Rabat buzzes to Mawazine's world rhythms

25/05/2007

The Mawazine World Rhythms Festival concluded Thursday (May 24th) in Rabat. The event offered some 500,000 spectators a taste of music from throughout Morocco and abroad.

By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat – 25/05/2007

[Mazazine.ma] Rabat’s annual Mawazine festival celebrates the music of the world.

Moroccans celebrated international music at the sixth annual Mawazine World Rhythms Festival, held May 18th-24th in Rabat, which has now become one of the city’s major events. Beginning at 5pm each day, the capital city's inhabitants plunged themselves into a world of rhythm and colour, where they were able to enjoy the music of numerous groups performing throughout the city.

The event was spread across eight different stages, ranging from large open-air arenas to smaller venues such as the Mohammed V Theatre, with a rich and diverse programme that kept the festival going strong throughout the week. Well over half a million spectators visited the sites during the course of the festival.

According to the organisers, this event was intended to make new and enriching cultural experiences available to the general public. The festival is thus aimed at everyone in Rabat and abroad, with a particular emphasis on young people.

The festival’s chairman, Abdeljalil Lhjomri, said that Mawazine had previously been geared towards African and Latin American music, but that this year Moroccan rhythms would take centre stage. He added that both established and up-and-coming Moroccan artists had added to this year’s programme by offering the fruits of their research and creativity to the public. The programme included a harmonious blend of well-known Moroccan and international performers.

Portuguese guitarist Antonio Chainho told Magharebia that he was pleased with the warm reception he received in Morocco. "The audience was quiet and listened to my performance with interest. I loved this opportunity to meet with Moroccans, even though it only lasted a few minutes," he said.

Moroccan artists have been delighted with the way the festival has developed over the years. singer Hajja El Hamdaoui was particularly pleased with this year’s event. As usual, she lit up the stage in Nouzhat Hassan where dozens of young and not-so-young people gathered to appreciate her music. At the age of 77 she is still going strong. "My career began when I was 17. Today young people are getting into my songs and I work with many of them. You have to give young people a chance," she said with a beautiful smile.

For the last two years the festival has also sought to encourage new young talents. Mounir Benmbarek, a member of Moroccan rap group Sawt, said that the festival enabled his group to perform its songs to the public in Rabat for an hour. "I realized that young people like our new style, which is a mix of rap and Moroccan melodies," he said.

The Mawazine festival also aims to stimulate cultural activity throughout the year, and an event known as "Entr’Mawazine" is part of the plan: on the last Thursday of each month the festival organizers hold recitals to offer new experiences for music-lovers in Rabat to enjoy.