Rabat - Iconic singers Raymonde El Bidaouia and Hajja El Hamdaouia will perform a duet at the 15th Atlantic Andalusia Festival of Essaouira October 25-28.
Rabat – Iconic singers Raymonde El Bidaouia and Hajja El Hamdaouia will perform a duet at the 15th Atlantic Andalusia Festival of Essaouira October 25-28.
Morocco’s coastal town of Essaouira, south of Casablanca, has long been a symbol of tolerance, with Jews and Muslims coexisting peacefully. The city will uphold its heritage with the Atlantic Andalusia Festival celebrating Judeo-Arabic music.
The Jewish Moroccan singer Raymonde El Bidaouia, also known as the Oriental Pearl, will perform side by side with Hajja El Hamdaouia. The women will sing chaabi music, a folk genre in North Africa that is widely associated with weddings and festivals.
Maestro Ahmed Cherkani will lead an orchestra to accompany the two divas.
The duet will be the two singers’ first act together, although Raymonde El Bidaouia will be a familiar artist at the Atlantic Andalusia festival.
The Atlantic Andalusia festival is an opportunity to discover up close the Andalusian heritage linking Spanish and Moroccan cultures.
On the menu will be various musical genres, including chaabi, al ala (instrumental Andalusian music), gharnati, (Arabo-Andalusian music from Algeria) and haouzi (Arabo-Andalusian music also from Algeria). However, the main highlight will be the hapiyout (Jewish religious chants) and Andalucious (a Jewish music genre).
In addition to music concerts, there will be workshops, seminars, and discussions on music.
Last year’s festival, held October 26-29, hosted Moroccan and Jewish musicians, namely Abderrahim Essouiri and Rabbi Haim Louk, accompanied by the Mohamed Larbi Temsmani orchestra and maestro Mohamed Amine Al Akrami.
