Democratic Republic of the Congo Congo and the Republic of Zaire, before returning to its current name the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the time of independence, the country was named the Republic of Congo-Léopoldville to distinguish it from its neighbour the Republic of the Congo-Brazzaville. With the promulgation of the Luluabourg Constitution on 1 August 1964, the country became the DRC, but was renamed to Zaire (a past name for the Congo River) on 27 October 1971 by President Mobutu Sese Seko as part of his "Authenticité" initiative. The word "Zaire" is from a Portuguese adaptation of a Kikongo word "nzere" ("river"), a
Zaire 74 performers included Celia Cruz and the Fania All-Stars. The concert was promoted by Don King, as a part of the build-up to the Ali-Foreman fight. At the time of the event, Zaire was run by Mobutu, a dictator who became notorious for corruption, nepotism and human rights violations. Mobutu agreed to host the festival and to help cover its costs. A documentary about the Zaire 74 festival, entitled "Soul Power", was released in 2009. The film was directed by Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, who served as the editor on the 1996 documentary "When We Were Kings", which also contains selections of concert