Item: i85992



Authentic Coin of:

Guinea – Alpha Yaya Diallo
1969 Proof Silver 250 Francs 36mm (14.53 grams) 0.999 Silver (0.4667 oz. ASW)
Reference: KM# 13
Certification: NGC  PF 67 ULTRA CAMEO 2845083-013
REPUBLIQUE DE GUINEE L’HOMME A LA LUNE, Planets bound together, space shuttle and astronaut.
1958-1968 X. ANNIVERSAIRE 1970 250 FRANCS GUINEENS, Coat of arms.

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Alpha Yaya Diallo is a Guinean-born Canadian guitarist, singer and songwriter. He incorporates Guinea’s rich musical tradition into his original compositions. Diallo has won two Juno Awards, shared a third, and was nominated another three times.

Diallo was born in Conakry, the capital of Guinea. When he was young, he followed his father, a doctor who was in demand all around the country; this exposed him to a wide variety of cultural experiences, both from the different ethnic groups within Guinea itself and from neighbouring countries.

When Guinea gained its independence from France in 1958, its Marxist first president, Ahmed Sékou Touré, launched a cultural program aimed at the rediscovery and support of “Guinea’s music, arts, dance and languages.” Diallo recalled that, “At the time every family had a member who was being trained in music.” He started playing percussion in school, but taught himself to play the guitar at an early age (either “probably six or seven” or 12, according to his inconsistent recollections). At the University of Conakry, he became the bandleader of the Sons of Rais and toured extensively with them throughout West Africa. After graduation, he performed with Love Systems, Kaloum Star and Sorsornet Rhythm.

Diallo moved to Europe in the mid-1980s, where he worked particularly with the Fatala group, which played traditional Guinean music and was associated with Peter Gabriel’s music label. After extensive touring, Diallo settled down in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in 1991. In 1993, he released his solo first album, Nene, which was nominated for a Juno Award, as was his 1996 album Futur. He won his first Juno, for The Message in 1999 in the “Best World Music Album” category, a second in 2002 (for The Journey) and shared a third in 2004 for the African Guitar Summit compilation. He released Djama in 2005. He won the Best World Artist-Solo at the inaugural Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2006. He plays with Ghanaian guitarist Pa Joe Diallo, Adam Solomo and Mighty Popo in African Guitar Summit. In addition to the guitar, he also plays the balafon and the djembe. His backup band, since 1992, is called Baffing.

He produced a film documentary entitled Best of Both Worlds, which was filmed in West Africa, Canada and France.
 

Guinea (/ˈɡɪni/), officially the Republic of Guinea (French: République de Guinée), is a country on the western coast of Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea (French: Guinée française), the modern country is sometimes referred to as Guinea-Conakry in order to distinguish it from other countries with “Guinea” in the name and the eponymous region, such as Guinea-Bissau and Equatorial Guinea. Guinea has a population of 12.4 million and an area of 245,860 square kilometres (94,927 sq mi).

The sovereign state of Guinea is a republic with a president that is directly elected by the people and is head of state and head of government. The unicameral Guinean National Assembly is the legislative body of the country, and its members are also directly elected by the people. The judicial branch is led by the Guinea Supreme Court, the highest and final court of appeal in the country. The country is named after the Guinea region. Guinea is a traditional name for the region of Africa that lies along the Gulf of Guinea. It stretches north through the forested tropical regions and ends at the Sahel. The English term Guinea comes directly from the Portuguese word Guiné, which emerged in the mid-15th century to refer to the lands inhabited by the Guineus, a generic term for the black African peoples below the Senegal River, as opposed to the ‘tawny’ Zenaga Berbers, above it, whom they called Azenegues or Moors.

Guinea is a predominantly Islamic country, with Muslims representing 85 percent of the population. Guinea’s people belong to twenty-four ethnic groups. French, the official language of Guinea, is the main language of communication in schools, in government administration, and the media, but more than twenty-four indigenous languages are also spoken.

Guinea’s economy is largely dependent on agriculture and mineral production. It is the world’s second largest producer of bauxite, and has rich deposits of diamonds and gold. The country was at the core of the 2014 Ebola outbreak. Human rights in Guinea remain a controversial issue. In 2011 the United States government claimed that torture by security forces, and abuse of women and children (e.g. female genital mutilation) were ongoing abuses of human rights.