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Rabat- Morocco’s transcendental Gnawa music will find an echo at a 2019 festival in Alexandria, Virginia, which will showcase Morocco’s cultural heritage.
Sponsored by the Moroccan American Network with the support of Audio Visual Actions, Inc, the Moroccan exhibit will be on display March 30-31, 2019. The festival will be held in Old Town Alexandria, just minutes across the Potomac from Washington, D.C.
The festival will show many features of Moroccan culture, from food, arts and crafts, to music, particularly the spiritual Gnaoua genre of music, combining ritual poetry and dance.
With roots in the Arab slave trade of sub-Saharan Africans who were trafficked throughout what is modern-day Morocco and Algeria during the 11th century, Gnawa music was believed to exorcise people possessed by demons.
Gnaoua has thrived in the modern day, becoming the most popular North African music genre, fusing with the genres of jazz and blues and playing across Europe and the Americas.
Renowned Moroccan Gnaoua musician Hassan Hakmoun will perform a live Gnaoua show at the closing of the festival. A caftan fashion show is also expected during the event.
Caftans were originally worn by Ottoman sultans, but due to the Ottoman Empire’s strong global influence, many cultures adopted them, especially in North and West Africa.
Caftans reached Morocco after they spread through Andalusia in Spain, which first adopted them in the 9th century. Morocco later refashioned and added its unique touch to the caftan, which is now known as the “Moroccan caftan.”
Today, caftans are embraced in the Arabic world of fashion and are primarily worn by women at special events, like weddings.
Several panel discussions related to business opportunities will also take center stage.
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Morocco Day 2019: “Untapped business opportunities”
On March 29, 2019, in Washington, D.C., the Moroccan American Network, in collaboration with AV actions, will host Morocco Day’s fourth CEO summit to enhance small business opportunities from the US to Africa with a focus on the southern regions of Morocco.
Marrakech will be the “guest of honor” at the symposium, entitled: “Small Business Matters – US Small Business Leadership,” which aims to help small business companies and facilitate the exchange of “ideas focusing on growing small business and investment opportunities on the continent of Africa.”
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus, the U.S. Black Chamber of Commerce, think tank experts, academics, and business leaders will all take part in the summit.
The CEO of AV Actions and president of the Moroccan American Network, Mohamed El Hajjam, stated: “We want to highlight opportunities for greater collaboration and exchange of ideas, promoting foreign investment and economic growth.”
He promised that the event “will be engaging in dialogue and exchange of ideas for macro-opportunities, such as investments, as well as micro-opportunities, in areas such as infrastructure and health.”
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Additionally, on March 31, 2019, in Washington, D.C., the Moroccan American Network’s first “Friendship Golf Tournament” will bring Moroccan and American leaders, entrepreneurs, and business owners together.
The Moroccan American Network serves as a platform for “strengthening economic ties between Morocco and the U.S., and promoting small business,” according to El Hajjam.
The network strives to educate the American public, US media, and US government officials about business and investment opportunities in Morocco through dialogue, forums, and events.
Beyond education, the network connects American and African small business and media communities to facilitate mutual growth and collaboration.
