Grand desert festival to celebrate moroccan Sahara music
Morocco, Local, 10/11/2002

The Grand Desert Festival, to be held Next December in Morocco, will celebrate the music of the Moroccan Sahara, a heritage still untapped and unknown especially to tourists.

The Morocco-US Organization, which sponsors the event, says this is the first festival that celebrates the music and culture of the Sahara. The event is meant to be a contribution to the promotion of the region whose potentials are still untapped, particularly in tourism realms, says Akim El Anbassi, President of the Morocco-US Organization.

This year's edition, held under the generic theme of "Rhythms of the Dunes," will be an opportunity for troupes of Sahrawi, Gnawa and Amazigh music to perform before the public.

Troupes from Brazil, Austria, Mauritania, Mali and Niger will join the feast to give an international color to the festival, blending African, European and Latin American cultures.

The festival will start from the famed square of Jamaa Lafna, classified by UNESCO as a universal cultural heritage, before moving around desert fortresses in the Moroccan southern localities of Zagora and Mhamid El Ghizlane.

Organizers said they expect 4000 visitors during festival days.

The Morocco-US Organization is a non-lucrative association, based in the USA. It seeks to promote understanding between the Moroccan and American peoples through cultural and artistic exchanges.

Previous Stories:
  Rabat public records to be computerized   (10/10/2002)
  Casablanca hosts 3rd international poetry festival   (10/4/2002)
  Clarifications on explosives found on Royal Air Maroc jet   (9/27/2002)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search