Michal Shapiro

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February 17, 2010 Michal Shapiro Posted: February 15, 2010 04:17 PM They Are Not Palestinian They are Arabic, and they are Muslim. Their land was colonized by a western power (Spain). Then, when that power grew weary of the colonial burden, another nation (Morocco) claimed the land as historically theirs, and a huge security wall was built to quell resistance. Now these people live in poverty and in refugee camps, but keep the dream of their own independent state alive. Most Americans do not know anything about them. The Arabic world has not taken them up as a cause célèbre. They are the people of Western Sahara, or Saharawis. Why am I writing about this, in a music column? Because one of their greatest spokespersons is also one of world music's great singers, and she has a new CD out, called "Shouka" and it's wonderful. Mariem Hassan has a huge voice, full of power and heart. She has dedicated that voice to singing the music of her people, keeping their culture and their cause alive. Listen to the video, and marvel at her strength, and also, enjoy it! Because obviously, she is having a blast and she invites you too as well. Here's a little bit about the role of women in Saharawi life: Mariam has said "There is no freer woman in the Islamic world than the Saharawi woman." And indeed, as journalist/author Rosa Montero has written "The Saharawi women assume complete responsibility for life. In the stony, barren hell of the Algerian desert they manage the camps, organize daily life, run the schools and hospitals, care for the children and the elderly, and look after the men..." And if you are wondering about the use of electric guitar, that penetrating instrument has become a mainstay in a genre we now call "Desert Blues." It is indispensable in the music of the Tuareg (best exempliﬁed by the wonderful band "Tinariwen") and the Saharawis. The techniques and modes of playing traditional acoustic instruments are easily transposed to it, and with the addition of some great bluesy riffs, you've got a magical crossover sound. Something to watch out for: Link TV will shortly be premiering an excellent proﬁle of Mariem Hassan. I'll keep you posted. Books & More From Michal Shapiro .

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Transnational Habitus: Mariem Hassan As the Transcultural Representation of the Relationship Between Saharaui Music and Nubenegra Records
Transnational Habitus: Mariem Hassan as the transcultural representation of the relationship between Saharaui music and Nubenegra records Luis Gimenez Amoros Submitted in partial fullfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Rhodes University PhD (thesis) Department of Music and Musicology Supervisor: Dr Lee Watkins I Abstract This thesis expands on primary field research conducted for my MMus degree. Undertaken in the Saharaui refugee camps of southern Algeria (2004-2005) that research - based on ethnographic data and the analysis of Saharaui music, known as Haul 1- focussed on the musical system, the social context of musical performance and the music culture in Saharaui refugee camps. This doctoral research examines Saharaui Haul music as practised in Spain and is particularly focussed on its entry, since 1998, into the global market by way of the World Music label, Nubenegra records. The encounter between Saharaui musicians and Nubenegra records has created a new type of Saharaui Haul which is different to that played in the refugee camps. This phenomenon has emerged as a result of western music producers compelling Saharaui musicians to introduce musical changes so that both parties may be considered as musical agents occupying different positions on a continuum of tradition and change. Nubenegra undertook the commodification of Saharaui music and disseminated it from the camps to the rest of the world. A musical and social analysis of the relationship between Nubenegra and Saharaui musicians living in Spain will form the basis of the research in this thesis. In particular, Mariem Hassan is an example of a musician who had her music disseminated through the relationship with Nubenegra and she is promoted as the music ambassador of the Western Sahara.
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Shouka, El Disco De Mariem Hassan Que Saca La Espina Clavada En El Corazón Del Pueblo Saharaui
INICIO MADRID CATALUNYA VALENCIA MURCIA ESPAÑA INTERNACIONAL DEPORTES CULTURA ASESORÍA EMPLEO BLOGS OFERTAS DE EMPLEO NEWSLETTER COMUNIDAD VIRTUAL buscar... Buscar visto :7 VVIIEERRNNEESS,, 0055 DDEE MMAARRZZOO DDEE 22001100 0088::1144 Shouka, el disco de Mariem Hassan que saca Traducir página la espina clavada en el corazón del pueblo saharaui Cultura Mariem Hassan ha estado durante cuatro años a la sombra de los escenarios. Tras superar un cáncer, esta saharaui llena de vitalidad y que emana personalidad en cada palabra, en cada gesto, saca su nuevo disco: ‘Shouka’, un álbum que recopila 16 temas en los que se entremezclan diversos estilos musicales, marcados por los singulares ritmos de la música de su tierra y liderados por la reconocible voz desgarrada, a la vez que dulce, de esta artista. ELENA PRIETO LANDALUCE/Barcelona ‘Shouka’ signifi ca espina –“la que todos los saharauis tenemos clavada en el corazón”, dice Hassan– y este nombre da también título a uno de los temas principales del álbum, una cantata llena de rencor e ironía dirigida al ex presidente del Gobierno de España, el socialista Felipe González. “Esta espina es con la que Encuesta nos pinchó Felipe en 1976, cuando visitó los campamentos de refugiados y prometió que cuando él fuera presidente del Gobierno de España ayudaría al pueblo saharaui a que volviera a su tierra”, explica Mariem ¿A qué edad crees que debiera fijarse la Hassan, y añade: “Más tarde estuvo ciego y sordo con la causa de nuestro pueblo, sólo nos pinchó con jubilación obligatoria? mentiras”. Pero ésta es sólo una de las canciones. A los 65, como hasta ahora También dedica espacio a sus seres queridos en otras composiciones: a su madre, ya muy anciana; a su hijo A los 67, como propone el Gobierno pequeño, enfermo desde los dos años, al que le envía un mensaje de esperanza, y cómo no, al resto de sus A ninguna, trabajaría hasta que el compatriotas, con letras comprometidas social, política y religiosamente, y que desgranan la cultura de un cuerpo aguante pueblo en continua lucha por su libertad.
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2010 De Cómo Mariem Hassan Conquista Las Antípodas
2010 De cómo Mariem Hassan conquista las antípodas. Los festivales de Womad en Australia y Nueva Zelanda la reciben con los brazos abiertos. Ella, con su indómita voz, establece una asombrosa comunicación con el resto de los participantes y con el público. — O 2010 — AUSTRALIA La primera sensación del viajero, tras un periplo que en tan sólo 30 horas te ha traslado desde Barcelona al extremo opuesto del globo terráqueo, es la necesidad imperiosa de reubicarte en el tiempo y en el espacio, para conseguir ponerte cuan- to antes manos a la obra que nos ha traído desde tan lejos. Salimos el 1 de marzo por la tarde y llegamos hoy, día 3, por la mañana a Adelaida. Debemos afrontar dos semanas -una aquí, en Australia, y la otra en Nueva Zelanda- llenas de actividades, algunas inéditas. Atrás quedan unas duras negociaciones para cuadrar cada uno de los aspec- tos que hay que tener en cuenta en un acontecimiento de esta envergadura. La más desagradable, sin duda, la negociación con los músicos. El grupo estaba bien conjuntado y Mariem podía atacar cualquier tipo de repertorio, apoyándose en uno u otro guitarrista. La organización de Womad era inflexible en cuanto a los honorarios. Se escudaban en los elevados costes que debían afrontar en viajes, alo- jamiento y manutención de 7 personas durante 15 días. Conociendo al grupo y sus circunstancias, cuando ya había que empezar a reservar pasajes y tramitar visados, aprovechando que Mariem, Vadiya y Lamgaifri estaban en Madrid para participar en el concierto «Todos con Aminetu», llamé a Josemi y a Kepa para tratar el asunto de los dineros.
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Comercialización De La Música Saharaui En El Mundo Occidental a Través De Nubenegra (Madrid, 1998-2011)
Resonancias n°33, diciembre 2013 / Artículos Comercialización de la música saharaui en el mundo occidental a través de Nubenegra (Madrid, 1998-2011) Luis Giménez Candidato a Doctor en Etnomusicología Rhodes University [email protected] Resumen Este artículo analiza la diseminación y mercantilización de la música saharaui a través de la discográfica española Nubenegra. Para ello, el texto explica las diferencias musicales y sociales de la música saharaui en dos contextos distintos: en los campamentos de refugiados de Tindouf (Argelia), como experiencia transnacional y local en donde se reafirman los valores nacionales basados en la lucha política por la independencia del Sahara Occidental; y en Madrid, como experiencia comercial y global en donde Nubenegra busca maneras de promover la cultural musical saharaui. El análisis social y musical de ambos contextos sociales sirve para explicar cómo la cultura musical saharaui crece de una manera asimétrica y con diferentes propósitos (ideológicos o comerciales). Keywords: Música saharaui, Haul, Polisario, música de refugiados, blues del desierto. Abstract This article analyses the dissemination and commodification of Sahrawi music by the Spanish record label Nubenegra. The text explains the musical and social differences of the Sahrawi music in two distinct contexts: in the refugee camps of Tindouf (Algeria)¬, as a local and transnational experience in which national values are affirmed on the political struggle for the independence of Western Sahara; and in Madrid, as a commercial and global experience in which Nubenegra seeks to promote Sahrawi music culture. The social and cultural analysis of both social contexts is deployed to explain how Sahrawi music culture grows in an asymmetric form and with different goals (ideological or commercial).
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Portraits of Saharawi Music: When Cultural Preservation Meets Political Activism
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Rhodes University: Hosted Journals PORTRAITS OF SAHARAWI MUSIC: WHEN CULTURAL PRESERVATION MEETS POLITICAL ACTIVISM by VIOLETA RUANO POSADA Abstract. Drawing from ethnographic fieldwork done mainly in the Saharawi refugee camps and the development of “Portraits of Saharawi Music” (2013–2014), a collaborative music archiving and research project in partnership with the British Library and the Saharawi Ministry of Culture, this article analyses issues in the political realities for Saharawi refugees from the perspective of the musicians and the cultural authorities in the refugee camps. In addition, it explores methodological and ethical issues derived from the uses of political and cultural activism as an ethnomusicological research method. It examines the interactions of the ideologies, motivations and personal relationships of the researcher, the musicians and the institutions involved in this recording project, focusing on the selection of repertoire as an activist act and the impact of doing advocacy research on an extremely vulnerable social group as the Saharawi refugee community. In agreement with basic principles of social responsibility of academia, it supports the role of “activist researcher”; but it cautions that it is essential for researchers to understand how relations of knowledge and power are produced, perpetuated, and challenged in specific situations of conflict, in order to turn their research into a true collaborative action.
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Mariem Hassan: La Participación Primordial De La Mujer Saharaui En La Música Haul Luis Giménez Amorós
Mariem Hassan: La participación primordial de la mujer saharaui en la música Haul Luis Giménez Amorós Resum La tradició musical saharaui ha estat vinculada a la dona en referència al cant i a la secció rítmica. La dona saharaui apré del Haul, un sistema musical original del mon cultural Hassanya –principalment situat en Mauritania i Sahara Occidental–, composat per huit modes melòdics –entamas, seinicar, fagu, leboer,lyen,lebteit y tehrar– i set ritmes –bleida, charha, serbet, agarran, agassar, dubka y medra– –mirar apéndice 1 y 2–. En torn a la dona trobem als poetes, que són majoritàriament de gènero masculí, igualment que els guitarristes els quals s’encarreguen d’acompanyar el cant. La interacció entre ambdos gèneres en la música saharaui es d’interés cultural i musical, amb un valor social afegit donada les circumstàncies pel qual travessa el poble saharaui com refugiats polítics en el desert de la Hamada –Argelia– des de 1975. Resumen La tradición musical saharaui ha estado vinculada a la mujer en referencia al canto y a la sección rítmica. La mujer saharaui aprende del Haul, un sistema musical original del mundo cultural Hassanya (principalmente situado en Mauritania y Sahara Occidental), compuesto por ocho modos melódicos (entamas, seinicar, fagu, leboer,lyen,lebteit y tehrar– y siete ritmos –bleida, charha, serbet, agarran, agassar, dubka y medra– –mirar apéndice 1 y 2–. En torno a la mujer encontramos a los poetas, que son mayormente de género masculino, al igual que los guitarristas que se encargan de acompañar el canto. La interacción entre ambos géneros en la música saharaui es de interés cultural y musical, con un valor social añadido dada las circunstancias que atraviesa el pueblo saharaui como refugiados políticos en el desierto de la Hamada –Argelia– desde 1975.
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UC Merced TRANSMODERNITY: Journal of Peripheral Cultural Production of the Luso-Hispanic World
UC Merced TRANSMODERNITY: Journal of Peripheral Cultural Production of the Luso-Hispanic World Title The Strategy of Style: Music, Struggle, and the Aesthetics of Sahrawi Nationalism in Exile Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4hm2f4pf Journal TRANSMODERNITY: Journal of Peripheral Cultural Production of the Luso-Hispanic World, 5(3) ISSN 2154-1353 Authors Ruano Posada, Violeta Solana Moreno, Vivian Publication Date 2015 DOI 10.5070/T453029635 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 4.0 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California The Strategy of Style: Music, Struggle, and the Aesthetics of Sahrawi Nationalism in Exile __________________________________________________ VIOLETA RUANO POSADA UNIVERSITY OF LONDON VIVIAN SOLANA MORENO UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO Abstract: The Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), as a contested post- colonial state built entirely in exile, has forged a national identity based on collectivist notions of political struggle, cultural expression, and resistance. Throughout the past four decades, the Saharawi music scene–and its carefully crafted music styles–have been particularly important to advocate for this vision, both locally and internationally. Through a musico-historical analysis of some of the most influential Saharawi musical productions that have been released since the 1980s, and conversations with influential Saharawi cultural actors, this article engages the dialectics of nationalism and exile in Saharawi music. We argue that the flourishing of a unique Saharawi musical style during the exodus and the war, the nidal, and its more recent developments after the ceasefire in 1991, has been instrumental for the creation of a strong international Saharawi discourse that has proved to be, at times, more influential than any political speech.
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Introducción El Presente Estudio De La Guitarra Saharaui Incluye Tres
20/8/2020 A Contratiempo | Desert blues: La guitarra en la música saharaui Introducción El presente estudio de la guitarra saharaui incluye tres periodos: principios de la guitarra saharaui en los campamentos de refugiados de Tindouf desde 1975 a 1998 1; guitarra saharaui e innovación a través de los álbumes realizados por Nubenegra desde 1998 al 2012; y un trabajo de campo etnomusicológico de observación y participación en la guitarra saharaui desde el 2004 hasta nuestros días. La primera etapa se sitúa en los campamentos de refugiados saharauis en el desierto de La Hamada (Argelia). Durante este tiempo, las composiciones para guitarra tratan de motivar un ambiente populista que acompañe al cantante a través de un conocimiento profundo de los modos del Haul 2 (ver: apéndice 2). Dicho periodo es un momento de gestación de la cultura saharaui en sus primeros años en el exilio. La búsqueda de identidad musical del pueblo saharaui es más importante que el desarrollo meramente musical de la guitarra u otros instrumentos. De este modo, miembros del pueblo saharaui en el destierro crean un grupo musical llamado El Ualy, cuyo nombre hace referencia al mártir y uno de los principales impulsores del movimiento ideológico del Frente Polisario llamado Lualy 3. La segunda etapa hace referencia a guitarristas como Nayim Alal, Boika Hassan y Baba Salama, quienes ofrecen nuevos elementos musicales influenciados por la armonía occidental. Dichas incorporaciones musicales en la guitarra saharaui son el uso de acordes y rasgueos. En esta etapa, la negociación de la guitarra saharaui proviene del Haul clásico y de las técnicas del tidinit 4 junto con una etapa donde la música saharaui se encuentra con en el mercado del World Music a través de la discográfica española Nubenegra.
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The Western Sahara- Morocco Conflict Analyzed Through the Language Pragmatic Approach
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Blue Gum, No. 4, 2017, ISSN 2014-21-53, Observatori: Centre d’Estudis Australians / Australian Studies Centre, Universitat de Barcelona The Western Sahara’s Diaspora: Homeland, Exile and Resistance among Saharawi Women Maria Grazia Cantalupo Universitat de Barcelona [email protected] Copyright©2017 Maria Grazia Cantalupo. This text may be archived and redistributed both in electronic form and in hard copy, provided that the author and journal are properly cited and no fee is charged. Abstract: In the following essay we will analyze the Western Sahara’s diaspora through the lenses of women’s eyes, who have experienced feelings as physical and psychological violence, sexual harassment, forced displacement and separation from their families, becoming ‘illegal’ human beings in their own homeland, because of the colonial Moroccan occupation of Saharawis’ territories and their supposed pretentions of owning the Western Sahara’s land to justify their violent foreign policy. In particular, we will focus our attention on the analysis of the small book A Norwegian hope journey – Between the strong sand and the white snow lives my hope for a free Sahara written by the young Saharawi’s journalist Asria Mohamed Taleb in 2011, in which her écriture embodies proper feelings and contradictions attributable to subjects in exile, experiencing a condition in balance between nostalgia for the ‘lost’ homeland and gratitude to Norway, a country that has accepted and welcomed her, giving her the hope for a better future. Furthermore, we will analyze two documentary-movies about the Saharawi question: the first one, Life is waiting by Iara Lee (2015), is an attempt to give voice to the creations of local artists who are forced to live in situations of constant fear and repression; the second one, Just to let you know that I’m alive by Simona Ghizzoni and Emanuela Zuccalà (2014), reports the terrible experiences of some of the Saharawi women who have been abused, tortured, arrested and forced to disappear in secret prisons while fighting for their freedom.
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Precolonial Musical Culture and Saharawi Nationalism in the Refugee Camps of the Hamada Desert in Algeria
AZAWAN: PRECOLONIAL MUSICAL CULTURE AND SAHARAWI NATIONALISM IN THE REFUGEE CAMPS OF THE HAMADA DESERT IN ALGERIA by LUIS GIMENEZ AMOROS Since 1975, more than half of the Saharawi population have been living in refugee camps in Algeria (Fynn 2011: 40).This article analyses Saharawi music as performed for the refugee community in the camps. I argue that the construction and evolution of Saharawi music in the camps is divided into two main areas: nationalism in relation to the decolonisation of Western Sahara, and maintenance of cultural values in Saharawi music found in the historical retention of the Haul modal system originating in precolonial Saharawi culture. Local audiences use the term Azawan to define the combination of nationalist sentiments and retention of their precolonial musical culture in Saharawi music. This article is based on my research on Saharawi music in the refugee camps in Algeria during November-December 2004. The data collected during this research includes interviews with poets and musicians and musical transcriptions based on my study of the scales and rhythms used in Saharawi music. This research became the foundation for the production of the documentary DVD on Saharawi music entitled Los mares del desierto (Gimenez 2006). I have also analysed Saharawi music from the camps recorded by the Spanish record label Nubenegra from 1998 to 2012 (see discography) and distributed in the global market (these albums are also available in the camps). Another factor that extended my musical analysis for this research was
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