Rabat, May 10th, 2019: Under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, the 18th edition of the Mawazine Festival-Rhythms of the World presents this year an exceptional program at the Chellah, the world music stage.

On the theme “From Benares to Jerez”, the UNESCO World Heritage site will invite festival-goers to a series of concerts that will pay tribute to the great musical traditions of the Roma people: from the confines of India and Afghanistan, its musicians migrated to Iran, Turkey and more to the east, through the Balkans and Andalusia, giving rise to the repertoires kathak, flamenco, gypsy and klezmer, among others.

With this new sound adventure, the Chellah will invite fans and music lovers to a real sound journey whose rhythms, dances, colors and accents will be worn by performers from around the world!

Starting on Saturday, June 22nd, Hindustani classical music will be celebrated by Kawa Generation, a unique formation of a family of great musicians, the Khans, from Rajasthan, the cradle of gypsies around the world.

The next day, Sunday, June 23rd, it is klezmer and Balkan music that will be performed by She’Koyokh. This group of musicians from Turkey merges perfectly the Gypsy, Sephardic and Rebetiko repertoires and those of other ethnic groups from different regions.

On Monday, June 24th, the public will travel to Eastern Europe with Marcela y los Murchales. At its lead, Marcela Cisarova, a singer and dancer from Slovakia, who masters the art of Slovak gypsy music.

The programming of the Chellah will then make a detour towards Spain on Tuesday, June 25th, with the performance of Alba Molina. Daughter of the famous Spanish duo Lole Montoya and Manuel Molina (better known under the name of Lole y Manuel), Alba Molina naturally bathes in music, making her musical education in the rhythm of flamenco but also of different musical influences. With Rycardo Moreno, one of Spain’s top contemporary flamenco-jazz composers and guitarists, Alba blurs the boundaries between flamenco and jazz by summoning hip hop, rock, boleros and Brazilian music.

On Wednesday, June 26th, India will be back with the Sharmila Sharma Company, born in Jaipur and featuring music, chants and kathak dance. Since the age of fourteen, the artist has performed in numerous international festivals, accompanied by recognized musicians including tabla player Edouard Prabhu and flautist Henri Tournier.

The musical journey will resume again, on Thursday, June 27th, with a visit to Iran with Shahrokh Moshkin Ghalam. This dancer, actor and director performs a choreography inspired by classical Persian music that brings together myths and poetry to create a magical atmosphere.

A new detour to Eastern Europe on Friday, June 28th will be the opportunity for festival goers to discover Dan Gharibian Trio, a group that mixes perfectly free jazz with klezmer music, musette to the rhythms of the Mediterranean.

The closing of this high-level program will be reserved for the immense Luis de la Carrasca. This autodidact of Granada, considered as one of the references of flamenco, will perform on Saturday, June 29th for a concert which promises to be already memorable!