Andaloussiat music festival: call for intercultural dialogue

The "Andaloussiat" music Festival was launched here Sunday with a Morocco-Spanish music show, marking a special intercultural exchange.

The festival, part of the "Rabat, capital of Arab culture" program, aims to highlight the diversity and richness of Andalusian music through music concerts from Morocco, Spain, Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt.

In an inaugural statement, Moroccan Culture minister, Mohammed Achaari, said "Andalusia has always been a melting pot of civilizations and a land of tolerance and cultural exchange endowed with an exceptional civilizational and human heritage."

He pointed out that in music, the "Nouba Andaloussia," a famous Andalusian music rhythm, structured since the 10th Century, has undergone progressive enrichments from multiple poetic rhythms and genres such as "Mouachahat," "Zajal" and "Barwal." Andalusian music heritage has influenced different artistic genres in the two Mediterranean shores, namely "Moroccan Nouba," a Moroccan traditional oral music rhythm, and "the Flamenco," a (Spanish) rhythm deeply rooted in Andalusian tradition, said Achaari.

The concert started with Andalusian pieces of music given by "Mohamed Bajddoub," a famous Moroccan singer, with "the Youth of Andalusia," a Rabat Andalusian music orchestra. The program went on with a Flamenco show performed by "Hierba Buena," a Spanish orchestra from Seville. The inaugural ceremony was marked by the presence of several Moroccan personalities and president of the (Spanish) Andalusia autonomous government, Manuel Chavez.