at home in the world

Welcome to my chronicle. I have embarked on my 'global art studio tour' (GAST). Who knows how long i'll be gone or where exactly it will take me. I hope to meet as many artists, see as many studios, and make as much art work as possible before my return. If you wish to sponsor me, you will receive a peice of artwork, of your choice, after my return at the value of which you sponsor me. (does that make sense?) Put another way, you can pre-purchase artwork from me, if you would like. The two ways to get money to me are (1)Send it to my parents who will deposit it: c/o Ron & Janine Parrish, 9102 Towanna Tr., Austin, TX 78736, USA. OR (2) email me (via this website) for Paypal information. (my account is under my email address, if you already have that.) Thanks so much. Please comment as freely and frequently as you wish on articles and picture. ~heather

Gnaoua, baby!

MOROCCO | Saturday, 30 June 2007 | Views [330] | Comments [1]

In the amazing coastal town of Essouaira (it takes a good few weeks to learn how to pronounce it right, which can be a problem when trying to find a bus that goes there), we discovered, among many other things, the deep love that Moroccans have for music. Not to mention dancing! Gnaoua music, as far as i know, was brought to Morocco by sub-saharan African slaves. It consists of a lot of drums, clangy finger cymbol things, a 3-stringed guitar-like instument, singers (one leader), and dancers. And it takes great effort to keep a body still as it pulses through the streets. Prior to going, we (and I am referring to Angie, Josie, Jim, and myself) heard that around 400,000 people would decend on the city for this annual 'hippie-fest'. I naturally expected to see (and smell) a lot of blonde dreads. To my pleasant surprise, the festival seemed to be patronized mainly by Moroccans, who, as i mentioned, apparently emmensely enjoyed it! Dancing everywhere. I guess these are like folk songs as well, so more often than not groups would burst into jubilant song joining whatever music they would hear, be it a concert or just from one of the many CD sellers; sometimes they would just spontaneously burst into song on the street. I tell you, I loved it.

We stayed at a Riad, which is usually multi-leveled with rooms surrounding a central open plaza (w/ fountain in the middle) and a lovely rooftop deck. Very nice; looking out at the ocean. The city wall are all whitewashed with brilliantly colored vendors everywhere. A great experience.

Tags: On the Road