Marrakech – Mohammed El Qartaoui, President of the popular group Rokba of Zagora, has known about the National Festival of Popular Arts (NFPA) ever since he was a child, he told Morocco World News (MWN).
Launched for the first time in 1960 at the initiative of King Hassan II to promote the ancestral traditions of Marrakech, the festival has been a huge success and exhibits diverse folklore arts from all Moroccan regions every summer.
“The Rokba’s participation in the NFPA dates back to 1967,” El Qartaoui said, explaining that his ancestors used to come to the festival to exhibit Zagora’s folklore arts and their young descendants would learn from them.
“When our parents grew tired, we took over the Rokba in order to preserve our heritage,” the group leader added with pride.
Mohammed El Qartaoui, leader of the Rokba of Zagora
El Qartaoui expressed his hope to see his own descendants take over the continuation of the group’s activities and pass on the torch to the future generations in order to preserve the heritage.
Asked about his relationship with Mohamed Knidiri, President of the Grand Atlas Association which organized the NFPA, El Qartaoui emphasized that they both started working together ever since “the beginning.”
Founded in 1985, the Grand Atlas Association (GAA) aims to provide inhabitants of the region with charitable assistance and support, through social, cultural and economic activities such as the NFPA.
In 1997, Mohamed Knidiri was elected as President of the GAA and took over the organization of the NFPA in 1999.
Mohamed Knidiri views locally made products
“My relationship with Knidiri is one of brotherhood,” said El Qartaoui. “We found in him a good and genuine man who loves and cherishes our heritage.”
The group leader pointed to Knidiri’s attachment to Moroccan heritage: “Our heritage, from Tangier to Lagouira, is in Knidiri’s heart; he wants to preserve it.”
El Qartaoui stressed Knidiri’s role in the revival of the NFPA: “When he came in 1999, he brought the festival back to life.”
Ever since Mohamed Knidiri took over the organization of the festival, the number of participating groups “grew by more than two thirds,” El Qartaoui noted with pride.
Mohammed El Qartaoui, whose popular group has traveled to several countries to exhibit Zagora’s folklore, including a tour in Europe and Canada, hopes to come back next year and “meet our fellow counterparts of other popular groups and the lovely public.”
