industry in the largest cities of Malabo and Bata, many restaurants feature variations on African and western cuisine, with meals offered throughout the day.

Traditional Equatorial Guinean food is dominated by sauces made from local ingredients, including peanuts, ñame (yams) and ocrao. The meat of native animals is also occasionally used, including antelope, turtle and crocodile. However, fish is more commonly used in modern dishes, with many restaurants priding themselves on their freshly-caught fish, which is often served charcoal-broiled or in a spicy fish soup known as pepesup. Lobster is also very popular in coastal towns, and most dishes are accompanied by the staples of rice or plantain.

Traditional drinks malamba (distilled from sugar cane) and Osang, an African tea. Palm wine, an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm tree such as the Palmyra, and coconut palms are produced locally.

Equatorial Guinea is known for traditional sculpture and mask making. Don Leandro Mbomio Nsue (1932-2012) was one of the most famous sculptors and artists of Equatorial Guinea. Mbomio carried out his basic studies at the School of Arts and Crafts of Bata, before moving to Spain, where he continued his training in Madrid and Barcelona. In the first decades of his life, he was associated with international artistic and intellectual personalities such as Pablo Picasso, with whom he shared a great friendship.

He was known throughout the world as “the black Picasso” for his unique creativity, which led him to showcase his art internationally. Besides being undoubtedly the most universal of Equatorial Guinean artists, Mbomio was also a cosmopolitan intellectual who participated in some of the most important artistic, social and cultural movements of the century. He was also a former minister of Education in Equatorial Guinea country. In October 2007 Mbomio was nominated as an Ambassador for Peace by UNESCO.

His sculptures and paintings are distributed in museums and art galleries around the world, especially in Spain, where he carried out much of his youth work and where he maintained one of his studios.
Equatorial Guinea has also some significant art institutions and galleries. The Museum of Modern Art in Malabo shows works of traditional and contemporary art from all over Africa and has pieces of some of the most prestigious artists in the region. The Museum aims to improve understanding and appreciation of the different peoples and cultures of Africa through art. It also aims to provide support and training for a new generation of artists, not only offering them a space to exhibit, but also giving them the opportunity to work with other institutions around the world.

Equatorial Guinea’s CEIBA ballet group was recently nominated by Ambassador Mari-Cruz Evuna Andeme to participate in this year’s prestigious Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod – the 70th annual instalment of the prestigious Welsh cultural festival which brings together artistic and musical groups from around the world.

Several Equatorial Guinean writers have gained international acclaim for their Spanish-language works. Among the most prominent of these authors are fiction writer and anthologist Donato Ndongo-Bidyogo; poet, essayist, and dramatist Juan-Tomás Ávila Laurel; and poet and novelist María Nsue Angüe.

Equatorial Guinea is a country where mingle modernity and traditions. Despite a veneer of Spanish culture and of Roman Catholic religion that is thicker in Bioko than on the mainland, many Equatorial Guineans live according to ancient customs, which have undergone a revival since independence.
Among the Fang of the mainland, witchcraft, traditional music (in which the Fang harp, the xylophone, the great drums, and the wooden trumpet are used), and storytelling survive. Among the Bubi farmers of Bioko, we can find a particular type of tattooing that extends from the times of slave-trading. Also the Elder tribesmen carve grooves or lines into the faces of Bubi children - the original purpose of these markings was for self-identification among slave groups in the New World, and possibly to dissuade slavers from taking them in the first place, as the grooves look disfiguring to Western eyes.

Many Bubi farmers still hold to their ancient customs. One of the country's most famous celebrations is the abira, which is believed to cleanse the community of evil. The balélé dance is performed along the coast throughout the year and on Bioko around Christmas.

Music

The national anthem of Equatorial Guinea was written by Atanasio Ndongo Miyone and adopted in 1968, when the country gained independence from Spain.

Folk music is very popular within Equatorial Guinea. The largest ethnic group, the Fang are known for their mvet, a cross between a zither and a harp. The mvet can have up to fifteen strings. The semi-spherical part of this instrument is made of bamboo and the strings are attached to the center by fibers. Music for the mvet is written in a form of musical notation that can only be learned by initiates of the bebom-mvet society. Music is typically call and response with a chorus and drums alternating.

Musicians like Eyi Moan Ndong have helped to popularize folk styles. Another popular instrument is the tam-tam. Generally, wooden musical instruments are decorated with fauna images and geometric drawings. Drums are covered with animal skins or animal drawings. Modern music such as reggae and rock are also increasingly popular, as well as indigenous acoustic guitar bands. Some of the most well-known dances are the balélé and ibanga, which are often danced to an orchestra arrangement of sanza, xylophone, drums, zithers and bow harps.

The balélé is a type of dance that originated out of the Bubi tribes and is still performed today.  The music is performed with the three-or-four person orchestras and is often seen along the coastal regions throughout the year. It’s also danced on the island of Bioko as part of the Christmas traditions there.  The ibanga is a more risqué dance from Fang traditions, which is the other main dance of this country.  Another festival that includes dancing is called the abira: it’s a community-wide celebration that rids the entire community of evil.  Wonder if it’ll work for a city the size of Indianapolis. There is little popular music coming out of Equatorial Guinea. Pan-African styles like soukous and makossa are popular, as are reggae and rock and roll. Acoustic guitar bands based on a Spanish model are the country's best-known indigenous popular tradition, especially national stars Desmali and Dambo de la Costa.

Sport

Originally introduced to the country by Spanish colonists, Football is the most popular sport in Equatorial Guinea. The national football team made quite a few impacts like qualifying for the FIFA World Cup in 2006 as well as the African Cup of Nations. Equatorial Guinea co-hosted, along with Gabon, the 2012 African Cup of Nations by hosting it in Malabo and Bata. The Equatorial Guinea National Olympic Committee was formed in 1980 and received recognition by in 1984 from the International Olympic Committee just in time to participate in the 1984 Summer Olympic Games.

They have participated in all Summer Olympic Games ever since but is yet to send any athlete to the Winter Olympic Games. The Equatorial Guinea National Olympic Committee was formed in 1980 and received recognition by in 1984 from the International Olympic Committee just in time to participate in the 1984 Summer Olympic Games. They have participated in all Summer Olympic Games ever since but is yet to send any athlete to the Winter Olympic Games.

The Equatorial Guinea national football team, nicknamed Nzalang Nacional, is the national team of Equatorial Guinea and is controlled by the Federación Ecuatoguineana de Fútbol. It is a member of Confederation of African Football (CAF). Though Equatorial Guinea has traditionally been one of the lowest ranked teams in Africa, the recent influx of Spanish-born players of Equatoguinean heritage has strengthened the national team and resulted in some solid performances. They qualified as co-hosts for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. The hosting of the tournament lead to the construction of two new football stadia in the country: Estadio de Bata in Bata on the mainland, and Estadio de Malabo in Malabo.

The national team managed a creditable fourth place at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, which was held in Equatorial Guinea. Equatorial Guinea's home stadium is Nuevo Estadio de Malabo in Malabo. It can hold up to 15,250 people. Equatorial Guinea played there when they hosted the 2012 African Cup of Nations during their participation in the tournament, they played in this stadium against eventual winners Zambia and runners-up the Ivory Coast. During the national side's participation in the 2012 African Cup of Nations, they also played in the newly constructed Estadio de Bata, in which they played and won both their games in the stadium against Libya and Senegal.