Colloque à Tanger: Francophones Cut Up the Town

Cut up though it might have been, last weekend’s Colloque à Tanger, devoted to Beats Brion Gysin and William Burroughs, succeeded in evoking that era when Tangier was the Interzone of politics and poetry.


Vanessa Paloma & the Spirit of Moroccan Jews

Vanessa Paloma sings, writes, and lives for the music of her Sephardic forebears who left Morocco for the New World. Now she’s back in Morocco, one of the preeminent scholars – and performers – of Morocco’s Jewish musical heritage.


An American (& a Czech) in Tangier

A program of Gerswhin and Dvorak, with a theme of New World music, saw the launch of the 2013 season by the Orchestre Philharmonique du Maroc.


Echos of the Irish Battery: David Asbury’s Guitar

Dr. David Asbury performs the works of Turlough O’Carolan in the shadow of Tangier’s Irish Battery.


On the West Side of Tangier…

Thanks to a young American Fulbright scholar, West Side Story meets Isli and Tislit – in Moroccan Arabic.


Moulay Hafid Palace: 100 Years Young

  The restored Moulay Hafid Palace 1912 – 2012 and the centenary of the establishment of protectorate Morocco has had its occasional magazine article, but so far I haven't seen any mention of the 100th birthday of what has been called Tangier's most beautiful building.  Moulay Hafid Palace, also known locally as the Palais des … Read more Moulay Hafid Palace: 100 Years Young


Midnight Spotlight: Paul Bowles Returns to Moroccan Airwaves

  As a very nice spinoff from last week's Radio Tangier interview, tonight Thursday 9 February will feature a special two-hour Paul Bowles program, midnight – 2:00 AM (Morocco time or GMT; this would be 7:00 to 9:00 PM Eastern Standard Time). Listeners across the world can tune into Moroccan National Radio Alidaa-Watania and/or Radio … Read more Midnight Spotlight: Paul Bowles Returns to Moroccan Airwaves


Tanjazz and New Orleans’ Musical Ambassador

Louis Armstrong and Lillian Boutté. For a long time, they were New Orleans' only "Musical Ambassadors," though some other jazz greats have since joined their ranks. So Tangier was honored to have Lillian Boutté & The Gigolos for the latest edition of Tanjazz, an annual festival that attracts a wide audience of Tanjawis and visitors … Read more Tanjazz and New Orleans’ Musical Ambassador


Ramadan Notes 2011

Photo by Rachid Tefersiti Perhaps I should say Ramadan Notes 1432 (A.H., not A.D.). We marked Ramadan in the traditional ways the Legation has ever since my predecessor Thor Kuniholm established the pattern.  We started the week with our Moroccan NGO partners FTAM (the Fondation Tanger al-Madina) and the distribution of foodstuffs to needy families … Read more Ramadan Notes 2011


Tarab Tanger: Traditional Music From the World Over

Now that it's almost over, I finally get around to writing about Tarab Tanger, a five-day long festival of traditional world music that is now in its third edition.  For a discussion of the meaning of tarab, Oudman has a very thoughtful piece. From the looks of it, this festival, one among the many in … Read more Tarab Tanger: Traditional Music From the World Over