Hadra Festival of Feminine and Trance Music

On the afternoon of August 9th, a colourful and boisterous procession cut through the centre of Essaouira’s medina, marking the beginning of the Hadra Festival of Feminine and Trance Music.
Lauren Crabbe was there for The View From Fez.

Unsuspecting locals and tourists were treated to a wide display of musical styles – from Senegalese drummers to Egyptian whirling dervishes, and all-women’s Sufi groups from the mountains of Tafraoute to Essaouira’s shores

The festival, now in its sixth year, ran for three nights across August 9th-11th in Moulay el Hassan square. Every evening saw three performances that represented elements of Sufism’s three popular brotherhoods: Issawa, Gnaoua, and Hamadcha; called popular because they have long been associated with the common people, with inspiration for material being drawn from daily life as opposed to performing refined classical poetry characteristic of Suni Sufism. The fusion of these three styles comes from their ritual known as hadra (meaning “presence” in Arabic – chanting, recitals, and other rhythmic invocations of God) for which the festival is named.

The president of the event, Madame Latifa Boumazzourh, formed the festival in collaboration with Mohamed Abarda, her artistic director, as a means of helping the public – particularly women and younger generations – understand themselves as part of a rich heritage that needs to be cared for.

“All Moroccans have memories and fascination with moussems [popular festivals] of the past. Children grew up with them – though the content changes from place to place – and they’re very special because of their spectacle. Sometimes you keep in mind just the smell of incense, or colour of the costumes, or particular songs,” says Abarda, translating for Latifa. “People are starting to look into their heritage and memories and discover what was popular in the past. Women start to be more liberated and open, and are searching for their real identities.”

Madame Latifa in the dark green djellaba

Madame Latifa discovered hadra music when she was five. She would attend moussems with her great-grandmother in Essaouira’s Issawa sanctuary; gatherings of musicians from different brotherhoods who would perform from sunset to sunrise over three days, complete with vibrant costumes, incense, and traditional zikhr (chanting). When her great-grandmother died, Latifa continued to go with her grandmother; thus, she has spent almost sixty years immersed in these rituals. Her brother is the moqadem (keeper) of the Hamadcha sanctuary in Essaouira.

Fascinated with the traditions, but aware they were dying along with the old followers and masters, Madame Latifa formed the Haddarates Souiriyattes Association in 2004 – a collection of elderly women who are “like a library” of old songs and poems – and her own all-female band of the same name, before co-founding the Hadra Festival in 2013.

Her aim is to preserve and spread the hadra through Morocco and abroad, as well as shatter stereotypes about Muslim women; prove they can be respectful to their faith and still express themselves creatively without prejudice. They’ve received positive feedback from astonished audiences in France, Italy, Denmark, and India, who had never witnessed devout women shadowing the trance state onstage, ripping off their veils and whipping their hair around, dancing without restraint.

Aicha Elhail an early member of the women's group playing the tea tray!

The Haddarates primarily practise zikhr in their performances (as opposed to samaa, meaning audition – music and dancing). Historically, it was not possible for women to perform outside their houses, so they gathered in private to practise their own kind of zikhr, different to the men’s. They would play glasses on a tea tray as a percussion instrument following a procession, as a way to open the space with kindness, joy, and intimacy – to create an atmosphere that’s like family. Only then would they perform the repertoire of the three popular brotherhoods, imploring spirits to pass through the music and into guests to heal them.

Women, while previously banned from performing with men, have always been integral to the process. In Gnaoua tradition, a lila (night ceremony) cannot take place without a female clairvoyant, who opens the space by dancing while the master plays the guembri (a three-stringed lute instrument), as a kind of dialogue for others to enter trance. Guests, seemingly healed by their experiences, would often become followers and members of the brotherhoods. Popular Sufism has spread widely within Morocco, and abroad in regions like Asia and North America.

Having now emerged into the public sphere, the Haddarates’ repertoire has adapted over time and through travel, drawing inspiration from Andalusia to the Orient, rural villages and cities, sometimes invoking the spirits of local saints to heal people or blessings of God. Sometimes they sing about love and joy, and women’s societal struggles. They perform at intimate ceremonies – birthdays, weddings, funerals, and circumcisions – and onstage for larger audiences, dazzling and healing in the same manner as their male counterparts. However, they rarely collect followers.

The popular Hamadcha Brotherhood

“Young women are not interested in joining because they think there’s no future in it, or they can’t make money from it,” says Abarda. “It always comes down to money.

“It’s not really easy; even Gnaoua masters who have toured all over the world, to famous places, find they can’t make a living and are still poor. Can you imagine? The Haddarates make a small amount of money, but not much; they’re sometimes paid in gifts at small ceremonies…but it’s not enough.”

Even with the Haddarates’ international acclaim, Latifa and Abarda are struggling to find support within Morocco. Aside from compiling the elders’ knowledge into a book, their goal is to studio record an album, create videos and documentaries about feminine hadra throughout Morocco, and find interested professionals who can apply a scientific understanding to the practice or provide financial support. The band currently receives no government or external funding; the HS Association receives a small sum for the festival.

“We’ve been meeting with a lot of anthropologists here, but no one is interested in this; they say there’s no worth. Better to focus on bigger or known brotherhoods than the Haddarates, because they’re not an order,” says Abarda. “Sometimes we are frustrated; but what can you do?”

Witnessing the large group of women – the Haddarates Souiriyattes joined by Latifa’s daughter Khansa’s own association of young female singers – beat their drums and tea tray and chant with primal resolve, enrapturing their audience to sing and clap and ululate and dance, it’s difficult to understand why no one would take interest in these proud performers. It’s impossible to look up at the stage and not see reflections of your own mother, grandmother, and sisters; and their ambition to challenge stereotypes and express themselves creatively is universally relatable.

“If there is a message, it is one of tolerance and peace and coexistence and good things about women in general. They have the right to show themselves like they do, because there is nothing wrong with it,” says Abarda.

The Hadra Festival, taking place in August every year, is an ecstatic blend of cultures, ages, and styles, epitomising all that’s musically fascinating about Morocco; a must-see for every local and traveller visiting Essaouira. For more information, follow the Hadra Festival on Facebook (Festival Hadra Feminine et Musiques de Transe) and through their website.

Story and photos Lauren Crabbe

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Compulsory Military Service Returns to Morocco

Morocco's new draft law on military service, was adopted Monday in the Council of Ministers, chaired by King Mohamed VI. The entry into force of the new compulsory military service is scheduled for next October

The law applies to young people between 19 and 25 who do not pursue their studies, do not have a stable job and are not handicapped. The measure applies to men and women, without any distinction of sex. The old military service regime only applied to men.

The bill, number 44.18, provides for the exclusion from military service of persons with disabilities and those who financially support their families. Students may be exempted during their university training but will be called after the end of their studies. Any attempt to escape this service is punishable by up to 6 months in prison.

The previous regime of military service, established in 1966, was abolished indefinitely. However, the ability to bring it back is clear in the Constitution of 2011, as it has been specified in the constitution of Morocco since 1962," says the political scientist Mustapha Sehimi. In article 38, the supreme law states that "All citizens contribute to the defence of the homeland and its territorial integrity against any aggression or threat".

The duration of compulsory military service will be 12 full months, as against 18 previously.

In addition to military training and exercises in weapons handling and other equipment, military service will be extended to aspects related to vocational and technical training as well as participation in major structural projects in the country.

All in addition to learning the rules of life within the army (discipline, autonomy, teamwork, rigour, sense of values, citizenship, etc.). The goal is not just to leave reservists able to defend their homeland if necessary, but to train the citizens of tomorrow. Military service aims through its recovery to train young people and prepare them for a fruitful active life to serve and contribute to the development of their homeland.

Funding for this project is part of the state budget and should feature prominently in future finance laws. It is hardly mentioned in the 2019 budget so everything suggests that the budget must be reviewed.

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Casablanca to Miami with RAM

Next spring Royal Air Maroc plans to launch a new connection between Casablanca and Miami - its third destination in the United States after New York and Washington

The Moroccan national airline is expected to inaugurate the new service on April 3, 2019. There will be three flights per week between its base in Casablanca-Mohammed V and Miami Airport, operated by Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Royal Air Maroc has not yet formalised this line and its schedules. Miami has not had a direct route to Africa since 2000 and the departure of South African Airways.

Royal Air Maroc filed an application for authorisation in July to launch flights to Florida, arguing that "40 years of successful operations demonstrate that it is fully qualified to operate in Miami" along with its flights to New York-JFK and Washington-Dulles, which it has been serving since September 2016.

Royal Air Morocco has a code-sharing agreement with JetBlue Airways in the United States, but that airline does not serve Miami. The US and Morocco have signed an open skies agreement, but Casablanca airport does not host any US companies. Royal Air Maroc also serves Montreal in North America, and Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

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Have a Happy and Peaceful Eid

The View From Fez wishes all our readers a wonderful Eid

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The Cervantes is Dying

The Cervantes Theatre of Tangier was founded in 1913, before becoming the biggest stage in North Africa. Despite its current alarming situation, Morocco and Spain have still not agreed to save this magnificent art nouveau building

Created by a couple of emigrants from Cadiz to Tangier, the Gran Teatro Cervantes has long represented the relationship between Morocco and Spain. After hosting the Italian tenor Caruso, the French actress Cécile Sorel, or the Egyptian star Youssef Wahbi, then the biggest Spanish stars, the prestigious theatre become a cinema and wrestling room.

It was in 1903 that Manuel Peña Rodríguez arrived on North African soil. This former fisherman from Cadiz emigrated to Tangier in search of fortune. The destination was not chosen at random because he joined the rich uncle of his wife, Antonio Núñez Reina. He then continued his activity at sea on the other side of the Mediterranean, and launched some time later in the sale of medicinal leeches. They were harvested in a well located in his kitchen garden nicknamed "the Huerta del Señor Frasquito el Sevillano". On the death of Esperanza Orellana's uncle, the couple acquired all the properties as sole heirs. An idea then germinated in the mind of Manuel Peña Rodríguez. He would set up a theatre in Tangier. To please his wife passion about theatre and to put Spanish culture in the heart of the city of Tangier, he began work on the garden. The former fisherman, who has become a wealthy merchant, sought to influence his country's culture in a city also occupied by the French and the British.

Laying of the first stone of the theatre on April 2, 1911, Manuel Peña paid 650,000 pesetas and commissioned the Spanish architect Diego Jiménez Armstrong to build this theatre. The architect was a well known Tangierois. Born in the city in 1844, he studied in Paris. He built a very large number of buildings in Tangier, especially for the Jewish bourgeoisie.

Diego Jiménez Armstrong imported all the materials from Spain. The blue frescoes of the dome are the work of the Spanish painter Federico Ribera Bussato. The exterior sculptures were made by the Sevillian artist Cándido Mata Cañamaque. Diego Jiménez Armstrong also installed ten thousand light bulbs inspired by the Teatro Real de Madrid. The theatre is named Cervantes in reference to the great Spanish novelist Miguel de Cervantes.

The Gran Teatro Cervantes was inaugurated on December 11, 1913 and became the essential place of life of the Spanish exiles and the rest of the Tangier community. With 919 seats (although some sources speak of 1,400 seats), it is at this time the largest theatre in North Africa and a very important place for promotion of the artists of the peninsula adjoining the strait.

From the beginning, the place played a key cultural role in Morocco. But despite its success, the theatre was too big and not profitable. Manuel Peña Rodríguez and Esperanza Orellana Noguera decided to give it to the Spanish state in 1928 for 450,000 pesetas. The theatre offered a varied program with operas (including the voices of Adelina Patti and Enrico Caruso), plays (with María Guerrero, Margarita Xirgu, the French Cécile Sorel and the Egyptian stars Youssef Wahbi and Fatma Ruchdi ). The local theatre troupe "Al Hilal" presented several plays, including Othello , in Arabic, in 1929.

The biggest stars came to the Cervantes to meet the Spanish-Moroccan audience - singers Carmen Sevilla, Imperio Argentina, Juanita Reina, Lola Flores, Antonio Molina, flamenco singer Manolo Caracol and Cuban Antonio Machín. Juanito Valderrama came to play Tangier in 1947 and meet the Spanish who fled the Franco regime. In Tangier Juanito Valderrama composed his greatest song, "El Emigrante" (the emigrant). Valderrama later said he wrote the song as soon as he went to his hotel after the performance.

The theatre prospered in the first half of the 20th century with operas, zarzuelas (Spanish comic opera) and concerts. But from the 50s, this cultural centre begins to experience slack periods. To attract the population, its managers rely on another type of event. The Gran Teatro Cervantes became a wrestling room! Catholics, Jews, Muslims ... all came to see the show, halfway between sport and theatre. Many wrestlers were Spanish. They come from the other side of the Mediterranean because they have had their day in Spain. They are looking for a second wind in the international city of Tangier. But soon enough, the spectators tired of seeing only Spaniards. Jews and Muslims wanted to identify with a character, a fighter. So after failing to find a Jew from Casablanca, the organisers decide to bring back a new Spaniard they posed as a Muslim.

After independence, in 1956, the theatre experienced new troubles. The Spaniards were gradually leaving Tangier. The government was abandoning the place. The theatre reinvented itself for a while as a movie theatre but the conditions were really bad and the building was getting worse. During the war in Algeria, the proceeds of some performances are donated to the FLN. Gradually, events were spaced out and rare. The Cervantes was abandoned and closed definitively in 1962. Between 1972 and 1992, it was rented, without reopening, by the Spanish state to the city of Tangier for a symbolic dirham. Until today, nobody has maintained the theatre which falls every day a little more in ruins.

Since Mohamed VI came to power in 1999, the city has aroused more interest with the construction of a large port, a connection to a high-speed train ... Unfortunately, this emblematic place is still deserted , although it is still possible to visit for some coins. Many people have gone to the wall to raise funds and rehabilitate the theater. In 1994, the architect Mariano Vázquez Espí proposed a project to the Spanish government to preserve the Cervantes. In 2004, the Cervantes Association of Cultural Action and Hispano-Moroccan Friendship was created. This association seeks to avoid the disappearance of the Cervantes. In 2006, the association managed to raise 200,000 euros from the Director of Cultural and Scientific Relations of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Half of the budget was spent on emergency interventions. The Spanish authorities have estimated the works at 5 million euros. Founding member and current active committee of this association, Rachid Taferssiti said that the Cervantes was ranked in 2007 national heritage, but "the solution to really save it is new activities".

Despite the many calls for help, the theatre celebrated a sad centenary in 2013. Artists have written and sang to revive it, petition in support, but the Cervantes is still there, abandoned in front of the port of Tangier. The yellow and blue ceramic on the front shows the past and the decrepitude of the Spanish settlement in the Straits. In the entrance hall you can still see ceramics by Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.

Morocco and Spain, who both wanted to reach an agreement to save the place, took a very long time to negotiate. Spain refusing to pay for a place outside their lands preferred to leave the Cervantes in 2015. But this decision, it was necessary to agree on the terms of the project, Spain wishing to keep an eye on the programming.

While the work was to begin in 2018, a UNESCO commission, according to the site Le360, stopped the renovation because the plans would not respect the original construction. After all these imbroglios, the situation is at a standstill and a big question mark still weighs on the Cervantes.

Morocco and Spain, because of their geographical proximity, have always had a special relationship. Separated only by the 14 kilometre Strait of Gibraltar, the two countries have influenced each other. The presence of Spaniards in Morocco dates back to the signing of the Spanish-Moroccan peace and trade treaty of 1767. But at the time, their number was still very small. It was in the nineteenth century that the Iberian presence really grew, especially after the Second Moroccan War (1859-1860), which Spain emerged victorious. At the beginning of the twentieth century, in 1912, the French and the Spanish took possession of the Moroccan power by the establishment of a protectorate. The Spaniards inherit a strip of land in the North and one in the South of the country.  A large number of traders settled there, seeing that economic relations between the two countries are intensifying. But in 1923, Tangier inherited a special status. The city became an international zone under the joint administration of 9 different countries. The city then had a great cultural mix. The Spanish diaspora continued to grow in Morocco until the declaration of independence in 1956.

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Eid-el-Kebir 2018 in Morocco

After observing the crescent moon on the evening of August 12, the Ministry of Habous and Islamic Affairs indicates that Eid-el-Kebir (Aid Al Adha) will be celebrated on Wednesday, August 22

In a statement, the ministry said that the lunar crescent announcing the month of Dou Al Hijja of the year 1439 AH was observed on August 12 and therefore Eid-el-Kebir will be celebrated on 10 Dou Al Hijja 1439, August 22, 2018.

The calendar is this year to follow a weekend (18 and 19 August), the Anniversary of the revolution of the king and the people (August 20), the Youth Day (August 21) and therefore the Aid (22 august), heralding a long weekend in the summer.

The feast of Eid-el-Kebir is "the Feast of Sacrifice", and is one of the most important celebrations related to the Muslim faith. It is a commemoration of Abraham's submission (Ibrahim in Arabic) to the will of God when he asked him to sacrifice his son Ishmael.

While Abraham was about to slit the throat of the child, Jibarel (the angel Gabriel) replaced him with a sheep. Since then, every Muslim family has to sacrifice an animal, traditionally a sheep or a ram, but sometimes a cow or a goat.

The Celebration of Eid-el-Kebir

Eid-el-Kebir is a family celebration. The whole family puts on their best clothes on this occasion. On the day of Eid-el-Kebir, special care is taken in the morning ablutions before the prayer, which is particularly sacred that day.

Then comes the sacrifice of the sheep. The sacrifice is performed according to the rites by the head of the family. Part of the sacrifice will have to be offered (a third) to the needy and is considered a "Sadaka" (or gift).

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Chinese Tourists Drive Restaurant Growth

During the first five months of the year, nearly 100,000 Chinese tourists visited the kingdom taking advantage of the visa exemption introduced in 2016

According to the representative office of the Moroccan National Office of Tourism (ONMT) in China, 120,000 Chinese nationals visited the kingdom in 2017. But in the first five months of this year, this number has already reached 100,000.

"Since Morocco announced the visa waiver for Chinese citizens in June 2016, the number of Chinese tourists to Morocco has increased rapidly and the boom is far from over," reports Global Times.

Chinese restaurants in Morocco are among the first beneficiaries of the massive influx of Chinese tourists.

Liu Mei, owner of a Chinese restaurant in Rabat, told Xinhua that after the visa waiver for Chinese citizens, the number of Chinese tourists in his restaurant has increased significantly.

In 2017, the turnover of its restaurant has doubled compared to the previous year.

Huang Zhiyong, a restaurateur in Casablanca, said his restaurant was also doing good business. At present, it receives an average of 6,000 clients per month, 70% of which are Chinese tourists and businessmen.

Before the visa exemption for Chinese citizens, the number of Chinese restaurants in Morocco was no more than five. At present, the number has increased to over 20.

A Chinese travel agency in Morocco, AMC Voyages, says it is very optimistic about Morocco's tourism market. Its director, Lin Chaoxin, told Xinhua that since the launch of the visa-free policy in June 2016, Chinese tourists have shown growing interest in visiting Morocco.

He said Morocco has unique tourism resources and that the number of Chinese travelers to the kingdom over the next decade will continue to increase. A trend confirmed by the Chinese ambassador to Morocco, Li Li, who said that since the exemption of Morocco's visa for Chinese citizens, the number of Chinese tourists has increased significantly, ranking first in the growth of foreign tourists in the kingdom.

Li said that 2018 marking the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, China and Morocco "will seize the opportunity to deepen pragmatic cooperation in various fields, including tourism."

Hundreds of Chinese are employed in the tourism industry in Morocco. Zhang Kai, an Arabic-language graduate from the Beijing Foreign Studies University, who has been working in the sector for two years in Morocco, believes the influx of Chinese tourists will continue.

The People's Daily, a major Chinese newspaper , says that at the moment, in spite of hot weather, one can observe Chinese people everywhere in Morocco, from Tangier to the desert of the Saharan provinces.

The Chinese daily comments that since the abolition of visas for Chinese citizens in June 2016, the number of Chinese tourists in Morocco continues to increase, and this trend is not about to weaken.

It is that Morocco has many attractions, said the Chinese daily quoting, among others, the long coastline, as well as the Sahara desert, snow-capped mountains, ancient cities and other scenic spots and a rich cultural heritage, in short abundant tourist resources.

According to the Chinese newspaper, tourism is one of the main industries of Morocco. By 2020, the Moroccan government hopes to make the country one of the top 20 tourist destinations in the world. As a result, Morocco is paying more and more attention to Chinese tourists, who represent significant potential.

The paper reports that, during the China-Morocco Tourism Forum, held last February in Casablanca, Mohamed Sajid, the Minister of Tourism, said that Morocco attaches great importance to cooperation in the field of tourism. tourism with China. He also pledged to continue to improve infrastructure, hotel standards, transport quality and to strengthen air transport capacity between the two countries. Ultimately, the minister hopes to attract 500,000 Chinese tourists each year by 2020, with the implementation of this policy of openness in this market.

However, some Moroccans question the target of only 500,000, given that there are 400 million Chinese tourists who leave each year on vacation.

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Book For Sufi Festival Now and Save!

Promotional Pre-sale of complete passes for the festival! Limited offer! Book HERE: 

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Australians Get a Taste of Morocco

The Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco in Canberra has just launched the first Festival of Moroccan Gastronomy at the Hyatt hotel. The public is invited, for ten days, to discover the flavours of the culinary heritage of the Kingdom

Organized as part of the festivities marking the 19th anniversary of the Throne Day, the event "The Flavors of Morocco " was inaugurated by the Ambassador of His Majesty the King in Australia, Karim Medrek and the Minister of Multicultural Affairs, Rachel Stephen Smith, in the presence of several heads of diplomatic missions accredited to Canberra and a host of personalities from the world of politics, culture, and civil society.

" This initiative, the first of its kind in Australia, aims to introduce the Moroccan culinary art and its flavors to the Australian public ," Medrek said in a statement to MAP on the sidelines of the opening ceremony.

The Ambassador explained that " Moroccan cuisine is one of the most refined and diversified thanks to the country's interaction with other cultures and nations over several centuries, particularly through its African, Berber, Moorish tributaries, Arab, Jewish and Mediterranean ". The richness of Moroccan cuisine also comes from ancestral know-how, which has always crossed generations, he added.

And to emphasise that Morocco and Australia " enjoy excellent relations and that such events help to bring together the two peoples who share the value of hospitality ".

For his part, the Director General of the Hyatt Hotel Canberra, Fredrick Arul, said that the event " is an opportunity for Australians to taste the dishes and dishes that make the richness of the culinary arts of Morocco, a country that attracts more and more Australian tourists . "

" For this premiere in Canberra, the hotel is experiencing unprecedented enthusiasm for its prestigious restaurant" la Promenade ", which has 150 people daily. A craze expected given the notoriety enjoyed by Moroccan cuisine around the world, "he said, adding that this kind of event is very important to further strengthen the bonds of friendship between Rabat and Canberra and mutual understanding between the two peoples.

The guests at this first evening, enhanced by traditional Moroccan music, have not lost any praise for the delicious dishes, including the must-haves of Moroccan gastronomy couscous with seven vegetables, meat tagine with prunes, the Pastilla, the chicken with olives and lemon confit without forgetting the essential tea with mint. A unique tasting experience offering diners the opportunity to discover a range of dishes as refined as each other.

Hassan M'Souli

These gastronomic days will continue until August 12 with the participation of the Moroccan chef, Hassan M'Souli and his "new Moroccan" cuisine.

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Shock Closure of Tangier's Famous Cafe Hafa

The famous Café Hafa, an iconic place in the city Tangier, has been closed since Saturday morning. The  reason given is that it is undergoing an "operation of destruction" of a terrace built,"without license", by its owner

Cafe Hafa - a work by Australian artist Bryan Dawe

Yesterday, local media Tanja 24 reported the information, saying the local authorities in the city  proceeded to the destruction of pillars and a concrete slab mounted without a building permit. "Under the supervision of the director of the urban commune of Tangier and the boss of the Second Administrative District, the authorities proceeded to the demolition of the construction and prevented the customers from going to the cafe," the media continues.

The weekend destruction 

The destruction by the local authorities has been denounced the public and by Abderrahman El Akel, owner of the café. In a statement to Hespress, he says the intervention "has been marked by several dysfunctions". He says that he did not receive a notice of demolition when his request to the competent authorities for the granting of a building permit was not returned.

Café Hafa is considered a heritage site in the city of Tangier. Built in 1921, it is visited daily by Moroccan tourists and foreigners, who come to enjoy a mint tea and a panoramic view of the Mediterranean.

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Ashura Crackers Now Illegal

The Muslim world celebrates the Day of Ashura on November 3rd or 4th, depending on which country you are in. It is the tenth day of Muharram in the Islamic calendar but now fireworks are banned from the festivities

While the Day of Ashura in Sunni Morocco has been traditionally a day of celebration and joy, it is celebrated differently by Shia Muslims, who see it as a day of mourning.

In Morocco the local customs associated with Ashura vary across the country. People exchange pastry and mixes of nut fruits and dried raisins and apricots. Children play with fireworks in the streets and on the eve of Ashura light a fire called the Sh'ala (Arabic: الشعالة‎) and parents and family buy toys for their children.

However, Ashura fireworks may be a thing of the past.

A law published in the last issue of the Official Journal comes to put an end to the noises and clashes caused by pyrotechnic materials (firecrackers, artificial or "recreational meteors"(sky rockets) ...) during the festival of Ashura.

It is now official: Law No. 22.16 on explosive substances for civil use, artificial meteors and leisure equipment containing pyrotechnic materials has officially entered into force. According to this law, the festival of Ashura will no longer know the habits practiced by spoilers exploding firecrackers or other products of this kind.

According to Article 54 of the said law, culprits are liable to imprisonment for 2 to 5 years, in addition to a fine ranging from DH 50,000 to DH 500,000 or both, any person in illegal possession of explosive materials or artificial meteors. The penalty also applies to persons who illegally import or manufacture pyrotechnic materials.

Article II of the Law published in the Official Gazette No. 6694 stipulates the creation of a National Explosives Commission, which will be responsible for expressing an opinion with regard to the legislative and regulatory provisions governing explosive materials, artificial meteors and recreational equipment containing pyrotechnic materials. The said Commission will also endeavour to study the decisions of the regional explosives commissions with a view to guaranteeing security and serenity to Moroccans.

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RAM - Turbulence Continues

The fight between Royal Air Maroc (RAM) management and the pilots union has created an unending series of last-minute flight cancellations and angry customers

The Royal Air Maroc (RAM) pilots, represented by the National Association of Pilots (AMPL), have grown “inflexible” in their salary demands.

RAM has called off more than 100 flights in two weeks, causing frustration for passengers, who, despite the company’s ongoing troubles continued buying RAM tickets. Passengers hoped that the company’s trouble would not last as long as it now has, according to Moroccan newspaper L’Economiste.

Since the start of the strike on July 18, RAM reportedly lost MAD 20 million daily, and the situation is “growing wayward and unmanageable.” The company is “overwhelmed and does not know what to say,” L’Economiste quoted a senior RAM managing officer as saying.

The rapidly rising costs of the strike pressured RAM’s CEO Abdelhamid Abdou to call for a meeting with AMPL members on Wednesday, July 25. And while the general expectation was that a crisis recovery strategy would be found by August to avoid the grim prospect of losing the busiest and most profitable month of the summer period. However, the company’s pilots have recently hardened their position, claiming that RAM’s work requirements are “untenable.”

An AMPL representative told Moroccan outlet Medias 24 on Tuesday, July 31, that pilots will only resume work when all their demands are met. He said that the pilots would not be lured by a crisis recovery plan that does not address all their requests. He also explained that AMPL’s position is “inflexible” and that RAM could remain paralysed for the remaining days of the summer period.

“For years we were flexible and we did not speak up, but now the situation has become unbearable,” he said. “As far as we are concerned RAM’s commercial office is the only one responsible for the ongoing disturbances at airports.”

Meanwhile, RAM’s bruised reputation continues to be further affected as the company’s customers complain about long delays and last-minute changes of schedule.

RAM has set up special units to inform passengers in a timely manner—a day or two before set departure time—and take care of hotel and restaurants costs for passengers of cancelled night flights. These “preventive measures are a very heavy burden on the company’s finances,” the managing officer was quoted as saying.

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Morocco's Festival Season Continues

The Moroccan Ministry of Culture and Communication is responsible over the period from April to November of each year, for more than 23 festivals, spread over the different regions of the Kingdom

The festivals aim to present Morocco's heritage in new ways, celebrating the authentic artistic expressions of the different regions of the Kingdom, in order to preserve the national memory, to make known to the younger generations the richness and the diversity of the components of the Moroccan civilisation and to pay tribute to the great names of intangible cultural heritage.

The Ministry of Culture forms partnerships with public institutions, local authorities and civil society organisations in order to contribute to the preservation of the authenticity of this cultural and artistic heritage.

The Volubilis Festival moves to Meknes as music may damage the ruins!

The 9th Volubilis International Festival of Traditional World Music will be held from August 4 to 7 in Meknes under the patronage of HM King Mohammed VI.

The Festival is assisted by the Ministry of Culture, in partnership with the Council of the Fez-Meknes region and the commune of Meknes ,and aims celebrates the music and arts of the world and to act as a bridge for intercultural dialogue and the mixing of musical styles, in a Morocco of cultural diversity and openness to the world.

This 19th edition will, however, be deserting the historical monuments and archeological sites of the city of Volubilis and take place at the  Mohammed El Manouni Cultural Centre and the Place Lahdim in Meknes, because of the harmful effects  on the Roman ruins of the decibels and the vibrations produced by the high volume of music.

The city of Safi is hosting from August 10th to 12th, the "OxyJeunes" Festival under the theme "African cultural diversity at the service of sustainable development"

The theme chosen for this event, married the new vision of King Mohammed VI on African integration, as well as the new ambitions of the Kingdom for an Africa that is distinguished and develops its cultural wealth, says a statement of the association "Young Abir", organiser of this event.

"Festival OxyJeunes" is by far the most important cultural event in the city, at the same time as being a real platform to promote tourist and cultural values.

Artists from several African countries including Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Ivory Coast, the Comoros Islands, and of course Morocco, are expected to share with their culture with the public. OxyJeunes Festival this year is expanding the panel of activities and has introduced in addition to music, comedy and theatre shows, as well as the screening of African films.

The program also includes a children's village that will offer them various entertainment and education activities, a Breakdance and Skate competition, as well as a big carnival that will bring together several hundred Moroccan and African artists, in a single unit.

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