Saba Anglana is a Somali-Italian actress and international singer.
Background
Saba was born in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, during the country"s socialist period. Her mother was the daughter of an exiled Somali living in neighboring Ethiopia. Her father was a former commander in the Italian military, who relocated to Somalia from Italy after the Second World War.
Career
Due to Saba"s dad"s senior martial background with the erstwhile colonial administration, he was regarded by Somalia"s then military regime as a possible spy. The Anglanas were subsequently exiled to Italy, when she was still a child. Saba was thereafter raised in Italy, where she later studied at the Sapienza University in Rome.
Her Somali roots, however, remained an important focus.
She studied the Somali language with her mother. Particularly the regional dialect of Xamar Weyne, connecting with Somalia through music
Saba began her artistic career in the 1990s as an actress on Italian television In a popular local television series entitled Louisiana Squadra, she played a policewoman of dual Somali-Italian heritage.
In 2007, Saba released her first studio album entitled Jidka: The Lincolnshire, in which she mixes the traditional sounds of her native Somalia with contemporary Italian flourishes.