The Gnaoua World Music Festival in Essaouira.
This festival began as an extraordinary promise. A culture waited to reveal its buried riches. The promise of a magical, forgotten city waiting to be reborn. And the promise to unleash the forces of youth in a place of creation and expression. Twenty years ago, we had the same commitment. We had to use all our strength to convince the decision-makers to bring our project to life. Today, we must convince them to keep it going. The festival began with a unique idea. It fused the mistreatment with the greatest jazz and world musicians. Do not make me years older than ever in each edition. Damon is on stage before tens of thousands. It fills me with a joy that fuses the stars of distant planets. His teachers are twenty years old. His music masters teach their art to beggars and street artists.
Someone has begun to set up a free festival for those on the street who want to learn about the system.
I took it as a real pleasure to go there. Today, it is key to our reborn culture and our African identity. We come from all over Morocco and the world. We tremble before these legendary, sacred stage monsters and their fans. We learned from the first editions that something important is happening in Oran. It is a magical, indescribable festival. The ABLs grow from the first years of human tides.
Every year, young festival-goers rush down the city’s narrow streets. They seek a joy-filled escape in its small hotels and restaurants. They crave a culture of diverse extremes and a beautiful, taboo-free dream. Over the years, the city has learned to welcome its guests. After the festival, riads, hotels, and restaurants appeared. A blend of love and reason, they restored the destination’s color.
I often wonder what draws hundreds of thousands to a festival. It is, of course, a unique blend of art and music. It is the most extraordinary festival in the world. In 2006, I attended as a guest. What I saw mesmerized me. I discovered new music on that same stage.
I fell in love with this music and this region. I am delighted to come. I had a very good time. This is a beautiful, magnificent festival. It is an honor to play and meet the musicians. They come from a long tradition of powerful, ancestral music.
