AIDS Festival

Yesterday I went to what was advertised as an AIDS Music Festival. The poster, translated to me by the event planner, had a picture of two young people playing guitars with red ribbons next to them. The poster did not give a time or place, but that's never a problem in Morocco.

Also, coinciding with the AIDS event was a marathon. I was told by my moudir to come to the Dar Chebab at nine am to see the beginning of the marathon. I knew better than to arrive promptly on time, so I showed up between nine thirty and ten. There was no trace of the marathon event, but I found many young people there setting up for the show. I saw a girl holding drumsticks, a few boys holding guitars, and I even saw one boy holding a gimbri. A gimbri is a three-stringed bass or lute that is used in Gnawa-style music. Gnawa music is unique to Morocco and is a mixture of African, Berber, and Arabic styles of music. Its similar to the Blues. Each June there is a world music festival of Gnawa in the city Essaouira and I plan on going this year.

Anyway, back to the AIDS event. It's important for you to know that I had no expectations whatsoever and also no estimated time of departure. This is the best way to enjoy any event in Morocco. If you don't expect to be entertained and don't expect to leave at a reasonable hour, then you will survive the event without wanting to rip your hair out.

Three of my students were already there when I arrived and had gotten seats for the show. I sat next to them and we waited. And waited. And, well you get the idea. Two and a half hours later, the show began. Now, for those of you who have ever seen an American youth band perform, this will not be difficult to explain to you. Take any American youth band between the ages of 13-20, take away any musical knowledge, take away any knowledge of sound system, and take away any knowledge of English language. Can you picture it?

For SIX HOURS, I sat straining to hear the lyrics, the tune, and anything resembling music. One group performed very well. It was a group of 13 year old girls who sang a traditional Moroccan song and were accompanied by a keyboard. Another group, from a nearby big city, must have been university students and played a few songs in English. At one point, I swore I recognized the tune but I couldn't place it ... until I heard the singer say, "Oh, where oh where can my baby be?..." Yes, that's right, do you remember Pearl Jam's Last Kiss?? I looked around the room...people were clapping their hands, smiling, and I knew I was the only one in that room who really knew what was going on.

So, like I said, six hours, but it's important to note that only eleven bands were present. So, lots of waiting around time. One time during the middle of the show, we waited half an hour while some people went looking around town for a certain wire. I passed time by daydreaming. My favorite daydream was the one where I would get up from my chair, grab the microphone, and belt out the Star-spangled Banner to the puzzled looks of my fellow Moroccan music-lovers. "gimme that.....OOOoooh, Say can you SEEEEEEE?????" In my mind, it was hilarious.

After five or so hours of music, the show finished and I thought, "yes, Freedom! Lunch! etc" But, the show was being judged by a panel of "judges" who officially stood up from their chairs and left the room to privately decide on the winners. I thought, great, this should take no time at all! It's obviously that group of thirteen year old girls who won! I should've known better. One hour later, the judges emerged from their chamber, but before they could announce the winner, they had to give a long speech about their ratings system and how points were given. Finally, the speech ended and the winners were announced. Yes, the thirteen year old girls won!

Then the event coordinator made an announcement about how there would be a "small party" in the afternoon to celebrate. As people started getting up from their chairs, I high-tailed it out of there and marched home. I got home around 3:30, ate a piece of bread with some cheese, and promptly fell asleep for two hours.

Oh, and the theme of the day: AIDS? Not ever mentioned during the event, but in the back of the room I did find a pile of brochures with a picture of a condom on them. Also, there was a poster with a picture of a Moroccan woman holding two babies, and reaching for a pack of birth-control pills, talking to a doctor. I was the only person in the room who wasn't embarrassed to be checking out the literature and I am illiterate!!