A women’s choir inspired by the chaabi tradition to perform a contemporary, polyphonic repertoire. Led by Laïla Amezian, the Fatmas de Belgica build on traditional elements such as the lamentation, poetic texts in the Moroccan Darrija dialect or trance-like rhythms. Together with Western vocal elements, they process them into polyphonic arrangements.

All over the world, traditional stories and customs are passed on orally from generation to generation. The Chaabi, an umbrella term for popular music from the cities of Morocco, was brought to us through oral transmission by women of the first generation of migrants.

Through the Fatmas de Belgica, we want to highlight this unique heritage that Belgian-Moroccan women have been developing for four generations. But we also want to transform this repertoire so that it can become part of our common identity. A multiple identity in the image of a metropolis like Brussels, both anchored in our origins and evolving through encounters and exchanges with others.