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.
