A Senegalese comedian and actor appears occasionally on El Intermedio (La Sexta). He lives in Andalusia and has for years been sharing sketches that seem light and humorous but carry sharp social commentary. These performances steer humor toward deeper truths, using fictional or real moments to illuminate realities many overlook.
In one of his recent sketches, he reflects on a phenomenon that surges each summer: a type of traveler who calls themselves a volunteer. They are often white, Western tourists who suddenly feel a surge of solidarity and decide to spend a few days, sometimes a long weekend, visiting the most vulnerable Black populations in Africa. The sketched scene calls this approach out as a form of modern tourism that moves through NGO-led tours, where the main goal frequently shifts from aid to spectacle. The moments highlighted include posing with children, capturing images of large groups of Black people, and immediately sharing the scenes on platforms like TikTok or Instagram. The accompanying captions tend to be earnest and emotionally charged, with messages such as how much they learned from children in an orphanage and how much happiness is found in very little. The implication is that this form of activity provides a sense of existential relief for the volunteers, a temporary feeling of being heroic or mission-driven.
The comedian then poses a provocative thought: what would happen if a similar volunteer tourist were Black and moved through Europe, taking photos with unfamiliar white children and strangers? The imagined scenario flips the script, raising questions about power, gaze, and perception. The narrative imagines a Black traveler in a European setting who posts numerous images online, sharing moments with strangers, with striking landscapes, and with white children, all while seeking balance in a world where visibility and narrative power are often uneven. In this hypothetical, the response from authorities centers on ordinary norms of safety and boundaries, illustrating how perception shapes consequence in real life.
Beyond provoking laughter, the sketch invites discomfort for the audience, particularly white viewers, by presenting the lens through which Blackness is read on screen. It taps into a long tradition of cultural reflection, drawing on the work of thinkers and writers who have explored race, identity, and representation. The approach echoes ideas found in the literature of influential African and Caribbean voices, including a lineage associated with figures from Martinique and Senegal who have used art and criticism to challenge preconceptions. Such connections help deepen the audience’s understanding of how media and perception influence social memory and moral responsibility. The performance also nods to the broader conversation about postcolonial thought, representation, and the responsibilities that come with looking, documenting, and sharing.
In this context, the performer’s sketches act as a mirror that reflects not only the behavior of volunteers but also the expectations and biases that accompany Western audiences. The material invites viewers to question motives behind charitable appearances and to consider whether visibility on social platforms amplifies genuine empathy or simply feeds a performative narrative. The discussion aligns with a tradition of critical writing that challenges simplistic readings of aid and compassion, urging a more nuanced understanding of how travelers encounter distant communities and how those encounters are framed for others back home.
The performance also acknowledges the role of literature and scholarly thought in shaping this discourse. The writings of prominent Francophone and African authors—those who have examined language, power, and representation—provide a philosophical backdrop for the sketches. They encourage a more careful reading of acts of aid and a recognition that storytelling can both illuminate and complicate issues of inequality. The speaker’s work sits alongside this intellectual landscape, inviting audiences to engage with ideas rather than retreat into easy judgments. In this way, the sketches serve as a bridge between humor and serious reflection, using wit to encourage a thoughtful, responsible gaze on global interactions and the ethics of looking.