LAFAYETTE PARISH — Moussa Sadou, now the board president of Festival International de Louisiane in Lafayette, says culture and music have always been central to his identity and his work in the community.
“As an African, we love music, we love culture,” Sadou said.
That connection to culture carried him from his home country, where he worked as a teacher, to the United States in 2002, when he joined CODOFIL’s French immersion program and helped support French language education in 36 schools across Louisiana.
Along the way, Sadou said he began recognizing familiar cultural ties between West Africa and Acadiana. “I saw the similarity also from Africa to here, Lafayette, Louisiana – from the food, from the diversity, from the culture,” Sadou said.
Those similarities eventually drew him to Festival International de Louisiane, where he first got involved as a volunteer. He worked directly with visiting artists, taking on responsibilities that included transportation and stage support.
“This country gave me a lot through my students, through my students’ parents, how they welcomed me, how I feel fitting in the community – so I decided just to do something for the community,” Sadou said.
As his involvement deepened, he stepped into leadership, becoming vice president of programming in 2013. He said the role pushed him to better understand everything that goes into the festival beyond the main event days.
“And then I decided I need to know more about Festival International. It's not just those days from Wednesday to Sunday. I want to know and understand how all this builds up,” Sadou said.
Today, Sadou serves as board president, helping lead a festival that brings together artists from 26 countries and fills downtown Lafayette with international music and culture.
For him, the reward comes when the work translates into the crowd experience.
“My favorite part is when I see people having fun. Sometimes you have fun yourself, but when you help do something, at the end you see everybody making positive comments about the festival, that makes me more happy than they think,” Sadou said.
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