Palestine makes itself felt at the Palau de la Música
The institution hosts a solidarity tribute to Palestinian culture with the participation of poet Mohamad Bitari and the musical duo Athrodeel, among other artists.
BarcelonaTo replace the sound of guns with the sound of music and give a voice to the people of Gaza in the form of dance, theater, and poetry. This is how Palestinian culture manifested itself tonight at a sold-out event at the Palau de la Música. "I'm proud of my city. To see us all here for Gaza and for Palestine," said a visibly moved poet Mohamed Bitari before calling for a moment of silence for all the victims who have lost their lives since the start of the Israeli offensive.
The verses of Bitari, a Palestinian poet and playwright living in the Catalan capital, have served to kick-start Palestine - Culture is resistance, a cultural manifesto lasting more than two hours, offering messages of hope to a people marked by struggle. Organized with the support of various organizations, its proceeds will go to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, which addresses the humanitarian needs of the population of Gaza.
The first part of the event also featured five pieces by pianist Faraj Suleiman, accompanied by four musicians, who thrilled the audience with a recital—his first in Barcelona—of Middle Eastern influences. Raised on Arabic music and trained in classical music, he demonstrated an excellent command of contemporary jazz and the art of improvisation.
Getting closer to a silenced reality
In the middle of the event, Mohamad Bitari returned to the stage to read in Arabic one of the stories ofThe Gaza Monologues, a dramatized reading of texts by anonymous people in Gaza that Nadia Hafid—a cartoonist from Terrassa and winner of the Finestres Prize—illustrated live. The creation showed the harshness of the conflict through the story of a young mother whose life has been transformed by the war. "Before, I only dreamed of a peaceful life, and now I can only dream that they will at least let us live. [...] We are souls. We have dreams, hopes, and desires, and we deserve to live. This is my message. To you. In the world," the text proclaimed.
Dancer and choreographer Fadi Waked has been in charge of bringing dance to the stage with In ticket to another migration, a solo in which he has combined folklore and modern techniques.
Actress Mar Casas, accompanied by clarinetist Cristina Pérez, provided the voice for the poem. The freedom of the people By Fadwa Tuqan. Considered the mother of Palestinian poetry, she wrote for seven decades, and her work, in addition to being highly relevant and relevant, remains highly valued, not only for its subject matter but also for its form, as she was one of the pioneers of free prose.
Athrodeel were in charge of putting an end to the night with a version ofThe song of the birds which brought the Palau audience to their feet. The duo brought to the stage Love to Palestine with soloists playing traditional Eastern instruments and a small orchestra of students from the Liceu Conservatory, supported by the Ferrer Music Foundation. Athrodeel, which means Syrian my land, is formed by Ahmad Dyab and Aseel Massoud, a Syrian couple who arrived in Barcelona a decade ago and who fuse the richness of Syrian culture with classical Arabic music, Catalan popular music and oriental flamenco.