Essaouira (Morocco) (AFP)

Acrobatic figures, throbbing music and multicolored costumes: dozens of artists paraded on Saturday to the rhythm of their steel drums and castanets in the streets of Essaouira, in southern Morocco, to celebrate the inscription of their Gnaoua music in the UNESCO intangible heritage.

"Our goal is to make this music known to the whole world. It is a rich culture whose magic must be preserved," says Mokhtar Gania, 56, one of the masters of Gnaoua art, with a big smile.

His grandfather and father Mahmoud Guinea were already emblematic figures of this music which combines African rituals and worship of the saints of Islam, and which was perpetuated in Morocco by the descendants of former slaves from sub-Saharan Africa.

The official recognition of Unesco, announced Thursday, is "a consecration of the pioneering engagement of Essaouira" for the safeguarding of this art, welcomes André Azoulay, adviser to king Mohammed VI and president of a very active association having makes culture a vector for the development of the city.

Crossroads of several civilizations, the ancient Mogador is the cradle of traditional Gnaoua culture. It is in this blue and white citadel, clinging to a rocky peninsula at the edge of the Atlantic, that a gnaoua music festival has been organized since 1997 which attracts waves of fans from all over the world every beginning of summer.

For the organizers of the festival, the inclusion of Gnaoua art in UNESCO's intangible heritage is "a tremendous recognition".

- Music, a "universal language" -

Carried by the strength of their rhythms, the maâlems (masters) of Gnaoua art began recording with the biggest names in jazz from the early 1970s.

But before the Essaouira festival, "this culture recognized by big names in the world music scene did not have the place it deserved in the popular Moroccan imagination," said Neila Tazi, producer of the event.

"There is a before and after festival of Essaouira" for Gnaoua musicians, adds André Azoulay, who underlines the "reconquest" of dignity of a "community long marginalized", these artists having long been considered, at best, like troubadours.

Formerly confined to "lilacs", name given to trance vigils with esoteric rituals reserved for initiates, Gnaoua culture is now finding an echo all over the world.

The musical meeting of Essaouira, which offers amazing musical mixes with Latin and African music, saw headliners, such as the jazzmen Pat Metheny, Didier Lockwood or Marcus Miller, who came to perform with the most famous masters of gnaoua music.

In a workshop in the old town of Essaouira, itself a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Malaâm Seddik El Arch, 68, is a privileged witness to this evolution.

This luthier artist is delighted that "musicians of all nationalities come here to learn (to play the) guembri", a sort of lute drum with three strings, composed of a round handle inserted in a sound box made of camel skin.

"Despite the language barrier, we can get along and play together. Music is a universal language", underlines the artist, who welcomes the "baraka (blessing) of Unesco".

- Preserve and transmit -

Mokhtar Gania is preparing to release an album under the Universal Music label before going on a world tour with his group, composed of Moroccan and West African musicians. This singer and guembri player has already shared the stage with big names like the Mexican guitarist Santana.

In Essaouira, the new generation is ready to take over. Abdeslam Benaddi, 25, created with other young musicians the group "Oussoul gnaoua" (the origins of gnaoua). Together, they launched the "Génération gnaoua" festival three years ago which brings together local groups.

During this meeting, groups of young people come to play Gnaoua music standards "respecting tradition" before a jury of old maâlems.

For everyone, "it's important to preserve this culture and pass it on to future generations," says the young musician.

© 2019 AFP