It’s Friday night, Abidjan is steaming, and we’re headed to the Rue Princesse. Numerous ‘maquis’ (outdoor bars) line up one of West Africa’s most notorious party spots. The place is booming with coupé décalé and zouglou beats, the voices of Kedjevara, Menza, Les Patrons or DJ Bonano mingling with shouts, laughter, cars honking and street vendors vending! There’s usually no dancefloor at most maquis’, when people feel like dancing, they get up and dance right where they are, standing or at their table.
A Maquis in Yopougon’s Rue Princesse (Abidjan, Ivory Coast)