Free thought, boundless hospitality define Algerian arts festival
The homegrown, independent Raconte-Arts has become Algeria’s most important community arts festival, but can it cope with the challenges posed by its own success?
High up in Kabylie, the mountainous region where locals have doggedly resisted Algeria’s various colonizers over millennia, a clump of white-walled houses clings to a rugged hillside. This is the tiny hamlet of Sahel, Bouzeguene, whose population swelled last week with thousands of guests — among them painters, musicians, storytellers, magicians and poets.
The occasion was the 16th edition of Raconte-Arts, Algeria’s wildly popular community arts festival. Each year, a different Kabylie village hosts the week-long event. The official schedule includes concerts, poetry recitals and panel discussions on contentious topics. The true beauty of Raconte-Arts, however, lies in its spontaneity.
Two local mothers, glowing in the arrestingly bright hues of their Kabylie dresses, show off to their young children with a karaoke microphone. A hakawatieh — storyteller — finds a quiet alcove, pulls out his drum and starts spinning a bewitching tale. As evening sets in, young Algerians gather in the moonlight to sing ballads about alcohol and fighting for independence.
“At Raconte-Arts, all of us are the raconteurs,” said Souad Hanniz, a psychologist and singer who at a moment’s notice will belt out tunes in the local Berber language of Kabylie, Arabic, French and English.
