“The 90s of the last century can only be understood through music if it's through this youth musical movement. A style that was born in Oran (Algeria), sneaks through the cracks of sociolinguistic and cultural similarities across the Moroccan border of Oujda, and ends up becoming enormous internationally thanks to great performers of the genre like Cheb Khaled or Cheb Mami. A genre that, due to this international recognition, becomes uncomfortable for fundamentalism, causing the murders of some of its great protagonists and the exile of many others.
Join us on a sonic journey through the history of Raï, that great Maghrebi musical movement that managed to conquer the world. It's not just music: it's a sound map of the complex reality of North Africa, which was also a song of freedom and a fight against fundamentalism.
Come and discover Raï music and its unwavering defence of individual freedom. A music that is more than a rhythm; it is the sonic testament of those who chose to sing when silence was the norm.
This is the proposal that José Carlos Cabrera, Arabist and director of the intercultural radio programme ‘Ruta Mediterránea’ (Radio Andalucía Información), is doing for us for a new session of the series ‘Mediterráneo Sonoro: Music from the Maghreb and the Middle East. The aim of this space is to focus on the music from these regions, with the intention of returning it to a more prominent position, and thereby encourage an approach to the culture in which it is produced, so that our audience – beyond specialists or musicians – has an entry point.
This new session of Mediterráneo Sonoro, with the title of ‘Raï: North Africa's Most International Music’will take place on next Tuesday, 24th February, at 7:30 PM, at the headquarters of the Tres Culturas del Mediterráneo Foundation.
Free entry upon registration here
Portuguese