Fez- Moroccan singer Samira Said has been awarded the World Music Award for her single “Mazal” sung in Moroccan darija, according to a statement posted on her official Facebook page.

“The Diva Samira Said Won the WORLD MUSIC AWARD for the Best Single Song,” said the statement. The award ceremony, which will broadcast on NBC, will take place on May 27 in Monte Carlo.

This is not the first time that Samira wins worldwide distinction. In October 2013 she was awarded the World Music Award for best Middle Eastern artist.  She was recently designated the Middle East’s Best 2013 Female Singer by the Middle East Music Awards (MEMA).

Only two months after it had been uploaded to YouTube, the video clip of “Mazal” had almost reached 900,000 views. Six months later with the release of the official video, the song has already reached 2,350,000 views.

Samira Said’s hit “Mazal” swept all Moroccan and Arab radio stations and music TV channels, and became the preferred single of millions of people.

Casablanca - Emirati Poet Saoud Al Muzaini’s recent ode dedicated to Moroccan women has seemingly stirred  up a polemic among Emiratis on social media.

The Emirati poet dedicated his lyrical poem “Bent Marrakech” (the girl from Marrakech) to the beautiful women of the Moroccan Southern Pearl. Muzaini’s poem has been received unfavorably by some Emiratis, especially insofar as it draws a comparison between Moroccan and Emirati women.

According to Moroccan news portal Hesspress, Emirati poets and journalists not only harshly attacked Muzaini, but have now gone beyond that to sue him for “insulting Emirati women and praising Moroccan women instead.”

A vocal segment of Emiratis on social media also denounced Muzani’s poem. A comment posted by an Emirati woman, quoted byHesspress, read, “Anyone who appreciates Muzaini’s poem, which defames Emirati women, has disrespected his fellow Emirati citizens.”  “Moroccan women are a source of trouble,” another Emirati commented, according to Hesspress.

According to Le360, the bulk of reactions to Muzaini’s poem in the United Arab Emirates was negative, mainly because of the poet’s“defamatory” description of Emirati women as “materialists.”

According to the same source, the Emirati poet was accused of “encouraging Emirati men to marry Moroccan women” through his poem on Marrakchi women.

The controversial poem seemingly brought two Emirati camps into dissension on twitter: those who reject the allegations leveled at Muzaini and deem them baseless and dramatized, and those who levied harsh criticism on the poet and lashed out at  Moroccan women.

Edited by Elisabeth Myers

Marrakech - Last Friday, the first showing in Morocco of The Patrol took place at Café du Livre in Marrakesh. The film, directed by Tom Petch of Salt Films from the UK, was shot in 2013  and filmed entirely at a location in the Agafahy desert 40 miles from Marrakech.

The film was awarded the Film of the Festival at the Raindance Film Festival in 2013 and was nominated for the British Independent Film awards in the same year. It is being shown at the Cannes Film Festival and the producers are looking for a distributor for the film in the United States.

The film tells the story of a small isolated British army seven man patrol assisting the Afghan army in Helmand Province. There are two officers, a captain and a lieutenant, a sergeant and other ranks. As James Cutting pointed out, "the men in the patrol are drawn from different regiments which may have affected their cohesion, however, they are a close knit group who have clearly been in action for some time. The complaints regarding their equipment, the rifle and lightly armored land drovers are frequent. It’s very hot, the film was shot at the height of the Moroccan summer, so there was no need to simulate heat conditions."

Complaining soldiers is nothing new and tensions between officers and men in difficult conditions are also not surprising. The Captain makes a serious command error when a TAVR soldier refuses to fight and is allowed to stay in camp rather than go out on patrol. The Captain also allows the Lieutenant to remain at the base because his wife is expecting a baby. The Captain shows his humanity and sympathy, but he breaks the British army code which says that all soldiers should be treated equally and with the same discipline. This undermines the discipline in the patrol and is a failure of leadership on the Captain’s part.

Leadership is highly prized in the British army. This is more of a psychological drama than an action film, although there are very realistic fire fights. We never see the enemy and there is no coverage of contact with Afghans although there are lone motor cyclists who may be spotters for the Taliban. We see children playing but the concentration is on the interaction between the men and their officers. It shows the demoralization of soldiers fighting under unwinnable conditions. The badly equipped soldiers (a frequent occurrence in the British Army over many years since the Second World War) fret over radios that do not work well. They are very isolated and have to sortie each day to get shot at or suffer or face IEDs Improvised Explosive Devices. One of the land rovers with its Afghan crew is completely destroyed by an explosion. Eventually, the men refuse to go on fighting because they say it is not their war.

The Patrol is about the collapse of discipline under fire. An unannounced special forces attack against the Taliban puts this small patrol in the firing line and they are told to stay put for longer than their supplies permit. There is intermittent fire support from British helicopters and planes dropping supplies miles off target.

The director Tom Petch was a British army officer who  also served in the SAS special forces and participated in many counter insurgency operations, including Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Bosnia and Cambodia. He clearly knows the realities of this kind of warfare. The film is also about a British army which is tired after years of conflict and downsizing where troops actually received redundancy notices whilst fighting in Afghanistan. It is a film which is likely to become a classic even if it is not a commercial success, as James Cutting noted. There will always be a clash between a passionately observed anti war film and the opinions of those who served in the field like the anti war poems of Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen in the First World War. Articles have drawn comparisons between The Patrol  and films such as the German film All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque American film on Vietnam, The Platoon and the Battle of Algiers.

The other star of the production is the Moroccan countryside which exactly reproduces the bare terrain of Helmand province. James Cutting recounted negotiating with the local caid and agreeing the use of a village which had been abandoned because the water had run out. The Moroccan setting gave  the film a very realistic back drop. All the uniforms and equipment was absolutely realistic and there were advisers who had served with the SAS to ensure the realism of the productions. Whilst the budget for the film was estimated at $1 million James Cutting noted that, because they were able to film in Morocco, costs only came to £100,000. It was a low budget film which achieved a remarkable production quality. He reflected that it was very difficult to encourage international film producers to come to Morocco because of what he described as "the rampant greed of some Moroccan production companies" who charged foreign companies mark ups of 1,000 per cent. He cited instances of a Kasbah which was rented out to a film company for MAD 30,000 a day, yet when he checked with the Kasbah owner, he found he was only being paid MAD 3,000 a day.

He cited another example of overcharging on a recent film set where each stall holder in a mellah was paid MAD 5,000 a day and the Moroccan casting company charged the international film producer MAD 50,000 a day  for each stall. He concluded that as long as the overcharging by Moroccan production companies continued, Morocco would never fulfil its complete potential as a venue for major  international films, because producers would locate productions in the Canary Island or Southern Spain where such outrageous over charging is not practiced. "Budgets for filming are very much under pressure," he explained "and film producers were being put off Morocco as a filming location."

Putting film-makers off of Morocco is both a mistake and a tragedy. After all, Morocco has one the most varied landscapes of any country and can replicate Vietnam, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Greece, Mongolia, Himalayas, Nevada, Arizona, Scottish Highlands, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Australian Outback, West Africa, East Africa, South Africa and even Mars! It has very talented technicians and a wonderful climate. James Cutting concluded that with all the above advantages Morocco has to offer, it should be the world’s leading film-making country. Perhaps law-makers should take this corruption into account, and begin to pass legislation that would prevent the inflated prices that plague the film industry here. Only then will Morocco take its deserved place as the world’s premier film-making destination.

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Your beautiful eyes make me dream,

Dream of happiness and all the beautiful things of life.

 ****

Why should I look for other eyes?

 ****

When I can sail the rough seas on yours

And discover the marvels of the worlds

Walk the unwalked paths

Enjoy the smiles of children

Appreciate the innocent giggles of virgin girls

Extending their delicate hands to their aspirant lovers

Discover the beauty of mother earth

Not spoiled by rough humanity

 ****

Why should I look for other eyes?

 ****

When sincerity bursts to life from your look

And fills our unhappy world

With beauty and bliss

And a wind of exhilaration

Buffets the faces of all the wretched

And brings hope back to their beings

And tranquillity to their souls

 ****

Why should I look for other eyes?

 ****

When poets write their verses

With the colours of your eyes

And drink their wine

In the shade of their warmth

And ships sail to safety on their direction

 ****

Why should I look for other eyes?

 ****

When I can swoon with their fragrance

And wake up in a world of fantasy

Where you are my queen

And I your king

Living in a kingdom of brotherhood of men

Happily ever after

Not having to bother at all with

Jealousy

Lies

Avidity,

Pollution

War

Terrorism

Poverty

 ****

Why should I look for other eyes?

 ****

When I am totally

Taken by yours

For ever and ever.

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All living babies squall at birth

Though welcomed with mirth;

Do they feel life’s misery flare

Or see death brandish in the air?

****

Soon they forget; they’ve just been told,

Enjoying life, ignoring death at the treshold.

They grow up scattered like stars, numerous;

Making their own day, some bright, others less.

****

Yet, a star has blown itself up in the day light,

Unable to forget, to resist the dark and fight,

The dark, its shadow, that’s made it prim,

Eclipsing its day into a premial night, then dim.

****

Like a quarry in a soundless hunting game,

The star has died out, preceding its name;

Putting an end to its journey of hope;

In this gory film, the hero was just a rope.

****

The astral glint was a mirage, a water pool

In the desert, accessible to the thirsty ones,

Filled by woe for its drought, like bereft swans,

Filling it with mourning tears, as it’s the rule.

****

In an atoning act, one that is, and not, brave,

He took his long heaved secrets to his grave;

What was gnawing at his conscience, what guilt

Has made him weed out what was long built?

****

The star has blown himself up reducing his span to naught,

Cutting short his story with its fuzzy, firm knot;

Redeeming it his right to bring his light to an end,

Conspiring with the devil, shaking its hand.

****

I wonder which to be mourned and cursed ;

His self-extinction or life’s pressure burst?

May he mercifully rest in a heavenly home,

Not under the ground like a ghostly gnome!

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Rabat - Morocco will participate for the first time in cosmetics international exhibition "Beauty World Middle East" to be held on May 27-29 in Dubai, said on Monday, Moroccan exports center "Maroc Export."

Organized by Maroc Export, in collaboration with the Moroccan Chemistry and Para-chemical Federation (FCP), the Moroccan stand will stretch over 117m2 and will be an opportunity to showcase Moroccan cosmetic products in leading markets such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain, said a statement by Maroc Export.

12 Moroccan companies will attend the event to attract new costumers, new distribution channels and new partnerships to introduce their products.

Operators in the cosmetic sector are exploring new opportunities for exportation, said the statement, adding that Maroc Export is working to ensure the necessary follow-up of its first participation in the 2014 edition.

As my soul begins to fray,

All the skies turn gray.

My being is in denial

Of all that makes you smile.

****

Very hard I try

But Lord! I can only cry.

Disillusioned I feel

Is anything even real?

****

Only grief and sorrow

Don’t want no tomorrow.

My body’s now mad

For my soul is too sad.

****

Struggle my way out of me

No longer want me to be…

****

Body’s weak and bloody

Yet to leave, still not ready.

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Taroudante- The Moroccan international festival, Mawazine — Rhythms of the World, kicks off on Friday, May 30, featuring 100 concerts, on seven stages in Rabat and Salé.

“It is with great pleasure that we open, this year, the thirteenth edition of Mawazine Rhythms of the World,” said Mounir El Majidi, President of Maroc Cultures, and President of the Mawazine Festival.

In addition to street performances and workshops, this year’s festival “brings big Moroccan and pan-Arab names, stars and internationally renowned performers recognized by the major musical traditions of the world,” said the official website of the festival.

On the eve of the festival, the Morocco Culture Association, which organizes the festival, warned against fraudulent sales of tickets.

To avoid fake tickets, the association calls on festival-goers to buy their tickets on the festival site via the official sales network or from any official retailer located in big cities.

The 13th edition of Festival Mawazine Rhythms of the World runs from May 30 to June 7, 2014 in Rabat.

Edited by Elisabeth Myers

© Morocco World News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten or redistributed.

By Melissa Smyth

Rabat - The streets of Rabat are filled with a robust bustle that can only mean one thing: Mawazine is back.

Now in its thirteenth year, the free, ten-day annual music festival opened last night in the Moroccan capital amidst a spirit of lively anticipation and excitement. Each year, high-profile international artists and beloved regional performers join local groups in a mélange of musical styles that never fails to encapsulate Mawazine’s motto: “rhythms of the world.”

The festival’s outdoor stages are spread out around the city, designated by genre. Salé hosts Moroccan artists, while African artists perform at Bouregreg and Oriental artists at Nahda. Special world music performances will take place at Chellah, in addition to discovery music at the National Theatre Mohammad V and Tarab music at the Renaissance Cultural Center. One of the biggest names on this year’s bill, American pop singer Justin Timberlake, opened the festival Friday night at the international stage in Souissi.

Throngs of Moroccans and foreigners alike joined Rabatis who came out to see Timberlake’s first performance in the country. The annual opportunity to see such a high-profile musician perform for free was met with a great deal of expectation from the audience, which included groups of young people as well as couples and families. Attendees reminisced about their favorite international performances over the last few years, from Kanye West and Rihanna to Yusuf Islam. Many listed off the songs they hoped to hear, from early tracks like Rock Your Body and Senorita to classic standbys like Sexyback.

Timberlake’s performance began with a great deal of enthusiasm, as audience members cheered, clapped and screamed when he came on stage. Many danced and sang along as he performed his most famous songs. However, some expressed disappointment with Timberlake’s stage presence, noting a general lack of enthusiasm and audience engagement from the nine-time Grammy winner. “It seemed like he was annoyed with the audience; they didn’t clap along and repeat the lines he asked them to,” said one audience member.

Others mused that perhaps the crowd was turned off by his covers of other musicians’ songs. “We’re not going to sing along to a Michael Jackson song or an Elvis song… When I go to a Justin Timberlake concert I want to hear Justin Timberlake songs.” Despite the mild disappointment, the atmosphere of celebration prevailed and attendees predicted which performances would prove more successful. “I can’t wait to see Alicia Keys. She’ll put on a great live show,” commented one attendee as she left the concert grounds.

While the big-name international performances can be hit-or-miss, many see the festival as more of an opportunity for Moroccan artists to shine in front of a wide audience. “I’m usually more impressed with the local groups,” one attendee said, noting that their shows are often more personal and energetic than Timberlake’s route performance. Among the variety of Moroccan performers who will perform at the Salé stage this year are rapper Masta Flow, twin sisters Safaâ and Hanaâ, and Amazigh fusion group Tifyour.

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Penang Island, Malaysia - The same dream came again. In it, I’m in this awe-inspiring place, a big city with different faces. But, this time, it really wasn’t just a dream because I actually woke up in that city. Kuala Lumpur was mine for the taking and I knew I wasn't searching for those faces here. I was searching for me.

My first day started with the breakfast that comes included with the dormitory bed I rented. It was nothing fancy, but I loved it! French toast, butter and a cup of water never tasted so good. Not that I am a breakfast person, in fact while I was growing up my Mama always struggled to get me eat something before I went to school. Even when I was living away from her, she always reminded me of the importance of breakfast. I thought of my Mom and my love for her this first morning in Kuala Lumpur, having breakfast on my own for the first time in my new city. My first breakfast gave me the strength that I needed as a solo traveler.  I was ready to say YES to everything new!

Next, I headed out to explore the big city, taking some maps on my way out of the hostel. Surprisingly, my first destination was just across the road:  the splendid Central Market or as I like to call it, the blue building (simply because it’s just a blue building). The market opened in 1888. The present building was constructed in 1928. It used to be the city's main "wet market," but now it’s one of the main attractions for tourists craving Malaysian souvenirs, handicrafts, kebaya (the traditional blouse), batik and jewelry. It even has a contemporary local arts gallery full of the product of talented painters. Stalls, large and small, inside and out, sell all sorts of interesting things from different ethnicities. What seemed a very quick four hours later I realized that I should focus on eating lunch.  If I waited until I got enough of all the fabulous stuff I would starve to death.

I found my way to the central food court inside the market and “oh boy!” The mixture of the various ethnic foods smelled heavenly. It was a hard choice but it had to be made. I went for a spicy Thai dish that was so wonderful I can still savor its unique taste in my mouth right now. After lunch, I was on to my next adventure.

Central market is situated at the border of China Town. So, I decided to combine the first part of my day with a visit to China Town. But on my walk, it started pouring! It was my first taste of tropical, rainy weather and in my excitement of looking at and eating new things, I hadn’t seen it coming. But something new occurred to me. For the first time I wasn’t afraid of walking in the rain shower. Instead, I loved everything about it! It was surprisingly warm. As I walked confidently in it, I concluded two things; first, I was soaking wet and had to return to the hostel and second, things aren’t always as we first perceive them. Just because we grow up with certain beliefs and opinions, doesn’t mean that there isn’t another side to them. Phaedrus was right when he said “things are not always as they seem.” Different from what I had ever thought before, I realized that rain doesn’t necessarily have to be cold.

On the way, I bumped into a girl in the narrow corridor. She was tall and slim, wrapped up in a beach towel, looking like a model with her golden swept back wet hair, walking proudly with perfect long legs. We exchanged a brief smile and each continued on in our different directions. In the hot shower, I appreciated how much a hot shower could be bliss when on the road. Some hostels apparently don’t even have showers, hot or otherwise, so I was lucky.

On my way back to the room, I felt awkwardly because I had on nothing but a towel wrapped around me to cover my chest down to my knees. I was terrified by the thought of someone bumping into me looking the way I did. I was holding my shower kit up to my chest and at the same time making sure the towel was held tight while running in small steps. To my great surprise I found the perfectly shaped model-like girl on the bottom bunk bed across from mine. I tried to act normally.

“Hi,” I said as I entered.“Hey,” she smiled back at me.And that was all we said for what seemed to be an eternity of awkward silence, while each one of us busied ourselves with changing, applying moisturizers and engaging in after shower routines. I couldn’t help but notice her trying to dry out her hair with a wet towel so I reached into my suitcase and took out my tiny, foldable hairdryer and handed it to her.  She seemed hesitant at first but I encouraged her with a smile.

Simply loaning a hairdryer led to nonstop girl chitchat, from how much she loved my pink makeup purse and how it helps me organize my handbag to her struggle with her backpack and how hard it is for her to find her things unless she unpacks everything. I found out later that her name is Sara and she is from Sweden. I also realized the rumors are true. Swedish girls are not just pretty, they’re gorgeous!

She was the first person of real inspiration I met in my new country, an experienced backpacker. She told me she had worked on a farm in Australia for one year and went to New Zealand for another six months and then onto Bali. Malaysia was her last stop before catching a flight to Thailand the next day. I was fascinated by her journey, but knew we had little time left to get to know each other.  One of the drawbacks of traveling is that you meet great people, but when they leave, you are left with a snowball of sadness. The time together with new friends is a blast. The goodbye moments are put in my diary. But, maybe it is the moments of the blast that should really be remembered.

Sara was all I wanted to be and more, so I listened carefully to her advice. She gave me tips on how much to spend per day and where to eat and what to wear. She even helped me socialize with other fellow backpackers down in the hostel lobby. That’s where everybody meets and chats about everything and nothing at all, but it is priceless human interaction, nonetheless. Before Sara, I had been too afraid to sit in there but now that I’ve got a taste of it, it will be my new favorite spot.

My hostel, the Matahari is very small with very small rooms. A dormitory of six beds makes intimate conversations not only possible but indispensable. And conversing intimately was one of the things Sara and I did that night. She told me so much about her journey as well as her personal troubles. I could tell that her backpack wasn’t the only heavy thing she was carrying. By listening to her, I hope I helped her carry some of her “other” heavy baggage. That night I also learned that Sara just like any other lost soul with some scars on her but she was ready to leave her marks on the world, and especially on me.

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Rabat - Since her first appearance on Arab’s Got Talent when she performed Egyptian singer Umm Kalthum’s song, Jennifer Grout has created a global buzz.

On Saturday, she not only mesmerized the audience through her amazing talent impersonating iconic artists on the TV show Shaklak Mush Gharib, she won this week’s prize, which she donated to Moroccan artists in Jama Lefna.

On the 7th episode, Jennifer Grout had the audience on their feet for her performance of Egyptian iconic artist Shadya. She came in the first place for the week and won $5,000 after being at the bottom throughout the first 6 weeks of the program. Jennifer donated her first prize to Morocco, especially “the Moroccan artists of Jamaa lefna and the Amazigh artists in Marrakesh. I used to work there and it is where I live,” stated Grout, who added “hadshi dialkum”, which in Moroccan Arabic means this is yours.

The television show host, clueless to what she was talking about, simply repeated the words “Moroccan artists.” Jennifer won the prize along with her fellow contestants’ love who did not hesitate to award her points and scream that they loved her after expressing how much they appreciated her efforts in both performing Arab pop icons and learning Arabic.

The first season of the TV show Shaklak Mush Gharib, which is broadcast on MBC4, is the Middle Eastern version of the UK series Your Face Sounds Familiar.  The show hosts a group of contestants who perform songs by famous singers from different parts of the world on a weekly basis. At the end of every episode, the singer who gets the highest point totals receives a $5,000 prize for charity. The final prize is $50,000. The contestants are awarded points by the judges and at the end of every episode; the contestants must give each other 5 points.

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Hey you tyrant oppressor!

Lover of darkness, enemy of life

You sneered at the soughs of an oppressed nation

And your hands are tainted with its blood

You marched spoiling the magic of existence

And sowing thorns on its hills

Slow down, don't be fooled by spring,

Clear weather and morning light

 For in the wide horizon there is dreadful darkness,

Roaring thunder, and hurling wind

Watch out! for you have uncovered the blazing embers

And he who sows thorns collects scars

 Behold! over there,

Where you harvested people's heads

And flowers of hope,

And soaked the earth's core with blood

And got it drunk on tears

You shall be swept away by the stream,

The stream of bloods

And you shall be consumed by the fire storm

Edited by Chokri Omri

Casablanca- Lebanese star Nancy Ajram has expressed her desire to sing in Moroccan Arabic.

According to Moroccan news portal Hesspress, Nancy Ajram, one of the international artists taking part in Mawazine 2014, has been thinking about singing a song in Moroccan Arabic, but no Moroccan artist has yet suggested to her “the one song”.

“Please suggest your projects to me. I really want to sing in Moroccan Arabic,” Nancy requested from Moroccan songwriters, according to the same source.

This is the third time Nancy Ajram has taken part in the Mawazine Festival. The Lebanese diva has never turned down any request to sing in Morocco, and her fan base in the kingdom is one of the largest and rapidly growing in the Arab World. Her participation in Mawazine, as she has stated on many occasions, has been her chance to reunite with one of her most faithful fans.

Nancy Ajram’s first participation in Mawazine was in 2008. Since then, her love has grown for the Moroccan audience, whose reaction to her first appearance on the Moroccan stage has remained etched in her memory.

After the Tunisian Minister of Culture Mehdi Mabrouk banned Nancy, along with other famous Arab singers, from performing in the 2012 edition of the Tunisian Kartaj Festival, the Lebanese star found in Morocco’s Mawazine Festival consoling warmth.

Nancy Ajram’s condition for any Moroccan songwriters with potential projects to suggest to her is that the song be “good music” with “great lyrics,” according to the Moroccan Press Agency (MAP).

Nancy won her first World Music Award in the category of best artist in the Middle East in 2008. Since then, her fame has extended even more to reach other corners of the world, making of her one the most popular singers in the Arab World.

Casablanca - American singer Jennifer Grout, now one of the Arab World’s most popular sensations, stunned her Arab fans in her recent performance on the TV show “Shaklak Mich Gharib,” broadcast on Lebanon’s MBC 4.

The TV show is based on the Spanish reality television franchise Tu cara me suena (Your Face Sounds Familiar). In it, contestants impersonate iconic singers. The top performer in each episode receives a cash prize destined for charity, and is also designated “Series Champion” by the jury.

Jennifer Grout’s performance on the 7^th episode of the TV show was mind-blowing according to all members of the jury. “Her voice is mesmerizing, and I really don’t know how she can sing like that,” Mohammed Sami, a jury member, commented on Jennifer’s performance.

“You look so cute and so beautiful tonight,” Lebanese diva Haifaa Wehbe, another jury member, complimented Jennifer. “This is one of your best performances,” she added.

But to the third jury member, Egyptian star Hakim, there was something else about Jennifer that astounded him as much as her performance. “I frankly doubt she’s American,” said Hakim, wowed by Jennifer’s command of Arabic. “I really need to see your passport,” he added.

That was not the first time Jennifer’s singing in Arabic has wowed the jury of an Arab TV show. Equally astonished were Arab’s Got Talent’s jury and audience back in 2013, when they learned that Jennifer had not yet mastered Arabic, yet fluently sang one of the most challenging songs of legendary Egyptian singer Umm Kalthum.

“You don’t speak Arabic, yet you sing better than some Arab singers!” Najwa Karam, Lebanese star and member of AGT’s jury said.“We have for so long imitated the West, and this the first time that a person who has no whatsoever link to the Arab world, an American girl who does not speak Arabic, sings Arabic songs!,” added a bedazzled Najwa Karam.

 “To understand the lyrics, I look up translations on the net or ask some of my Arab friends to translate them for me,” Jennifer once explained.

After scoring higher than the other contestants in the 7^th episode of Shaklak Mich Gharib, Jennifer was awarded a cash prize of $5,000, which she donated to the Moroccan artists of Jamaa Lfna and Amazigh artists in Marrakesh.

Rabat- Hello music lovers! We are just four days into the 13th Mawazine festival, and we’ve already seen dozens of dynamic performances from around the world.

Attending multiple free concerts every day by internationally recognized musicians is not an easy task, but I’m happy to take on the task for you lovely MWN readers. We started with coverage of Justin Timberlake’s packed performance on opening night. Today I will recap some of the smaller concerts over the past two days, as well as Ben L’Oncle Soul at the Bouregreg and IAM’s performance last night in Souissi.

On Saturday afternoon I ran into one of Mawazine’s many street performances completely by accident. My friends and I were on a leisurely stroll through Agdal when we heard rhythmic drumming coming from a knot of spectators up ahead. Inside an enclosure in the street was the Bollywood Masala Orchestra. Their pan-Indian music included an eclectic assortment of instruments, including a bass drum, side drum, trombone, tabla, dholak, and harmonium. Dancers and acrobats in traditional dress added a compelling visual spectacle to the lively performance.

The 16-member group performed several numbers for the enthusiastic crowd. Some seemed to have arrived specifically for the concert, while others stumbled upon the crowd and stayed for the show. Parents hoisted small children onto their shoulders, and employees at local businesses took a break to stand outside their shops and listen to the music. The performance ended as abruptly as it had started, and the crowd dispersed to the sounds of the tabla ringing down the street.

San Francisco-based French artist Ben l’Oncle Soul played the Bouregreg venue on Saturday night. His band warmed up the crowd with a fun beat as his backup singers danced onto the stage. People of all ages crowded into the space along the riverbank, dancing along with the funky, swingy music.

The musician was able to connect well with the audience by speaking in French and gauging audience reaction throughout the performance. He worked “Maroc” into the lyrics of one song, eliciting cheers from the crowd. Overall, Ben l’Oncle Soul seemed to be genuinely enjoying his performance at Mawazine, which some spectators compared favorably to Justin Timberlake’s apparent indifference during his show.

On Sunday evening we headed to Chellah to hear Ensemble Shanbehzadeh. The historic ruins were the perfect location for the atmospheric melodies of the Iranian folk musicians, set against the backdrop of the beautiful valley at dusk. The instruments reflected the cultural crossroads of Iran; Saied Shanbehzadeh played the neyanban bagpipes, flute and boogh (goat horn) during the show, with Naghib Shanbehzadeh and Habib Meftah Bushehri on percussion. Midway through the show Naghib delivered an intricate drum solo, followed by a dynamic, emotional performance by Habib, after which Saied took the opportunity to explain some of the traditional instruments and history of the music.

Saied’s stage presence was integral to the whole experience; he dressed in traditional garb, leaping around the platform and swaying for effect. The small venue provided an intimate setting for interaction with the audience. Shanbehzadeh encouraged the audience, which was largely older and included many foreigners, to repeat his ululations and clap along with the complex rhythms. After the show, many guests took advantage of the elegant buffet tents which had been erected throughout the ancient Roman site.

French hip-hop group IAM performed Sunday night at OLM in Souissi. At the nearby Sofitel Hotel, where many Mawazine affiliates are staying for the festival, the bar played IAM songs ahead of the show. “They’re very popular; they’re like the French Wu-Tang Clan,” said one patron. Though not as crowded as the Justin Timberlake concert at the same venue, IAM managed to fill the space with a mostly young, male crowd. They used a variety of background screens to set a different mood for each song, including shots of the Paris suburbs, the solar system, and flames.

For one song, the performers danced with pink light sabers in front of a galactic backdrop. Unlike many other performances at the festival, the audience seemed to know IAM’s lyrics by heart; the singers were able to point their microphones to the audience and hear their songs echoed back to them. The artists make frequent references to Africa, Islam and the Middle East and criticize the conservative French political establishment, all themes which resonate with their young Moroccan audience.

We’ll be back later in the week with more updates, including recaps of performances by Moroccan artists and regional stars like Nancy Ajram. Stay tuned!

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Rabat - Mawazine, a festival billed to bring the ‘Rhythms of the World’ to Rabat and project an image of the capital as a multicultural, dynamic, international city to the world, has separated performances on its various stages according to the origins of the artists. Despite some questionable classifications (the French singer-songwriter Ben l’Oncle Soul performed at the ‘African’ stage on the Bouregreg), this system of division has been practical and has ensured a variety of musical styles at each locale.

Before attending Monday night’s rap performances in Salé, the organizational motives for designating the stage in Rabat’s smaller sister city across the Bouregreg as the venue for Moroccan music seemed questionable. The stage in Salé has hosted an array of Moroccan performers this week, from fusion composers Tarik Batma and Said Mosker to vocalists Imane Karkibou and Kawtar Nihad to various adaptors of traditional styles like Larsad and Bnat Lemchaheb.

While big name international artists performed in the posh Souissi neighborhood, it seemed as if the local artists were placed as an afterthought in the least accessible performance area. For those coming from Rabat without a personal vehicle, the only way to get to and from Salé after tram service ends at night is by grand taxi.

Additionally, some Rabatis expressed reservations about safety in Salé, a city that is generally less affluent and more dangerous than cosmopolitan Rabat. Many Rabatis who planned to attend the Stromae concert in Souissi on Monday night advised against attending the Muslim performance in Sale because of the rough crowd they imagined would be there. Some were particularly wary of his second Mawazine performance, citing an incident last year in which an ongoing rivalry between Casablanca and Tangier incited fans to throw bottles at the Tangier rapper.

While the concerts in Rabat thus far have proved to be enjoyable community events for Rabatis and visitors alike, drawing young fans as well as families and children to stages across the city for uncommonly large-scale productions, an air of corporatism has pervaded the festival.

A few Rabatis who have been attending the festival for years noted a significant increase in foreign visitors, especially French and American tourists, compared to years past. Many people have criticized Mawazine sponsors for spending millions of dirham on staging extravagant shows, free to the public, while poverty remains rampant and public infrastructure like hospitals and schools remain underdeveloped. Uninspired performances by some of the international artists and a mild ambivalence among many Rabatis toward the shows seemed to confirm the staging of the events as more of a PR stunt for Morocco than a positive cultural event for the community.

However, one of the more positive aspects of the festival is the dispersal of stages throughout Rabat, in addition to the stage in Salé, making the events accessible to a wide swath of the city’s population. While the degree of audience engagement at each show has varied, particularly based on the artists’ abilities to communicate in French or Arabic, Muslim’s performance proved that a genuine form of communication between performer and audience can take place simultaneously to the aloof corporatism of the more internationally acclaimed artists at Mawazine.

The crowd that gathered at Salé on Monday night was easily as large as that at the French hip hop group IAM’s concert in Souissi the night before. In contrast, this seemed to be an almost entirely local audience. While Muslim may not have a broad international fan base, his fans within Morocco express a passionate enthusiasm for the ‘King of Moroccan Rap.’ His use of Darija in his music, while limiting his potential audience to the Maghreb, forges an expressive connection with the Moroccan audience that no foreign performer can match. The audience was rowdy—waving flags, crowd surfing, and jostling to get closer to the stage.  Warnings about the event, however, proved inapropos. The raucous energy that filled the concert grounds was not a manifestation of violence, but of a passionate connection and reaction to Muslim’s words, which many audience members knew by heart and sang along with him.

While the popular international music performances that make up most of the Mawazine lineup are positive in their communal and celebratory nature, they offer little more than distraction and participation in a scheme of globalization. Muslim’s performance was, for artist and audience, a communicative and cathartic event. Muslim’s style and the social issues that he addresses in many of his lyrics enlivened the audience, as he absorbed their energy in return.

In between songs, he beamed, addressing the audience as his brothers and expressing his sincere humility and love for their energy. It was a reminder that beside the corporatism that has usurped much of the vigor of the industry, the elemental genius and vitality of musical expression still exercises its essential drive. In this sense, while Mawazine’s large budget and media campaign has been directed at bringing in international performers and projecting a particular image of Morocco to the world, its vitality comes from the connection it fosters between local artists and their fellow Moroccans.

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Taroudant, Morocco - Iraqi singer Kadim Al Sahir said at a press briefing held an hour after his performance Tuesday at the 13th annual Mawazine international festival, Rhythms of the World that the festival has become one of the biggest events in the music world.

Following his outstanding performance at the Nahda stage, the Czar of Arabic music added that “many artists wish to participate in this festival.”

Born in 1957 in Iraq, Al Sahir, who now resides in Morocco, is eager to perform a song in authentic Moroccan dialect and style.

The Arab singer is hoping to receive an offer from a Moroccan lyrics writer.

Al Sahir’s concert was live-streamed Tuesday night on Moroccan TV channel 2M TV.

Dubbed "Iraq’s Ambassador to the world", Kadim Al Sahir is an Iraqi singer, composer, and poet, who has performed on the most prestigious stages in the Arab world.

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Rabat - Famous Iraqi singer Kadem Saher gave on Tuesday evening, at the 13th edition of the Mawazine Fest, a wonderful performance celebrating refined Arab classical music.

Even if this is Saher's third participation in the festival, he hit the stage and succeeded in entertaining the crowds with songs mostly from the poetry of late Nizar Qabbani.

During a press conference before the concert, Kadem said he was honored to perform once more in Mawazine and hoped to sing in the future a Moroccan song.

Kadem Saher is also a composer and a poet, and he has been dubbed the "Caesar of Arabic Song" and "Iraq’s Ambassador to the world".

Rabat- The TV programs slated to run during the forthcoming month of Ramadan will cost taxpayers MAD 70 million compared to MAD 100 in 2012, according to Mustafa El Khalfi.

The cost decline, 30 percent compared to 2012, is due to strict measures keen on rationalizing expenditure by means of respecting legal schedules of proposals as well as encouraging domestic production.

This year's programs will be characterized by a noticeable change by means of adapting religious programing to respond to Moroccans' expectations.

Tangier - The first edition of students' cultural creativity and sports' festival kicked off on Tuesday in Tangier.

As an initiative from the Ministry of National Education, Tangier-Asilah branch, the event entitled ‘’Activating the Role of School Life and Promoting Student’s Abilities’’ is meant to create a space for expression and exploration of budding talents in the field of culture, artistic creation and sports.

The festival, which began with a musical show and an exhibition of artwork and paintings made by students from several schools, provides many activities supervised by leading researchers, artists and educators.

In a statement to MAP on this occasion, the delegate of the National Education and Training in Tangier-Assilah, Said Bellout, indicated that the organization of this cultural event is a part of the recommendations’ implementations of the study day organized by the delegation on the activation of the role of school life, which constitute an integrating factor of student in their academic and social environment. It is a means to promote a spirit of innovation and creativity of young generations.

He added that this festival is also the result of a new partnership agreement concluded between the delegation, multiple institutions and active associations in the cultural domain. These institutions include the Writers Union of Morocco, The National Union of Theatre Professionals and the Association of Fine Arts of Tangier. All of them have provided support and expertise to mentor students in their literary and artistic creations.

This first edition will shed light on the results of these efforts of art and culture promotion by new generations, encouraging expression and cultural creativity in children, revealed Mr. Bellout.

He notes that this event focuses on the organization of sports competitions to explore young talents and promote noble values through sport.

One of the highlights of this festival is the production of a large painting of 50 m2 made out of a hundred of painted canvas drawn by students under the theme “Tangier Seen by the New Generation.”

Throughout the festival days, sports competitions of football, basketball, handball and athletics will take place before the closing, on Sunday, by a big sports show in Merchane stadium.

The program of this student festival includes conferences and round tables on the “History of Cinema,” and “Theatre and the Moroccan School” as well as workshops in drawing, theatre and cinema.

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