
Hamid Ajbar Flamenco
Hamid Ajbar Flamenco was founded in Granada in 2016 by the singer of Moroccan origin Hamid Ajbar, graduated from the conservatory of Rabat as an expert in Andalusian and oriental music, and first national prize of Andalusian singing. The project was born with the idea of delving into the Arab-Andalusian music and flamenco, to discover the shared history between the Andalusian who one day was forced to leave his home and cross the shore to North Africa, and flamenco, which came to Al Andalus when it ceased to be called as such. Through intoxicating melodies and fascinating rhythms, both traditions achieve an authentic fusion. The project includes some of the best artists from the flamenco scene such as singer Alberto Funes, guitarist Lolo de la Encarna, dancer Eva Manzano, amongst others, as well as musicians Aziz Samsaoui, Fathi Ben Yakoub, Mouhssine Koraichi and Khalid Ahaboune.
Dos Historias, un Camino
Two stories, one way is a meeting of music between two cultures, the Arab-Andalusian and the Flemish. Although they were originally from different eras, they coincide in time and place where both were marginalized. With this show they unite the depth of flamenco singing with the lyrical poetry of the Andalusian moaxajas and zejeles and oriental rhythms, in a "jondo" fusion, of exquisite flavor, with a fragrance as fresh as the breeze of the summer nights of the Alhambra.
Gardens of Al Andalus - From Ibn Arabi to Santa Teresa
In today's world, we find ourselves dreaming more vividly than ever of those blessed times when Jews, Christians and Muslims peacefully coexisted in Granada and Cordoba. Originally from Chaouen, Morocco, and now based in Granada, singer and violinist Hamid Ajbar embodies this sublime blend of sound, heart and spirit. In 2015, this led him to found an ensemble in which oud, violin and flamenco guitar cohabit, and in which the poetic heritage of the Sufi masters of Spain, North Africa and the Middle East, and the mystical work of Saint Teresa of Avila, who, in the heart of her Catholic Castile, did not hesitate to transpose into Christian terms the teaching of tolerance dispensed at the time of the greatness of Al-Andalus.
With its blend of flamenco and oriental harmonies, the “Gardens of Al-Andalus” program is the very expression of this ideal: the term jinnan - gardens - refers as much to the sumptuous gardens to be admired at the Alhambra in Granada, the Alcazar in Cordoba or the Goutha in Damascus, as it does to the heart - the soul: this cauldron of emotions, this receptacle of beauty. “I have known love since I have known your love”, said Rabia Al Adawiyya in 8th-century Iraq. “Blessed be the heart in love”, replied Thérèse d'Avila eight centuries later. Quite a symbol.