The Sierra Leonean girl who performs Chinese opera

Mariatu Kargbo, also known as Maria, grew up in Freetown during Sierra Leone's civil war, helping to support her family by selling sweets, water and fish while trying to stay in school. As a child, she became fascinated by Chinese TV, even teaching herself songs from Chinese opera in a language she didn’t understand. Maria dreamed of becoming a singer and performer. Years later, she travelled to China for a beauty pageant, and after an unexpected act of kindness from a stranger on a train, ended up building a life there. Maria went on to appear on one of China's biggest TV talent shows, Avenue of Stars, where she later became a guest judge. She also took her talents to Miss World, where she became the first foreigner to perform bian lian, the ancient Chinese art of face changing from Sichuan Opera, which involves seamlessly switching between different masks. As this all unfolded, Maria also navigated a complicated family story involving the mother who raised her, the birth mother she found as a teenager, and the woman who became her mother figure in China.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen
Producer: Maryam Maruf

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(Photo: Mariatu Kargbo stands between two Chinese colleagues while wearing an ornate black-and-gold Chinese opera-style costume and elaborate headdress. She is practicing a peformance of bian lian, the ancient Chinese art of face changing. The three pose together indoors in front of Chinese calligraphy artwork, with the instructors giving thumbs-up gestures. Credit: Courtesy of Mariatu Kargbo)